Where Are They Now: Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 4

 

Thursday already! Filling orders and writing a blog post each day tough stuff. But we don’t really grow without challenges. Hopefully my writing skills are improving. For any new readers who stumbled across my blog while reading 2KCBW posts, welcome! I am an amigurumi designer with dreams of turning her creativity into a career. Today is Day 4 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and it is all about the fate of some of my work. I sell most of my work and do not really know what happens next, but here are a few stories of a some of my creations…

 

Day Four: 31st March. Where are they now?

Topic: Whatever happened to your __________?

Carrot Rattle. I've been making carrot rattles for a couple of years, and out of all my products, I hear the most stories about the carrots. Three travelled to Sweden and were featured on this blog post by The World According to Pia.

While at a craft show, I had a repeat customer stop by. While chatting, she mentioned that she had bought a carrot for her infant son the previous year. It was his favourite teething toy (he was finished teething by this time). Mom really loved that is was so easy to wash – and that it once mistakenly went through a cycle in the dishwasher. I asked how the carrot stood up to such rough usage. She replied, that it wasn’t showing any wear. I tug, pull and pay close attention to my work to make sure that it is durable, but I have never test - chewed. I love finding out how my toys survive the years.

 

Nelson. Nelson, the Hal-Con mascot was designed based on the festival’s mascot last spring. An organizer with the group had contacted me through my Etsy Store, and placed a request for a custom doll. Before looking at the pictures, I accepted the challenge. Three weeks later, I began to design Nelson. I started checking out all the pictures I could find on the website. I am a nerdy sort of a girl, and the more I researched, the more excited I became. By the time I finished the first Nelson doll, I donated him to the group. I later created smaller versions to sell at the conference. A few have done some international traveling. I attended the multiday conference, met so many interesting people, received multiple custom orders, and had a great time. It all started with a custom online request :)

Other Projects. I’d like to share a few brief stories of a few last pieces. A couple of years ago while I was a vendor at a Farmers’ Market, I was asked if I would consider doing any charity work. The woman was fundraising for an auction to benefit Veith Community House. My creation was going to be added to a lot of maritime themes items including a toy lighthouse. I came up with the idea of girl wearing a rain jack and Sou’Wester hat while taking a walk on a misty day.

Sometimes I need a change from making dolls and I will start an afghan, scarf, shawl, and other household items. These I normally keep or give as holiday gifts. My mother, mother-in-law and sister each have afghans. I have a lace-weight scarf and a set of fingerless gloves that I have been wearing lately. And I have a pair of Cape Breton Afghans that I designed just before I became interested in amigurumi.

 

I’ve really enjoyed reflecting on past projects as I write this post :)

~Susan