Episode 12: Challenging Craft Shows

Hey yall! It’s been a challenging couple of weeks. So sorry about my absence last week. 

I had two craft shows on back to back Saturdays. The first was on the 19th in Fletcher, and Amanda and I shared a booth at Junk in the Trunk at The Garage.

Mine and Amanda’s “trunk”

Scrunchies for DAYS! (Made by Amanda)

I even sold a bunny!

I did alright, but most of my sales came in after the show ended. I had a custom doll ordered, yay! A sweet girl ordered one for herself, and I had a fantastic time making it. She has this gorgeous wild blonde hair, and I wanted to (and hopefully did) capture it. She also requested holes in the jeans. So instead of having the jeans as part of the body, I made white shoes and flesh colored legs, and I crocheted in the back loop when I changed to the shirt color. Then I crocheted the jeans from the top down, adding a couple of stitches to the top so that it would fit over the stuffed body. I split the piece in half for the legs, and made chain stitches to pick up on the next round to make the holes. And last I connected the jeans to the body through the front loop at the color change on the body.

Custom order! She turned out so cute, and I think I captured this sweet girl’s gorgeous hair

The show itself was nice, but pretty windy. Amanda and I both went home with a little more money in our pockets and sunburns. I think Amanda did better than I did, and I’m so proud of her! She sold a couple of her amazing embroideries, and her Beard Bae went to a really good home. We also sold our coordinating spring gnome pieces! Amanda had shown me a gnome embroidery that she had the outline for, but hadn’t started making yet. I suggested that we coordinate and make them a sort of set. I made a cute gnome with coral, light purple, a bright green, and a golden yellow. I sent a photo to Amanda, and she followed up with the gnome embroidery using the same colors. She even replicated the striped pattern from the hat from my gnome! She did a phenomenal job! Those were sold to a friend of mine for a present for her grandmother’s birthday!

The next show was TOUGH. It was in Waynesville, and it was very chilly. There were two buildings full of vendors, and about 20 more in the adjacent arena. The arena was covered, but had open sides. And it had a packed dirt floor. No heat at all. That was only a couple of the issues with this show. And to be clear, this is just my experiences. There were several vendors there that had amazing sales and were repeat vendors. BUT. But. There were several things that I would have done differently if I were an organizer. So, there were no signs showing which areas had vendors, including the arena. I went inside to shop and get warm, and overheard several people say that they didn’t know there were more vendors outside, but that it was too cold to shop outside. I definitely don’t blame the organizers for the weather, and I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining about that. I absolutely know that they don’t control the weather. However. It would have been fantastic to know that the vendors in the arena were on a packed dirt ground, which was suuuuuper fantastic when we had a few dust storms blow through and get dirt on all the products. I mean, you know what happens when you assume, right? So, for reference, the arena at the WNC Ag Center also has a dirt floor, but when SAFF comes around, they spread the thin green grass carpet stuff on it. I had assumed that either it was going to be concrete or they would have the green carpet on. And I was wrong. Like, we had to shake out everything we brought. Oh, side note, Amanda was sweet enough to come with me all the way to Waynesville, in the cold, to a show that I made $9 at. We both did some shopping, and that was pretty nice. There were some really good vendors there, and the organizers did a great job of getting a wide variety of vendors. It was definitely a… southern modern farmhouse decor wonderland. Which is super cute, but not everyone’s cup of tea. Many of the vendors in the arena began packing up between 1 and 2, even though the show went until 3. And one more thing that really did grind my gears was that not one of the organizers came around to check on vendors in the arena. In fact, I didn’t even see any organizers at all. That didn’t make me feel very good. And to be fair, I talked to several vendors that have been a part of this show for several years, and they have all been very happy with the show as a whole. So obviously mine was not the typical experience. But I’m not sure if I’ll do this show again if I’m outside.

Amanda and I are planning an episode where we talk more about attending shows as a vendor, staging your products, show SOP and etiquette, and probably a lot more about craft markets. I can also offer a little insight as an organizer. 

So, with these two shows back to back, and being stressed over making sure that I had enough product, and poor sales, I am having a pretty tough time mentally. There are a lot of questions like, should I be doing this? CAN I do it? What can I be doing differently? If these shows aren’t my target audience, then how many more can I lose money at before I find the right shows? If my items aren’t selling, then they must be subpar. No one wants to buy the things I sell. And on and on. I’m trying to keep my head up, and remind myself that I have sold 2 custom dolls, 2 bunnies, and sold some old stock. There are people who want the items that I make. But it can be so disheartening when things aren’t taking off the way I envision them. I’ve experienced a lot of imposter syndrome, and I have a hard time bringing myself out of that. My friend Rebecca is a certified life coach, and I’ve seen her several times. She has been incredible to help me navigate these feelings, and I highly recommend her as a coach! Visit her website, Marigold In May, to learn more about her services.

I have some pretty clear goals, but now I’m thinking that I need to flesh them out even more. I want to apply to The Garage, but I’m also nervous that I won’t be able to afford a spot. I talked to the lady that brings vendors in, and she may be looking for vendors that have small amounts of stock, that don’t want a full booth. Or maybe even having just a really small section that I can bring stuff in as I make it. I also want to have printed copies of my patterns available. I have several ideas and sketches, but I want to make sure that it’s as polished and complete as possible. I also want to apply to Show & Tell. They have a lot of shows in Asheville, and I think that would be a better market for me. A longer term goal is to move to my own website. Etsy is raising rates again, and there are a lot of small sellers that are getting pushed out. 

You know, I started writing this episode, and I was going to talk about creativity, but it came out completely different. I really hope that me talking about non-positive experiences is helpful. I don’t want to discourage anyone from being a vendor at any craft shows, and please know that there have been many successful ones in the past. And that putting my items out into the world can take a toll on my mental health. It can be tough to feel like I’m not good enough, or that I don’t have what it takes to succeed, or that I’m not competent enough to manage my time and productivity well enough. 

At the end of the day, I do love what I do. I would manipulate fiber with my hands whether it was only for myself, and never made any money doing it. I make and create because I was called and have the talent to do so. I’m just hoping that I have enough to make this into my job as well as my passion.

And with that my friends, I hope you continue to make and create things that inspire and ignite you. Please join me on Instagram at @knitsewcraftpodcast, or you can email me privately at knittynerdy@gmail.com.

Episode 11: The Plannerverse

I can still remember the first “planner” in quotations that I ever had. You may not consider it a planner, but it’s the first place that I started writing things down and keeping track of information. I BEGGED my mom for a teacher grade book. I was an only child until I was 8, and my sister is so much younger than me that we didn’t play together until much later. So I would gather my dolls and my imaginary friends. I would be the teacher, writing down everyone’s name, and give the people I didn’t like in real life bad grades. The kids I did like, or the boys I thought were cute, always got good grades, lol. 

Random Google search, but it’s my birthday!

In middle and high school, the school gave us small spiral bound planners to use for our classes. I looooooved writing things down, whether they actually got done or not. When the week was over, there was so much pleasure in folding down the page, and seeing the neat V it made in the planner. 

Then I lost track of everything for awhile. Relationships were rough and young, my attention wasn’t on college, and my mental health was precarious. Several years later, maybe in my early 20’s, I found a stable job and an alright guy. I bought a spiral bound Mary Enghelbreit planner, as well as a page-a-day calendar, and it brought me back to organized. Well, at the very least, it helped me feel better. My home was cleaner, I was on time to work, and my boyfriend and I had a better relationship because my mental health was mending. Somehow, I lost this planner, and I felt LOST.

Not the one I had, but very similar!

I went to Walmart to replace it, and found one of those small 6 ring binders. It had a clear shell, and it wasn’t rigid, it was a floppier shell. And I stole it. It was exhilarating and scary and ridiculous. I told my boyfriend about it, and he was mortified! I felt so bad about it, that I went back to the store, picked up one just like it, took it to checkout and paid for it, then pretended that I needed something else in the store, and put it back on the shelf. I felt so much better after that! And I’ve only stolen one thing on purpose since then (and it was a decade ago, so don’t come for me!) I carried that planner for that year. I can’t remember the next few.

Jobs came and went, boyfriends came and went. I grew up a bit. I had gotten a job at a big box electronics store, and I re-met my husband. Things were going pretty dang good. I lost my interest in planners for awhile, but I bought a page-a-day calendar each year. I would write down the things I needed to do on the back of the previous day, which I kept in a small basket on the counter. That was how I planned back then. 

Then I found FiloFax. One of the ladies at work had a medium sized, soft brown leather FiloFax planner, with 2 page week spread. It. Was. Gorgeous. I started researching FiloFax, finding just the right color, just the right size. I spent weeks agonizing over what I needed the week to look like. I finally bought a Raspberry faux-crocodile planner in the personal size, with a week on 2 pages. It was perfection… for a while. I didn’t like how small the days were, and I found out that I don’t care for the horizontal layout. But, I kept using it, because I had an investment in it.

Finsbury Personal in Raspberry

About a year later, so this is maybe 7 years ago, I found out about Bullet Journaling. Ya’ll. This is exactly what I was looking for. Simple, easy, no fuss. You just write down what you needed to, and you were done. I wanted to keep using my FiloFax, so I bought a ream of cardstock and went to a copy shop to get it cut to fit. Side note: I STILL have pages for this thing left over!! I started out by dividing the two pages into days, in a vertical layout. I had 6 days on a page, and on the opposite side I had things like “weekly chores” or To-Dos, like those things that don’t necessarily have a due date. This worked really well for a long time. Then I went to a gridded notebook, more like the ones for actual bullet journaling. I went through many iterations of set ups, but what worked for me at that time was to work one day at a time. And I was totally into rainbow, so I had bought a pack of Flair pens, and I would use them in rainbow order. If I had something to do later on in the week, I would just keep writing it down until the day came. It was a little bit tougher for long term things, though. So I bought another notebook, and set it up in the “Bullet Journal by Ryder Carroll” way. Key in the front, monthly view, weekly view. And at the end of each month, I used pages for journaling. It was really the best thing that I had found for keeping a planner and a journal, and it was all in one place. 

Grab the book HERE for lots of good information!

I started working part time at JoAnn a little bit after this, and was exposed to the universe that is Happy Planner. I liked the vertical layout, I loved the rings, I loved that I could take papers out and put them back in in whatever way I needed to. Getting that discount was pretty amazing, too! I spent a WHOLE YEAR dedicated to one planner, and that is such an accomplishment for me! I loved having the month and week printed out for me, but I had plenty of space to write out all the things that needed to be done. I again went to the printer shop and had paper cut just for the planner so I could add extra pages. I bought SO MANY sticker books, like it’s ridiculous. But you know what? I have so much fun with it. It’s like scrapbooking without all the paper and glue. I can be creative, I can be constrained to a theme, or I can have a blank page to fill up with words. It’s amazing! 

Not my photo, but I had this cover. LOVED the metal rings!

Each January, Moira, Amanda, and I get together for a planner brunch. We bring our planners for the year, all our sticker books and additional stickers, and we have a fantastic time talking and planning and decorating and eating (and sometimes drinking). We share what we have. We share our goals for the year. It is a time to release expectations of last year, and look hopefully towards the new.

Clever Fox Planner… Big help for goal setting!

I didn’t buy a Happy Planner for this year, but I’m still using my sticker books to decorate my planner. I bought a Clever Fox Planner for 2022, because it was recommended for goal planning. I have some pretty big goals in business for this year, and I wanted something a little more goal focused. I’ve enjoyed it so far, but I look enviously at my friends’ Happy Planners and tell myself that I can get back to it next year. In the meantime, we will be crushing our dreams, or living a simple life with a small daily checklist. However, we do it, I enjoy the time and productivity and creativity of my planner. Short review: Excellent!! Great paper thickness, lots of room to write, lots of different ways to plan. Lots of dot grid at the back of the planner for ideas and journaling. I really like having the goals in front, then the months (with pages for reflection), then a weekly breakdown. Cons: my Happy Planner stickers don’t fit perfectly, but I still use them! Also, not a fan of the horizontal days… purely personal preference!

So, tell me, do you think crafting includes planners? What kind of planner are you, and what type works best for you? Connect with me on Instagram at @knitsewcraftpodcast. You can also email my privately at knittynerdy@gmail.com. 

Episode 8: Amigurumi Style

Ya’ll, the sun is shining, the daffodils are out, and I’m SO READY for spring! I’m not a person meant for the cold, at all, so I’m very excited to see the early signs of spring. We have 4 distinct seasons where we live, and I enjoy parts of all of them. I love the first time it smells cold, the quiet hours of the first night of snow, and watching it fall from my comfy chair inside. But after that, I’m pretty much all done with winter! I get so inspired when the sun starts shining and warming up my bones. I have been having so many *ideas* recently, and I’m having a hard time balancing working on my ideas and working on items that I need to make for the shows coming up this month. Darla and I are heading to an AirBnb this weekend to work on our respective projects, without interruption. I’ve been working my way through one of the Domestika courses, called Amigurumi: Design Clothing, Hair, and Accessories, taught by Leire Villar, aka Ameriskia. My plan right now is to make a base doll pattern, and draw a template from it to use to design hair and clothes, and to keep a record of the colors I used. In the Domestika course, she suggests a website for color palettes, and it’s been so inspirational to look through the photos and see what colors have been put together to make a certain theme or feeling or vibe (whatever you would like to call it!).

All this to say: I have really enjoyed learning about and making amigurumi items. I’ve known how to crochet for over 30 years, but I never learned how to read a pattern until 2020! I always just freeformed everything, and tried to write down what I did. I was never really able to recreate those patterns though, so I pretty much just gave up on writing them down. 

During lockdown in 2020, I was on Pinterest and Instagram a lot, and kept seeing these cute items pop up, and I loved the look of them. I had heard of amigurumi before, but hadn’t paid much attention to it, mainly because I knew I would have to follow a pattern to get my item to look like someone else’s.

I went over to Darla’s house one day once the restrictions had eased, and she was making a piece from a book. I asked her if she would teach me to make it, and she graciously said yes. We spent most of the day crocheting, and I kept asking questions until I finally got a handle on the instructions. After I went home with a wonky unicorn head, I leaped into YouTube tutorials. Those were really helpful, and I was able to improve. I made this unicorn, and ya’ll, when I say it is wonky… I can’t even describe the level of wonky!! It’s enlarged head is comically larger than it’s body, its legs are all crooked, and it has random pieces of yarn sticking out for its mane. But for some reason, Raleigh really loves it, lol.

I found out that Amanda also make amigurumi items, and she’s helped me with patterns as well.

So it begs the question, WHAT IS AMIGURUMI??

My modern met dot com reads quote “The word is a portmanteau of two Japanese terms: ami, which means crocheted or knitted; and nuigurumi, a stuffed doll. It often takes the form of an animal or fantastical creature with an aesthetic that’s best described as kawaii or cute.” End quote.

What is Amigurumi? Learn About the Cute Craft and Amigurumi Patterns (mymodernmet.com)

On the amigurumi dot today website, it says quote, “crocheting and knitting techniques didn’t originally exist on the Japanese islands, and several theories circulate about how they arrived. Some speculate that they appeared as early as the dynasty periods, when sporadic interaction with the Chinese brought it to light, while others believe the specific techniques came late on in the 1600’s to 1800’s with Dutch traders.” end quote. The first amigurumi dolls came into the mainstream Japanese craft culture in the 1970’s, along with the kawaii and chibi trends. Amigurumi migrated and became popular in the US in the early 2000’s, and has continued to grow in popularity since then. 

What Is Amigurumi? Definition, History and Technique – Amigurumi Today

So now that we mostly know where it came from, how do you do it? Basically, it’s a crochet doll or animal (but also food and other cute things), made of tightly crocheted stitches. Storylandami dot com describes amigurumi like this, quote, “The original Japanese style of amigurumi is an animal with a large, oversized head and a small body. The arms and legs are also usually small and short and the face is distinctive because the eyes are far apart with the mouth/muzzle directly between the eyes.” end quote.

What is Amigurumi? – Storyland Amis

I was listening to the first Domestika course, and he said that they don’t usually have mouths, although I can’t find another source for that information. To me, not having a mouth and having very basic facial embellishments makes the dolls more of a Waldorf toy, and I really love that idea. If you’re not familiar with Waldorf toys, Bella Luna toys dot com has a great article about what they are and their characteristics. Basically, they have minimal facial features so that kids playing with them can infuse their own meaning and words and emotions into the doll during play. 

What Are Waldorf Toys? – Bella Luna Toys

Patterns are really easy to find. You can type it in a search on Ravelry, on Google, on Etsy, or pretty much any search engine. I prefer to head to Ravelry first, then to Etsy. You’ll need some yarn, a smaller hook than recommended (and I’ll say more to that in just a minute), and stuffing. That’s the bare bones basics that you need. Other good things to have, are stitch markers, scissors, a needle for sewing on any pieces, and safety eyes. I prefer to use safety eyes because I’m not that great at embroidery, and I like the aesthetic a little bit more than embroidered faces. Back to the hook size. If you look at the label of the yarn you are going to use, you’ll see a recommended hook and needle size. You will want to go down 2-4 hook sizes normally, but it also depends on your tension. I use a US C or a 2.75 mm hook. I’ve considered dropping down one more size so that I can have a lighter tension, but I haven’t bought a new hook yet to try it out.

Yarn is a big thing that you need to experiment with. I prefer to use cotton, but many others use that fluffy thick yarn, or acrylic, or anything between organic and natural to fully synthetic. You can choose yarn that is lace weight, or super bulky. I’ve found that I can make a pattern in any yarn, but that the dimensions can vary dramatically depending on the yarn that I’ve used. I’ve been using Hobby Lobby I love this cotton, but I’m trying to find an alternative to it. I’ve ordered some 8/8 Rainbow cotton from Hobbii. It’s coming from Denmark, and it seems to be coming pretty quickly! I’ve also looked into Drops yarn, but I haven’t ordered anything yet. That one also has to be imported, and I haven’t checked out shipping prices or times yet. If you have experience with either one of these, please let me know! 

Rainbow Cotton 8/8 | Yarn | Hobbii – Hobbii.com

DROPS Safran – Egyptian combed cotton in every colour! (garnstudio.com)

If you’re wanting to get started in crocheting amigurumi, you’ll need to know a few stitches and techniques. First thing is a magic ring. Some patterns call for a chain two, but I prefer a magic ring. It gives a tighter circle and beginning to your project, and is used to start many pieces of the project. For example, I use magic ring for the arms, legs, and head for my bunny project. If it’s not something that you’ve tried before, I’ll link a youtube video so you can see it in action and practice, practice, practice! It really has been worth the time to learn it! The chain 2 ends up leaving a hole in the item, and with the magic ring you can pull the starting ring pretty tight to close any hole. Next up is the single crochet. Many many patterns use the single crochet stitch to build an amigurumi, so it’s essential that you know how to do it. Basically, you insert the hook, yarn over and pull through, then yarn over and pull through both loops on the hook. You’ll need to know about increasing and decreasing as well. For an increase, you just crochet two stitches into the same stitch. Decreasing is a little bit more involved, in my opinion. I like to do an invisible decrease. Basically, you insert the hook through the front loop of the stitch, then again through the front loop of the next stitch. Then you yarn over, and pull the hook through both front loops. Then you yarn over and pull through the two loops on your hook. I will warn you that it can be hard to tell where you decreased, and to find the next stitch to crochet into. It can take some time to get used to seeing the stitches, but I know you’ll get it! Some patterns call for you to end with 6 stitches, then cut the yarn with a long tail, and use a needle to thread through all the stitches to close it up, and this gives a circle that looks like a magic ring that you started with. Some patterns may call for a half double crochet, or a double crochet. Those are both good skills to have, but not usually necessary for many patterns. 

As far as stuffing goes, I’m using the premium poly fil. I’m looking into better sources, but the prices for cotton filling is pretty dang expensive. I’ve even considered taking apart a piece of cotton batting to see if that would be a better alternative. I would like to stay within the natural fiber realm, but still trying to balance that with a price that can be affordable to as many people as possible. If you have any suggestions on a better option for stuffing, please email me at knitty nerdy at gmail dot com. 

So, how can you find inspiration for patterns? There’s definitely a mood or a vibe or a theme to the types of amigurumi patterns that I gravitate towards. Inspiration is everywhere, but I especially love Pinterest and Instagram. I’ll add some links to the gram for people that I follow!

https://instagram.com/nina.hookcreations?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://instagram.com/principe_del_crochet?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Don’t forget to head over to the blog for photos, links, and any additional information at knit sew craft dot wordpress dot com. If you’re looking toward writing your own pattern, I will keep putting links to information I’ve found to be helpful. Honestly, just seeing well written patterns have given me a jumping off point, in terms of how the pattern is set up, and how pictures are laid out. It’s been both fun and frustrating trying to get a pattern ready for publishing, and honestly I’m figuring out a lot as I go. I also have done this pattern over and over and over, following my own instructions to make sure that they’re correct. Pattern testers are also helpful, and another pair of eyes and hands can ensure that the pattern is as complete as possible.

So, that’s a quick overview of amigurumi. I hope it’s something that you’ll try, and I can’t wait to see what you make! You can check out what I’m working on over on instagram at knit sew craft podcast. 

What I’m working on: I finally finished Charlotte’s Sockhead Slouch Hat! Yay!! I powered through one night, and finished around midnight, which was way past my bedtime! She loved it, but only wore it a little bit at school today. It’s also been in the high 50’s and low 60’s, so she probably doesn’t really need it anyways. I’ll have pictures of the finished product on the blog and on instagram. I’m hoping I can get a picture of us girls with our hats on all at the same time!

I finished the crocodile, too! It turned out super duper cute, and he will be heading to his new home this week! I’ll also post pictures online. My next project is to make a base for the dolls that I want to sell. I want to make the base, then outline it on paper, and copy that so that I can use it for a template to design hair and clothing for each doll. I’m thinking that if I offer these as a custom order, I can use the template to show the customer to verify that it’s what they want. I haven’t had a problem with customs before, but it’s always good to have something that they can sign off on. I’d love to do some book and movie characters, too, so that’s something I would use the templates for. I have a notebook that I keep my podcast notes, printed crochet and knit patterns, and printed cross stitch patterns, and I’m thinking that I’ll keep these templates and design ideas for future use. Do you have a way to keep all your ideas and sketches together? I’d love to see! If you post a picture on Instagram, use the hashtag knit sew craft sketch. I’ll try to remember to post about mine, too!

I hope you’ve enjoyed your time with me today, and that you’ve been inspired to try something new! Until next week, keep knitting, keep sewing, keep crafting!

Episode 7: Quick Update

I’m sick, booooo!

I hope ya’ll have had a great week! If you haven’t listened to my interview with Amanda, head over to your favorite podcast app and let the fun begin! I had such a fun time with her, and I really hope to have her on the show as often as possible.

What I’ve been working on:

I left my Sockhead Slouch Hat at a friend’s house, so I wasn’t able to work on it at all this week. I’ve been working with Yarn Experiments in the Supernova colorway, with my Brick House Fiber Arts needles.

A custom order came through for a light grey bunny and a crocodile! I used the pattern from One and Two Company. Amanda let me borrow the book, Zoomigurimi 5, along with a pattern that I made in 2020 when I was first learning amigurumi. The difference between my technique and final product from the time that I first started learning reading patterns (specifically amigurumi patterns) is HUGE! I was really able to see how much I’ve grown as a crocheter from the first project to this one. I do really enjoy the Zoomigurumi books, and it’s something that I would recommend for you to try!

Custom light grey bunny

Custom order crocodile from One and Two Company

I’ve been reworking some of the instructions in my own designs, and it has been a wonderful learning experience. I’ve been working my way through a Domestika course, Amigurumi Design and Creation.

Take care of your hands this week!

Episode 13: Vacation Yarn!

Hello my lovelies! I hope you’ve had a wonderful beginning to Spring!

The girls and I went to the beach for our Spring break, and enjoyed it so much! We visited the Savannah Children’s Museum and the Georgia State Railroad Museum. We toured a few train cars, and actually got to ride a train! With the ticket to enter the museum, you could get a boarding pass for a ride. I learned that this area is the site of one of the bloodiest Revolutionary War battle!

Savannah Children’s Museum courtyard

Raleigh watering the plants at the museum garden

Passenger car

Georgia State Train Museum turny thing

I went to a couple LYSs while we were in Savannah. The first was Unwind Yarn and Gifts. I didn’t find anything that jumped out at me, but it’s a store that I always visit while I’m in town. The other I visited is The Frayed Knot, near River Street. I bought a pack of gradient yarn from Moss Fibers, with 5 skeins. Each mini skein is 3.5 oz, made of Superwash Merino and nylon blend. When I came home, I saw that the pack I bought in Savannah and the skein I bought in northern Georgia with Darla in March coordinate! They look so good together, don’t you think?!

While we were in town, I bought a shirt at Target that has caught my eye a couple times. It has a V-neck, a rounded collar, and what I call saddle shoulders (although I’m working on researching the “real” name of the shoulder), and gathers in the front and back. It has 3/4 sleeves with elastic at the end. The shirt is a light woven cotton in white, blue, green, and coral. I imagined this shirt a couple years ago, and here it was in person! I thought about cutting it apart to make a pattern out of this shirt, but as I was cruising Facebook the day after I bought it, I found a pattern company that has this SAME shirt! It’s the Nocturne Pajama pattern from Sew Liberated. The pattern goes up to a 61″ hip.

I also worked on a Hermione doll during the nights at the beach. I have her head, torso, and legs done, so the only things left to do is her hair and her skirt, and she will be all done! My goal this year is to be working on releasing patterns on Etsy or a standalone website, and I’m hoping to include the characters that I love the most. I’ve also thought about offering custom witches and wizards!

One of the things that I love doing the most at the beach is reading! I started and FINISHED a whole book while I was there! I’ve been working my way to the Dark Tower (again), and I just finished The Wastelands, the third book in the series. I found a blog that lists the books in and related to the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. There’s the Essentials, the Essentials Expanded, and one more list that includes almost all of SK’s books. He himself has talked about how integral and constant Roland has been in his writing. If you’re a fan, or are curious, please consider reading your way through this list.

I hope ya’ll have a wonderful week!

Episode 9: Into the woods

Hello my lovelies!

I hope ya’ll have had a wonderful week full of making and crafting! I spent the weekend in the woods with Darla in Murphy NC. It was so beautiful! We spent the weekend working on our respective projects, while enjoying the warm days, nice breezes, and cool nights. We had a fire each night, a delicious breakfast each morning, and treats all to ourselves each day.

I had a cozy loft all to myself! I sat on the couch most of the day Saturday, with the windows open and the breeze blowing through.

I was listening to the Creative Pep Talk podcast, and the host talked about leaning into the changes in my life. That got me to asking about how I can lean in. How can I incorporate these changes into my art? The girls are getting older, so my focus on craft for sale has changed. I used to make bibs and booties and burp cloths because I had babies. Now I’m making dolls and toys. That’s what my girls are playing with now. Another question that came up for me was “what is constant?” I think having kids has kept me a bit more in the kids range of items. But I also like that. I wonder if my interests will change as the girls get older. Will I move more towards the things that I love more? Will I lean into yarn dyeing? Sewing? Items for crafters? Hmmm. I also listened to episode 353 of the same podcast yesterday. One quote stood out to me: “Something at the core of creativity is the novelty of ‘I’m going to spend extra time doing something for the delight of it.’ Creativity, in a way, at its base nature, fells frivolous to humanity because you can’t eat it, it doesn’t give you shelter. And I think that because of that, sometimes the world we live in wants to rush everything and it makes it impossible to get your best creative work or enjoy it.” WHEW!! This statement struck me like lightning. I think sometimes I feel like other people don’t value my business because it’s a frivolity. It’s not a “real” job. That’s a story that I’ve told myself, and I need to figure out how to change that story. It’s hard right now because I’m not making money at something that I want to do to support myself and contribute to my household.

I was able to finish the template for the custom dolls and took that with me to sketch out the Daffodil doll. I doodled in the clothing, wrote in the descriptions, and attached samples of the yarn I used on the doll to a paperclip to slide onto the side of the paper. I plan on using the template for customers to imagine what their dolls will look like, and for sketching out ideas for dolls to sell as a finished product.

We went to an LYS in Blairsville Georgia, called Knitter’s Knitch. I bought a beautiful mug by Pawley Studios, and a skein of sock yarn called “Brasstown Bald”, by Big Sky Yarn Co. The store was totally worth the trip to Georgia! And we saw a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell! Brasstown Bald is a real place. It’s the highest point in Georgia and part of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Gorgeous, right?!

Knitter’s Knitch in Blairsville Georgia

Wall of goodness!

New cup and vacation yarn!

Brasstown Bald, photo by Rick Andrews

On Sunday, I went for a walk in the woods, down to a small creek running through the property of the Airbnb. I found some vintage glass items! A not-Ball jar, a small brown glass jar, and a small rectangular glass jar. It looked like the contents of someone’s medicine cabinet had floated downstream from the last big rain.

Someone’s medicine cabinet

We left town shortly after that, and headed home. I felt so refreshed and energized and calm, all at the same time. I have been more patient with my girls, I have been more excited to plan and to work on my home and on my projects. It really was a wonderful weekend away. I was able to listen to inspiring podcasts and have deep conversations with Darla about our work and our lives. I was able to receive inspiration for new items and projects, and to feel the creativity working itself within me. I felt filled up. I’m hoping it’s something I can do a couple times a year, so that I can refill my creative reserves.

Me and Darla on our way to relax in the woods

I have finished the Daffodil doll! Next, I’ll start working on my custom doll, to use as an example at the shows for custom work.

Sweet Daffodil

I hope you’re able to take some time for yourself this week, and refill your creative reserves, or to follow your curiosity on the next project. I’d like to know: What would you do with a weekend by yourself in the middle of the woods? Until next week, keep knitting, keep sewing, keep crafting!

Episode 6: Interview with Amanda from Beauty Truly Blent

Today we talk with my good friend Amanda! She is a wonderful fiber artist, an amazing friend, and someone trying to navigate this world in the kindest way possible.

Amanda loves embroidery, and I have the privilege to have several of her pieces!

Amanda can be found on Instagram at Beauty Truly Blent (her fiber arts items) and That Smarts Podcast with her daughter!

Amanda mentions Wickedly Handmade. She has made two Wild Oleander hooded scarves, and longs for one of their handmade wooden crochet hooks. Please visit them online and show support for small crafty businesses!

Ruth in her hooded scarf!

Ruth’s Scarf… She picked out the yarn!

Amanda’s earth toned scrappy hooded scarf

I received a gift certificate for a class through Domestika. I redeemed it for an amigurumi course on making and inspiration for amigurumi, and bought a course for hair and clothes to compliment it. I had a flash of inspiration while listening to Bedtime History, about J.R.R. Tolkien. The author took a lot of situations in his life and incorporated them into his books in different ways. I realized that I could continue making amigurumi and patterns by using my everyday life. So, not just creating a bunny pattern, but having the bunny pattern as a base for ballerinas, or rainy day play, or summertime. I have all these ideas swirling around, just waiting for the chance to shine!

What is the difference (or is there a difference) between a maker and a creator? Amanda and I talk about the difference, and how we personally find the balance and the difference between the two. Amanda: “The maker is making the person out of the clay and there they are; and the creating is breathing life into it.” Brooke: “Creator is the content; maker is the item.” Do you think there is a difference? What is the difference to YOU between maker and creator?

Amanda talks about how helpful KC Davis has been in her life and home. You can find more information HERE. Her book is also available on Amazon HERE, called How to Keep House While Drowning. We all need a little extra care, and I’m for sure going to be checking out this book to learn more about how I can create a better working home life for myself and my family.

How to Keep House Without Drowning

I recommend the podcast A Slob Comes Clean with Dana K White. Her approach to decluttering has been lifechanging for me! I have read and listened to all of her books several times, and I have been able to declutter and see a huge impact in my home because of her decluttering method. Dana K White has a podcast, a blog, a YouTube channel, as well as a course that “shares the truth about cleaning and organizing strategies that actually work in real life.” Take Back Your House is a full online course with Dawn Madsen (The Minimal Mom) and Cassandra Aarssen (Clutterbug). This course has been well worth the money!

Take some time for yourself this week. Fill your bucket, feel good about the rest you take, and enjoy your crafting this week!

As we used to say at the end of homeschool: Thank you for being here, thank you for being present, and thank you for being YOU!

Episode 5: WNC Yarn Crawl and SAFF

Welcome welcome!

Today we will be talking about the awesome fiber events in my area!

WNC Yarn Crawl

The WNC Yarn Crawl has traditionally been over Mother’s Day weekend in May. This year, they are doing it over most of the first week of May, from Tuesday the 3rd until Saturday the 7th. I’m guessing they changed the dates to try and stagger people coming in in big clumps over the weekend? This is from their Facebook page: “The WNC yarn crawl is an opportunity to explore the WNC area’s many unique local yarn stores and fiber locations. You create your own self-guided tour during the days of the yarn crawl. Visit as many locations as you like; all participating stores have daily prize giveaways as well as many great deals and specials for the weekend.”

I’ve been able to do this for many years. My very first one was a year before my first daughter was born, so 10 years ago? I won the grand prize!! They had a piece of paper with all the businesses printed on it, like a bingo sheet. You got a stamp for each place that you went to, and if you got all the stamps, you could turn it in to win the grand prize. And I won! It was this gigantic basket full of yarn and supplies, with something from each of the locations. Since then, I’ve taken 2 infants, several friends, and won something each year. I always have such a fun time, I love talking about fiber so much! One of my favorite things is planning the trip. Because the shops are so spread out, and in all directions radiating out from Asheville, it takes some mapping to plan well. We usually plan for a place to eat, plus time to shop at each stop. I will post the link to the event, plus links to my favorite local yarn stores!

Do you have a local yarn store that you like to shop at? Tag them in the comments on instagram and give them some much deserved recognition! They have really had to pivot and change how they do business since 2020!

Here are a few of my favorites in my area:

Purl’s Yarn Emporium

Black Mountain Yarn Shop

Friends & Fiberworks

Echo View Fiber Mill

Sun Dragon Art and Fiber

SAFF in October!

My other favorite time of the year to yarn shop is during SAFF. That’s the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, held at the WNC Agricultural Center fairgrounds. They will be holding the fair this year from October 21-23.They charge $5 per person per day, or you can get a 3 day pass for $10. This is the description from their website: “See spinning, knitting, weaving, felting, and much more! Join a workshop class to improve your skills or just enjoy browsing and shopping the beautiful and unique apparel and wearables.” Ya’ll. This show is GIGANTIC. They usually have an entire arena full of vendors, plus several outside. They have fleece competitions, they have all kinds of categories to submit to, and they have Best of Show competitions. This is where I learned how to spin, and the teacher said I was a natural! They have classes on a ton of fiber subjects (I usually don’t take any classes, but there are so many to choose from). They have demonstrations… they have it all! It’s supposed to be Southeastern companies, but they have expanded to include more vendors from beyond the SE US. Last year was a little tricky though. At first, they were not going to require masks, but so many people and a few businesses said they would not be attending that they reversed their decision and required masks. Honestly, about half the people were wearing them, but it made us and vendors feel safer with a mask policy in place.

These are the two main times of the year that I buy yarn. Because I tend to love indy yarn more than big box yarn, I save up! I also have favorites that I visit year after year. A couple new ones from 2021 that I’m really hoping to see again this year are Black Cat Fibres and Brick House Fiber Arts. There is usually a good mix of people there, both vendors and shoppers, but I tend to be more on the “wild” side. As in, our group is young-ish, tattooed, wildly dyed hair, with more of a gothy-witchy vibe. We always find cool people to talk to, but there is a big difference between us and many other shoppers and vendors. You know, the stereotypical older lady, knitting sweater vests in single colors. Not that one is better than the other, just that there is such a large swing in the type of people that are at these events. And love of fiber and fiber arts brings us all together, and allows us a venue to compliment each others’ work in ways that we might not normally compliment outside of a fiber setting. So, really really looking forward to this one!

Please check out some of my favorite vendors that I look forward to at SAFF below. I’ve also added links to a few new vendors that I’m excited to see this year!

Whimzee Stitches

Black Cat Fibers

Brick House Fiber Arts

Bumblebee Acres

Canon Hand Dyes

Rocks and String Creations

Apothefaery

Being a small (or even medium sized) business during the last couple of years has been tough! It’s extra important that we spend our money wisely, and with those that it would impact the most. Please consider purchasing yarn or books or notions from your local yarn store, or ordering them from online independent dyers and authors and makers. We all love an appreciate the support, more than you know!

What I’m working on: bunnies, bunnies, bunnies. Im finally to the last stage, the ears. I’m hoping to get them done this week, and have the written pattern finalized by the beginning of next week. I have one tester so far, but if you’d also like to test the pattern, please get in touch with me through Instagram, or you can email me at knittynerdy@gmail.com. The pattern is free to testers, but it will eventually be a paid pattern. I’m looking forward to adding clothing and accessory options, but that will be a bit further in the future.

I haven’t made much progress in Charlotte’s Sockhead Slouch Hat, mostly because my time this week has been dedicated to my youngest’s birthday party planning! She turned 5 on the 7th, and she wants an Encanto themed party, which I’m planning for this weekend. I have become too attached to the Pressure song that Louisa sings, because I identify soooo much with the crushing pressures of motherhood and adulthood. My favorite line in the whole song is, “Give it to your sister and never wonder, if the same pressure would’ve pulled you under, who am I if I don’t have what it takes?” Ugh. That hits waaaaay close to my heart. 

So my dear ones, make sure that you take a few minutes each day to take care of your SELF, so that you don’t crack under the pressure of all the roles that you’re in.

Thanks for being with me today! As we used to close homeschool with, thanks for being here, thanks for being present, thank you for being you! And as always, keep knitting, keep sewing, keep crafting. Bye!

Episode 2: Crafting Goals for 2022

My goals for 2020 didn’t go as planned… for obvious reasons! I had planned on a 3 2 1 approach. I was planning on 3 small projects, like socks, hats, and fingerless mitts; 2 medium projects like shawls, and 1 large project like a sweater. NONE of those things got done! I just didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with what yarn to choose, fishing out the right needles, and choosing a projects from the dozens that I have on Ravelry.

Instead, my Covid craft was learning crochet amigurumi! I’ve known how to crochet for a few decades, but never learned how to read a pattern. With the help of my friend Darla, and a lot of YouTube videos, I finally figured it out. I made (and sold) several unicorns during lockdown. I’ve expanded my pattern collection, and have started working on my own written pattern.

Gingerbread Girl, available on Etsy (SunnyDayFiberArts)

Last year, my goals were to go to SAFF and get a fiber-related tattoo. One of those things happened! Two of my fiber buddies and I donned our masks and headed to fiber heaven for a few hours. It was incredibly overwhelming to be around so many people all at once, especially after getting too comfortable with staying at home and away from people for almost 2 years. We didn’t quite get tattoos, but an effort was made!

I’m going to shoot for the middle this year. In no particular order, here are my goals for this year (subject to change, or to be combined):

*Stash dive! I have a lot of yarn and fabric left, even after I cleared out half (or more) of my stash when we moved in early 2021. I also have a bunch of floss from my many years of cross stitching (of which I have two completed projects). I can definitely use anything in my stash to make amazing projects this year!

SAFF purchases from 2021. Gotta use these!!

*Fiber related tattoo. It’s like, a must.

*Make something Animal Crossing related. I can’t decide between an ami villager, or a cross stitch pattern. I’m playing with the idea of making my own cross stitch pattern; one trend I’ve seen that I love is the full coverage stitches in the hoop. That’s my weakness. I also really love the work of Otter Bee Stitching. I’m wondering if I can do this, or just buy from her?

https://www.otterbeestitching.com/shop/p/celeste

*Cross stitch something- definitely able to use this combined with the AC goal. I’ve also pinned a bunch of Harry Potter patterns on Pinterest that I would like to make for myself and for Christmas gifts. Here are the patterns I’ve pinned!

*Read more book about other makers. I’m so intrigued by how other makers incorporate their art time into the rest of their lives. I know that I can’t live well without making something, but I struggle to find the daily balance between home life and craft time. Do you have a favorite book about makers?

A must read!

*Maybe starting the Artist’s Way (again)? I started the morning writing in 2018 when my youngest went to preschool for the first time, and enjoyed it. I didn’t make it a priority, so it left my mornings pretty quickly.

Just 3 minutes each morning. I can do it!

*Sew a needle case! I use circular needles almost exclusively when I knit, and I have A LOT of them. I’m thinking that I want to sew a wall hanging, where the needles go through the case and hang down… I’m still thinking on it! My KnitPicks plastic case is getting to old and too small! I bought some Brick House Fiber Arts Average Joe circulars in size 3. I WANT MORE!! They are truly some of the best needles I’ve ever used! They have stainless steel tips and joins, with light aluminum needles. The cords are bendy and don’t retain memory. The cords swivel within the join, which I think is genius! They’re comfy to work with, and light enough to use for hours at a time.

*Work slowly and for my own pleasure. I admit it, I’m a totally selfish knitter! I want to make sure that when I have time to knit or crochet or craft for myself, I’m concentrating on the work and enjoying each part of the process.

Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure, Narwhal by Whimsical Wood Yarn Co.

What are your crafting goals for this year? How are they different from the past couple years? I can’t wait to hear from you! Listen to the podcast here! You can also comment on Instagram, @knitsewcraftpodcast, or you can email me privately at knittynerdy@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

KnitSewCraft Podcast Trailer

Hey ya’ll!

Just a quick note to say that the trailer of the KnitSewCraft podcast is now available! Each Thursday, you can listen to a new episode of me talking about my projects, purchases, and stash. I will occasionally have guests on the show, too! You can tune in through Spotify, Anchor, and Apple Podcasts (and we’re working on getting onto the Google Podcasts platform, too!). Subscribe and leave a positive review!

All of the photos and links to products will be posted to the blog. Daily updates will be on Instagram @knitsewcraftpodcast. I can’t wait to hear from you, and look forward to continuing the conversation!

Until then keep knitting, keep sewing, keep crafting!