Discover the Whimsical World of Sew Yarnique: A Fiber Artist's Journey

A Note from the Designer

Designers! If you see something created from one of your patterns on our website, and you are not listed here, PLEASE reach out to us! I want you in the list! Without all of you wonderful designers, I would be sitting here making umpteen thousand granny squares! And no one wants that!

In My Defense...

A note before you continue reading - Please do not expect this to follow any sort of logical progression. If I think of something I want to tell you, I will type it right then or I’ll lose it. So grab a cup of your favorite beverage and let's visit.

My Fiber Artist Origin Story

I love crocheting and knitting—so much so that something had to be done! To keep my head above plushies, I give you... Sew Yarnique! This is the place I'm hoping will give me my coffee table and couch back. And kitchen table. And laundry room. And the back of my car. You get the idea! Anyway, why do I make so many yarn and fiber creations? Because the look on people's faces when I show them something new makes my heart sing. I’m sure each of you has something you do that “just makes the day brighter.” If not, don’t worry; your “thing” is out there. You just haven’t discovered it yet. But it IS out there!

How This All Started

I have been crocheting since I was 4 or 5—not really sure which, but I hadn’t started school yet, so there ya go. Back then, it was all about afghans or granny squares. I had no patience for afghans. Really! Spend the next who knows how many YEARS crocheting a row, turning, and doing it again? So, granny squares it was! I didn’t have a lot of yarn, so I would make a bunch of squares, then take them apart and do it again.

Fast Forward to Current Times

Honestly, I blame social media. I was innocently wandering Instagram when a plushie popped up. It was so dang cute I just had to make it! So I clicked a link, which led me down a rabbit hole of links, but I persevered and finally found myself in amigurumi heaven. Or as normal people call it—Etsy. There were so many adorable things I just HAD to make!

At first, it was okay—until I hit patterns with multiple variations. Was I expected to pick just one? Really?? In less than a month, we no longer had a coffee table in our living room; it was now a finished object staging area. Keep in mind that I am retired, with no kids running around except for my two semi-in-charge toy poodles and my better half. What do I do with my time? Well, from about mid-September until May 1st, I spend 3 to 5 days a week helping others in our community with all sorts of needlecrafts. Crochet, knit, weaving, needlepoint, English Paper Piecing, macrame—you name it!

We live in an Active 55+ Resort in the southwest. From September to May, we have about 1,000 people in residence. May to September, we only have about 300. I spend the summer planning classes and ideas for the “season” when all the snowbirds are here, and working on various projects for myself. I discovered the amigurumi heaven in mid-April of this year. By September, I had over 125 finished plushies and was scrambling to get classes set up and supplies ready for my returning students. Something had to give, and I was secretly praying it wouldn’t be the walls!

A kitchen corner bursting with colorful yarns, stacked in bags and boxes, transforming a dining area into a vibrant hub of crochet supplies.

The Marketing Dilemma

We briefly considered face-to-face marketing, but that, for the most part, seems a young person’s game. I don’t have the reserves necessary to load the car, unload the car, set up tables and displays, and sit in the southwest desert all day to sell my plushies. Then there's the re-loading of the car and getting home to put everything away and get ready for next week. I’m tired just typing that! So, we researched other options (I say we, when really I crocheted while Kathy researched).

We were brainstorming along with my Mom in texts, and after a bit of back and forth, the name Sew Yarnique was born. That was the extent of my input for the website, really. It’s simply not my forte. I make things; Kathy makes the magic that brings them to you.

I Am a Creator, Not a Designer

The listings on the website will list the pattern I started with, but to be honest, sometimes I can’t make the yarn do what the designer called for, and I have to fudge it. Because of this, I say that I was inspired by or the item was based on such and such pattern. My biggest fear is that someone will come to see my things, think to themselves, “I can do that,” go buy the pattern, and get upset because theirs looks different than mine.

Do I want to sell my plushies? Yes! Do I begrudge the browser who comes and goes off to buy the pattern instead? No! Without these designers, I’m back to granny squares! Without people buying their patterns, they cannot continue to create new patterns to keep me making new things!

Thanks for Stopping By

Anyway, all of this was my scattered way of saying this is what I do, and I’m absolutely tickled that you wanted to come see my creations and find out more about the crazy lady with the funny hook thingie.

See ya in the funny papers,

Sorcha

A vibrant collection of finished Christmas plushies overflows from a red Harbor Freight bag, ready to be inventoried for the holiday season.

A delightful array of freshly crafted, colorful crochet Christmas decorations arranged on the coffee table, ready to bring holiday cheer.