About

Thanks for stopping by and spending a bit of your day here. From free crochet patterns to web comics featuring the cast of Squirrel Picnic, there’s plenty to explore — so go ahead and have some fun.

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Hi! I’m Jennifer Olivarez, and I use crochet to explore soft sculpture, storytelling, and pattern design.

I began the Squirrel Picnic blog in 2012, and for four years I used amigurumi characters — along with crochet sets and props — to illustrate a series of web comics about the adventures of two little squirrels named Hodge and Podge. I had such a blast dreaming up new stories and sharing the patterns to make the characters that, in 2016, I created a full-color story and crochet pattern book titled The Big Acorn Race (now out of print).

As much as I loved creating new stories and patterns for Hodge and Podge and all their friends, I eventually felt a calling to take my passion for crochet beyond amigurumi. After closing the blog in 2016, I began designing crochet fashion and home décor patterns. Since then, my work has appeared in Interweave Crochet, Crochet World, Crochet!, I Like Crochet, and the WeCrochet online store.

Finally, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who followed this blog and so generously offered their support and encouragement. It has been a great honor to meet you, share this space with you, and grow alongside you. Your kindness and curiosity challenged me to learn, experiment, and evolve, and I will always be grateful for that experience.

If you’d like to see what I’m up to now and explore my latest designs, you can find me on my website, Ravelry, and Etsy.

Best wishes, and happy stitching.

Jennifer

Copyright

Although the patterns and tutorials on this site are free, they are still copyright protected. So before you share my pattern or sell something made from it, please read the following.

You are welcome to…

* sell the finished products made from my patterns. Credit to the designer is appreciated.

* share the patterns and tutorials. Feel free to share one photo from the original post, but I ask that you credit Jennifer Olivarez and include a link back to the pattern or tutorial.