Hi everyone! If you are new to my blog, please let me introduce myself and our small creative team. My name is Ira Rott. I’m a Canadian pattern designer, fiber artist and author. I learned to sew, knit, and crochet at a very young age and I enjoy sharing my passion for fiber art through my quilting, knitting and crochet designs inspired by animals and nature. My happy place is where fabric and yarn meet fun!

I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Zaporizhzhia, located on the Dnieper River in southeastern Ukraine. Both of my parents are textile engineers, so I was growing up in a home packed with fabrics, yarns, and books. I never missed an opportunity to create, either with my parents, grandparents, or in school. Needle-crafting has always felt natural to me. Here is one of my latest crochet designs, inspired by my Ukrainian heritage – Ukrainian Vinok (a traditional flower crown, widely used in our modern society as a cultural symbol on festive occasions, holidays, and even daily life).

My husband Maurice and I have made a great team over the years, and we really enjoy working together. Ten years ago, we incorporated our business (IraRott Inc.), and we registered trademarks in Canada and USA. Maurice takes care of bookkeeping, paying bills, taxes and payroll, manages and organizes events, analyzes statistics and does advertising. I create new designs, answer emails, draw diagrams, edit pictures, write patterns and books, record my work in progress and post on social media, manage my online shops and write blog posts. We both participate in craft shows occasionally to sell my handmade samples and promote my books. Our senior dog Buddy is the heart and soul of the family, he never leaves our side and likes to stay in Maurice’s office most of the day.

My brother Roma Rott lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2015 he built our current website from scratch using Ruby code (IraRott.com) and is still helping us with the website maintenances and SSL certificates. He is very talented and a real hard worker. The windows in his home-office are currently taped for safety.

Thank you for your time reading my post. If you wish to help Ukraine, please do! Every effort, every word, every action, every dollar matters. Check out this article on LoveCrafts about supporting Ukraine and practical ways you can help. I donated one of my patterns (inspired by my brother) to help Ukraine through LoveCrafts – Roma The Happy Penguin. When you buy this pattern on LoveCrafts, 100% of sales go towards the charity Choose Love’s Ukraine Crisis Fundraiser.

Today there was a missile attack on a civilian humanitarian convoy in my hometown, claiming many lives. You can help to supply emergency response vehicles that can reach the frontline and transport injured civilians and military personnel in Ukraine here – Somerset Aid For Ukraine.

Thank you for all your support!!