Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
PurlyQ Custom Knitting & Hand dyed Yarn Review
Recently, I had the immense pleasure of working with Allison of PurlyQ!
Tell us a little about yourself & your family. (names, ages, etc.)
My name is Allison. I'm married to my super geeky computer programmer Wesley and we've got our sweet little Olivia who will be 3 in September 2010.
Tell us about your business(es).
Hopper Graphics offers professional graphic design at WAHM rates. I do offer design services to local and other non-WAHM businesses, but the non-WAHM rates are not nearly as low. My list of services include:
Logos
Business Card Design
Animated Graphics
Invitations and announcements
Graphic images (signature button, banner, avatar, etc)
Favicon
Brochure Design
Hyenacart Designs (and Congos)
T-shirt designs
PurlyQ offers handpainted yarn and knit children's clothing.
What inspired you to open your own business?I got my BFA in graphic design hoping to freelance. Setting my own hours while I've got little ones seems so ideal to me. I love that I can be creative and artistic and get paid in the process :-P
With PurlyQ, it was a little bit different. 2 years ago I would have never thought I'd be dying yarn or selling knits. I started knitting for my daughter. Knitting (for me at least) is extremely addictive, so after I had made 4-5 pairs of longies for Olivia, I needed more to knit. I tried a sock...bad experience. Scarves and baby blankets are OK, but I wanted to keep making longies. I thought about knitting and selling, so I started checking out hyena wool prices. I didn't have the funds to have ANY expensive wool in stock...I could have gone with YYMN, but I really wanted to dye my own.
I used a mixture of graduation and Christmas money to buy my first box of dying materials, and I've been hooked ever since
What’s your favorite thing about what you do?I love that both of my jobs are things I love to do even in my spare time. Loving my job is something I've always wanted, and I truly do love mine
Do you also work outside of the home?
I did for a few months after graduation. It was extremely overwhelming to do that job, 2 WAHM jobs, all the housekeeping, the main source of childcare for our daughter, playdates, cooking, etc. I managed to hold it together for about 4 months. I went back to school 2 weeks after my daughter was born, and the 4 months working as a WOHM and WAHM at the same time were far more difficult!
Do you have any advice for other moms who are thinking of starting a work-at-home-mom business?
Be patient! Sales are slow at the moment, so don't go in expecting to make a lot at first.
Don't do tons of giveaways...from my experience they gain a tiny bit of exposure, but unless it's something you're not able to move that well anyway you'll just hurt yourself by giving away a lot of items. One or two is perfectly fine.
Don't work for nothing. This perhaps is the biggest issue with a lot of WAHMs. Don't price yourself way below your competition to get sales, because ultimately you just hurt yourself. You work hard and deserve to get paid. Working for free gets old really fast and you will burn out.
Allison and I did a trade on Diaperswappers.com for custom knit shorties for Luke.
Allison was very sweet and easy to communicate with. She answered all of my questions and really helped me feel at ease with the trade. Allison knit the shorties quickly and shipped them directly to me!
I chose Allison's "Nessie" colorway because it was in-stock at the time. It's a bright green, turquoise-y blue, and yellow colorway that is perfect for a boy but could also be made girly depending on what tops it is paired with.
The shorties are made exactly to the measurements I requested and fit Luke perfectly! I love them! The knitting is SO nice---its even, tight but still stretchy, and just gorgeous!
The hand-painted dye job on the yarn is also great! There is little to no "pooling" of the colorway and what is there looks as if it were intentional it is so subtle! I did have some minor bleeding the first time I washed the shorties, but I've since learned that scented wool wash can cause dye to bleed. I will be switching over to unscented wool wash as soon as I finish up what I have on hand. The color isn't bleeding any more and I would not consider this a flaw at all...I'm pretty sure it is my fault!
I've been able to find 2 or 3 tops that really match this colorway and look nice on Luke. Some moms only use hand made or custom t-shirts with their woolies, but we just cannot afford that! I try to shop sales and clearance for Luke's "new" clothes so we've been pretty lucky! (Custom shirts can cost $15 and up! My tops were all less than $5 each!)
Here are some action shots!!
Just about 9 months old:
--Facebook--
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Here's a little bit about Allison:Tell us a little about yourself & your family. (names, ages, etc.)
My name is Allison. I'm married to my super geeky computer programmer Wesley and we've got our sweet little Olivia who will be 3 in September 2010.
Tell us about your business(es).
Hopper Graphics offers professional graphic design at WAHM rates. I do offer design services to local and other non-WAHM businesses, but the non-WAHM rates are not nearly as low. My list of services include:
Logos
Business Card Design
Animated Graphics
Invitations and announcements
Graphic images (signature button, banner, avatar, etc)
Favicon
Brochure Design
Hyenacart Designs (and Congos)
T-shirt designs
PurlyQ offers handpainted yarn and knit children's clothing.
What inspired you to open your own business?I got my BFA in graphic design hoping to freelance. Setting my own hours while I've got little ones seems so ideal to me. I love that I can be creative and artistic and get paid in the process :-P
With PurlyQ, it was a little bit different. 2 years ago I would have never thought I'd be dying yarn or selling knits. I started knitting for my daughter. Knitting (for me at least) is extremely addictive, so after I had made 4-5 pairs of longies for Olivia, I needed more to knit. I tried a sock...bad experience. Scarves and baby blankets are OK, but I wanted to keep making longies. I thought about knitting and selling, so I started checking out hyena wool prices. I didn't have the funds to have ANY expensive wool in stock...I could have gone with YYMN, but I really wanted to dye my own.
I used a mixture of graduation and Christmas money to buy my first box of dying materials, and I've been hooked ever since
What’s your favorite thing about what you do?I love that both of my jobs are things I love to do even in my spare time. Loving my job is something I've always wanted, and I truly do love mine
Do you also work outside of the home?
I did for a few months after graduation. It was extremely overwhelming to do that job, 2 WAHM jobs, all the housekeeping, the main source of childcare for our daughter, playdates, cooking, etc. I managed to hold it together for about 4 months. I went back to school 2 weeks after my daughter was born, and the 4 months working as a WOHM and WAHM at the same time were far more difficult!
Do you have any advice for other moms who are thinking of starting a work-at-home-mom business?
Be patient! Sales are slow at the moment, so don't go in expecting to make a lot at first.
Don't do tons of giveaways...from my experience they gain a tiny bit of exposure, but unless it's something you're not able to move that well anyway you'll just hurt yourself by giving away a lot of items. One or two is perfectly fine.
Don't work for nothing. This perhaps is the biggest issue with a lot of WAHMs. Don't price yourself way below your competition to get sales, because ultimately you just hurt yourself. You work hard and deserve to get paid. Working for free gets old really fast and you will burn out.
****************************
Allison was very sweet and easy to communicate with. She answered all of my questions and really helped me feel at ease with the trade. Allison knit the shorties quickly and shipped them directly to me!
I chose Allison's "Nessie" colorway because it was in-stock at the time. It's a bright green, turquoise-y blue, and yellow colorway that is perfect for a boy but could also be made girly depending on what tops it is paired with.
The shorties are made exactly to the measurements I requested and fit Luke perfectly! I love them! The knitting is SO nice---its even, tight but still stretchy, and just gorgeous!
I've been able to find 2 or 3 tops that really match this colorway and look nice on Luke. Some moms only use hand made or custom t-shirts with their woolies, but we just cannot afford that! I try to shop sales and clearance for Luke's "new" clothes so we've been pretty lucky! (Custom shirts can cost $15 and up! My tops were all less than $5 each!)
Here are some action shots!!
Just about 9 months old:
8 Months Old:
7 1/2 Months Old:
7 Months Old:
(can you believe this picture is from May 14--look how much he's GROWN!)
If you're interested in custom knits or hand-painted yarn be sure to check out Allison in all of the following places!
Late Night
It's 12:45 am & I'm still up. I should be asleep.
Tomorrow I start babysitting a beautiful little 18 month old girl. I'll be watching her Monday-Friday from about 6 am until 4 pm. So, my days are about to get very interesting! It's a decent pay though & I'll enjoy having a play-mate for Lucas. (Plus, any money I earn on my own helps when I'm justifying my cloth diapers/wool/birthday spending...not to mention Halloween & Christmas coming up!)
First I had to get all the dishes done & pick up the house! We don't want the day-care family to see our house all kinds of dirty right?
So, this evening, since Tim & Luke went to bed I've finished up 2 loads of laundry & folded them. Here's a "Diaperswappers style out-of-the-dryer-ready-to-go" collage. Click to make it larger. Bottom left--my diaper stash all clean & ready to use, only 3 diapers are dirty right now, one of which is on his bum. Top left--first load of laundry, included some regular towels, a blanket, booby pads, wipes, and a lot of diapers. Top right, 2nd load of laundry--just a few diapers, wipes, some clothes and crib linens. Bottom right--out of the dryer pictures for both loads of laundry.
I also heated up the yummy crab cakes I made for lunch & left over corn from Friday for myself for dinner. For dessert I made myself a super delicious smoothie. Strawberries & bananas again....
And, since Luke's room is all clean & fresh, I took pictures of his nursery the way it looks right now. We'll be changing things around in about 2 weeks.
I edited these pictures while I was pumping, so now it's time to head to bed!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday Update- 9 Months Old Week 1
Sunday July 18
Happy 3/4 of a year Baby Boy!! I cannot believe my baby boy is 9 months old!
Luke can crawl on his hands & knees. Creep--holding onto furniture & walking around. Wave bye-bye, give baby kisses (mouth open) and smack his lip to make a kiss sound, and laugh great big belly laughs. He enjoys his mardi gras beads, koosh ball, play kitchen, bouncing, and so much more! He loves music and especially likes it when I sing Jesus Loves Me.
Here's a list of what we've fed him & his reactions:
Organic rice baby cereal--hates it
Steamed butternut squash--too mushy
Steamed broccoli--can't even pick it up he hates the texture
Baby food sweet potatoes--hates it
Baby food peas--hates it
Whole & Pureed bananas--hates it
Whole & Pureed mangoes--hates it
Pureed Banana/Mango mix--hates it
Organic Toddler Mum Mum Rice "Cookies"--loves them, but might be having a diaper rash reaction
Homemade "Donuts" (fried dough)--loves them, but alas is allergic
Fresh Blueberry rubbed on his lips--hates it
Mashed grapes (frozen in a mesh feeder)--hates it
Right now we are battling an awful diaper rash. It started with the donut on Wednesday or Thursday, but it keeps flaring up with every bowel movement. I'm sure its food allergy related, probably too much acid in his stools or something, but its a pain, because I know he's uncomfortable from it, but I can't get it to go away 100%.
Luke cut his first tooth last week & is working on his second bottom tooth this week.
He weighs about 17 1/2 lbs and wears a size 12 months. He mostly wears his wool shorties with cotton t-shirts. He sleeps in either wool pants & a long sleeve shirt, fleece pants & a long sleeve shirt or a fleece zip-up sleeper. We don't have a lot of pjs for him, but I do try to bundle him up at bed time. (We turn the AC down, because Tim & I both like it cold.)
We're well into planning his first birthday extravaganza and his first trip on an airplane!
Happy 3/4 of a year Baby Boy!! I cannot believe my baby boy is 9 months old!
Luke can crawl on his hands & knees. Creep--holding onto furniture & walking around. Wave bye-bye, give baby kisses (mouth open) and smack his lip to make a kiss sound, and laugh great big belly laughs. He enjoys his mardi gras beads, koosh ball, play kitchen, bouncing, and so much more! He loves music and especially likes it when I sing Jesus Loves Me.
Here's a list of what we've fed him & his reactions:
Organic rice baby cereal--hates it
Steamed butternut squash--too mushy
Steamed broccoli--can't even pick it up he hates the texture
Baby food sweet potatoes--hates it
Baby food peas--hates it
Whole & Pureed bananas--hates it
Whole & Pureed mangoes--hates it
Pureed Banana/Mango mix--hates it
Organic Toddler Mum Mum Rice "Cookies"--loves them, but might be having a diaper rash reaction
Homemade "Donuts" (fried dough)--loves them, but alas is allergic
Fresh Blueberry rubbed on his lips--hates it
Mashed grapes (frozen in a mesh feeder)--hates it
Right now we are battling an awful diaper rash. It started with the donut on Wednesday or Thursday, but it keeps flaring up with every bowel movement. I'm sure its food allergy related, probably too much acid in his stools or something, but its a pain, because I know he's uncomfortable from it, but I can't get it to go away 100%.
Luke cut his first tooth last week & is working on his second bottom tooth this week.
He weighs about 17 1/2 lbs and wears a size 12 months. He mostly wears his wool shorties with cotton t-shirts. He sleeps in either wool pants & a long sleeve shirt, fleece pants & a long sleeve shirt or a fleece zip-up sleeper. We don't have a lot of pjs for him, but I do try to bundle him up at bed time. (We turn the AC down, because Tim & I both like it cold.)
We're well into planning his first birthday extravaganza and his first trip on an airplane!
Sunday Update-Last week as an 8 month old!
Wednesday July 14
I babysat Carolynn and Ashley on Wednesday. It was trying but good for the girls to get to spend some time with Luke.
Tim was late getting home from work, so I was late heading out to Bunco. However, we found our way & got to Tabitha's house well before we actually started playing the game. Luke and Lily played together for quite a while & it was nice to visit with some adult women for a while.
Before the game was over I had a headache, so I wasn't my usual bubbly self (ha ha--me bubbly! that's funny!) But, I enjoyed playing just the same as ever!
I didn't "win" any of the prizes though, so I got 2 "booby" prizes. I won a Virginia Beach shot glass & then traded Melanie a necklace for a minkee hat. The hat is so soft & fluffy! Melanie was the host & she always has something for everyone in her prizes!
Luke & I drove home around 10 and went straight to bed!
Thursday July 15
Thursday was a GREAT day for us! We had therapy in the morning, and although we were running late & Luke was tired he did REALLY well! He even got on his hands & knees and crawled for Miss Kerry! Yay Lukey! Miss Kerry said he'd be a pro at it by the next week, but Luke decided he liked crawling & mastered it by that evening!
After therapy, we went to the bank, a scrapbooking store, Chic Fil A, and Party City. Luke napped through the bank & All About Scrapbooks. I got $15 worth of scrapbook stuff for his birthday. I also picked up some stuff for his birthday at Party City.
We went home for a few minutes so Luke could nurse & nap a bit before heading out to pick Tim up from work. It was too late to go home, so we went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's before church.
Luke played in the nursery at church while Tim & I went to our Sermon Study small group.
After small group, Luke & I went to Tom & Peggy's house so he could nurse. He nursed for a long time & napped but didn't go to sleep for the night like I'd hoped. Tom picked Tim up from church & brought him back to the house for a bit, so it was almost 10 before we headed home.
Friday July 16
Friday morning started out nice & slow with not much of anything exciting to note.
Around 12:30 Melanie & her kidlets showed up to get us to go to the park. I finished getting us ready & then we headed out to Fun Forest at the Chesapeake City Park. It was HOT! Luke ended up in just a diaper & we all glug-glugged down a lot of water!
After a couple hours playing at the park we came back to our house. The kids watched t.v. on Netflix & played Wii while Melanie & I hung out, did housework, and took care of Luke.
We decided that I'd babysit for Melanie after Rob got to the house so we all started preparing for that. (I owed her a babysitting session for the awesome knitting she did on Luke's shorties.)
Tim came home, Rob got to the house, Melanie & Rob left, and I cooked dinner while the kids all played Sorry. I made homemade nuggets for Tim & I, organic frozen nuggets for the kids, mashed potatoes and corn for everyone. It was a super yummy dinner! After dinner I had to feed Luke, so Tim & the kids watched Richie Rich.
Then when Luke was down for the night (@ 7:30!!!) I cleaned up the kitchen before making smoothies for everyone! I added Peach Schnapps to mine & Schnapps & 151 to Tim's. They were SUPER yummy!
Melanie & Rob got back from the movies and took their kidlets home, then our little family headed to bed.
Saturday July 17
Yesterday was a lazy day for us. We didn't do much other than housework and an afternoon trip to the grocery store. We had pizza (cheeseless for me) for dinner & watched some t.v. We also got a lot of housework done!
I babysat Carolynn and Ashley on Wednesday. It was trying but good for the girls to get to spend some time with Luke.
Before the game was over I had a headache, so I wasn't my usual bubbly self (ha ha--me bubbly! that's funny!) But, I enjoyed playing just the same as ever!
I didn't "win" any of the prizes though, so I got 2 "booby" prizes. I won a Virginia Beach shot glass & then traded Melanie a necklace for a minkee hat. The hat is so soft & fluffy! Melanie was the host & she always has something for everyone in her prizes!
Luke & I drove home around 10 and went straight to bed!
Thursday July 15
Thursday was a GREAT day for us! We had therapy in the morning, and although we were running late & Luke was tired he did REALLY well! He even got on his hands & knees and crawled for Miss Kerry! Yay Lukey! Miss Kerry said he'd be a pro at it by the next week, but Luke decided he liked crawling & mastered it by that evening!
After therapy, we went to the bank, a scrapbooking store, Chic Fil A, and Party City. Luke napped through the bank & All About Scrapbooks. I got $15 worth of scrapbook stuff for his birthday. I also picked up some stuff for his birthday at Party City.
We went home for a few minutes so Luke could nurse & nap a bit before heading out to pick Tim up from work. It was too late to go home, so we went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's before church.
Luke played in the nursery at church while Tim & I went to our Sermon Study small group.
After small group, Luke & I went to Tom & Peggy's house so he could nurse. He nursed for a long time & napped but didn't go to sleep for the night like I'd hoped. Tom picked Tim up from church & brought him back to the house for a bit, so it was almost 10 before we headed home.
Friday July 16
Friday morning started out nice & slow with not much of anything exciting to note.
Around 12:30 Melanie & her kidlets showed up to get us to go to the park. I finished getting us ready & then we headed out to Fun Forest at the Chesapeake City Park. It was HOT! Luke ended up in just a diaper & we all glug-glugged down a lot of water!
After a couple hours playing at the park we came back to our house. The kids watched t.v. on Netflix & played Wii while Melanie & I hung out, did housework, and took care of Luke.
We decided that I'd babysit for Melanie after Rob got to the house so we all started preparing for that. (I owed her a babysitting session for the awesome knitting she did on Luke's shorties.)
Melanie & Rob got back from the movies and took their kidlets home, then our little family headed to bed.
Saturday July 17
Yesterday was a lazy day for us. We didn't do much other than housework and an afternoon trip to the grocery store. We had pizza (cheeseless for me) for dinner & watched some t.v. We also got a lot of housework done!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Luke Crawling
Wow--when did uploading videos get so easy?
As requested--a video of Luke showing off his beginning crawling skills!
2nd Tooth
Update!
Luke was up ALL night--we didn't sleep for more than an hour & a half at a time. It was pretty rotten.
He's been drool-y & fussy today but I didn't put 2 & 2 together.
THEN he got a runny nose & the light bulb went off in my head---check his mouth silly Mama!! Sure enough, the 2nd bottom tooth is all grey & puffy! (for the record he got the right one first, this is the left one)
He'll be 9 months old tomorrow.
Luke was up ALL night--we didn't sleep for more than an hour & a half at a time. It was pretty rotten.
He's been drool-y & fussy today but I didn't put 2 & 2 together.
THEN he got a runny nose & the light bulb went off in my head---check his mouth silly Mama!! Sure enough, the 2nd bottom tooth is all grey & puffy! (for the record he got the right one first, this is the left one)
He'll be 9 months old tomorrow.
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