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Showing posts from November, 2021

BLOG UPDATE: What's happening with my stall posts, and more!

Read on to learn about what's going to happen moving forward with this blog!  Hi everyone!  This is a post that has been in the works for a while now - it's been sitting on my "drafts" page for the better part of two months. But hooray, it's finally done! All because I decided to finish it up as part of writing a fuller response to several questions I've received about my stall posts. (PS: I snuck in time from exam study and countless pages of notes to write this - so I really truly do hope it helps you all!)    Ever since I started this blog, I've been making posts for each of my stalls -  this  was my very first one, and I still look back on it with happy thoughts! I've absolutely loved sharing my experience for each stall I've done so far, but once I got beyond the first 10 or so, my entries started to get a little repetitive.  Additionally, I've started posting on Instagram more frequently about my stalls and I've found that to be easie...

Special birthday make!!

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Hey guys! It's been a week since my last post, and I'm excited to share with you my latest special make, a tiny amigurumi toy.  This is just a quick post as the past few weeks have been pretty hectic for my sewing and crochet projects so I haven't had much free time apart from studying for exams and sewing/crocheting my fingers off. I have so many WIPs that I can't keep up with them all! I've also been itching to start designing a new pattern that's been floating around in my head for the last few weeks, as well as start a cute princess doll I found a pattern for.  (There are so many things I want/have to do but priorities come first, sigh)  But just for yesterday, I paused my looong list of projects so I could whip up something for my dad's birthday. (New priority time!)  Check out my little project, done and dusted in about 2.5 hours! And yes, I finished him in the car :)!!  Ta-da, a mini Baby Yoda chilling on a keychain :D. You can see how tiny he is in t...

Speciality Amigurumi Round 1!

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Dear friends,  I'm excited to share with you my new Speciality Amigurumi challenge!  This is how it works:  1) You guys  send me requests for speciality characters to be turned into amigurumi.  2) I pick 2-3 of these and turn them into a little crochet doll!  Here are some rules around speciality characters you can suggest: 1) They can come from pop culture or be someone famous (eg, Katniss from the Hunger Games or Beth from The Queen's Gambit) 2) OR they can be a special request character (ie. the mermaid I made below!). You have to provide a  detailed description of what colours you'd like, the type of doll, etc. Email me at littlespools.byash@gmail.com for more info if you're considering this option. Of the 3 dolls for each round, I'll pick 1 or 2 to be put up for sale, and the last one will go to a lucky customer for FREE!  For round 1 (pictured below) I tested out this challenge with a couple of friends and family, and finally I decided on tw...

What gives me pain as a small business owner

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Dear friends,  I'm writing this the day after my 17th stall, which was at St Brigid's College in Lesmurdie. We finally tried an outdoor location again after so many indoor stalls at Perth City Market, and naturally we had to get used to a long-forgotten set of challenges (and highlights) along the way. But this post is not going to be about this stall  per se, but about something that happened while it was ongoing.  This incident is not unique or uncommon to any small handmade business owner who sells their work at physical stalls and markets. I hope that through me sharing my experience, you too (whether you're a small business owner too or a customer who loves handmade products) will understand why this grieves any artisan maker who sells their handmade products.  Here is what happened yesterday.  Somewhere, through all the busyness of making sales and talking to customers, two of my amigurumi toys were stolen.  The stall we set up yesterday had a nice wa...

Product List Update! (Nov 2021)

Hello friends!!  Before I dive into this post, here's a (sad-ish) disclaimer:  As previously mentioned, I've been having some technical difficulties with Blogger not letting me insert images into my posts. I know, it's a big bummer!!  I'll still post regularly despite this, however please bear with my photo-less posts for a little while and I will try to fix this issue as soon as possible ! Thank you for understanding :)  Moving on:  As I'm sure many of you would know from my Insta updates, Little Spools' sewing and crochet lines have expanded a LOT since July.  So, I decided to write up a full, updated product list to post here before I officially change it on my  website  :). This list is correct as of November 2021, after which more products might arrive (I'll do up another list when more come along). Without further ado, read on to see our whole range of products from sewing to crochet!  Sewing Alphabet Keychains  - $3 or 2 for $5...

My latest hook choice - Daiso hooks!

Note: Blogger was being REALLY annoying while I was writing up this post and wouldn't allow me to add any pictures anywhere. I know it's not the same, but I've still included the links to the photos in the post! I'll try to solve this issue ASAP, but for now I'm really sorry for this - I know it's not the same as having the photos directly here! (or maybe it's not a legit issue, and it's just that I have rubbishy IT skills XD)  Hey guys!  Up till a few weeks ago, I didn't pay much attention to the hooks I was using for amigurumi. However, since my frequent stalls (and school holidays) have got me whipping up as many little toys as possible, my poor little hook soon became insufficient to cope with the workload. So I switched sizes a couple of times, and here's how it unfolded.  The hook was a 3.5mm size - this was the very first size I started out with for crocheting amigurumi with DK - double knit - yarn (8ply). I was pretty happy with my projec...

LIFE UPDATE - November 2021

Dear all,  The last time I posted here was aaaaaaaaaaages ago! We're currently up to stall #17 (happening this weekend at the Lesmurdie Twilight Fair) so there's definitely been a huge jump between my last update and today - July to November. What an eventful few months it's been. And can you believe it's 53 days till Christmas??? So, I'm writing this post for a few reasons -   1) I reeeeally feel bad that I haven't posted in months! I have quite a few faithful readers of this blog who have asked me why I've stopped being active on this page. When I set this blog up it was meant to be a regular sort of "journal" to document every part of the Little Spools journey. However, with the recent creation of our Insta page, it's just gotten more time consuming to post on the website, Instagram, and  the blog every time something comes up. There were a couple of other complications (tech wise) that had to be sorted out too. But that's all done and d...