Crafters Q&A #1 CrazySocks Crochet

I decided to have a little fun while also trying draw attention to my blog, blog more often, gain followers, and open your eyes to some of my fellow crafters. On my page Crochet Medley on Facebook, I have a discussions tab in which there is a Q&A for anyone that is interested in being "featured" here. So here goes nothing!!! My first feature crafter is...

Danyel of CrazySocks Crochet 

 
Here are the answers submitted by CrazySocks
 

 
1) List a short blurp about yourself! Ie: married, children, location, etc.
My name is Danyel.  I've been married for 5 years.  We have 2 children.  My husband is in the army & we are currently stationed at Ft.Bragg, NC.

2) Whats the name of your handmade business and why is it named that way?
CrazySocks Crochet.  CrazySocks was my screen name back when I was in H.S.  When I first signed up for Etsy, I didn't know that my login name would also be my shop name, but I decided that CrazySocks Crochet sounded pretty cool, so I kept it.

3) What do you specialize in?
Hats, Crochet Patterns

4) What made you want to venture into the world of handmade sales?
I have a severe crochet addiction, and a severe money deficiency.  No, but seriously... I crochet A LOT & when people started to become interested in buying stuff from me, I figured, "Why not?" and it was all uphill from there.

5) Where is your "office" located?
I mainly crochet at the kitchen table while my kids either watch TV or play in the back yard.  I have an enormous yarn stash in my bedroom though.  ha ha

6) What is your most favorite item you have made or make?
I love to make hats, and hot pads.  But mostly hats.  Especially tiny little newborn hats.

7) What other passions do you have?
I like to watch movies, listen to music, play with my kids... I really don't have any other hobbies or anything.  I just enjoy my time with my friends and family... when I'm not crocheting, of course.

8) What are some of your favorite things? Ie: color, food, place, etc.
My favorite color is Rainbow.  My favorite food is spaghetti.  My favorite sports are baseball and bowling.  My favorite animals are giraffes. :)

9) Who inspires you? This is a very general question for a reason!
Other WAHMs inspire me.  It's wonderful to be surrounded by so many other hard-working moms who take care of their families, and are able to manage an at-home business.  I know some moms are busier than others, but more importantly... they've all found something they LOVE to do, and they're DOING it. :)

10) What do you want people to think/see/feel when they look your handmade things up?
I want people to think that my items are fun & colorful, and reasonably priced.  I want adults to be able to have all the fun & cute things that you can usually only buy for kids... but I also want kids to have some of the more sophisticated things that are usually only made for adults.  :)

Interested in learning and seeing more from Danyel?? She can be found at the fallowing places...

Etsy Shop
Artfire Shop 
Crazy Socks Crochet Blog 
CrazySocks Crochet on Facebook 

Mrs A is hosting a giveaway!!! Check her out :)

JustBeHappy

Toodles!

The Book of Face

I can say shamefully say that I have been addicted to Facebook since the day I found out about it. Myspace died really fast when that happened. I loved being able to get in touch with people whom I haven't seen or talked to since graduating high school, or some requests went as far back as grade school. It blows my mind! Now of course there are always those people you "guilt" add or feel like because they are family you must add them. Im not so into that idea anymore, and have been trying to scale back my numbers to people who honestly matter. Im not about padding my friend number just because I know you somehow.

This brings me to the beauty of "Fan Pages". I was just going to make a different account solely for my crochet, but instead chose the fan route. It has really paid off I think. Now, I only have 120ish fans but its still seemingly easier than garbling up my own page, and I am happy with each and every one of those fans choosing to add me in the first place. Plus, this way people Im not even friends with to add it and check everything out. I do feel this is going to help me with the "home biz". Okay, so apparently I like using " "s a lot too. :) Networking is really great, word of mouth is even better.

Ive made so many connections via Fan Pages so far that I feel are going to really help me out, and Ive already made some cool friends from it all. We will see how it plays out but I really have a happy feeling in my gut about this.

If anyone wants to fallow the Fan Page, its Crochet Medley and I am happy to "fan" your pages also, so drop on in!!

Start the March

I am super tired, didn't sleep in much even though it was my day to do so. I guess I was more excited then tired. Thats okay, today has been a great day.

We got the dishwasher installed today, and man am I thrilled. Months and months and more months of hand washing really started to get me in a fritz. Im very glad that the husband finally gave up on trying to "fix" the old one. It was old thats for sure. Probably the first one the house had. Now not only can my hands have a rest, but I freed up more time in the day, and more counter space for that matter

Also I want to share with you something I worked up today. Something for myself for a change. Seems I rarely do that. Months ago I purchased a kit and pattern from Alessandra over at JustBeHappy! from her shop. Of course, like anything I actually intend on making myself, it sat around for a while, til I decided to bust it out today while the plumber was her installing our new friend. I finished it by the time he left too. So heres a few pics of the pretty Crochet Button Necklace.









Im am really rather pleased with it. Now I think I should have used a slightly bigger hook cause I have a thick neck so its a wee bit tight, but I am sure it will stretch enough for my liking. I cannot wait to make some more.

My my my, I've only been awake for about 45 minutes and already I am having the pit in the stomach feeling of being overwhelmed. I can't really say its a bad thing or a good thing. First, I forgot we were supposed to get some snow, and well, 9 times out of 10 that I heard that statement this winter its been like a spit storm here. Its really weird for me on this side of the state because for so long I was used to all that thick lake effect stuff and we don't get that here. So in my groggy semi sleeping phase of filling up a bottle for Alex this morning and having to blink twice at the site of the snow outside the kitchen window, I was overwhelmed. This was a good kind of feeling for me, now, don't get me wrong, Im really ready for Spring, but wow! snow! I would say 4 plus inches on the ground, and it really is coming down. I will attempt to take some pictures later.

That was the next reason I felt overwhelmed. I have a pretty nice camera thanks to my husband spoiling me, two actually! I have my Nikon D60 and my normal, but still very nice digital camera. I feel really stupid because I am totally in awe of photography, and I really loooove taking pictures, but lately I haven't been taking as many. Nor have I even read my owners manuals. I am more of a hands on learner I would say, but I really think I need to read the books, and internet, and maybe buy "d60 for dummies". Maybe I should try to take a beginners class at either the local college or try to find one in the community. I would really love some better pictures of my crochet, and other things in general....which leads to..

Then I got to thinking about my crochet...and I really got a mix of up and down feelings. Now I have been trying to sell my crafts for a few months now, and I have many supporters that say " Its about time!" but really it hasn't been what I expected. Im not really sure why I expected it to be any different because people seem to either have no clue about "handmade" or the love it. After having a conversation with my husband about my current and recent orders he seems to feel that I don't price properly. I think Im scared that if I have someone ask me an amount that I will sound crazy if I don't make it appealing. Then again, I really do know I deserve more. It really flusters me and I anytime this happens to me with a potential customer, I feel like I have to explain why I charge what I do. I think its really a self esteem thing. Or the fact that Ive had a lot of interest but when I name a price, and then get nothing further from the person, its rather depressing, almost angering. I mean, really? Its not so hard to ask how much, and then if you are put back by the price, just simply say "thanks" or something? However, I do think I have been cutting myself short....mostly because of previously stated reasons, but also because a lot of my customers are friends. Boils down to what people will think of me, and well, I don't really think that is fair. My "talent" is really just a self expression. On a different note, I really get a good feeling when people post nice comments on my sites. This leads me to why I was happily overwhelmed. I have seen so many things via the internet that I really want to do. I really want to take better pictures and possibly sell them, I have soooo many patterns bookmarked or saved on raverly, not to mention books and print outs of them that I really want to do. I think this is bad because my time is rather limited now. I just wonder how these people do it! I think its the fact that their children, if younger, go to school. I think that they must have a lot of free time at work or this is their work. I guess I get to thinking about my future and how I will accomplish all the projects I want to do..probably just going to have to wait til retirement lol.

And lastly, Alexander overwhelms me. I don't mean for this to sound bad. My child is by no means bad, hes an absolute blessing. He is learning like crazy. I am however, very on edge about this surgery. His eye has been clear for going on 3 days now, not completely, but lets just say I could take a picture of him confidently. But avast, I know this is trickery. I know it will come back the second he has a fit and tries to cry. Im nervous about his surgery in every way. I really want it to work and to not have to repeat anything. It is not even til March 16th but then again thats less than a month from now.

All and all, overwhelmed suits me today (so far ;) )

Le Sigh

Can I just let out a huge and long Sigh for just a moment. The world just never stops for somethings that I feel it should. Im not exactly sure if it is a sigh of relief, frustration, exhaustion, or a mix of a few things, but man it feels good to just siiiiiighhhhhh.

After returning back to town from the funeral services of Maxwell Fuelling, we are still not back to normal. Joshua started a night shift AGAIN, only this one is a bit more reasonable I guess. We will see if it lasts. This way he is able to on and off sleep in, and allow me to do the same, which is great cause Im not really a morning person. He can also give Alex lunch. He misses 2 baths but has been able to say goodnight to Alex also on his lunch break. I like that much, but I dunno.

Ive been working on crochet toys lately. They are rather a pain for me to get used to, but Im getting there and they are getting easier.

Theres Moko the Cat pattern finished. Just have a bunny to get done with. Im not really happy with how the first one turned out so Im going to see if my friend likes the other one better.

Chow.

Maxwell D. Fuelling