I learned to crochet at 10. My step dad's step mom taught me, trying to use it as a way to get to know me I guess. My mom tried to teach me to knit and I was horrible at it, but I knew love at first chain with crochet.
I crocheted non stop from then on and my mom dusted off her old crochet skills to join me. I started selling what I had made and all was good. I then moved on to reclaimed yarn. From there I reclaimed my own. New obsessions are wonderous, are they not?
I taught my mom to reclaim. The first sweater made her swear and huff, and eventually throw it at me.. I mean to me, to finish up. The second sweater, ho ho, that was different entirely. She now fell in love with it as I had.
Bad thing.
Now, a year later, she has a huge overflow of sweaters and yarn. My stepdad is trying to get her to get rid of it and my poor besotted mom can't face giving up the comfly fuzzy yarn she worked so hard on or the washed, stacked sweaters she sees so much potential in. The next best thing to keep it is to give it to me.
I'm smiling like a moron. Really. I was giddy and bouncy and practically swooning in the yarny heaven of choosing what to take home. out of all that was offered me, I said no thanks only once. And even then it was hard. Melanie's Closet on Hyena Cart is paid and ready to stock, I have cards in the mail to me, a business phone number, and now I have enough yarn to keep me afloat for a year.
Things are really coming together for me. I am so happy!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Melanie's Closet Crochet for Hire
I realize few people actually read this, but I am hoping with the help of labels and Google, I can reach someone who is in need of my services.
I have been crocheting for 20 years now and I have made some money selling my finished projects here and there, but never consistently. Time and experience have shown me my strengths are not as a small business manager. What I would really love to do is simply have bulk orders to fill and do some custom orders occasionally. This doesn't sound too professional, I realize, but that may be a good thing because I myself, though a hard worker and very, very good at my craft (humble, too, it would seem) am not a stickler for professionalism. I am a laid back, easy going, mom of three who is absolutely addicted to crochet and a stickler for details when it comes to my yarny-things.
I can make just about anything you want and if you have a store front, online business, or a flourishing stand at a fair, street market, or craft show of some kind then you are who I am looking for. I want to supply you with crochet. When I say I make anything, I mean it. Household items, clothing for any age and size, toys, accessories, winter or summer items, edgings or appliques, as well as bulk orders for parties and special occasions, and business gifts (coffee sleeves, keyrings, and items for a company gift basket)This is not your grandma's crochet.
Shipping anywhere in the U.S., personal delivery to anywhere local to Deschutes county, Oregon. I'm not only good at it, I am very reasonable. I love what I do and I promise, you will get the best.
Please email me at melanie@melaniescloset.com for questions or orders.
I have been crocheting for 20 years now and I have made some money selling my finished projects here and there, but never consistently. Time and experience have shown me my strengths are not as a small business manager. What I would really love to do is simply have bulk orders to fill and do some custom orders occasionally. This doesn't sound too professional, I realize, but that may be a good thing because I myself, though a hard worker and very, very good at my craft (humble, too, it would seem) am not a stickler for professionalism. I am a laid back, easy going, mom of three who is absolutely addicted to crochet and a stickler for details when it comes to my yarny-things.
I can make just about anything you want and if you have a store front, online business, or a flourishing stand at a fair, street market, or craft show of some kind then you are who I am looking for. I want to supply you with crochet. When I say I make anything, I mean it. Household items, clothing for any age and size, toys, accessories, winter or summer items, edgings or appliques, as well as bulk orders for parties and special occasions, and business gifts (coffee sleeves, keyrings, and items for a company gift basket)This is not your grandma's crochet.
Shipping anywhere in the U.S., personal delivery to anywhere local to Deschutes county, Oregon. I'm not only good at it, I am very reasonable. I love what I do and I promise, you will get the best.
Please email me at melanie@melaniescloset.com for questions or orders.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The sun is here!
The warm weather has me thinking about comfort and cute clothes, so of course I made a summer outfit for a baby girl. Forget about me not having a baby, or a girl, or even knowing one young enough to give it to, I just felt moved to make it. And then spew nonsense about it.
I used an oatmeal colored size 10 thread cotton I reclaimed over the winter. The dress is very soft and stretchy but I would gauge it to be about 6 months size, jacket to match. The halter dress is knit with a crochet shell hem and the jacket is crocheted in a matching shell.It is small enough to be a baby dress, but could also be used as a halter top for a toddler. I learned how to make a vine of leaves a while back and I adore making them so I touched up the front and neck edges with a pretty dark green vine of leaves, also in 100% cotton I reclaimed from the same sweater. It was stripedy. I like stripes.
Sorry, got distracted, moving on.Pricing - I hate this part because I knit and crochet for the love of it, but I have no need for the stuff I am making and selling it is better than watching it collect dust here in my closet. So, I'm asking $25 for the set or $14 for each separately. Just email me or comment and I will get back to you!
For some odd reason, I feel compelled to make play-food this weekend. I started last night about 5 pm and ended up with three off white turkey eggs, inspired by my sister's generosity in giving me a bunch to take home.
Once I finished those, I got to thinking about a conversation Mike and I had about persimmons last week (yes, we're that dull) and I realized I had the perfect yarn for it. A two ply lace weight in an orangey color with a touch of pink. I also had the green and off white in the same fiber, so why not?
Found out why not 3 hours later. The stitches were so tiny it took forever! Thank goodness I got it right in one try, I couldn't have persevered if I was forced to frog it.
The eggs are $2 each and the persimmon is $5. It was a lot of work, that one! This afternoon was so beautiful that I HAD to take pictures. So enjoy my talent and marvel at the skill. Or just snicker and move on, it's all good :)
I used an oatmeal colored size 10 thread cotton I reclaimed over the winter. The dress is very soft and stretchy but I would gauge it to be about 6 months size, jacket to match. The halter dress is knit with a crochet shell hem and the jacket is crocheted in a matching shell.It is small enough to be a baby dress, but could also be used as a halter top for a toddler. I learned how to make a vine of leaves a while back and I adore making them so I touched up the front and neck edges with a pretty dark green vine of leaves, also in 100% cotton I reclaimed from the same sweater. It was stripedy. I like stripes.
Sorry, got distracted, moving on.Pricing - I hate this part because I knit and crochet for the love of it, but I have no need for the stuff I am making and selling it is better than watching it collect dust here in my closet. So, I'm asking $25 for the set or $14 for each separately. Just email me or comment and I will get back to you!
For some odd reason, I feel compelled to make play-food this weekend. I started last night about 5 pm and ended up with three off white turkey eggs, inspired by my sister's generosity in giving me a bunch to take home.
Once I finished those, I got to thinking about a conversation Mike and I had about persimmons last week (yes, we're that dull) and I realized I had the perfect yarn for it. A two ply lace weight in an orangey color with a touch of pink. I also had the green and off white in the same fiber, so why not?
Found out why not 3 hours later. The stitches were so tiny it took forever! Thank goodness I got it right in one try, I couldn't have persevered if I was forced to frog it.
The eggs are $2 each and the persimmon is $5. It was a lot of work, that one! This afternoon was so beautiful that I HAD to take pictures. So enjoy my talent and marvel at the skill. Or just snicker and move on, it's all good :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A summer hat in thread
As some of you know, I am going on a business trip with my DH in a short while, to Florida. I am paler than Casper and in need of shade, but I also have a large skull and voluminous curls. This is problematic when it comes to shopping for a cute hat in any season, but more difficult in summer because most sunhats have no give, no stretch like the warm, wooly winter hats we all love.
Gosh, I wish I knew someone who could crochet just about anything. Wait...... I do!
LOL, ok, I'm done being funny now, you can all peel the fake smile off your faces. Feel better? Good. Now, back to the hat dilema. When the idea of making my own hat coalesced into a solid project idea, I went in search of patterns. I found the Sunlight Hat and Gloves, but they are too fancy for my needs. After all, as much as I love the pattern it's a trip to a convention in Florida, not a ladies tea and luncheon in a rose garden. Maybe I'll make it as a surprise for my mother-in-law for the next appropriate occasion.
What next .... most of the patterns I found fell under three reasons I couldn't use them~
1)Babies hats. I know we need to keep our little ones out of the harsh rays of the sun til their delicate skin is a bit hardier, but some of us never reach that 'hardier' stage. Where are the grown ups hats? *pout*
2)Too thick. It's summer and sun and heat and as much as we dislike talking about it, sweating. Why all the patterns that call for worsted weight yarn? It makes the hat heavy and thick, exactly what a woman like myself does NOT need in a summer sun hat.
3)Cost prohibitive. Though I normally like to make my own pattern because I sell my work often and copyright is a sticky subject, I do buy patterns for personal use or resale sometimes. But Great Googly Moogly, people! I'm not spending $14 on a pattern or $33 on a book full of patterns that I don't want to get the one I do and then another bundle on the yarn and THEN all the time to make it! I could pay the same for a plus-sized hat online if that's the case.
I had to come up with a pattern for myself. I am nearly finished, all that's left is to add the wire and put on the edging, then I have a custom sun hat. It's a simple 3dc,3ch,3dc shell pattern with increases. Yay, happiness is crochet. Of course, I did find a pattern that was free and I liked, but it would have to be in knit. Not my best subject. I think I'll try it anyway, it's called Wind-and-Sea and it's so pretty that I'll risk using my jealously protected fingering weight green merino. Wish me luck!
Gosh, I wish I knew someone who could crochet just about anything. Wait...... I do!
LOL, ok, I'm done being funny now, you can all peel the fake smile off your faces. Feel better? Good. Now, back to the hat dilema. When the idea of making my own hat coalesced into a solid project idea, I went in search of patterns. I found the Sunlight Hat and Gloves, but they are too fancy for my needs. After all, as much as I love the pattern it's a trip to a convention in Florida, not a ladies tea and luncheon in a rose garden. Maybe I'll make it as a surprise for my mother-in-law for the next appropriate occasion.
What next .... most of the patterns I found fell under three reasons I couldn't use them~
1)Babies hats. I know we need to keep our little ones out of the harsh rays of the sun til their delicate skin is a bit hardier, but some of us never reach that 'hardier' stage. Where are the grown ups hats? *pout*
2)Too thick. It's summer and sun and heat and as much as we dislike talking about it, sweating. Why all the patterns that call for worsted weight yarn? It makes the hat heavy and thick, exactly what a woman like myself does NOT need in a summer sun hat.
3)Cost prohibitive. Though I normally like to make my own pattern because I sell my work often and copyright is a sticky subject, I do buy patterns for personal use or resale sometimes. But Great Googly Moogly, people! I'm not spending $14 on a pattern or $33 on a book full of patterns that I don't want to get the one I do and then another bundle on the yarn and THEN all the time to make it! I could pay the same for a plus-sized hat online if that's the case.
I had to come up with a pattern for myself. I am nearly finished, all that's left is to add the wire and put on the edging, then I have a custom sun hat. It's a simple 3dc,3ch,3dc shell pattern with increases. Yay, happiness is crochet. Of course, I did find a pattern that was free and I liked, but it would have to be in knit. Not my best subject. I think I'll try it anyway, it's called Wind-and-Sea and it's so pretty that I'll risk using my jealously protected fingering weight green merino. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Plarn Crochet
I first heard of this while 5 months pregnant with my first child. Someone asked me to make a purse out of plastic shopping bags and I agreed. I looked it up, learned how to do it and started. Then I took ibuprofen and slept off the headaches. Seems 5 months along I get awful headaches and focusing on crochet was bad enough, but the rustle and squeak of the plastic on the aluminum hook tripled the effect.
I haven't attempted it in years. Yesterday I decided it was time. I have a giant deposit of used shopping bags under my sink and every few months I consider again whether I should toss them or use them. The deciding factor on using them was when my 7 year old, the very child who was forming while I learned this particular craft, asked me if we were saving the plastic bag in his hand and when I said yes he gave me a long-suffering look and said with a sigh " I suppose I can find room under the sink with the others."
OK, time to face the project! I took out about half the bags and separated by color then cut up all the blue-and-white bags. I made a rectangle and kept growing it til it was the size of a placemat, added a row of red-and-white and continued on with the rest of the blue-and-white. When I get to the right size for a bath mat, I'll add one last row of red as edging and viola!! Half the bags are gone and we have a new mat.
It's surprisingly fun when I'm not fighting pregnancy woes. I should have done it years ago.
Here's how it works - Plarn Instructions.
And here are a bunch of ways to try it out - Plarn Patterns
There are tons of patterns out there, some really cute and usable, others downright awful. You have to choose for yourself, but it's such a neat way to crochet that it's worth a chance. My personal tips for making it easier to use.
1)ALWAYS make sure the bag is clean and free of holes. Finding a crusted something icky is not a fun surprise and holes in the bag can make for weak or broken loops.
2)Use a plastic or wooden hook if you can, the metal ones squeak in such a way as to make me drool as well as makes my inner ear vibrate unpleasantly.
3)Cut up all your bags ahead of time and keep them in (surprise) another bag. I have tried the method where they are tied then wrapped into a ball but if you get your loops tied together unevenly (which you WILL do) then as you crochet the extra on one side will stick out of the project. I tie them together as I go, no more than two at a time.
4) Be GENTLE. They will be super strong once crocheted together, but before that they are weak and will stretch or break easily. Stretched out plarn will make for a thin spot in your finished item.
5)Plan ahead with your stitches. Frogging is plenty possible, but it makes a lesser quality plarn for the second time around.
Enjoy!!!
I haven't attempted it in years. Yesterday I decided it was time. I have a giant deposit of used shopping bags under my sink and every few months I consider again whether I should toss them or use them. The deciding factor on using them was when my 7 year old, the very child who was forming while I learned this particular craft, asked me if we were saving the plastic bag in his hand and when I said yes he gave me a long-suffering look and said with a sigh " I suppose I can find room under the sink with the others."
OK, time to face the project! I took out about half the bags and separated by color then cut up all the blue-and-white bags. I made a rectangle and kept growing it til it was the size of a placemat, added a row of red-and-white and continued on with the rest of the blue-and-white. When I get to the right size for a bath mat, I'll add one last row of red as edging and viola!! Half the bags are gone and we have a new mat.
It's surprisingly fun when I'm not fighting pregnancy woes. I should have done it years ago.
Here's how it works - Plarn Instructions.
And here are a bunch of ways to try it out - Plarn Patterns
There are tons of patterns out there, some really cute and usable, others downright awful. You have to choose for yourself, but it's such a neat way to crochet that it's worth a chance. My personal tips for making it easier to use.
1)ALWAYS make sure the bag is clean and free of holes. Finding a crusted something icky is not a fun surprise and holes in the bag can make for weak or broken loops.
2)Use a plastic or wooden hook if you can, the metal ones squeak in such a way as to make me drool as well as makes my inner ear vibrate unpleasantly.
3)Cut up all your bags ahead of time and keep them in (surprise) another bag. I have tried the method where they are tied then wrapped into a ball but if you get your loops tied together unevenly (which you WILL do) then as you crochet the extra on one side will stick out of the project. I tie them together as I go, no more than two at a time.
4) Be GENTLE. They will be super strong once crocheted together, but before that they are weak and will stretch or break easily. Stretched out plarn will make for a thin spot in your finished item.
5)Plan ahead with your stitches. Frogging is plenty possible, but it makes a lesser quality plarn for the second time around.
Enjoy!!!
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