"All I do is work, work, work, work, work." When I do markets, people will look at all of my creations and often say, "wow, you must do this full-time?" Sadly no, but I'll get there one day! I have a full-time job, a freelance job, and my crochet business. I'm on the go around the clock, there's always something that needs to get done, and for some reason, I freaking love it. I know I won't always the time to work this much, so I'm taking advantage of the time available now. There's a lot to be said for hard work and it's something I truly value. 

The mornings are my favorite time of day. My other half is still sleeping, so I get the quiet house all to myself. The alarm goes off at 4:00 Monday through Friday, and I immediately roll over to my phone in anticipation of seeing a new online sale that was received overnight. Eh, it's 50-50, not always there, but great when it is. When there's not an order to pack up, my first stop (after coffee) is plundering through emails from my freelance job. About 8 years ago, I started writing grants for non-profits. I'm happy to have worked for a lot of great organizations over the years and now I've found myself doing it on a freelance basis. It's wonderful. Though I spend my full-time job in the world of marketing, I love that I still have an opportunity to write and research grants. It's such fulfilling work. Most mornings, until 7:10, you can catch me doing this. I'm usually home by 4:15 from my full-time job and the grant writing and crochet continue from there until I crash at 9:30.

Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days when I'm caught up on grant projects and get to indulge in yarn in the mornings. Like today, for example! I turn the tube to MSNBC and catch up on all of the craziness in the world while I crochet. I've got a few Hank the Hippos to make for my upcoming market in 3 weeks, need to update my website with product listings, need to make little preemie hats to donate, and stock up on "donuts." I love writing grants, but I probably love mornings like these better. I feel genuine excitement when I wake up knowing I have the next 2.5 hours to crochet and work on the business. Like they say, "When you do something you love, it doesn't feel like work." Ahh yes, it's so true. My mind is constantly on the go. "Okay, checked that off the list, now what's next?" But gosh I love it. It's even more rewarding that I can afford life with all of these gigs. My fiance and I have a chalkboard of savings goals in the kitchen and it's exciting to watch it grow. Hard work pays off, in more way than one. 

Some of the animals I make have deeper meaning than others. Like horses, for example, they fill a sweet spot inside for this very reason....

Though not as bad as it sounds, from ages 5 to 10, my life consisted very much of horse manure. Mom was a horseback rider and only naturally, my older sister, Carla, became one too. I tagged along most days and eventually rode myself, but it was never my specialty. At least three days/week and sometimes the weekends, we would pile in the Oldsmobile and make the 40 minute drive to the barn on Lady’s Island. I sat in the backseat with the cooler of snacks and counted cars to pass the time. It was boring, but I made the best of it. The car tunes were an excellent collection of Herman’s Hermits, Petula Clark and The Supremes; we were truly a golden oldie family. I would sing along in my head to “Crimson and Clover” while playing a handheld version of Wheel of Fortune and eating Dunkaroos; it was a typical Wednesday afternoon. 

Upon opening the car door, an overwhelming smell of horse manure, stall shavings and hay bales would knock you off your feet. Ah yes, we had arrived. The series of events rarely changed; get Pistol out of the pasture, walk him to his stall, brush him all over, pick his hooves, soak him in fly spray, saddle him up and head out to the riding ring. Admittingly, I was not much help. Mom and Carla did most of this themselves while I moseyed around the barn, eating sugar cubes and hanging out with Buttercup and Willy, the miniature pony and donkey that served as the stable’s mascots.

Pistol joined the family in 1993. His full name was Pistol Patrick; Mom has a thing for animals and middle names. You could say he was my brother from another mother. This goofy, uncoordinated quarter horse was loveable as can be, but had a crooked trot and tripped on his own two feet at the drop of a hat. It was for this reason I was scared to ride him. If he tripped, he followed it up with a buck. It was our belief that he felt embarrassed for tripping and played it off by bucking his way out of it. We've all been there! Carla was fearless on him though; he respected her more than anyone and they called each other their own.

During her riding lessons, I often wandered off. Climbing to the top of dirt piles, skipping in the pastures alongside horses that were not interested in trotting along, walking through the woods where a small group of us barn kids would gather, or sitting in the car doing homework while listening to Donna Lewis’ I Love You Always Forever. They sound silly and boring I'm sure, but I miss these afternoons at the barn. I miss the smell, the people, the horses, going to shows; it was all I knew for such a long period of time. So what am I getting at here? Nothing besides I love crocheting horses! They are and have always been my favorite animal, and turning them into yarn is probably the coolest thing ever :) 

I say becoming because I'm not one yet. My dream job was always to be a writer. I want to buy a cozy cabin in the woods, wake up early to drip coffee, a candle and write to my heart's content. When I discovered this rare and random crochet talent four years ago, I never thought it could lead me to achieving this dream, but one month ago I had an "ah ha" moment. I thought to myself, "If you want to be a writer, then BE a writer! Take action and WRITE!" I look over to my tub of handmade stuffed animals and realized I had this incredible subject matter to write about. When I thought about being a writer, a children's book author never came to mind....until now. I've always envisioned these adorable crochet characters coming to life when I leave the room, so why not illustrate it in a book! They all have different names and personalities, and they all have a story to tell. I'm going to let the world know who they are, where they come from and what they love about life.

I started that day. The first book would be about Hank the Hippo, he was the first animal I ever made (successfully) and thought, wow, I'm onto something here. He not only looked like a hippo, but a very cute one. He was later featured in Times Square on the day Michaels went public (story here!), so I had a special connection with Hank to say the least. I took my dog for a long walk that afternoon and started brainstorming, "Hank the Hippo goes to school, Hank the Hippo is super cool," ok jot that one down. I typed ideas into a notepad on my phone as we trotted along. By the end of the dog walk, I had half the book written. By the end of the next day, the entire book was written. By the start of the third day, I purchased Adobe Illustrator and taught myself how to use it. I was not only going to write this book, but illustrate it too. By Noon that day, Hank the Hippo was a cartoon.

What will make this book unique is that I plan on including a handmade Hank the Hippo WITH the book. The idea is that the child will be holding Hank while they're mom or dad read them the story. "So that Hank on those pages that loves playing tennis is the same Hank that I'M holding!?" I think it could be a really special gift to GIVE and a special gift for a child to receive. I'm one month into this journey and 90% done. I've "hired" my mom and sister to be editors and plan on self-publishing within the next couple of weeks. At 30 years old, my dream of being writer will come to fruition and I'm incredibly excited and thankful for that :)

The first step in learning how to crochet is how to make a slipknot. This is what gets your crochet hook started and secured around the yarn, then you'll be ready to pursue all your crochet desires!

Step 1: Lay the yarn over (we'll call this Y1) your two fingers in your left hand so that the end of the yarn (we'll call the end of yarn Y2) is facing away from you. 
Step 2: Bring the yarn tail (Y2) toward you and put it over Y1, making sure it is in front. 
Step 3: Pull the yarn tail (Y2) through the loop, like tying your shoe.
Step 4: Pull Y2 through the circle
Step 5: Then tighten to form the loop
Step 6: Put your crochet hook through the loop with the hook facing you
​Step 7: Push the knot upward slightly to make sure the yarn is hooked on nice and snug, but not too tight.
And viola! You're ready to go!

Ever since Throwback Thursday became a thing, I've been anxious to share my humble crochet beginnings. I'll never forget the night I started. I could barely contain my excitement when I arrived home after work in October 2012 with my Crochet Beginners Kit from Michaels. Accompanying the kit, was a $1.99 skein of coral colored cotton yarn that I was ready to make practice scraps with. (PS - Cotton yarn is NOT the best yarn to learn with!)

And so it began, I opened the CD drive on my laptop and put in "Crochet for Beginners" DVD tutorial. I hadn't picked up a crochet hook yet, but I knew this was going to my "thing." God blessed me with an abundance of drive and ambition so I knew I was going to practice, practice, practice until I figured it out. And that I did... I had to pause the DVD several times to figure out how to make the basics: slip knot, chain, and single crochet stitch. My first creation was (because I like practical things) a bookmark. I had to give it it purpose, considering the hours it took to complete. 

My next discovery was the double crochet, which was a larger stitch; it's looser, but you can make things faster with double than a single crochet stitch. It was a cold October when I started, so my first thought was a scarf. It's a straight line, I could handle that, right? I sat in my red moon chair on a Sunday afternoon with NFL games in the background and made that darn scarf. It took 5 hours, nonstop. I don't think I'd ever focused on something so intently in my entire life. 

It was 2 months before Christmas, and once I realized just how long everything took to make (especially as a beginner), I knew I had to start preparing for Christmas NOW. So I did. My 5:30am alarm turned into a 4:30am alarm and my bed time changed from 9:30pm to 10:30pm. I was going to do everything I could to pay off my Christmas gifts through time, and I needed all of those two months to do so. 

The third discovery was how to make a circle. This took the longest to figure out. I desperately wanted to learn how to make koozies to give my sister and her husband for Christmas. On good weather days, I would even take my lunch break from work to crochet in parking lots! I was determined. My koozies have come a very long way from those lunch break practice sessions. This post would take days to go thru if I highlighted all of the "ah ha" moments, so I'll revert to photos.

And don't forget the animals of course, which is 80% of my current inventory! It all started with a strange looking pig, a scary slug, then a teddy bear named Terrance. Each one got better and better. I realized this could be it, this could be the product that stands out from the others. I was going to sell handmade stuffed animals...and one day, someone would like them. When I stand in my booth on Saturday mornings today and watch kids get their first Simply Hooked animal and walk away with bursting smiles, I can't help but think, "Wow, it actually happened." It's so rewarding to know where it started and where it's come in just 3 years.