Encourage don't bully

So today I was going to write a post about how much I love what I do and just go into detail about the awesomeness that is what I do.....crochet. Well that is not what this post is about now. This is another subject matter that needs to be addressed. I have seen it happen and it is very sad and disappointing. What is this I am talking about? Well its about being bullied! Oh yes when will it ever stop?!?! Bullying in the crochet community can you believe that?!?! How childish is this? Our children deal with bullies from other children and we want that to stop so why can't we as adults stop bullying other people?!!? What is this I am talking about?

Well there are a TON of crochet designers out in this virtual world we live in and there are tons who are venturing out into the crochet pattern writing world. Well I have seen NUMEROUS accounts of "established" designers attack beginners just starting out because they copied their pattern and yada di! First off step off your soap box! Second, where you the ORIGINAL person who came up with the whole crochet concept? Probably not! So just chill your hot pants off before you start attacking someone! Get real! Breathe get over it and encourage!! There is a difference between taking inspiration and creating it in your own words and just straight up taking the complete patterns and saying you wrote the dang thing. A sc(single crochet) is a sc no matter how you write it. Same goes for every stitch out in the crochet world.

Those designers who jump on newbies who are just starting out in the writing world saying that they copied you and blah blah blah.......PLEASE take a step back and see that YOU haven't copied anyone in your designs. Those character hats that you designed.....or should I say wrote a crochet pattern for....well that character is copy right and by creating a pattern for a copy right image is a no no. Or that hat that you took inspiration from and created a pattern for and wrote in your own words....did that designer come crawling down your throat about it? ENCOURAGE people don't bully!!! Take the newbie under your wing, let them know the ins and outs but don't be a bully. Don't attack them when they know nothing. It's like some stranger coming up to you in the mall and giving you a sucker punch! WOW! Minding blowing huh?

So to those who have been bullied by designers I am sorry. Please do not let this discourage you from writing your patterns. Those designers who bully shame on you!! We need to encourage people in this time of work. This is something we enjoy. Don't make it unpleasant for others. Stop being a bully.

Remember there is a difference from copying and pasting a pattern and calling it your own and writing a pattern that you gathered from tons of inspirational photos. It takes courage to step into the world of pattern writing. Lets encourage one another and stop belittling and bullying each other. The bullying and the nastiness of the people who are involved does get around in the crochet community like wildfire. Personally, I am disappointed that we have bully crochet designers. Please encourage and stop bullying.

Common Courtesy

So I have been wanting to write this blog post for a few days now, maybe weeks but I have not had the chance too. Why? Oh just because I am recovering from having a mastectomy a week and a half ago. So the crochet world and the craft world in general is HUGE. Everyone plays off of each others designs or takes inspiration.....fine. Giving credit were credit is due is ALWAYS a good thing. If you sell your crochet items or sewing items many designers ask that if you sell the item to put in the listing who the pattern is by. I, of course sometimes skip that step when posting for my fans BUT I do try my very best to go back and add the designer. In my Artfire or Etsy Shop I ALWAYS put down who the pattern designer is. So with this being said here comes the whole common courtesy thing.

These designer (whether it be crochet, sewing, knitting, etc) use testers. These testers test the pattern out while making sure there are no errors or if something sounds confusing to get it worked out so it is not confusing. Pattern tester will also provide photos to the designer and something designers will ask the person if they can use their picture. A-okay to use the picture. I have tested for a lot of patterns from different designers. I am in some of their groups and some we work through email. When designers use to ask me if they could use my photos I would agree. I have had many designers give me credit for my work and my photo BUT I have also had some "big" name designers not even tell anyone whose work they were using.  This my friends is kind of rude in my OWN opinion. To me it is like me creating a hat from there pattern BUT not even mentioning in my listing who the pattern designer is. 

I would think that most designers would give credit to photos that they used of items by their testers. I am not saying that ALL designers do this but I have ran into a few who have used MY photos and haven't even given credit to my photos. Because of these designers who have done this to me I have started watermarking my images TWICE. One you can read and the second is a embossed overlay. I DON'T like to do the watermarking (call me lazy if you will, lol) because I think it takes away from the item. I use to do the whole honor system with these designers thinking her they can at least say photo from Urban Hookin'. So I now watermark all of my photos even for those that I KNOW that give credit to the owner of the photo. So this brings me to another thing I want to mention.....TESTING!

Yes, pattern testing! I have and still do pattern test for designers. Some designers are AMAZING to work with and some are eh! Communication....that's it! When a tester sends you an email of what they have found or give suggestions as to what helped them don't ignore the email. Said a message back to let them know that you saw it. Just like the Designer, Testers do take time away from their family and etc. They go over everything a designer wrote and check for spelling, grammar, # counts, measurements, etc.....oh and they even send a photo of the finished item! I know I get excited when I get selected by the designer to test their pattern. I LOVE to test as well as work orders. Having an amazing designer to work with makes it all that much better. When I don't hear back from a designer on something I tested and gave my opinion I feel like I wasted my time. It's also nice when the designer sends the final draft to their testers as a Thank You.

So all in all I guess this post is about giving credit of photos that are not your own work and communicating with pattern testers. Sorry if I have offended anyone by this post but this is solely my opinion. I have been quiet for far to long and I needed to get this out.

Face Behind Urban Hookin'

Hey All!! I figured I would write a blog post about Urban Hookin'! I haven't done a post in awhile and I have gotten more fans. So why not introduce myself?!?! Well, first off I would like to say Thank You all for being a fan of my shop, Urban Hookin'!! I am so happy to have you all. 

My name is Jackie and I am a single mom of two very active little boys, 2yr old and 5 year old. I am also a full time college student as well. I do not work at the moment because I am going to school to become a Nurse, my life long dream. I separated from my ex-husband last year and moved across the country from VA to my home WA! This past year has been a great adventure for the boys and I. 

My original shop name use to be Crafty Jones Creations but I needed a change and Urban Hookin' was a result of the change. I am still building up my fan base from my old page. My old page was over 2500 fans so it is a big change fan base number wise! I love all the fans that I have and I appreciate every single one of you. I strive to make sure every item I send out is made with love and up to my expectation and yours. If it does not meet either I will work at it til I get it spot on.

So if you plan on purchasing handmade know that every penny spent is actually being used and very much appreciated. Last year if it wasn't for my fans and customers I wouldn't have been able to have a Christmas for my boys and family. I was able to have a decent Christmas despite the events that took place. My shop and every item is apart of me. I take pride in everything I create. My boys also are proud of everything I create as well! Every sale that I make I truly appreciate and am very grateful. 

As the Holiday Seasons roll on in I would love to create something special for you or for someone special in your life. The closer to the Holidays the busier I will get, hopefully :) so if you are wanting to get an order in I am ready to take it. As a single mom of two and a full time college student I will be balancing all of this along with my orders so my return time may be slower than normal.

Once again, I just want to tell you all that I am happy to have you all as a fan. I hope to work with you all in the future on future orders. Remember if you are looking for something and don't see it up on my page please don't be afraid to ask! I have a TON of pattern that I have not been able to make so I may have what you are looking for!! Also, if there is something you are looking for that I haven't created and I have the pattern I give a discount, I call it a finders discount, because you found out that I had the pattern and you want me to create it so I do and I think that deserves a discount for letting me be able to create it for you.

Well thank you for being a fan of Urban Hookin' I hope it is a place that you enjoy and I hope I can make some wonderful creations for you.

~Jackie

Chocolate Pizza!

Hello Fans! Yes I am starting a new blog with our new name!! Woohoo!! So welcome!!! As you all know my boys just left today on their trip out to North Carolina to visit their Father. It has been very emotional for me but I am doing my very best to keep together. So I thought I would write about Chocolate Pizza!!

My oldest son, 4yrs old, requested that I make some chocolate pizza before he left. Hmmm......okay.....Chocolate Pizza? Ya that was me when he asked. At first I thought he wanted me to craft him a chocolate pizza but I was told that it had to be baked and made with dough! So I was not confident that I could find anything about chocolate pizza, lol. All I can say is thank goodness for Pinterest!! I found a recipe!! Oh, yes, I sure did!! I was very ecstatic about the recipe, super easy and it looked good too!

I went out and got everything I needed! I thought I would have a problem finding pizza dough but I didn't have any issues at all!! So once my son got home from head start we started making our chocolate pizza! He was sooo excited and happy about this pizza! I mean seriously who wouldn't be excited for chocolate and pizza in one? I know I was just a little bit excited about it as well!! Oh yea and the recipe called for NUTELLA!! YUMMY....I love nutella! Here is the recipe we used http://m.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Pizza-237341

This is super yummy!! You should seriously give it a try! If you do try it I would love to hear what you thought about it and if you changed it up. I didnt add the toasted hazelnuts (I couldn't find any, lol) so for us it was just straight up CHOCOLATE!!

Well I hope I can keep this blog up with fun stuff about my adventures in my Business!! Thank you all for reading!