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 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!

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. 

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!

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!

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! 

I love doing craft fairs.  It's so fun for an artist to actually be out and interacting with her future customers.  Being able to talk with them, and see which items they gravitate towards is so useful in my business.  I can see, and hear, first hand, their thoughts on different products.

A couple of years ago I had designed, and published for free, a pattern for a basic Freeze Ice Pop Holder.  It's simple, yet super useful.  My kids NEVER eat an ice pop with out one now.  It keeps their little hands from getting too cold.  I probably made 6 or so for my own kids, and we still have most of them.  The only reason we "lost" a few was because they accidentally get thrown away, or left outside. I wanted to make some new updated ones, so I decided to make some that fit their personalities and were their favorite things/animals.  First up, my son.  He's all boy through and through and he loves many things.  I decided to make him Dinos (which he told me later that I picked the wrong colors) and giraffes (one of his favorite animals).

I have seen pictures of these F-Bombs floating around for a little while now.  I've really wanted to make them, but without an actual reason, my other priorities took precedent.  Well, I finally had someone order some of them, because, well, they are AWESOME!  I was so excited to get started, but as usual, when searching for patterns, I couldn't find one that I loved.  So in true "The Crocheting Mom" fashion, I decided to make my own!

Now that I have craft fairs down to a science (almost), I want to start adding giveaways into the mix. People love free stuff.  Heck I love free stuff myself.  Even just the chance of winning something, will entice people to come check out your booth!  I've been doing some research to figure out some different ideas and I have come up with a list of 5 fun giveaway ideas that I think your potential customers will love!  Some require purchases, and some don't.  You'll have to decide before hand exactly how much your willing to give away, and what the criteria will be.

Are you looking for something to buy that crocheter in your life?  Are you at a loss as to what crocheters would really want?  Well, honestly, most of us would be happy with anything!  I wanted to make sure I provided a list that all crocheters would agree with.  Therefore, I polled my fellow crocheters in the Facebook groups that I am a part of.  With their help, I came up with a list of items that will sure to be a hit with the crocheter you are buying for.  These gifts will be perfect for Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day, anniversaries, or just a Wednesday!

Fall is slowly creeping up on us, (YAY) and that means all things PUMPKINS!!!  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin carving, pumpkin patches and pumpkin decor.  It's definitely my favorite time of year, so I wanted to offer you yet another free pattern.  This month, my free pattern is for crocheted pumpkins! These are fun for your kids to play with, to decorate your house with, or to sell at the fall craft fairs!  I've sold quite a few of these.  They are very quick to work up, and because of that they can be priced pretty low.  Kids eat them up at the fairs, and so do parents.  I mean, who wouldn't want a stuffed pumpkin???

I've done a post like this before, but I loved it so much so I had to do another.  There are so many creative people out there and sometimes, I'm just amazed at what they come up with.  I love to crochet, and I love all things that are crocheted.  Some people may not agree, and just think "What the heck?" Not, me though, I see these awesome creations, and I'm impressed that someone could come up with the idea.  Crocheting is becoming more and more popular, which is fantastic.  It's not just for the older people anymore, but young as well.  With it's increased popularity, though, you see a lot of the same things, over and over, just made a little bit different.  So when you see something that's new, it takes you by surprise, and it's amazing.  

I love writing crochet patterns for other people to enjoy.  I have been crocheting for many years now, and have had my "The Crocheting Mom" business for about 5 years.  About a year and a half ago, I really started getting into pattern writing and I absolutely love it.  It's a great passive income, and you can share your designs with people who need a pattern to create something, because we've all been there.  I know there are people out there wondering, though, "How can I start writing a pattern?"  So I have written this post to help you figure out the whole process.  It's really quite simple, and once you've done it a few times, it will come naturally.

Pinterest boards are great!  When I first started Pinterest , I just thought it was all about pinning things you found useful, and following people.  I mean, that is basically the main take away from it.  Pinterest is so much more than that though.  It can help you if your a blogger, a designer, a business person, or just the ever day person looking to get the most of it.  I've realized that becoming part of group boards are essential to getting everything you can out of Pinterest.  When you become part of a group board, you are exposed to so many more people and followers.  Your pins that come up are going to multiply, AND so will the amount of people who see yours.