Show prep!

Hello all. Not a great start to my blog, by being silent for 2.5 weeks huh? I've been too busy stressing out about my show! And to be completely honest, I'm not even close to prepared hehe I have a nice to-do list going, and I've been working on a few projects here and there. It's mostly small stuff, so I think I will get a lot of it done. I work a lot during the week, so I'm usually pretty tired. This weekend my daughter and I are on lockdown. I need to get busy busy busy! I wouldn't be surprised if my fingers fall off before September 7! Here's my craft show to do list:

• A total of 85 hats, ranging in size and theme, or character
• 10 ear warmers
• 15 baby booties
• 20 sets of boot cuffs
• 5 headbands
• 5 baby cocoons
• 25 scarves, using a few different patterns
• 10 keychains
• 20 coffee cozies

That is a lot of work, considering I have barely dented it thus far. Only 16 days to get as much finished as I can. It's better to have too much, than not enough. But I'm doing what I can. I can't wait to show you guys my projects! I've only got about 10 done so far, but in all honesty, I work best under pressure. I'm naturally a procrastinator and have full confidence in myself. A little luck sent my way would be so appreciated :) what are your best crochet sellers? Do you sell at shows or etsy? I would love to hear your stories and suggestions!

Happy hooking!

Dara

Beginnings

My great grandma taught me to crochet when I was a little girl. I want to say around 7 or 8? I learned how to do the simple chain stitch. I pretty much went nuts with it. Chains everywhere! Everyone in the neighborhood could have had a chain that wrapped around their Christmas tree-twice even! haha :) I was little and had a short attention span, so it lasted only one summer.

Fast forward a little over a decade. I was a newly married woman still searching for a job after moving 1600 miles away from home. I was bored because my husband was in the marines and away at training, and I was tired of facebook and movies. So I hopped on YouTube (the BEST place for crochet tutorials for us visual learners!), and in my suggested videos is a crochet stitch. I sat for hours and binged on crochet YouTube videos, before going and getting some yarn and hooks. I haven't looked back since!

My favorite people on YouTube, is Mikey with The Crochet Crowd and CrochetGeek. They have wonderful tutorials with skill levels that range from absolute beginner-first-time-holding-a-hook to advanced. 

So I thought I would go over some of the things you need to get started with crochet! First, you'll need yarn. There's so many different types of yarn it's a bit overwhelming. I use worsted weight (my brands are Red Heart, Caron simply soft, loops & threads impeccable, and I love this yarn!) and 100% cotton yarn (my fave brands are I love this cotton! and peaches & cream). How much you need will depend on your project. 

Secondly, you will need a hook. If you thought there were a lot of yarns, wait until you see the hooks haha Like people, hooks come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. They have teeny tiny hooks used for crochet thread. There are bright colored hooks, lighted hooks (I just discovered these! They are so much fun!), plastic hooks, metal hooks with rubber handles to keep you comfy, and the sizes range from teeny tiny to scarily enormous! Here are some photos of the aforementioned hooks:  

How awesome are the lighted hooks?! I really love them, especially when I'm using dark yarn. But my absolute favorite hooks are the Susan Bates with the wooden handle. So comfy! I also really love Clover Amour hooks! 

Maybe I am weird, but I love looking at other people's stashes. Oh, I'm crazy? Sweet. Well, in case there's anyone else out there who is interested, I will show you mine. It's really nothing fancy or elaborate, but boy am I so proud of it. I've been slowly building it with a skein here and there, when I could. My daughter and I live in a very tiny apartment, so this is about all the room I have for my yarn obsession love. :)

Happy hooking!

Dara

A leap of faith

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to take a peak here. My name is Dara (pronounced like Sarah), and I work as a Baker in an amazing retirement home. When I'm not at work, you can find me playing with my beautiful and hilarious toddler, Klaire. She is something else, and you should expect to see her pop up in some blog posts. She loves modeling my kreations :)

After all the baking and all the mama duties and playing, and the house is quiet, I get to do one of the things I love most: crafting! I sew, do cross stitch, and make cutesy little pinterest projects. But my true love is crochet. That is mostly what my blog will be about. I will be sharing patterns, projects, yarn and hook reviews, tips/tricks, great video tutorials and so much more! And even though I love crochet so much, I do have a life outside of it haha so expect to see posts on my daughter, or great recipes, or pinterest projects and all sorts of other things that just come with life.

My sister, Missy, is also going to be part of KP Kreations, so you can expect some fun posts from her as well. She is more into the artsy stuff. Painting, knick knacks, fun toddler projects (she has a daughter, Peyton, who is 6 months older than my daughter. But you'll hear all about her in her introductory post as well), plus lots of fun things!

We are working on some logos and will be getting a FB page set up soon as well, I will link to that. Besides getting KP Kreations up and running on the great www, we are preparing for our first craft show! Oh lawd, the feels! One second I am giddy with excitement, the next I am near hyperventilating from the nervousness. It's quite the ride already, and I am still a month out. The show is September 7. I am not looking to get rich by doing any of the shows I have signed up for. They are mostly for experience and networking. I love being surrounded by people who share a love for crafting. Bonus points if you crochet as well :) I will talk more about everything I plan on bringing to the show, selling inventory or otherwise. Hopefully I will be able to get some feedback and other experiences. I have been a google machine lately. But now that it's getting closer, I will be more of a crochet machine. Things are a bit hectic right now, but hey that provides lots of blog post material!


I so look forward to sharing my projects and inspirations with you! Hope to see you soon! Happy Hooking!

Dara