Heads Up! First Fridays on Etsy - FREE SHIPPING!

I belong to the AWEteam, which stands for Art Walk Etsy team. On every first friday of each month every member of that team offers a special discount; mine is free shipping on all items tagged with: firstfridayartwalk.  Fifty-two of my 86 items in my shop are tagged with firstfridayartwalk and all have free shipping on Friday, March 5th.



Honey Bee Crochet by SturmDM    (Check out my $10 Beanie Hat Sale!)



To make it even easier for you, here's the link for all my items that will have free shipping on Friday, that's THIS coming Friday, March 5th, because it's the first friday of the month already. I can't believe how quickly time flies.



firstfridayartwalk



I don't know about you, but free shipping is a really big incentive for me when ordering online. So, take a look and maybe tell a friend...I will give my friends a referral gift (surprise) or discount and remember that in only two more days, it's the first friday of the month.



I hope you don't mind me telling you, but I don't know if everyone knew about this, since I don't speak about my Etsy shop very often. But, I thought you should know, just in case - something to remember and tuck away for future use, maybe - so, thank you and remember to get out those crochet hooks and yarn so we can crochet something for our Crochet-a-long this month, since March is National Crochet month. I want to collect pictures of all your finished work so I can post it here and have another drawing for a fun gift that I will ship to US and Canada (only, please!) I'm so sorry about not being able to pay for overseas shipping, but I am barely squeaking by and every cent I have goes to catfood or human food - (yes, even big people need to eat.)



My hook's been flying fast and furiously the past week, because I am crocheting more inventory for the upcoming Deer Fest. It's this Saturday, March 6th, and even though I'm not into hunting and such, there will also be food vendors, live music and arts and crafts booths...something for everyone. I hope it won't rain or else I'm not going. Here are a some new items I made recently to add to my inventory. I hope you like it:

If you want to see what my team members are offering for the upcoming First Friday on Etsy, click here and have fun browsing all the lovely items:



Etsy "firstfridayartwalk" team



There's also another opportunity for me to display my crocheted work on Saturday, March 27th, at the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, which is another family gathering that offers food and arts and crafts exhibits. If I have enough for the space rental fee, I would love to go there - maybe even more than the Deer Fest because I really, really love Easter! It's my second favority Holiday!

March is National Crochet Month

In honor of National Crochet Month, I would like to propose a fun activity for me and my friends. Let's have a Crochet-a-long this month. I've never organized one, but how difficult can it be?



I suggest for anyone who always wanted to learn how to crochet, to take this opportunity to just do it. I will be available to answer questions you may have to get your project off to a good start. Obviously, I don't know everything, but the trick is to know where to find your answers. Thanks to the Internet, learning a new hobby is easier than you think.



If you do not want to crochet yourself, you could encourage someone else, maybe a child, to pick up a hook and some yarn. Because children are naturally quick learners, they find crocheting to be a fun and entertaining activity. Bonus: It teaches them to sit still, be patient and concentrate, not to mention the rewards that come from having completed a project.



I will provide you with links to some websites with tutorials and free crochet patterns for your perusal. If you are going to a crafts store, like Michaels or Hobby Lobby, to purchase your yarn and hook, they often have free patterns hanging in the yarn section for you to take. Also, be sure and read the sleeve around the skein of yarn for the size of crochet hook that you will need for that particular yarn. I like to use 100% cotton yarn for my dish cloths. Look for yarns that also have free patterns on the sleeve - cotton yarns usually give you patterns for kitchen items.  For beginners, I would recommend easy projects, like maybe a pot holder, dish cloth, scarf or beanie type hat, anything that isn't too complicated or else it's likely you will get frustrated and lose interest.

Here are the websites I promised you:



Crochet Guild of America



Crochet Pattern Central



About.com



Free Vintage Crochet



Lions Brand Yarn



You Tube: How to crochet



Craft Yarn Council of America



Mary Maxim



 



I hope some of you will join me in this month's Crocket-a-long and as an added bonus, I will offer anyone who has completed their project, to send me a photo to display on my blog for other readers to see - and maybe get inspired by.



I will enter all participants in another drawing for a small surprise gift! (with free shipping to the US and Canada only, please!) Good luck and enjoy!