The Dark Side

I have utterly neglected this space for the past month, due to book and commission deadlines, and finishing my teaching qualification.  But finally it's all done, hooray!   This seems to be a good time to talk about the dark-side of being a cro-pro (yep, crochet professional).

1. Loooooooong hours.  On average I do a 10 hour day, it's tucked around school, pick ups, making packed lunches, bath times etc, and as deadlines draw ever nearer it can be longer than that.

2. Low pay.  I make just enough to live off, but it's nothing like the salary I used to get, and the money I earn per hour is tiny, and this is for patterns we're talking here people - minimal output.  I'd never try and sell a finished piece, it would be financial suicide unles I was actually Alexander McQueen.

3. Social isolation.  I find that when I'm actually working up designs, I need a quiet space to do it, and due to the long hours and short deadlines that working on something like a book takes there's often very little time to get out and actually see other people.  It can really leave you a little stir crazy.

Having said all that, there are remedies, which I'll share on another post, and ultimately I get to do something I  love, all day, every day and that is just priceless.  I mean it's totally flipping amazing.  So think of this as a warning rather than a moaning.

I can't share any pics of the finished book makes, but I can show you some sneaky little peekies of the makes in progress, so here you are...