We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chrystal Peavy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chrystal thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Two things have been difficult about this journey – maintaining functioning hands, and pricing finished products.

Crochet is my go-to hobby and has been for a long time. I crochet while watching tv. I crochet while traveling, I crochet when I’m waiting for an appointment. I thought I would easily be crocheting for the rest of my life. But after 34 years of repetitive motion, I developed Trigger Thumb. It is painful! My thumbs would snap out of place and remain locked there – feeling awful and looking funny. I would shake my hands, pull my thumbs, and shout obscenities. Sometimes I needed to soak my hands in hot water until I could get my thumbs to relax and go back into place. Then I would apply ice on them in 20-minute cycles over the next several days to bring down the swelling. (Meanwhile, not getting to do my favorite hobby.)

I bought hand braces and wore them often. My thumbs, however, acted up more often. Then I learned hand stretching exercises and did them daily. By this point I had lost the original range of motion in my thumbs, so I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon. I did not want surgery or steroid injections. The exercises were helping but not enough. I had to learn more.

One day at a massage appointment I was complaining to my massage therapist about the discomfort and lack of function in my hands, and she traced the tightness from my hands and wrists, all the way up my arms, to my shoulders and neck. I had knots in all my muscles preventing me from gaining the benefits from my hand exercises. I stopped using the braces, scheduled more massages, and increased my daily hand exercises. Now my thumbs are behaving again, and as a bonus, my grip is stronger too. I absolutely advocate that every crochet artist regardless of age should stretch their hands before and after a crafting session.

My second challenge is selecting a price to sell our finished products. Manufacturing 101 logically calculates prices based on the addition of cost of materials and labor. How long it takes to crochet a thing can vary depending on how fast and comfortable your hands are, or are not, working that day. I’ve been told conflicting things by others – “you never get back your time on your hobby so don’t charge for it” and “your time to make something is important and should be reflected in the price.”

I don’t want to overcharge our customers, but I also don’t want to cut ourselves short. In the end, I often look at more than one method when figuring what to price an item then choose what feels fair. Cost of materials plus an hourly rate is one method. Alternates include cost of material times four and one cent times the number of stitches in the finished product.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started crocheting right after the birth of my first child. In my younger years my mom had tried to teach me how to crochet a couple of times, but I wasn’t able to understand how to hold and move the hook and the yarn. I sat next to my mom, watched her carefully, and tried to copy what she did. It didn’t work for me, so I put it away. Years later, my mother-in-law also crocheted, and she was left-handed. She found out I wanted to learn and had the idea of sitting across from me instead of next to me. She told me to ‘mirror’ what she did. For some reason that worked! Now I crochet just like my mom and both of my grandmothers, and I love it. The crafting tradition continues!

Now I’m a mother of four and I taught both of my daughters how to crochet. My youngest daughter has kids of her own and she crochets less often. My oldest daughter and I are always making something new. We decided to begin selling our finished items at craft fairs in 2023 and although it was lots of work, we enjoyed it. Now we have a website for our finished items, and some ocean-themed items can be found on consignment at Coral Reef Coffee Co.

I’ve taught crochet classes, tested patterns, and made all sorts of stuff from traditional blankets and baby booties to cat ear hats, and plushy penguins. I also write my own crochet patterns, and I can help translate written patterns into crochet graphs, or graphs into written patterns. I offer my patterns for free to support new crochet artists as they learn the craft. Crochet is not a dying art; I just want more crochet artists to enjoy this past time as much as they want to.

Everything we make is customizable. If our customers want something we’ve made but in a different color, we can make it. If our customer asks us to make something we’ve never made before, we are willing to try it. Sometimes we make something before knowing if anyone will want to buy it, but we really want to make it anyway. That was the case with the 6.5-foot mandala. It is massive and looks very impressive on a large wall. After I made the first one my sister ordered one for her home. She lives five hours away from me, but I was not going to ship THIS piece of art. I drove it across the state and helped her hang it on the wall. It fits perfectly with her decor, almost like it was made for her space. I felt please when I stood back and though “That looks amazing. Oh, right – I made that!”

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I started to crochet, I could only find new inspiration from pattern books. Social media has drastically changed how I get ideas. So many people are crafting so many different things all over the world. I like feeling connected to each of them through their photos and videos.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are two points of a crochet project that produce happy feelings in a crafter – when the project begins, and when the project ends. Just starting with hook and yarn in hand, there is an excitement about whatever it is I’m about to create. As time progresses, the energy dwindles and there often comes a point when I get bored or even frustrated. At this point in the project, I sometimes set it aside, creating the most unfortunately side effect of increasing the number of my incomplete projects. Then, I start something new to work on because “new project energy” is an addictive thing. As my daughter says, “chase the serotonin.” It’s even written in our mission as “we make what we like, and we hope you like what we make.” But sometimes I push through the dull parts and get the project done. Being done, and the satisfaction that comes with it, is a great reward that sparks my desire to begin again.

Keep crocheting friends; it’s a hobby, a stress reliever, and a valuable skill.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yarnkittens.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yarnkittens
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557158768435
• Other: https://linktr.ee/yarnkittens
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Image Credits

Chrystal Peavy