Blowing Someone Else's Horn This Week

Thanks Margaret for putting me onto a woman whose creative bone is as warped as mine! These gloves are a 'must try' as soon as I have time!

They are the brainchild of none other than Jeny Staiman whose first name you may recognize from “Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bindoff” which I made use of in the cover photo of my Basic Toe Up Sock pattern. I fell down the Ravelry rabbit hole and discovered some of her other unique patterns (a few of which were already in my queue) but I was unaware of who their author was until this weekend.

                

written by Lori, apologetic TCL owner, who is keeping this blog short because I know you didn't even make it this far because of the rabbit holes this blog sent you down. Sorry. 😉

God Works in Mysterious Ways

 I couldn't get motivated to write my blog this weekend. Not even a quick mashup a la Stephen Colbert's Meanwhile segment. My guess is someone was forcing me to wait until I had a chance to read a message on Ravelry this morning.

I reached out to Lady-Orange on Ravelry last week because I wanted to use pictures of her finished Lorigami Gloves because she has made way more than I have. I checked Ravelry this morning to find she had messaged me back with humble permission.

The following link spells out exactly why I design the way I do.

Lady-Orange's Lorigami Gloves

Thank you, Lady-Orange, for putting my motivations into words.

written by Lori, grateful TCL owner, who appreciates each and every one of you who embrace my evil genius 😉

Why Lorigamivan?

First of all - thank you to all the people who have started following me on Instagram. I know it is a little harder to find me there because there are so many variations of Crafty Lady on that platform that I had to choose something that would be recognizable as uniquely me.

So far, no one has asked me why I used Lorigamivan as my 'handle' so I have to assume they/you are all familiar with my Lorigami glove and sock patterns. For those of you who are not familiar with these patterns, let me explain why I choose the name.

Here are a couple of comments from those adventurous enough to make my original Lorigami pattern:

"This is, hands down, the freakiest thing I’ve ever knitted. But it’s genius." - yarmando on Ravelry

"Quite the challenge. Thank you guru1, but I’ll be very careful what I say next time I’m in the shop, lest you should have any more fiendish patterns lurking…" - cdn on Ravelry

Then I came out with my Lorigami Socks.

"Having made the lorigami gloves (and the baby mitered coat,) I figured I had to give these a shot" - cdn on Ravelry

Not to toot my own horn, but with comments like that, I have to think that people will remember the name Lorigami.

But where does the VAN part come in? Well, a couple of years ago, I already had my mobile store in mind. I was going to buy either a cargo van or a box truck and convert it into a mobile store. Then I realized that, with a little tweaking, the motorhome would work. It's not a van, but LorigamiRV just didn't have the same ring to it.

So, I'm still trying to get the RV ready for the spring and, once it is on the road, there will be more Instagram content for those who like to see more pictures 😊

written by Lori, TCL owner, who is getting excited about 2021!

Where Will I Pop Up Next? (Location, Location, Location)

 New year, new schedule.

COVID-19 put a big damper on a lot of people’s plans this past year. Mine included. When I made the decision last year to close the brick and mortar store and take my ‘show’ on the road, I had no idea that I would be blessed with an entire year to plan! And you know what? I’m no further ahead in my planning than I was this time last year. (Anyone want to steal my title of ‘World’s Best Procrastinator’?)

In all fairness, I have had my hands busy with the website and rv renovations, but that doesn’t take away the fact that I need to let you know where to find me, and I need to do it as soon as possible. That’s where you come in. 

I want some feedback from you as to where you would look for me. Should I be trying to get my foot into Farmer’s Markets when my category (retail) is capped at 20% of the total vendors? Or would you be more likely to try to find me in mall parking lots or the like? Any and all suggestions are welcome as I need to start contacting market coordinators and/or town or city administrators ASAP. I’m even open to showing up at retreats but have no idea who to contact for those since I’ve never been to one myself.

Written by Lori, TCL owner who is determined to put 2020 in her rear view mirror and set her sites on one of the best years this little yarn store has seen!