Here's to a Happy Hooky 2014

The children have been back at school for a week, and I am back into my work routine too, hurray! The best thing about this time of year is having a chance to to look back at the last twelve months and think about what worked, what didn't, what's changed and what's next.

So here for you is a short review of some of my favourite bits of 2013:

SLIPPERS

The first things I made in 2013. Filled an immediate need but no need to repeat...

ELEPHANTS

I made my first amigurumi elephant back in Autumn 2012 when crochet was still a hobby rather than part obsession, part source of income (to see my shop, click here). Since then I have refined the pattern, spent a lot of time ensuring they are safe and legal for sale as toys, and increased the colour range. Different elephant designs have different names and characters and they all have their own characters. Here are a few introductions:

Meet Joseph (the amazing technicoloured elephant), Oscar, Alfred, Ollie, Emily, Bob Rastaphant, Esmeralda, Emma and last but not least, Agnes.

I haven't run out of names or colours yet, so there are definitely more to come...



SPECIAL MUG HUGS

One day I was struggling (and failing) to carry my drink, my laptop, and a biscuit from the kitchen to the office all at the same time. I thought to myself "if only I had somewhere safe to stash my biscuit"..... and so the Nice Cup of Tea and a Biscuit mug hug was born. I help out at the Clic Sargent eBay department (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/clicsargentshop/) once a week, so in recognition of the fabulous work done by the charity, and the fabulous people who work there, I decided to include a donation to Clic Sargent with every finished mug hug and every copy of the pattern I sell. They turned out to be my bestsellers before Christmas, which I am thrilled about.

DAISY CHAINS

A surprise hit in the spring, this daisy chain was the first item I sold on Etsy to someone I didn't already know, so it will always be special to me.

HATS

If you know how to handle a ball of wool, your life is not complete until you have made some hats :-)

NOVELTY PRESENTS

Sometimes I make things just for fun, and here are a some of them:

I also make granny squares....

PATTERNS

I am so happy that people want to buy what I make, but there are only so many hours in a day and I love to invent as much as I love to create.  Writing and publishing patterns is one thing I plan to focus on more this year. I'm sure lots of you lovely readers are fellow hookers, so I think giving people a choice between a pattern or a finished handmade item covers more bases. What do you think? I just need to remember to write down what stitches I used as I go along!

What is on your to do list for this year?