Monday, August 22, 2011

Team Member Interview - Heidi of The Blissful Stitcher

Today I would like to introduce you to Heidi of The Blissful Stitcher.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I homeschool a 13-year-old, an 11-year-old and a five-year-old. They are both the biggest frustration and the greatest joy in my life.

I'm married to the man who was the high school boy I had a crush on in jr. high. We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this year.

I am an RN. Until spring of this year, I worked as an IV Therapist at a hospital near my home. I have worked as a nurse in IV therapy, medical-surgical and medical-telemetry units for nearly 10 years. In nursing school, I told anyone who would listen that I would not be working in a hospital. My life is full of such irony.

I have used various art mediums. My favorites are watercolor, pen and ink, charcoal, beads, photography and embroidery. I hope to revisit watercolor in the next few months.



Custom Toddler Hoodie


How did you begin working in your craft and how did it develop into a business?

I started out making gifts. I suppose they were gifts I would like to receive. When customers began to order variations of these gifts, I was thrilled.

What is one of your favorite homeschool memories thus far?


I find it interesting that my favorite homeschool moment is tied to my least favorite. I took a few years to find the right math curriculum for my daughter. She struggled mightily with programs that had a spiral learning path. The first three programs we tried left us both hating math. Every time multiplication showed up on a lesson, she flailed, floundered, and fought against it. Since multiplication is such a foundational skill for all math, I finally found a curriculum that focused on teaching the why and how of multiplication before moving to more complex problems.

Half-way through the year, she came running to me with her math book. I was sure her news had nothing to do with the math because her face was shining. Before I could ask her why she was so happy, she burst out, "This REALLY WORKS! I can multiply sixes, and I know WHY!"



Custom Crafty Labels With Your Name


What advice would you give to other homeschool families who are also trying to run a home business?

Set a specific time for marketing and crafting. I talked over my schedule with my husband. He had excellent insight. We decided I would "go to work" during specified hours. This reduced a number of problems we were having with household duty responsibilities and reduced the number of interruptions from bored children.

Marketing is a great big mystery to me. I am soaking up information from the etsy blog and from the examples of etsians I admire. I plan to have a discussion with my husband about my marketing plan. He is a great sounding board.




Crochet Hiptser


Where do you find inspiration for your pieces?

Ideas live in my head long before they become pieces. I'll tuck something into the back of my mind and save it for a while. I have a vast collection of embroidery designs of all kinds. I keep these designs in mind while going about my day. Add to this the rush I get from figuring out the solution to a design problem. The challenge may be maddening, but when the product comes to fruition, that high can carry me for a few weeks of crafter's block.

For my business, I want to use up and sell my current stock before I purchase more.
For our school, I would like to finish up a few subjects from last year before I purchase more.

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Places to find Heidi
~ Facebook

~ The Blissful Stitcher Blog

~The Blissful Stitcher Etsy Shop

~ Company Casuals

~All Photos and information in the post are used by permission.
Thanks, VeryVerdant

11 comments:

Lona said...

What a great interview! I love the idea of "going to work" for a few hours every week. I've been trying to implement that for a while, and have almost given up. Now I'm going to try again.

Love the crochet hipster...Nice to meetcha, Heidi!

Cricket said...

Nice interview. :) I need working hours, I've decided. Great idea.

Kimmie said...

Wonderful interview! I, too, like the idea of "going to work" within your own home. I keep telling myself I need to do this, but haven't had great luck at implementing it. ::blush::

Unknown said...

Lovely interview! It's great to get an inside peek of our fellow SheTeamers. I need to do more "work hours" too. That's a great idea.

Anonymous said...

What a great interview! The "going to work" idea is a great way to get your work done in an efficient manner while still honoring your commitment to be at home for your children & husband!

Leslie/NUOY

Jane In The Jungle said...

Great interview and love the working hours idea.......and having a hubby to agree with that is fabulous!

Heidi said...

Thank you for the kind words. Now, if only I would be firm about the hours. It seems I have to speak of it daily. One of my mistakes is not being ready to "go" right when he gets home. Then I end up caught in "urgent" matters that really are not. I will make this my focus: Be ready.

Maybe if I am "on-time" to work three days in a row, I will buy myself some special, only-for-me chocolate.

:)

Thank you for the encouragement.

Unknown said...

Love finding you over here, and love learning more about your life!

Congratulations, hon! I hope and pray your business takes off!

Heidi said...

Thank you, Susan! I know so much about you, I forget that you don't know me as well. :)

Chloe said...

Hey Heidi!

I think nurses almost NEED an outlet because nursing is so derned hard. Your work is beautiful. Great interview.

Chloe

Heidi said...

Thanks, Chloe. You are SO right. Many RNs have a crafty/creative outlet, and those who don't burn out. I'm making up for lost time. I spent most of my RN career without a creative outlet. I was in the process of burning out when I got interested in embroidery. I'm taking a break from the RN life.