Create!

I was originally inspired to make a crochet safety cone because of a pin version I bought from Nut and Bee. First off, if you don’t know Nut and Bee, check out their site. Someone near and dear to me took to the pin, placed it on a messenger bag with the idea that it would protect from everything bad out there. (Would have preferred an infinite number of them!) A soft, more 3-D version seemed in order!

One of the first times I sold the safety cones on Etsy, it was a lot of 6 that was requested. (Buy them here!) The reason? She was buying them for a friend’s cubicle. A week or so after I sent them out, the friend contacted me with a very positive response and the subject line “Safety Cones Everywhere!” She writes: “I work in construction management and I have done lots of envrionmental work, so safety cones hold a very special place in my heart (i.e. I don’t get hit by cars, and you always feel safer when they are around). Looking forward to brightening up my office with the cute little cones!” Um, that’s adorable! And the thought of the six of them in an office fills me with glee. Yes, glee. More pics here.

A week or so later, someone else bought cones! 5 of them this time around, and for multiple friends. This woman is moving away and wants them to “stay safe” after she does so. How cute! I love the stories that often accompany Etsy purchases. It really brings a personal aspect to virtual shopping.

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Some old designs, first: my football beer cozies, baseball beer cozies, and rainbows are off to Youngblood Gallery & Boutique in Atlanta, Georgia. This will be my 2nd gallery experience, although this time around, they are not part of a show, but taking up residence in the boutique part of the venue. Exciting!

Some more old designs, but slightly modified: my clementines are going to the beautiful vintage baby site, The Baby Gardner. But, to make these more baby-friendly and baby-happy, they will have French Knotted yarn eyes (instead of beads) and little bells inside. Yep, they are adorable clementine rattles!

And now for some brand-spankin’ new designs! The saddest item I’ve ever seen on a restaurant menu is “sauteed baby octopus,” and even though I do eat fish, the image of a tiny octopus on a plate can only evoke melancholy in me. So, as a tribute to these cute little creatures, my very own baby (blue) octopus:

Finally, a little green frog that reminds me of a cactus-meets-alien-meets frog. Both the frog and the octopus are made from organic cotton, a super soft yarn, from Lion Brand that comes in really nice, muted colors.

Amidst a lot of writing, and I mean, A LOT of writing, sometimes I forget how much my Etsy shop factors into my day-to-day life, in terms of creativity and workload. Just when I feel like I have a handle on my 5+ jobs, someone goes and orders 5 crochet items, and suddenly, I am bogged down in yarn again. Kind of a nice thing to be bogged down in, however!

I am approaching a pretty big milestone: 500 sales! I am currently at 496, and to celebrate the future 500th, I am giving the lucky buyer free reign over my store. Okay, that’s not true! But the buyer of my 500th item can choose any other item for FREE, no matter how big or small. And if I get really ambitious, I may have a sale or promotion even after I get there.

I have written about pigs before, here and here, and probably mentioned my struggle with liking them, but also, um, eating them. With all the veg-heads in my life, a bombardment of information about the food industry, particularly the meat industry, and a general respect for nature and life, I go back and forth about my animal-eating ways. I’m also a barbecue-lover and sadly can’t quite quash my cravings for political reasons.

With that said though, I will entertain both opposing sides: I designed the above (vegetarian) crochet organic cotton pig for my Etsy Shop and I also wrote a guide for Guidespot on New York barbecue. I know, such a cruel juxtaposition, right?

Sometimes I am completely taken in by advertising, succumbing to impulse buys purely because I judge a book by its cover, so to speak. In this case, I gave into the adorable faces of ike & sam, a kettle and a piece of popcorn. I’m sure there are others out there like me who make a purchase such as this one, just to have those faces inside your house? Right?

I do love kettle corn, though, and I unknowingly bought the caramel cheddar. Unknowingly? Yeah, I was completely entranced by ike & sam that I never even looked at the flavor written at the bottom. Love at first sight I tell you. Anyway, this is some tasty stuff, and it’s made in Brooklyn! Woot woot! I am already considering designing some crochet versions of ike & sam and pitching them to the company. I see a partnership down the road. Yay ike & sam!

We’ve all experienced writer’s block, myself included, at one time or another. But, crocheter’s block? Well, I’m currently experiencing this creative affliction! Help! I do have tons of ideas about future designs and patterns, but nothing that stands out to me at the moment. Do YOU, dear readers, have ideas? Crochet items you’ve only dreamed of? A pig with wings? Rainbow-colored gumballs? A smiling light bulb? Let me know in the comments or by email: aliciakachmar@gmail.com

In other news, check out my vegan chocolate cake recipe on Instructables! I wrote about it here once upon a time, but decided to enter it in their cake contest. Vote for me?