Positive Yarn

When real life intervenes, the blogging life suffers as a result. Don’t worry, everyone’s (relatively) happy and healthy around here, but the holidays and other factors have prevented me from devoting the scheduled time for online media that I have been trying to preach to you all.

For those of you who subscribe to my Positive Yarn Tips & Tricks enewsletter, rest assured your issue will arrive in your inbox early next week. For those of you who want to subscribe, it’s both free and easy. Just click here. And by all means, please browse the archives here.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with four interesting articles I’ve collected recently as they relate to needlework and its positive impact on so many different communities. The best thing is that I know these are just representative of all the good stuff going on out there — the creativity unleashed among people who didn’t think they had it in them; the bonding that occurs in a group setting; the good will brought about by doing something for others; the feelings of satisfaction, contentedness, relaxation that occur with needle in hand. I could go on, but you get the picture:

Akron Beacon Journal: “Grant helps teacher sew up knitting program”

Times Online: “A stitch in time helps mend prisoners’ lives with Fine Cell Work”

The New York Times: “Artistic program provides therapy for mentally ill”

KTKA.com: “Ben’s People: Topeka Crochet Guild”

It does indeed make me thankful that in an age of blogs and pings and all sorts of faceless interaction on a daily basis, that so many people see the value in something as old-fashioned as needlework.

For some reason, the planets must be aligning for me to get the message that Scouts are a worthwhile program.

In about a week, my 9-year-old is attending a Girl Scout day camp at the bequest of her best friend, an avid Scout. I signed the check a month ago with some trepidation (will she come home with an application form and some Thin Mints to seal the deal?). But I was assured by the troop leader that she could be a “non-Scout” and still enjoy the week without any pressure.

Then this morning, I received an assignment to write a press release in an unrelated industry about an important product donation that benefits some Boy Scout camps out West. My husband, who made it to the Webelos level and 25 years later still fondly recounts his Pinewood Derby memories (to anyone who’ll listen), was duly impressed.

I’m really not adverse to the concept of Scouting. I distinctly recall begging my mom (a former Girl Scout, no less) to join a local troop when I was in third grade, but being turned down because of the time commitment. While I was bummed at the time, as an adult I can completely see the logic in that. Still, something tells me that with my daughter’s persuasion skills, I stand a good chance of becoming an assistant troop leader by the end of the year.

With Scouts in mind, I started looking online for what crossover marketing opportunities there might be for needlework and craft shops this summer. Here are a few interesting links I happened upon:

• The Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum. Check out its Sewing Room — and its needlework projects in particular.
• Scouting Web offers a Sewing & Needlecrafts page, with logo patterns that would make teaching a local troop how to stitch a breeze. It can help them grow in confidence, from stitching a logo to maybe moving onto something like a Project Linus blanket or quilt.
• Studio 2B is a Girl Scout Web site that is aimed at teens (and thus, pre-teens). Check out the Sew Glam page, which is showing how to sew and knit as an independent project. Help a Scout with her badge — or pin, as some troops are moving toward — and you’ve got a loyal customer for life. Better yet, she’ll tell a friend, who tells her mom, who tells her mom’s friend…
• Prism Patches takes artwork submitted by troops and turns them into a custom embroidered patch. Kudos to Owner Chuck Packer for doing this service, but it got me to thinking about how this could be a great troop project for a shop to lead. Not that you’re going to get a gaggle of fifth-grade girls to completely satin stitch a patch, necessarily, but perhaps they could learn how to applique felt or cotton pieces together and embellish with some easy stitches.
• In an older post over at The Thinking Mother, Christine points out that the Boy Scouts and their sewing skills are not something to overlook. She gives plenty of great links to a variety of Scout sewing information, and also raises the concept of putting badges on a blanket that the Scout then takes to camp. I particularly like this idea because while a grown Scout may not keep the sash on display, having an old, well-loved blanket casually thrown over a chair is quite a common sight in college dorms or first apartments.

So now it’s your turn: What has your business done to benefit the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or even other children’s programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America? I want to know! Drop me a line at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com or comment below.

OK, I promised photos, after all:

Here’s Jan at her demonstration station.	A sampling of the counted cross-stitch mingling with the quilts. We also had knitting, crochet, surface embroidery and a beaded entry.
This round robin sampler won second place… and all who participated (including yours truly — my harvest border is the last band) are receiving ribbons, too.	Here are a few of my treasures from the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo. The Clover needle threader I bought from Shaffer’s Countryside Quilting, because it’s just so strong and elegant. I was able to load size 8 perle cotton with nary a cuss word! The wristlet gadget, from Lacis, is to hold said perle cotton balls — specifically purchased from Fabulous Fibers (here’s a link to the tool on their site) for my goal of knitting Bag Lady’s tiny pendant purses, but I think it will also come in handy for my cross-stitch projects, too. The drill bit-looking item (made by W.H. Collins, purchased from Quilter’s Fancy) is to repair snags.
Yes, I know my photos of my wool applique ladybug needle holder are a little out of focus, but it’s by design. I don’t want you to have a clear shot of my blanket stitch! Keep in mind this was a make-and-take at the Expo done under conference center lighting, plus I was trying to rush through so I could get back on the floor to shop and return poor Judy (who was an excellent and patient teacher, by the way) back to her customers.
Also from Cindy and her team, I purchased a doll tassel kit… I played with it last night, but it’s definitely a work in progress.	Last year at Expo, Barb Callahan introduced me to the wonderful world of needle felting. This year, she showed me a fantastic way to weave — in an old cut up lace tablecloth, no less — using a surgical tool known as a hemostat. I can only describe it as a pair of long-necked tweezers, with a tiny grip at the end. It’s perfect to weave in and out of the holes, with your clamped ribbon in place, then draw back through whence you came and surprise — a perfectly woven row. I loved it! Here’s my make-and-take button: I tried to make it Easter-y.

There’s one more make-and-take at Expo I managed to squeeze in — but I’ll discuss in a future post.

I probably wouldn’t have bought the needle threader had I not used it at Judy’s table, or the doll tassel kit if I hadn’t seen it being worked on at Cindy’s make-and-take (in fact, I couldn’t get near to actually do it, so I decided to buy the kit and figure it out on my own). On the other hand, while I paid Barb for the button/pin that I made, I did not make another purchase from her. Not that I wouldn’t have loved to have done some wallet damage (her weaving looms are awesome!), but it was late in the day and my mind was on finishing up and getting back to the family for dinner. Naturally, I have Barb Originals as a bookmark, so I can always make a virtual shopping trip!

That brings me to my question for you: Do you find that make-and-takes at shows (or in the shop) are a good use of time and resources? Drop me a line either in the comments below or via email at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

So here I am, ready to take Gooch & Gooch (my half, anyway — my husband can keep on plugging away) into a new direction and focus on helping people in a field that I love. I’m scared to death, but I just got back from a COSE conference and feel emboldened.

Based in Cleveland, COSE is an acronym for the Council of Smaller Enterprises. I’ve just spent two days with some fantastic small-business owners from all over Northeast Ohio. We’ve done a lot of talking about new media and how to harness it. Now it’s time for me to file the business cards away, quit talking about what I want to do and start doing it.

I’ve spent 13 years in business-to-business media, the majority of which has been spent on covering the professional pest management industry. But as great a group as the pest controllers are — Joe the Plumber seriously pales in comparison when it comes to being down to earth, loyal, patriotic and er, licensed — I want to shift my focus toward things that interest me personally. I want to write about, and help publicize, professionals who design with and/or supply the pretties I love so much: beads, yarns, threads, fabrics. What can I say? Sites like Etsy.com and IndiePublic.com were practically designed with me in mind!

Business Directions Owner Sherry Mulne, an absolutely fantastic person and a marketing communications consultant for The National NeedleArts Association, took a chance on me last year as her part-time assistant. I am delighted to report that working for Sherry has been great, and has been a wonderful introduction to the business side of the needle arts (defined as crochet, knit, embroidery, counted cross-stitch and needlepoint; tattoos are merely a matter of personal preference). While I hope to continue fulfilling assignments for Sherry, I want to start taking on additional clients involved in needle arts and related crafts. I want to help build a brand for an independent retail shop. I want to spread the word about some wonderful patterns someone has designed. I want to get someone’s handmade item into everyone’s Christmas stocking.

Want, want, want. I guess I should first pull back and identify the needs.

That’s where you come in. What can I do to help build your business, and in turn, help build mine?