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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Hands Occupied, 11 years on 😳

September 16, 2021 6 Comments

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied holds up a pair of wooden knitting needles. She's wearing a t-shirt that reads "Midwest Crafter."
If we haven’t met yet, hi, I’m Heidi. 😊

September 16 marks 11 years since I bit the bullet and bought handsoccupied.com before signing up for @handsoccupied on every social network I could think of. I built my website myself, sort of knowing what I was doing, but motivated by the idea of spending more time with a growing number of crafty internet friends. It might not mean much to some, but this was all the way back in 2010, about a year before Pinterest was a thing anyone had heard of, and a couple years before Instagram blew up. 11 years later, and I increasingly encounter crafters who aren’t even aware of what a big deal crafting blogs were to the community 5-10 years ago. Knitters and crocheters had Ravelry, but if you were in to other crafts, blogs (and to a lesser extent message boards) were your best bet for finding maker friends online.Ā 

One thing that makes me sad about the shift away from independently-operated blogs is that sharing instructional information on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter… well it sucks, particularly if you’re a crafter interested in pursuing information related to technique. A saved insta post is pretty annoying to find two years later when you just wanted to remember the name of a stitch or technique, let alone looking for a Reel- or story-based tutorial to learn from. (And be able to pause without having to hold your thumb down, like on Insta. Our hands are already occupied with crafts! šŸ˜† ) There’s also a huge accessibility issue for this sort of content as well, but as I’m no longer a Librarian I will refrain from stepping onto this particular soap box and encourage the curious to google the subject for yourselves.Ā 

As you might have guessed from my absence and this wee rant about social media platforms, burnout has been a struggle since finishing my book last year. It got to the point where I took the summer entirely off, and didn’t even send a newsletter or post anywhere about it at all. As someone who used to barely be able to take a weekend off from this project, the sudden need for a complete break was a shocker to me. I spent a lot of this summer considering whether I was entirely done with crafting as a career. It got and stayed pretty close, but to be honest, it had been close for a long time. Sometimes you just need a break, and sometimes that sh*t needs to be a third of a year while you focus on something that (gasp!) is not work.Ā 

What’s next for Hands Occupied post-book and post-break

Now that I’ve gotten this break, I’m back, but I want to be back with intention. If I catch myself considering a design gig or project that doesn’t feel like a good fit, I just won’t do it, and I’m dropping things that no longer serve the direction I want to take my creative career. I’m focusing my Hands Occupied-related efforts in this eleventh year on things that don’t burn me out. For me, that means leaning in to what did NOT burn me out in the past couple years. 

Here’s a run-down of what to expect on social:

Only posting to the blog when it’s useful, particularly for aggregating multiple useful of pieces of inspiration or tutorials in one place. 

Posting to Instagram regularly, but remembering that follower counts are a poor measure of whether I’m successful as a Craft Designer.Ā 

The Hands Occupied email newsletter (you can sign up here) will now be monthly, focusing on rounding up what’s new that month, sharing recent inspiration, and teasing what’s to come from Hands Occupied. It used to be weekly, but monthly feels less overwhelming for both your inbox and me.

Pinterest will continue to be where I save and organize my favorite internet finds, especially craft ideas.Ā 

I will continue to have a Facebook and Twitter account, but don’t intend on posting much.

One platform that is going to have a lot of my attention this year is YouTube. I enjoyed dipping my toe into YouTube last year, but I need to learn more about how the platform works. It’s the platform I have the most interest for from readers based on requests, but it’s also the one that I find the most intimidating to pursue due to the workload (video production is hard šŸ˜†). I have a few videos shot and ready to edit now that I’m back at work, so in addition to publishing those soon, I’ll be taking advantage of the YouTube Creator Academy to learn more & make better and better video tutorials for you.Ā 

Maybe fellow creators/long-time bloggers will have some kind of stress attack just reading this, but I’m taking summers off from now on. June-August is often a cruddy time to get traffic and build anything, so instead of trying to produce summery yarn content or desperately try to make people care about Christmas in July yarn crafts, I’m just not participating. That will give me time to focus on a larger design project every year, which at the end of the day, is significantly more creatively satisfying and doesn’t leave me feeling like I’m reinventing the wheel all the time. Whether it’s the next book, a significant design project for another publication, or developing a more in-depth video series for YouTube that takes time to produce, I think that time will be so much better spent being intentional and striving for growth as a Craft Designer (heck yeah this is a real job worthy of a capitalized job title!), rather than feeling like I’m living on a content production carousel I can’t get off of to reflect on what’s working and what isn’t.

There is no one way to be a professional creative. Thanks to the aforementioned burnout, it’s been probably two years that I’ve been aware I needed to adjust my career approach if I’m going to have one at all. I’m not the best at listening to my gut, but part of taking the time off in the summer was learning how to let go and accept that there’s no way to be totally in control of a creative career. As long as I keep working intentionally and keep growing creatively, I know I’ll be okay.

Plus, it doesn’t take a brain genius to know that I’m known for my work as a yarn crafter. I can show you 11 years of Hands Occupied site analytics that confirm I shouldn’t be working so hard to produce new content in summer – a lot of folks shift to sewing or just don’t do wooly crafting in summer. I kind of want to see what that’s like some time. Of course, I’ll be doing plenty of making during the summer, but just not putting out tons of new content.

Evolving aside, I want to end this update by saying I love you all. I’m so grateful you’re here (especially if you’re a long time follower!), but I’ve learned, kind of the hard way šŸ˜…, that my wellbeing comes first. In my opinion, the best way to run, not sprint, the marathon that is a creative career, is to pace yourself and make sure you’re only saying yes to what you want to be working on. Right now, I’m really prioritizing the pacing myself part, and I hope my fellow anxious makers out there can understand. <3 

Yours in yarn,
Heidi 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Tagged With: blog anniversary, blogging, craft design, design, hands occupied, housekeeping

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramƩ. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Pamela

    September 17, 2021 at 11:50 am

    And congrats on 11 years! I was not aware of your blog, but I’ve really enjoyed your YouTube videos and IG posts. My husband watched the one where you made your wrestling belt. He loved it!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 13, 2021 at 11:35 am

      I loved making that one too, even if it was a little different than some of my other work tends to be! I haven’t made that large of a just for fun project in awhile, and it was nice to indulge in that way creatively. :) If you’re new to the Hands Occupied Blog, this is home base, so to speak. I think I’ve got more than 1300 posts or something insane on this site, including tutorials and free patterns. Welcome!

      Reply
  2. Maria

    September 17, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    Your sock tutorial was life changing for me. Learning to knit in your late 50’s and being left handed was a challenge. I am proud to say I just started my 21st pair of socks. I still wear my first very simple pair as a reminder of how far I’ve come. Now, striping, contrast heels, patterns..no problem! Thank you for your easy to understand method!

    Reply
  3. Amber

    September 18, 2021 at 10:02 am

    I saw no mention in VSC…. Please go back, it’s not the same without you!!

    Reply
  4. Allison

    September 19, 2021 at 11:30 am

    Love you too Heidi! As someone who has pushed herself to burnout in *all* her endeavors, the idea of looking at your workload across an entire year is very useful (and certainly not at all how I have been using my time). Perhaps time for a reevaluation over here too!
    Here’s to another 11 (burnout free) years ā¤ļø

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 13, 2021 at 11:30 am

      Thanks, Allison! The burnout struggle with anxiety can be a pretty constant challenge, and I appreciate how many folks in the craft community understand. <3

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ā¤ļøĀ  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramƩ
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Heidi Gustad šŸ§¶āœ‚ļø
Nobody panic. This is just the back of an (admitte Nobody panic. This is just the back of an (admittedly insane) intarsia project. One day, this will be a seamed sweater, but today is not that day. 🧶 
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Have a good weekend, everyone! 
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Yarn: @universal_yarn’s Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Antarctica & Dragon’s Breath 
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#handsoccupied #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #wip #knitting
Here’s how to work a Norwegian purl stitch for e Here’s how to work a Norwegian purl stitch for easier continental style knitting. With this purling method, the working yarn says tensioned (held) at the back of your knitting at all times. For many knitters, always holding the yarn at the back helps with tension issues, as well as feeling a little more comfortable. 
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Have you ever encountered this style of purling before? If you’ve tried it, have you found it helps with your purl tension and knitting speed? I’m curious.
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For a written tutorial, visit handsoccupied-dot-com. For video, you guessed it, You2be. Both of these platforms allow for longer, more in-depth versions of this tutorial, including full transcripts, alt text & the ability to pause, slow down or speed up at will. (Like if you really want to learn this, I recommend using a platform that doesn’t keep your hands occupied. Thinking of putting this in all my captions these days tbh - shout out to you if you made it this far. šŸ™ŒšŸ»šŸ˜‚)
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#handsoccupied #learntoknit #continentalknitting #howtoknit #norwegianpurl #norwegianknitting #knit #knitting #knitter #knittersofinstagram #knittinghack  #handknitting #handknit #norwegianpurling
Have you ever tried this style of purl? . All thi Have you ever tried this style of purl? 
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All this recent talk about throwing vs. continental style knitting made it clear many people struggle with purling in continental knitting. Turns out that Norway may have the answer! In Norwegian purling, the working yarn stays tensioned at the back at all times, helping with speed and tension. 🤯
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Head to the bl0g (šŸ”— in bi0) for a more in-depth look at how to work a Norwegian purl stitch, including a photo tutorial with animated GIF & a video tutorial. Wrapping your mind around how to work a stitch you’re familiar with in a totally new way can be confusing, so I tried to give a few options for clarity. šŸ¤™šŸ» Video is also on You2be. 
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#handsoccupied #norwegianpurl #norwegianknitting #norwegianpurling #continentalknitting #howtoknit #learntoknit #knitterofinstagram #knitters
It’s been a hot second since I showed my face or It’s been a hot second since I showed my face or reintroduced myself, so here goes! I’m Heidi Gustad, a craft book author, pattern designer, and tutorial creator who specializes in yarn crafts. Lately, I’ve been focused on releasing quality knitting videos and related blog posts to help teach things like the difference between provisional cast ons and how to fix common knitting mistakes. Next week I’m shooting requested crochet and latch hook videos, so hšŸ‘€kers, your time is coming! And if you ever have tutorial requests, please let me know. ā˜ŗļø
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TLDR: I’m Heidi. I design & teach yarn crafts. You can find tutorials on my blog (est. 2010) & You2be. I also have several knitting & crochet patterns + a book about latch hook available. / All of these can be found on my website, the šŸ”— is where you’d think. 
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#handsoccupied #fridayintroduction #heidigustad #knitting #knitter #knittersofinstagram #yarncrafts #latchhookbook
Are you a picker or a thrower? Do you knit Contine Are you a picker or a thrower? Do you knit Continental or English Style? Here’s a quick overview of the differences between the two most common knitting styles, including a side by side comparison. (A good one to save for future reference. šŸ‘šŸ») 
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There’s more on the differences between picking and throwing in my latest blog post & You 2ube video - the l1nk is where you’d think!
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#handsoccupied #learntoknit #knittingstyles #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitter
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