So I've finally done it! I have finally created a blog site solely for my business, The Little Things! Woohoo! Can you believe it? I can barely believe it myself.
Let me give you a little background to The Little Things.
It all started when I was about 7 years old. I had been watching my mom crochet and I wanted to learn. So over the next hour or so, I learned the fine art of single, double, and half double crochets. My first project was fairly ambitious for a 7 yr old....a cradle for my baby doll. Thankfully it was a tiny baby doll, but ambitious all the same. Don't ask me how I accomplished it, but somehow I managed to create what miraculously resembled a bassinet that was about the size of my 7 yr old fist. I think it took me about 3 months to do it....whew! But it didn't deter me from crocheting a few other items...mostly tiny blankets for my dolls. Then as I got older, I got bored with it....I think I was 8.
Fast forward a few years. I was 12 or 13 when my youngest first cousin was born. I was determined to make a baby blanket for her first Christmas. She was born on Dec 19. I did not complete that project for several more years...I was 24. I ended up giving it to my niece when she was 5 months old. Whew!
Over the years I would take up hook and yarn and create other non-threatening projects....scarfs, small-ish blankets, scarfs, pot holders....and did I mention scarfs? All of my projects looked vaguely similar....long, stretched out, and misshapen. What was intended to be even became crooked, what was supposed to be crooked was even more crooked. I finally gave up and put my hook and yarn away.
Fast forward a few more years. I had not been feeling well for several of those years, and the winters were especially hard on me. I had to find something to do with my bored mind during the winter months, because any strenuous activity usually put me in bed or on the couch for a few days. I once again searched out the hook and yarn and made a few scarfs....go figure. These newer scarfs, however, started to resemble more of what a scarf was supposed to look like. They were long, narrow, and oh-so-straight! I was so excited! Then my curious mind started to think. Should I try knitting? Yes, I should, and I did. It was fun....but much more time consuming. I knew there weren't going to be many knitting projects in my future. Then the winter was over and it was once again time to put away the hook, needles and yarn. After all, who knits or crochets in the summer? Who has time to knit or crochet in the summer? But with all my busy-ness and not feeling well, my hobby items didn't see the light of day and must have been feeling neglected over the next couple years.
BUT THEN.....
One fine spring day, when I was especially bored....and probably tired of looking for the perfect hat for the little girl I did childcare for....I took up my hook and yarn once again. I googled crochet hat patterns, and what do you know? There were hundreds, if not thousands of options to choose from. Whew! Where would I even begin? It all looked to complicated to me anyway. With all the hdc's, sc's, ss's, and other such nonsense, it seemed more like Greek than any English I had ever seen. But I was determined to figure it out, so I decided to google all those abbreviations to see if I could get them translated to an English I could understand. And what do you know? I learned what all of those codes meant and actually learned how to do them! Before I knew it, I had created a cute little black beanie....a black beanie that needed a flower! So thanks once again to google, I found a pattern for that too. I was amazed at how easy and fun it was. And it had only taken me a couple hours from start to finish. I posted that hat on facebook, and can you believe that I got 3 orders within the first couple hours? I couldn't believe it myself! Wow! How did THAT happen?
Now let's fast forward a few months. I had been taking orders for and making hats nearly every week....not a lot, but enough to keep my busy. After all, I still had other jobs I was doing over the summer, and then childcare again in the fall. I also started making and selling tutus. Now THAT was F-U-N! I decided that "Dawn's Hats" didn't apply anymore.....not to mention it wasn't very original either. So I knew I needed to find a name that would be catchy and would apply to all that I planned to do with my new business. So, to make a long story short, I had a contest for people to find a new name for "Dawn's Hats". Let me tell you, there were some pretty "unique" ones coming in. But finally the perfect one stuck. I don't think I have to tell you what it was. Is.
And the rest, as they say, is history!
Now I'm over a year into making crochet hats and flowers, as well as headbands, but now I'm also making sewn items as well. Aprons, bonnets, up-cycled clothing, to name a few. I have a few other ideas floating around in this brain of mine, and I can't wait to try them.
So now that you know the history behind "The Little Things", I want to thank you for checking out my site. I hope you find something you're looking for. If you need to order something, please go to my Etsy site at www.etsy.com/shop/thelittlethings2011. Currently, as of writing this, I only have tutus and aprons up, but check back soon for some more "Little Things"....after all.....
....it's what makes life fun!
PS....I just want to say, this site would not be possible without the help of God in my life. He has directed this whole venture from start to finish and I have Him to thank for every "Little Thing" in my life.
"If you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in large ones." Luke 16:10
