The Crocheting Mom

Crocheting is a wonderful hobby.  It has come a long ways since my grandmother taught me the skill when I was 14.  It's not just about making afghans that adorn the back of the couch anymore.  There are so many reasons why I think that everyone should pick up the hobby.  I have 10 distinct reasons why I think YOU should crochet, if you don't already.  

Having a homemade business usually starts as a hobby.  Then you hear friends and family suggest you sell your items for money.  So you start up Facebook page and wait for the sales to roll in.  But they don't.  It takes a while to get your business to the point that it's successful.  There's only so much that family and friends will buy from you.  You'll need to get other customers.  One way to do that, is to start a blog.  Blogging is an excellent way to boost your business and here are the 5 main reasons why. 

I love my job.  Teaching is what I've always wanted to do. I feel so blessed I get to do what I love.  I don't usually have a lot of time during the holidays to make much, so these mini Christmas stockings are perfect for me.  I can make these in about 5-10 minutes each, so it's easy enough for me to make one for each of my students.  They get these and it makes them happy.  I think they really appreciate that I take the time that I take to make it for them.  I'm sure they like the candy I put in it too! 

You can't have a fully decorated house at Christmas without having those beautiful stockings hanging from the chimney.  I mean, it's in "The Night Before Christmas" after all.  "The stockings were hung by the chimney with care."  I really feel like crocheted stockings are more traditional.  They are the epitome of Christmas and can really spruce up your decor.  

I made a post a while ago about gift ideas for a crocheter.  You can find that  here .  For the original post, I polled many people in the crochet Facebook communities.  There were some great ideas that I, myself, would love to have.  This post, are ideas that I found that I think many crocheters would love to have as well.  Some are for fun, and some are to make crocheting just a bit easier.  I'm sure it's hard to buy for us crocheters.  We are VERY picky about which yarn we like, and everyone likes a different one!  We all have our favorite set of crochet hooks, and even our own favorite stitch.  I'm hoping that this post will make it easier for you to buy that special crocheting someone a gift that they'll love!

Anyone who knows me knows that Christmas is my favorite time of year!  It's just such a great time where everyone is in a good mood, even if they are a little stressed!  It's full of joy, happy music, generosity, and corny, but amazing Christmas movies.  What else could you want? 

When you make an item, usually you need to have that PERFECT border to finish it off.  When people in the crochet world hear the word border, many of them would think of just blankets.  But there are so many projects out there that could use these amazing borders, besides just blankets. 

You never know when you're going to need an applique.  When you going to need to add something to make you're project perfect.  Sometimes, when you are "finished", your project doesn't seem complete.  Maybe it seems a little boring.  Adding an applique adds so much more to your item.  It adds more personality and color.  It gives you're project that finished look.  Whether you need it for a blanket, a scarf, a hat, or the many other items you could need it for, having a list of great appliques is always handy.  And best yet, this list is of all FREE patterns!

I love when it starts to get colder, when the "ber" months are upon us (SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovermBER, and DecemBER). It means that the holiday seasons are upon us and the cooler crisp air is coming.  The cold weather is great for warm accessories, and even better for crocheted items! This is the perfect time to start looking for scarf patterns.  Scarves can be the perfect accessory to your outfit, and keep you warm at the same time! 

I recently wrote a post about the newborn outfits and patterns I used for my son 5 years ago when he was a baby.  You can see that post here .  When I had my first child, I hadn't crocheted in 10 years, since I was 15, and then when I had my second child I had only recently retaught myself how to crochet.  Therefore, I only made photo prop outfits for my son.  I wish I had done it for my daughters, because there are so many cute outfits out there. There will be no more babies in my future, but I thought it would be fun to collect a list of cute outfits.  Hey, if I have any friends or family who want one, I'll have place to start myself!

Nothing beats FREE right?  I agree.  I'm a lover of a good deal, and you can't get any better deal then FREE.  So I have put together a list of the best Free Halloween patterns out there.  

There are people out there who LOVE Halloween.  I'm more of a Christmas girl myself, but I can see the appeal for Halloween.  When else do you get a chance to pretend to be something else.  When do you get to dress up and be completely out of the norm, without anyone batting (see what I did there?) an eye.  One thing I myself love about the Halloween season is that it's the start of the Holiday season!!!  There's nothing better than the "ber" months (September, October, November, and December).  They are full of fantastic weather, great holidays, schools, football, and just a great sense of togetherness.  

Crochet memes are always fun.  So fun that I'm doing a second post about them.  You can see my first post here .  There's really no explaining that needs to be done here.  If you enjoy crocheting, most likely you enjoy the memes about crocheting.  So, just sit back, sip your coffee, and enjoy!

Did you know that when you type in "Advance Crochet" on Etsy, there is a whole section of patterns that come up?  I sure didn't!  Some times, once you've learned all the basic stitches, have learned to even create your own patterns, and are slightly bored with the same old stitches, you just really want to challenge yourself.  This was how I was feeling so I went searching on Etsy for some fun projects! 

I miss doing craft fairs.  I mean I REALLY miss them.  Luckily, I did many of them when I was just starting out, and when I was making my business into what it is today.  Craft fairs are hands down, one of the most important things to do when you are trying to make your crochet business succeed.  You can learn so much from something that seems so simple.  And if your not looking for these small clues, you may miss them.  So I have compiled the top 5 reasons that you should have a craft fair, and what you should be paying attention to when you do.                                                                                                     

I could talk about craft fairs all day long.  They are so much fun and I would recommend them to anyone who sells things that they make. When I was doing craft fairs, I would look forward to them for months.  I mean, how could you not when they are your most profitable days and you're out in your community talking to people.  Usually when your talking to the community on these days, they are telling you how talented you are and how amazing it is what you do.  How could you not like hearing that for a whole day?? 

Going to craft fairs are important for your business.  There are many things that you learn from being out and about with potential customers.  Because of how important they are, you really need to make sure that you go about it the right way.  There are lots of tips and tricks I've learned about setting up for the perfect day at a craft fair.  If you follow these, then I am sure you will be successful. 

My husband and I have been married 15 years on July 26th 2020.   15 years!!  To some, that may seem like a short time, but to us, we're proud of that number.  15 years later and we are blessed with 3 amazing children ages 12, 8 and 5.  I want to celebrate this milestone with everyone!  Therefore, I am offering 50% off all my patterns from July 21st-July31st.  The code for this is:  HAPPYANNIVERSARY Here is my Ravelry Store:   https://www.ravelry.com/designers/the-crocheting-mom

We all love crocheting, and we all love yarn.  We love looking at yarn, feeling yarn, daydreaming about yarn, and most importantly trying to figure out how to get MORE yarn!  Crocheting wouldn't be crocheting without yarn.  So it is absolutely essential.  Yarn can get pricey though. If you're not careful, you can accidentally spend your whole grocery budget on yarn.  OOPS!!  I have compiled the best ways to get your yarn cheaper.  Cheaper yarn, if you sell your crochet items, means a bigger profit.  So read this list carefully and try out some of these ideas! 

As my kids get older, I worry about them actually wanting to have crocheted items.  When it comes to school items, the ones that I usually see are ones that aren't really useful for kids these days.  I have seen some great ones though, and wanted to put them all together in a post.