Megan Recommends

September 11, 2015October 16, 2015 ~ Megan Barclay ~ Leave a comment

This is a blog series in which I tell you about random things I recommend you try – and they aren’t often ami related!

feedly:

I follow quite a number of blogs in order to stay up to date on all that is going on in the world of yarn, plus some other personal interest blogs. I could bookmark them all and check them for updates every so often, or I could sign up to receive an email every time they release a new post, but those options aren’t very convenient. It is time consuming to check each blog individually, and I don’t want my inbox to be filled with every single blog post, some of which I might not even want to read. What do I do? I use the blog reader feedly!

There are other popular feed readers out there, such as Bloglovin’, and if you are looking for a place to organize your blogs I recommend trying them all out to see what works for you, but my favourite is feedly. It is basic, easy to use, and displays your favourite blogs nicely in one feed. While Bloglovin’ has a more social aspect to it, I didn’t want that with my reader – the simpler the better!

Basically, you search for your favourite blogs within feedly, save them to your account, and then each new blog post from your saved blogs will show up in your feed. You can also organize the different blogs into categories, so if you only want to see the updates from the amigurumi blogs you follow, you can just look at your amigurumi category feed!

You can also save individual blog posts to read later if you can’t currently read it but don’t want to forget about it – or maybe you really liked the post and want to read it again in the future.

There is also a mobile app for feedly so you can check your feeds on your phone or tablet while on the go. It syncs with the desk-top version so everything is kept up to date.

My favourite thing about feedly is how easy it is to add a new blog to your feed by using the chrome add-on. The add-on shows up as a little feedly icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your computer screen and when you click on it while you are on a particular blog’s page you can do a number of different things, including share the post to facebook, share the post on twitter, save the post for later on your feedly account, or add the whole blog to your feedly feed. So easy!

A crochet and knitting meet-up group:

This year I started a knit and crochet meet-up group with a few of my friends and I love it! There are only four of us, but that is a perfect size for chatting it up while we knit and crochet together. It is fun to see what project everyone is working on and we can help each other out with tricky patterns.

Knitting and crocheting really are great hobbies for getting social – it is so easy to take projects with you anywhere and talk while creating. My group sometimes meets in a cafe, but lately we have been meeting for picnics at lunch so we can fully enjoy the summer weather.

Some meet-up groups knit and crochet for charity, too. They might knit winter hats for the homeless, crochet blankets for disaster relief packages, or crochet and knit amigurumi for sick children. So many great ways to help out, and it is always more enjoyable when you do it together.

If you aren’t involved in a knit/crochet group, I highly recommend you find one, or start one! You can check out different places online for groups that are already organized, such as on ravelry, facebook and meetup.com, or check with your local yarn shop to see if they have any groups or know of any. Of course, if you already have friends in mind that knit or crochet but you don’t currently get together, start organizing a meet-up yourself! It is so fun 🙂

A TV antenna:

My husband I don’t have cable television, but we still get to enjoy HD tv – and for free! Don’t like paying the big bill to your cable company but still want to enjoy watching basic tv? I suggest you try using a tv antenna instead! They usually cost less than $30 and you can often still watch the top stations in HD quality.

With our antenna we can get about 10 channels, including Global, CTV, CityTV, and CBC (which are some of the main Canadian stations). We could maybe even get more if our apartment building wasn’t surrounded by other, taller buildings. For us, however, these channels are enough. We can watch the news every morning and evening, as well as whatever other fun show might be on when we just want to be lazy 😛

There is one major negative that you have to put up with, however: you might lose the signal for a station occasionally, especially during bad weather. While some of our stations are no problem and we always receive great reception, other stations can be a little more finicky. But hey, when it is free, you can deal with these little hick-ups that only occur occasionally. Plus, there is always Netflix!

Don’t forget to sign up for my amigurumi newsletter to receive emails filled with ami fun. You can also follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram, and pinterest to keep up to date on all things hookabee.

Until next time,

An amigurumi email newsletter

July 30, 2015October 16, 2015 ~ Megan Barclay ~ 5 Comments

This week I sent out the first issue of my amigurumi newsletter! Inspired by Abby Glassenberg, who often promotes the values of having an email newsletter, I decided to take the plunge and make one for myself.

Previously, there wasn’t a newsletter out there that was completely dedicated to the art of amigurumi, so I felt I needed to remedy this for all the ami fans out there 🙂

Right now I send it out every other week, but this may change to weekly once I have a few more issues under my belt and have built up my audience more.

What will you find in my newsletters? All things ami related! I include highlights from my blog posts, give updates on what is going on with hookabee, then share a number of links of things I have found across the web related to amigurumi. These could be interviews of other ami designers (podcast episodes or blog articles), current crochet-alongs involving amis, new techniques for making amis, a look at tools/yarn/notions that are great for amis, as well as some finds related to the business side of amigurumi (selling patterns or finished items).

Each newsletter also includes a quick tip for making your amis, or a tip about photographing and sharing your finished creations.

My favourite part of the newsletter? An interview with a fellow amigurumi maker. Each issue I reach out to an ami crocheter or knitter and ask them questions about themselves, as well as why they love making amigurumi and what their favourite tools and yarn are when making them. It is so fun to connect with a new person each newsletter and learn more about them. While we are all connected in our love of making amis, we are all so different! This issue I interviewed Dominique, a 24 year-old from Belgium. She sounds so sweet – I would love to meet her in person 🙂

I also plan to have a caption contest each issue, which readers can enter for a chance to win a great coupon for a hookabee pattern. So far I have only received one response for the current contest, so there is a good chance of winning if you enter! Just find the link within the newsletter.

Finally, at the end of each newsletter there is a short editorial from me, plus a fun little fact about myself.

If you missed the first issue you can read it HERE, and if you want to sign up for all future issues, you can do so HERE. If you like it, forward it to a friend! If you have comments, critiques or an idea for something else you would like to see, let me know.

Until next time,

Why I don’t sell finished crochet items

May 29, 2015August 8, 2015 ~ Megan Barclay ~ 2 Comments

Since releasing Harry the Moustache I have received a couple of comments from people mentioning that he would do well as a stuffed animal on Etsy or even wholesale in stores. These comments made me think more about whether I want to go that route or not – but in the end I decided to stick with my original plan and not sell finished stuffed animals.

From the get go I knew I wanted to design patterns and not sell already completed items. I had been listening to podcasts about other designers who often started off selling their finished crocheted projects, but then switched to only selling patterns. The reason for this change? Most often it was because they got tired of making the same thing over and over again. When I crochet, I like making one item from a pattern and then move on and try a completely different one, a pattern from which I can learn something new – and I knew I would be the same with my designs. While I love my patterns and will be making more stuffed animals from them for friends and family, I do not want to make a ton of Harry’s all the time!

Another reason people often switch to designing patterns is that once the pattern is out there, you can make multiple sales on that one pattern without having to do much else (besides provide customer support). Yes, there is a lot more work that goes into designing a pattern than crocheting a finished stuffed animal, but in the end I think it is more efficient to make the pattern.

While these reasons are great and a large part of why I don’t make finished projects, there is another reason I am hesitant to crochet and sell stuffed animals: I want my patterns to inspire people to pick up a hook and learn how to crochet themselves, not take out their wallet to buy what I have already made. I want people to experience making a cute plush themselves, seeing how their creation comes to life when the face is complete, and then either admiring their work within their home, or giving it to someone else as a gift knowing they had made it themselves. I think anyone can learn to crochet, and if you are making something you think is adorable, it makes it that much easier and more fun!

I am not saying that you should never buy handmade goods, because I buy them myself, but I think in this case, with these amigurumi in particular, making one yourself isn’t that tricky if you really want one. There isn’t any crazy equipment or artistic skill needed, just a hook, yarn, stuffing and a bit of time. As my husband likes to say, “you can make that“, and I want others to be inspired to make things, too!

I try very hard to make my patterns uncomplicated and easy to follow so that no one is frustrated with crocheting their amigurumi. I want people to truly enjoy the experience. It is my hope that people won’t give up when making their animal (or moustache) because they are confused or maybe don’t like assembling and attaching all the pieces. I want people to enjoy the experience from beginning to end – so if you don’t, let me know, because I want to help!

Until next time,