Practical Productivity Tips for Busy Makers | Podcast Episode #102

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Are You a Busy Maker Trying to Maximize Your Crochet or Knit Time?

It’s not easy to balance life, responsibilities, and a hobby. We have to experiment and see what works. In today’s episode, you’ll listen in on a chat between me and Rachel about managing time, hobbies, and business.

Special Guest

In this episode, you’ll hear from Rachel, of Evelyn and Peter – a busy mom of three, blogger, and maker and how she balances life, responsibilities, her hobby, and growing business.

You’ll Learn

• A bit about Rachel, how she learned to crochet, and how it turned into a hobby and business for her.
• How she finds a balance between managing a household of three small children and publishing her designs.
• The importance of setting small daily goals to get things done.
• How she carves out minutes throughout the day to create.
• How larger projects like garments require longer deadlines.
• About Stitch Together Official and how it can offer you that much-needed hobby time.

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Hello there and welcome to episode 102 of the Be Hooked podcast. I’m your host, Brittany, and I am so thrilled for this topic today. And one of the biggest questions I see over and over is, Brittany, how on earth do you have so much time to crochet?

And I wish the answer were simple, but it’s not. We all struggle with time management. I am no exception to that. I too struggle with managing time and balancing life. The struggle is real and I know we all face that, and today I brought on a guest who has the ability to speak to a perspective that I can’t—and that’s being a mother and balancing all of these things as well.

So tell me, I can’t possibly be the only one who feels this way, right? Like there is just not enough time to crochet. The good news is that we can learn from each other and find the time to do what we love. Actually make the time to do what we love. It’s not like we have to find it. We all have that same amount of time, but it’s how we manage our day and manage our responsibilities and how we carve out those valuable minutes to do what we love.

So because this topic is so trial-and-error driven—you know, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa—I really need you to go to the show notes page today and share your tips. So please visit BHooked.com/102 and in the comments section, tell me one tip that you do in order to make time to crochet.

It could be something as simple as, “I get up a little earlier in the morning,” or “I stay up a little later.” Maybe I sacrifice a little bit of sleep. Maybe you are like me and while you’re cooking dinner, you’re crocheting on the island while you’re waiting for your food to cook. Whatever it is, I would love to hear your topic. And not only me, but the community needs to hear your tips. This is something we all struggle with and I’m on a mission to help you with it.

Okay, so today I’m talking with Rachel from Evelyn and Peter. She is a busy mom of three and she has some really great tips, especially for moms who are looking to balance their life and balance their hobby and make time for the things that are really important like self-care and doing your hobby—doing what you love.

So let’s get right to it with Rachel from Evelyn and Peter. So Rachel, hi, welcome to the show.

Rachel: 3:27
Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Brittany: 3:35
It is my pleasure. I have been watching some of your beautiful pictures on Instagram for a while now and it’s just such a real pleasure to be able to connect with you and chat with you here on the show.

Rachel: 3:54
Well, thank you so much. Yeah. I follow you on Instagram too, and I always use your little hashtag. So your be hooked hashtag.

Brittany: 4:03
Yeah. On fan Friday. I love sharing your photos. You, um, I, I, I try to change it up a little bit and, and, you know, share as many people as I possibly can. Your stuff comes up a lot. So I really do appreciate you using that hashtag and giving me the opportunity to share some inspiration. Yeah.

Rachel: 4:35
Yeah, I remember one time when you shared my photo, I think it was like last year, and I freaked out. I was so excited.

Brittany: 4:47
That’s so awesome. I just love that day, having the opportunity to share other stuff and give people a little bit of exposure. I’ve heard that some follower counts can go up as a result of that, but it’s really just great to be able to share other projects.

As creators, we can only do so much. So I may only be working on one or two projects at a time, but I’m able to share a lot more on Fan Friday because I can share everybody’s work.

Rachel: 4:56
Yeah, that’s so great. Like when you’re stuck and you don’t have anything to post that day, you just post up a picture of—that’s what I love when people tag me in their stuff on Instagram and I can just repost one of their photos.

Brittany: 5:10
So yeah, it’s great. Yeah, exactly. Well, I would love to know a little bit about you and your story. How did you get started with crocheting?

Rachel: 5:20
So I started… I first actually started with knitting and this was like maybe 10 years ago and I just wanted, you know, a hobby or whatever. So I got this little how-to knitting book and went to Michael’s and got some knitting needles and some yarn—knowing nothing, like I had no idea what I was doing.

I took it home and just could not get the hang of it. I got so frustrated. I was knitting a chunky blue scarf and it looked terrible. It looked so terrible. So I gave up on that and then I tried crochet after. I was like, okay, so we’ll try it with just one hook instead of two needles, see if that’s any easier.

And so I picked that up and I learned pretty easily and just did it kind of for fun every once in a while. Never was serious about it or anything like that. I kind of just would like randomly crochet like a headband every once in a while. Like it wasn’t anything that I did all the time.

And then when I was pregnant with my first daughter… After I had her, I was staying home with her, and I feel like this is a lot of people’s story when it comes to either crocheting or knitting—they like to make baby things after they have a baby or when they’re pregnant or whatever.

So I started crocheting some more just for a hobby and to make stuff for my daughter. I had like so many things that I was making, so I was like, well, I’ll try selling them. So I started a little Etsy shop and I would just post like beanies and stuff like that.

And I started selling things on there, which I was surprised. I thought, like, I figured, oh, there’s so many out there. I’ll never sell anything. But my stuff started selling. And after that, I just kind of ran with it. Then I started designing patterns and started a blog. And now I just like exclusively design patterns.

So yeah, that’s kind of how Evelyn and Peter started. And Evelyn is named after my oldest. And then Peter is actually my dog. So people always think my name is Evelyn when they’re like messaging me or whatever. But yeah, that’s my daughter. And then Petey, our little…

Brittany: 7:36
Yorkie. So yeah. Well, that’s fun. I was curious as to where that name came from when I saw that your name was Rachel. I was like, oh, okay, there’s a story there. I would love to know what it is.

So that’s interesting. There’s a long evolution there, it sounds like. I’m curious—did you go back to try knitting again?

Rachel: 7:56
I actually have, just this past year. I was like, I really want to start knitting again. And I actually knit a beanie and was successful with it. Then Chantel from Knittitude posted her beginner raglan pattern and I was like, oh my gosh, I want to make that. So I made it and I was like, wow, I can actually knit now.

I don’t know if it was just the practice with crochet and having it click or what, but yeah. So I kind of just recently picked it back up and I do that just for fun, like knitting my family hats and stuff like that.

Brittany: 8:35
Yeah, I love to hear that. I had a similar situation where I tried knitting and I just failed miserably and I hated it. But I had a crochet hook from trying to fix my many knitting mistakes, and I just tried crocheting and it just clicked for me.

And then several years later I went back to knitting and I was able to pick it up again. I feel like it’s—I didn’t know exactly what it was. I don’t know if it was trying to follow videos when I initially started learning like that first failed time, but something about the second time around… I don’t know if my experience with crochet helped me with it, but that seems to be a trend.

So I guess I would encourage anybody who has tried knitting and failed to try crochet and then go back.

So you are making things on Etsy—you’re designing, you’re selling some things—and it sounds like you have a lot going on. So I’m interested to know how all of that plays into your everyday life. Like, how do you juggle all of that and still be successful in all the areas of your life that are important to you?

Rachel: 9:51
With three kids, it can be really difficult. I don’t really think there’s—like, it’s really hard to have balance. I don’t even know if you can really get balance with something like that, but all you can do is try, right?

So I don’t know. Lots of people who have a craft or whatever, they like to sit down and focus on it and work for an hour or two on it. But that usually doesn’t happen for me. I have like a little WIP bag and I bring it everywhere with me. Anytime I have like 10 minutes—if the kids are playing upstairs and the baby’s napping—I pull out my stuff and I just work like one or two rows.

I basically just have to squeeze it in whenever I can. I know that’s not always the best way to do it, because then you get distracted and you can’t remember where you left off or things like that. So I have a notebook and I have to write down exactly where I started and left off. I have to keep pretty good notes to keep my patterns organized and stuff like that.

But to make any progress, I definitely just have to do it anytime I can. I bring it with me when we’re out, if we’re in the car, if my husband’s driving—I definitely have my stuff with me and I’m crocheting in the passenger seat and stuff like that.

Brittany: 11:20
Yeah, it probably makes you a better crocheter too because you do have to stay on top of things a little bit more.

Rachel: 11:26
Oh, I hope so. I don’t know if it helps or if it hinders, but I hope that it gives some help. So yeah, there’s that. And then nap time—if they’re all being good—I can do it.

And then I definitely have to just keep lists and have a to-do list of what I want to get done. And the biggest thing is, like, I have very low expectations. That’s like my biggest tip—don’t wake up and say you’re going to get this, this, this, this, and this done and set all these high expectations for your day.

I have low expectations. I say I’m going to get this done today. And if I get it done, then I’m doing good. And if I get more than that done, then I’m doing excellent. And if I don’t finish it, then oh well.

Brittany: 12:15
There’s always tomorrow.

Rachel: 12:17
Yep. There’s always tomorrow.

Brittany: 12:18
I’ve heard that a great strategy for mapping out your day is to pick your top three. And for a while, I kind of fought with that because I thought I could do more than three things in a day. If I can’t, then clearly I’m not doing something right.

Because as somebody who doesn’t have kids and who works from home, I basically have the house to myself—I can do more than three things. But I feel like what I constantly do is underestimate the amount of time that something takes. And I feel like that’s just a learning process. Some things just take a lot more time than others.

I mean, I can post on social and kind of do that in a few minutes, but if I’m starting a new pattern or a new design, I need to take that extra time—so it might only be the only thing on my list.

Rachel: 13:12
yeah definitely like I definitely underestimate how much time certain things take, like even things like Pinterest and stuff like that. So I didn’t know how important Pinterest was, like side note, until recently. And then I started, you know, pinning and stuff on it. And I was like, this takes forever. Like I don’t have time to just sit here and like pin things all day.

And then I found out about like tailwind and all of that. And so I love that I can batch all of that. You can, I can sit down during a nap, nap time and get that all done and like batch all of my pins for the month. And it’s like awesome.

And same with like taking photos for Instagram. Like I try, it doesn’t always happen, but I try and take at least two and three, two or three photos a you know, at a time when I have my phone out taking pictures to post for over the next few days or whatever. For Instagram, I’m trying to like batch things like that. It helps and goes a long way, I think, too.

Brittany: 14:14
Yeah, batching is a theme that I am really clinging to right now. I feel like that’s the secret. That’s the ticket. No matter what you’re trying to do or what you’re trying to accomplish, I feel like when you can batch things, that is when… stuff really gets done.

Yep, definitely. I agree. Yeah. So I’m taking that approach with the podcast now. And rather than just putting recording one or two episodes here and there whenever my guests are available, I’m taking a approach of I’m recording six episodes at a time on this day and this day. So three on day one, three on day two. And at the end of that, I have six episodes.

And it’s just so amazing to just put in a little bit of time up front. And then you have that to go to when you need it when you’re in a pinch and you don’t have time I can say oh I already recorded this I’ve already edited it in my batch and it’s here and ready to go.

I love that you use that for Instagram too. I know that’s a struggle that comes up for a lot of makers in the community is well you know when do you just when you have time to stage a photo every single day I bet they’re probably batching

Rachel: 15:34
behind the scenes uh-huh definitely it’s like if I so like yesterday I posted just like a photo of my current whip and it’s cozy looking and I’m wearing slippers and I’m sitting on my comfy carpet and it’s like no when I posted that I wasn’t really sitting there doing that I did take the photo and batch it but like that’s the That’s the only way. There’s no way I would be able to do that every single day. It’s a lot of work taking pictures and posting like that.

Brittany: 16:09
Yeah, I think that’s really good for people to hear. Obviously, we want to be our authentic selves on Instagram. But like you said, sometimes life is just a little bit too busy and we can’t. And it was authentic at the time that the photo was taken.

And I feel like it’s perfectly fine to share like that. And, you know, you’re you’re posting in the moment. Instagram doesn’t really let us schedule things very easily. They do. But I tend to not do that because it’s just it doesn’t feel right to me, I guess. Instagram has always been the in the moment application. And I love that about it.

Rachel: 16:48
Yeah. And I definitely do take a bunch in the moment, too. Like there’s some days I don’t have any photos posted. ready to go and or sometimes when I finish like my current piece of clothing or whatever and I’m super excited about it and I jump up and take a picture of it and I post it like 10 minutes later so a lot of the times it is like right then and there but if I’m sitting and crocheting and it’s like calm then I’m definitely you know I’m going to definitely take a picture and save it for later for backup so yeah I love that about it too

Brittany: 17:20
especially when you have good lighting – gotta take that opportunity.

Rachel: 17:23
Yeah and the lighting has been so bad lately because it’s just been cloudy and then it gets dark so early. I’m like, oh my gosh.

Brittany: 17:31
Not good photography weather. Yeah, I know. So how about your designs? For somebody who is a designer who is just like really trying to find a groove, is there anything that you have done knowing that you crochet when and where you can to be able to consistently put out new designs? Do you give yourself a deadline or do you just work on something and it’s done when it’s done

Rachel: 17:58
so I do not give myself a deadline for like my own stuff if I’m if I’m doing like a collab with someone or if I have to get something turned in then of course like I don’t know I get like hyper focused on that and I stress about it and I just feel so much better when I’m when I finish what does have a deadline, but for my own stuff, I just, I don’t really stress out about it too much. I just work on it when I can.

And I also, I think like a big thing is I don’t like having a million different works in progress. Like I just, I can’t do it. I get to like, my brain is like, okay, okay, okay. You have so many different things that you’re trying to focus on that. I feel like you don’t make any progress with any of it. Like that’s just how it feels to me when I’m doing my stuff.

So I like to pick and focus on like one big project. And then anytime that I have time, I just, that’s what I’m working on for like the week or the next two weeks or whatever is that same project. If I have a million different things going on and pick it up and do a row here on this one and do a row here on that one. Like, I don’t like, I don’t move forward at all. So yeah. Definitely. One big project is the way to go for me.

Brittany: 19:22
Yeah. That was going to be my next thought there. How many projects do you think you’re completing if you just had to put an average to it? Like all at the same time? Or just complete it in

Rachel: 19:35
like a year or so or a month? Oh, gosh. Oh, I don’t even know. It depends on… Depends on what it is. A lot of my stuff is bigger pieces like sweaters and pieces of clothing and stuff like that. So they do take longer. But yeah, I mean, I have random ones that I throw into because sometimes you need a break if you’re working on something big.

So if my mother-in-law asked me to make her a beanie, then I just like whip up a beanie on the side or yeah, like I have different projects going on, I’ll sometimes set aside the big project and do something small that I can like finish right away.

Brittany: 20:12
That makes sense. I know for me, my sweet spot tends to be around 24 a year, but I don’t necessarily do all big projects. I like to put some small ones in there really just to give my hands and mind a break—also to give projects that are instantly gratifying or almost instantly gratifying for people.

I think 12 is a really great number too for somebody who’s not really trying to just like constantly push out stuff. If you’re not a designer, if you’re not trying to make things to sell, I’d say one project a month is totally doable. And that gives you enough time to not only finish the project in the time that you have, but give yourself a little bit of time to admire what you’ve done.

I feel like that’s a really important part too. If we’re just, you know, bouncing from one project to the next and we don’t take the time to admire what we’ve just made, then I would feel like over time it would become like work or just not fun anymore. Yeah.

Rachel: 21:15
You know, that’s right. And I haven’t really, I haven’t really thought about that, but that’s totally true. Like I need to take the time. Cause I feel like by the time I finish one piece, like I’ve wore and I post it and I’m like, okay, the pattern’s up guys, go, go, go. And I’m already like moved on to the next, to the next project or whatever. And I don’t, I don’t like sit back and be like, ah, look at what I made. Yay. Like,

Brittany: 21:39
yeah, I’ll need to start doing that more for sure. I’m totally guilty of it too, because I feel like we’re under a different type of pressure where we do need to move on to the next thing because we have people who are depending on us for these patterns and resources and they look forward to it. And I feel like that’s our driving force.

But when I just crocheted for fun, my driving force was finishing it and giving it to somebody and seeing their face, and that was just the most amazing feeling. I sort of miss that a little bit now.

Rachel: 22:14
Yeah, that used to be mine too when I would finish and put it on my girls or whatever and be so excited and have them wear the beanies or scarves and all that, and then I would be like, okay, what should I make next? And then browse other people’s patterns, but now I’m the one writing the patterns, so…

kind of different now. Now I’m just like, okay, I have to make the next thing on my list that I’ve been dying to make for like weeks and have had in my brain.

Brittany: 22:43
Yeah, I can totally relate. Now you mentioned before that you make a lot of bigger items and like garments and that sort of thing. What do you think drew you to that side of the design world?

Rachel: 22:55
You know, probably just like the satisfaction of wearing something that you’ve made. I first started out, you know, just normal beanies and stuff like that. And then I made a few bralettes because that’s—that was like super popular—and but they weren’t all that functional, you know?

Like they’re so cute and you could, you know, wear them if you’re going to the beach or whatever like that. But I don’t go to the beach and like, so like I would make it. And then like, other than—I was still selling on Etsy at that time and I would get tons of orders for them, but yeah.

Yeah, so I just kind of moved on to things that I would actually wear, you know? And so sweaters and cardigans and comfy, like, pajama shorts and…

For the last few weeks, I’ve had the word intentional in my head. It just popped up and I’ve been, okay, so for 2019, I’m going to be intentional, intentional. So I’m going to be intentional with the patterns I make and with the designs. I’m not just going to make something to make it. I’m going to make something with the intention of wearing it and for a reason. So no more things that I’m going to make and just… sit somewhere like what do I do with it now yeah

Brittany: 24:14
I love that. I think that is such an important message, especially for designers specifically—although I think everybody can relate—but for designers, we want to make people happy, we want to create things that other people want to make and that they are excited about. But that might not necessarily be the things that we are excited about or that we would want to make.

And I feel like we’ve all sort of fallen into that every now and then, or maybe even more often than that. I do have a lot of projects myself that I’ve created out of a request and was perfectly happy to do that. And then I have the thing and I’m like, oh, what do I do with this now?

So I love that—being intentional about the designs that you make. Also being intentional about what you choose to make if you’re not writing a pattern. We put so much time and effort into our projects. And if you’re not 100% sure—yes, I will put this afghan on my couch and my family will use it, or I will wear this sweater, or any number of things—I feel like that is so important.

Again, because if you make things and at the end of it, you’re not super thrilled, then it takes a lot of the fun out of the making process.

Rachel: 25:31
Yeah, I totally agree. And I’ll have people, you know, message me and ask me to design certain things. And I just want to make everyone happy and, and ever and to be everyone like help everyone. So I like usually I’ll take it on and do it.

But yeah, you got to be really careful about like what you, you know, decide to do and everything like that. Or you definitely like, Oh, why am I sitting here making this I have some I have this sweater I need to be working on or that’s kind of it brings it back to when I was selling my items.

I would get orders for the same thing over and over and over again and this is when I was like beginning to design my own patterns and I ended up just like I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to sit here make the same beanie 20 times to sell. Like I want to be working on my new design ideas and like that’s when I ultimately like shut everything down in my shop for finished product and went straight completely to designing so

Brittany: 26:31
yeah I think that’s an important realization to make too it’s just figuring out what is fueling you and what is just completely draining you so I love that you found your style and you know what exactly what you want to do.

I feel like it’s so so unique that was one thing that really stood out to me is I love your style I love the projects that you create it’s really fun and fresh and it’s just a breath of fresh air to see somebody that really knows exactly what they love and they just do that

Rachel: 27:05
oh thank you that makes me so happy because I still feel like you know sometimes trying to figure out exactly you know when you’re in the moment like you feel like you’re still not to where you Yeah, definitely.

Brittany: 27:22
Yeah. I want to bring it back to this theme of making time to crochet. I know it’s something that a lot of us struggle with. It’s something we can all relate to.

And I love some of the tips that you’ve given. You crochet during nap time. You take it with you on the go. And you make sure that you don’t have too many projects going at once because that just kind of kills your focus and probably your motivation too.

Are there any other tips that you have experimented with or, or tried to, to save some time or perhaps just done things differently on like the planning side of things.

Rachel: 28:22
So I’m like super lucky. My husband is really supportive of, you know, my crocheting and my staying at home and working. So he’s definitely a big help when it comes to like, if I haven’t had time to work on anything that day and he’ll take the girls and take them to the park or take them out and then I get time to do what I need to do.

Because sometimes when you work at home, it kind of gets lost in the shuffle. Ultimately, you’re at home working and being a mom and you still have to pick up after the kids and clean the house and cook dinner.

It’s nice when he can take them and give me some time to work on what I want to work on. And also, I would just say… Like you have to let go of the guilt that you get. So you can have like mom guilt or guilt that you didn’t do the laundry or guilt that you didn’t cook dinner that day and you’re ordering pizza instead, but you kind of just, just gotta let go and do.

Like, I know I’ll feel guilty sometimes if I’m sitting there crocheting instead of, you know, playing with the kids, even though I just played with them. Not that like a couple hours ago.

Brittany: 29:46
Yeah.

Rachel: 29:46
You know, but so you just kind of—because it’s definitely—you have to do things for yourself still, too, because crocheting isn’t like just my job. It’s also like what I love to do. And it’s like mental sanity for me. So,

Brittany: 30:00
yeah, I feel like that’s really important to take care of yourself first before you’re even even able to take care of somebody else.

Rachel: 30:10
Yeah, definitely. You have to be in the right place frame of mind and you know be happy too. If you’re not happy, like your kids know when you’re not happy, like they can feel it even if you’re not showing it or whatever.

So you have to definitely take time for yourself to make your family and everyone around you happy too.

Brittany: 30:31
yeah totally agree. Now, you mentioned that you were part of something new, the Stitch Together official. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Rachel: 30:44
So that’s actually a group of about 10 of us all together, some designer friends. We were like, hey, we should start a crochet along knit along group. And everyone’s like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, let’s do it. Let’s do it.

And it just kind of snowballed into that. It hasn’t been going on that long, only a couple months, but it’s kind of gotten pretty big super fast. And so what we do is each of us design something and then we do like a crochet along or a knit along with it on our Facebook page. And each one lasts a few weeks.

And sometimes they are one single pattern and we’ve been playing around with doing like buddy crochet along and knit along. So like this last one someone designed knit a beanie and someone crocheted a cowl and then if you were participating, you could make both.

If you only knew how to crochet, you could just do crochet. And we had people try and learn how to knit. And like I actually knit the hat too. And that was my first time knitting with such small DK weight yarn. So it was crazy for me.

And I did it, which I didn’t think I would be able to because it’s kind of a—it looks like a super complicated beanie—but it was actually really pretty easy and it was really fun. So yeah.

Yeah, so just every few weeks we have a new designer, someone that’s in the group, and then we’re also having some special guest knitters and crocheters coming on in the future, which we’re excited about. And my first one will be in February. I’ll be doing a crochet along, so I’m excited for that too, really.

Brittany: 32:37
cool it plays back into that like active self-care. I feel like this would be a good opportunity for somebody to just connect with other makers. I mean that’s the cool part of knit alongs and crochet alongs—you get to all do the same thing.

And you know maybe that’s the first step for somebody listening who knows that they need to carve out a little time for themselves because it’s important to them. Maybe they try getting in on this.

Is it, you said it’s hosted on Facebook. Is it a closed group or is it open to anybody?

Rachel: 33:10
You can just get on and we just have three little questions asking if you knit or crochet and how you heard about us and you’re accepted into the group right away. Yeah. And it is on Facebook. It’s under Stitch Together Official.

And we have a lot of fun. We offer different prizes. And it really is, my favorite part is definitely meeting people. Like you can definitely meet friends that way and just be a part of the community. And everyone’s there to help and answer questions.

You don’t have to sit and Google if you’re having trouble on something. Like people pop up right away and answer questions—any questions and stuff like that. It’s really, it’s really fun.

Brittany: 33:56
oh yeah that’s really good too. I know when somebody has a question, it’s usually because they’re trying to figure it out right then. And it’s not always great when you have to wait for someone to answer or maybe the admin to answer your question or that sort of thing.

So it’s always good to have a community that’s knowledgeable too and willing to help. So I will link to that for sure in the show notes page. So if you’re listening and you’re looking to get into something or to be a part of something, it sounds like it would be a good place to go.

Now as far as the community there, can you share some information on that just so we kind of know like who’s there and what they like to do and what they like to make?

Rachel: 34:40
So in the Stitch Together group there’s—I’m one of I think there’s 10 total—10 ladies that we all kind of run it together. And we have like Amber from Divine Debris. She’s the next crochet along that’s happening. And she is just like the queen of tapestry crochet. And she designed like a really awesome stocking. So we have that one coming up.

And just each of us have like our own different little things, you know, niche that we like to crochet. And so we have Lee from Coco Crochet Lee. She’s in there and she just, yeah, she’s in it with me and she did a really pretty braided cowl. That one is wrapping up.

She did that along with the knit hat from Katie from Katie and the Squid. She’s the one that designed the knit hat. Yeah. So there’s just a bunch of a wide range of different designers in there and we all kind of have something different to add to the group I think.

And then with our guests, we’re hoping to get some good guest hosts in there to come on and yeah it should be really fun. So there’s something for everyone I think definitely.

Brittany: 35:59
Now are the patterns available after the CAL has concluded or are they only available when it’s happening?

Rachel: 36:05
Yep. So you can buy the patterns. We release them when we announce the next crochet along or knit along. And so you can purchase it then. And then they are also available anytime after that.

And after the crochet along is complete, you can go to that person’s shop or blog or whatever, and then purchase it too on your own if you missed it. We have people that have done every single one so far. We’ve only had a few crochet alongs so far, but you can also skip ones if you’re too busy.

Like I know it’s kind of impossible for people to do every single one, but so you can kind of pick and choose what you want to do and stuff like that. So it’s been great so far.

Brittany: 36:52
Yeah. It sounds like a great resource. Now, if a listener wants to connect with you personally, outside of that, what are some of the things that you have going on or where’s the best place for them to connect with you, to learn more about you and see your designs?

Rachel: 37:09
So I’m definitely the most active on Instagram and you can find me at Evelyn and Peter on there. I’m on there every single day and I love, you know, interacting with people in the community on there, which I knew before—I didn’t even know existed when I first started on Instagram. Yeah. So I’m on there.

And then I also have a blog and that’s where I post my free patterns. It’s E and P crochet.com. And I’m trying—another one of my goals for the new year is to start, you know, posting more and more free patterns. I kind of have a little balance between that and my Etsy shop. So I also am on Etsy at Evelyn and Peter and you can find my paid patterns there. And yeah, that’s…

Brittany: 38:01
…where I’m at. Wonderful. I will have links to all of that in the show notes page. So I just want to say a big thanks. It’s been a joy connecting with you and chatting with you about this really important topic that I feel like we’re all struggling with.

Rachel: 38:16
Yeah, it’s been so awesome being on here with you. I was so excited when I got your email, so thank you so much for asking me.

Brittany: 38:25
Oh, the pleasure is all mine. All right, I hope you got some wonderful strategies out of that conversation with Rachel from Evelyn and Peter.

And now I’m ready for your tips and your strategies. So please, when you have a spare minute today, leave your comments at bhooked.com/102. Not only will that help me to get new ideas, but more importantly, it helps others. And that’s what we’re about here on the show.

So big thank you to Rachel for sharing all of those wonderful tips with us today. I know there are a couple that I took away that I can try and incorporate so that I can get some more stitching time in as well.

Well, on the topic of helping, if I could ask one little favor of you. Can you help the show out a little bit? I would be so grateful if you could either tell a friend about the show, maybe just in casual conversation. If you love it—if you love what we’re doing here or what I’m doing here—then word of mouth is one of the most important things for a podcaster.

In addition to that, if you wanted to take it one step further and either subscribe to the show or leave an honest rating and/or a review in iTunes, if you visit behooked.com/iTunes, that’ll take you directly to the podcast in iTunes where you can leave your rating and a review.

I do read every single one of those and it drives me and motivates me and gives me the direction that I need to take as we move forward with the new year and with new episodes. So thank you so much for that if you have a spare minute to do that.

And please give us your tips on the show notes page for today so that we can get even more strategies and even more ideas to incorporate more crochet into our life and carve out those minutes so that we can do so.

It’s been a real pleasure, my friend, today. I look forward to serving you in next week’s episode. But until then, have a wonderful weekend, get some stitching time in, and I’ll see you then. Bye for now.