NatCroMo 2015 and Tiny Square 1

Happy National Crochet Month (NatCroMo)!  It's my pleasure and honor to be a part of Crochetville's Designer Blog Tour in celebration of this wonderful time of year. 

First things first, I want to be sure you check out Halos for Hope and try to help in any way you can.  Many Creative Gifts encourages growth as a crocheter as part of our mission, and I can't think of a better way to do that than to make a crochet hat for this amazing organization.  Halos of Hope is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization committed to providing volunteer-crafted hats to cancer centers across the country. The founder of Halos of Hope, Pam Haschke, herself is a survivor of inflammatory breast cancer. As a result of her experiences, she has a passion for helping make sure cancer patients around the country have access to free handmade stylish hats to keep their heads warm while they undergo cancer treatment.  Please try to make at least one hat and/or make a financial donation directly to Halos on their website.  A 100% of donations received from the general public are used only for the costs of shipping hats across the country. All administrative and other costs are covered by private corporate donations.

Mail hats to:
Crochetville LLC
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest, AL 35749

Now for my contribution to NatCroMo 2015 -- some tiny squares :-).  The Granny Square and motifs trend seems to still be going strong, and awhile back, I came across the French crochet designer/artist Sophie Digard, who uses luxury yarns and intricate small motifs to create her masterpieces.  She's truly talented, but, upon seeing her prices, a little voice inside me said "Oh, Phyllis, you can do this too, they're just a bunch of little squares!"  Well, as proud as I am of these 1-inch squares that I've designed and hope to create something wonderful out of (I've got "only" about 100 of them so far), I now totally appreciate the price point Mlle. Digard is charging and her stamina in creating her famous scarves!  The time and effort to make enough squares for a scarf, shawl or other large project is a bit overwhelming, but it can be a wonderful take-along and long-term project ;-)

I've designed three squares, utilizing six coordinating colors in different combinations, for a total of nine motifs.  The yarn I chose, Rowan's Siena 4 Ply fingering weight 100% mercerized cotton, is truly wonderful to work with but seems to be getting hard to find (isn't that always the case when you find something you love?!).  Below is the pattern for the first square.  Please come back next week to find out about the two other squares.  I'll also be posting some possible projects using the squares, but in the mean time, I'd love to see what projects you come up with -- please "like" and post on our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/manycreativegifts, and we've set up a special "Tiny Squares Projects" board on Pinterest as well (with some sneak peeks too!).

Here's Square 1:

With a size D crochet hook and Rowan Siena 4 Ply 100% mercerized cotton yarn in color # 669,

Round 1:  Ch 2, 8 scs in second ch from hook, sl st to top of first sc
Round 2:  Ch 5, 1 dc in same st, [ch 1, 1 dc in next st, ch 1, (1 dc, ch 2, 1 dc) in next st] 3 times, ch 1, 1 dc in next st, ch 1, sl st to third ch of beg ch-5.
Round 3:  Ch 1, [3 scs in ch-2 sp, (1 sc in dc, 1 sc in ch-1 sp) twice, 1 sc in dc] 3 times, 3 scs in ch-2 sp, (1 sc in dc, 1 sc in ch-1 sp) twice, 1 sc in same st as ch 1, sl st to top of first sc, fasten off.

Have a wonderful March discovering or rediscovering your love of crochet!

10 Things We Love About Crochet

It's National Crochet Month (NatCroMo)!  And, as I'm preparing a special blog post for March 6th in anticipation of participating in Crochetville's Blog Tour again this year, I came across some interesting tidbits about crochet and a wonderful online application at Zanifesto to create a free infographic, so enjoy!

Sponsorship of the DC Rollergirls!

Many Creative Gifts is now a proud sponsor of the DC Rollergirls, the non-profit local league of women's amateur flat track roller derby!  Their eighth season began last Saturday at the DC Armory, and we attended the first bout between last year's champions Scare Force One and the Majority Whips.  Even though the Majority Whips did not prevail (routing for them since Carla Ganiel, aka "Surly Jackson" is a wonderful part of making my sponsorship happen; please check out her blog at whipmyassets.blogspot.com), they made an amazing comeback, ending up only 15 points down.

Even DC Mayor Vincent Gray was there to open the season.

Here I am with the "mascot" of Scare Force One (don't tell Carla!)

These women are amazing athletes from all walks of life, and they are passionate about roller derby and giving back to the community.  Read more about the DC Rollergirls on our website and find out about how you can support this wonderful organization!

Being an Etsy Seller

You know, MCG got its start on Etsy!  It was, and still remains, the place for crafters and artisans to sell their wares.  I especially loved the Alchemy function, where you could find requests for custom made items and bid on fulfilling them.  That's how I ended up making an axolotl for a woman in Canada who had lost her pet axolotl.  I never did find my notes for the pattern (a crocheter on Ravelry had asked me), but considering he (and he is a he, I researched the differences!) was made from a handspun yarn, etc., he really was meant to be unique and the only one :-)

But, I digress.  This post is about evolution and adaptability, both of which are positive spins on change, which sometimes can elicit negative feelings.  Sometimes, change really is good.  For example, I have not particularly kept up well with my Etsy shop.  Since I now concentrate on making patterns rather than the items themselves, I post the patterns on Ravelry, though I can't bring myself to close my Etsy shop because I've been on there since the beginning in 2005!

So, why not also post patterns on Etsy?  Well, putting aside the costs associated with doing that (which are a bit more than on Ravelry), the biggest concern for me was that a pattern purchaser on Etsy would not have access to the pattern immediately - she or he would have to wait until I was able to make it home to my computer to send the pattern electronically (though I have had a few purchasers request hard copies mailed to them).  Maybe it's just me projecting my desires onto others, but if I find a pattern I like, I want to be able to download it right away and get started (or at least read and play around with it).

Well, the other day, I was looking around on Etsy (it still remains my home page and a great source for pins to my Pinterest boards) and I saw a pattern that I clicked on and was given the choice to purchase it as a digital file!  Whoa, instant downloading available on Etsy!  A game changer?!  I won't know til I try, but obviously it's time to rethink my Etsy shop :-)

The bigger point here is you just have to be open to change and to be willing to rethink and adapt to changes, many of which turn out to be good.  And just because something didn't meet your needs in the past doesn't mean it's not worth reconsidering in the future.  Sometimes, it's worth giving second chances (or even thirds ;-).  Your business plan (or life plan) is not a static concept -- it has to bend, grow, change and adapt as the world around it does all those things.  It's easy to get caught up in whatever actions you're currently pursuing and just stick to those, but do take the time periodically to step back, do a little research into what new things are out there, and then think about what (positive) changes you want to make to adapt!

A Round Up of Crochet and Knitting Tutorials

I found myself aimlessly wandering around Facebook this morning but soon found that there was purpose to it after all!  Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in your current CAL or design project, but it's worth taking the time to go back to basics and learn or brush up on some basic and not so basic techniques.  I think it helps in getting the creative juices flowing again.

The first ones I came across are actually mainly knitting tutorials, but I find that knitting demonstrations make me start thinking about how to achieve a similar effect through crochet.

Juniper Moon Farm has a great round up of tutorials, including one on how to crochet an i-cord.

The Crochet Geek has an amazing collection of crochet tutorials, many of them geared towards beginners.

And this Pinterest board says it all:  Beginner Crochet Tutorials

Please visit my Many Creative Gifts YouTube channel for a growing collection of crochet tutorials too.

So, I hope these resources will help you try some new crochet stitches and techniques and brush up on some that you hadn't thought about in a while!

Starting a Crafts Business Part Time, Post 1

As a number of you already now, I started Many Creative Gifts in 2005 as a part time way to showcase my crochet items, mainly on Etsy.  I'd make a baby hat or some type of crocheted accessory and post it on the site and wait to see what would happen.  Etsy was in its infancy, and I'd get a decent amount of views and interactions with potential and actual customers.  I also made good use of the "alchemy" feature by searching for customers who were looking to have customized crochet items made for them.  It was an eye opening experience in terms of learning about proper pricing and meeting someone's very specific needs and desires in a final product. 

Now, though, I'm not sure a person new to Etsy could achieve the same experience.  There are sooooo many vendors on Etsy now, I'm just not sure exactly how any one particular vendor can stand out, unless he or she has a very specialized niche that pushes them up the list in a Google search.

So, where to start?  I'm not discouraging an Etsy shop (or one of the other arts seller platforms); I'm just suggesting you have a very specialized angle if you go that route.  Otherwise, consider these possibilities:

1)   Go local – make it known to your family and friends that you've got something you make that you would like to show them.  No pressure, but if they like it, would they like to place an order for themselves or as a gift for someone?  See how that goes.  Although you might not get the same kind of honest, possibly harsh, feedback that you would from strangers, it's a gentler, less scary starting point.  And, frankly, if they are smiling and encouraging you but not willing to fork over some $$ for at least one item, then that's telling in its own way too.

2)   Stay local for a bit – you really might have better luck in local crafts shows and stores at first.  Despite the ease of buying things online, the shopping experience is still best had in person.  Especially if you are in the fiber arts, potential customers like to see the colors in real life, touch the product and get a real feel for it, especially if it's a wearable.  So, take advantage of that and find ways to display your wares.  And be sure to make a few things that you can either carry around with you to show off or wear yourself – that's often how you will get questions or reactions.  Keep business cards and other "swag" with you to hand out to help people remember you and know how to contact you in the future because, even if they are not ready to buy that very minute, you want to leave a good impression for the future.

3)   Start blogging and create a Facebook page – I know, there are a million blogs and pages out there, but again, you've got to start somewhere.  Just like the literary agent  encouraged me to do, start letting people know what it is you do and what it is you have to offer.  Put up some pictures of your products and explain a little about either your creative process or why you created what you did, etc.  The handmade movement has started to evolve from just offering the product itself into presenting a story, a whole package, the whole you.  I'm not saying come up with a sob story to tug at people's hearts because, frankly, it's still about the product in the end.  I'm saying be authentic and just share a bit.  Again, you don't have to spill the beans on all your personal details, just give people a small window into why you and your offerings might appeal to them.  You and your products are unique in some way, and you need to share that.

Ok, that's a lot of information for now.  More will come :-)

My Vision Statement

Ok, I think I've gotten my vision statement into pretty good shape -- what do you think?!

"As someone who has had the pleasure of seeing an expectant mother thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the hand-crafted crocheted baby gift I've given her, I want to help you experience that feeling as well and "be thoughtful" and true to your giving nature.  Gifts of crochet, whether to someone special or to yourself, are a great way to nurture your peace of mind, health, and sense of satisfaction.  In striving to be thoughtful towards you by providing beneficial and beautiful products and services, we at Many Creative Gifts are expanding into other areas also, like recipe books and meditation beads, to take a more holistic approach to health and happiness.  Join us on our journey to enhance and savor beauty and well being in the world through mind, body, spirit, ... and of course crochet!"

I need to tinker more with it I'm sure, but at least it's a start, and I hope you've been working on your own vision statement as well -- even if you're not going into business on your own, it's good to think through these five factors and how they are operating in your life in general.

SEO and BOGO

SEO, search engine optimization.  I'm still not sure I fully understand how the optimization part of it works, but I do try to think about using "key words" in blog entries and crochet tips on Lifetips.  I watched a webinar today about some new tech tools that Lifetips is rolling out to help us Gurus post more tips and get our books ready, so it was pretty motivating.  I like the fact that they seem re-energized themselves about their mission and seem open to innovative ideas (soon including the posting of YouTube videos!).  I'm looking forward to more webinars, especially the one about SEO.

Oh, but more importantly, a special offer for this anniversary month -- the BOGO offer -- buy one, get one free!  If you buy a pattern on Ravelry (just click on the icon to the left) and send me an email telling which other pattern of the same or lesser price you want, I will email it to you for free :-)  This offer is good until April 30, 2010, and don't worry about registering your information with Ravelry, you will be glad you did.  It's very secure, and they make payment and download so easy!  I'm hoping to get a few new patterns posted soon, so go set up your Ravelry account!

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 50 -- The banquet is in the first bite.  A great reminder to slow down and enjoy the taste of your food.  As Mr. Pollen says, no bite is as good as the first, and each subsequent bite will give you less and less satisfaction.  We've tried to implement this rule just by slowing down and savoring each bite and trying to stop before we feel all bloated and stuffed.  One strategy we use in restaurants involves cutting everything in half and asking for the doggy bag up front!