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Hands Occupied

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

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Meet Jumbo Jibbles

August 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

I’ve been encouraging my friend Amy to submit answers to some interview questions for a feature on this blog for a while now, and I was super excited when she recently emailed me with some A’s for my Q’s. Readers, meet Amy Brown, the crafter behind Jumbo Jibbles, a.k.a. the crafter who made nutsawesomelyamazing giant artichoke and asparagus photo booth props for my wedding.

HO: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.
JJ: It all started when I made a joke and someone took me seriously.  A new friend (Heidi, you) was having a wedding with a very specific theme, and I mused that it would be funny to have a giant artichoke and asparagus in the photo booth at the reception.  They turned out splendidly and it gave me the confidence to explore fabric sculpture.  I began an Etsy store to sell my stuffed stuff, as well as my smaller clay sculptures.  When I moved to California, I was suddenly in a new market where I could advertise myself as specialized childcare provider in arts enrichment, due to my wide talent base in crafting.  Years later, it still seems like a joke when I tell people, “I sew giant stuffed vegetables” or “I’m an arts and crafts tutor”.  My elevator speech is “I take what’s in your head and put it in your hands”, and when someone asks me, “Can you do this?” I say yes and learn how to do it.

(Photo by Dan Hartley.)

HO: Why did you decide to go in to business making this/these particular product(s)?
JJ: Making the big veggies was a lot of fun, and there wasn’t much market saturation (I’m totally pretending I know industry terms right now when I don’t). Word of mouth was helpful, as well as an internet presence, in getting me puppet commissions, another skill I didn’t have before I said “yes”.  I’ve only just started doing fairs, and my products have a “pop” to them visually that draws people in.  My creations make people happy.

HO: Do you have a day job, pets, a family, or a partner? How to you balance everything?
JJ: I’m currently in a charmed situation having gone from breadwinner to house-spouse temporarily.  My spouse is incredibly supportive. I supplement my hobby-cum-business with freelance arts and crafts instruction for individual children and the occasional art party.  I’m still getting used to the free-fall feeling of being in charge of my own success, but I have the luxury of being able to focus solely on growing my business and skills without a 9-5.  I do almost all the housecleaning and cooking, but I cook what I want and spend the rest of my time making crazy-ass crafts.

HO: What’s your favorite thing to make or do when you’re not running your business?
JJ: My home and work life have so blended lately, that’s a hard question.  I’m living in a city for the first time in my life, and I like to explore it.  And if I happen to wander into a new used bookstore in my wanderings, I’ll bring home a stack of new books to lose myself in.

outer space pendant jumbo jibbles

HO: Where can we find you online? (Website, Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, etc.)
JJ: I am on Etsy, (try to) maintain a blog of my projects and teaching, am on twitter, tumblr and mostly active on Facebook.  Sure, I’m on Pinterest, but I have to have some time left over for work!  If you Google “Amy Brown”, you’ll get nothing but the fairy fantasy artist, but “Jumbo Jibbles” is all mine!

Filed Under: Crafter Features Tagged With: crafters, features, giant asparagus, jumbo jibbles, san jose, west coast

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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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! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author & pattern designer ❤️💛💙
knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Please email for pattern support. 🧶

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
When you have four big skeins of pretty 2 ply yarn When you have four big skeins of pretty 2 ply yarn, you immediately think sweater, right? 
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My wardrobe could use another handmade sweater - I’m thinking something simple, seamed and with a decent amount of ease for potentially wearing tucked in with jeans or skirts. 🤔 
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Yarn: @universal_yarn Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Antarctica and Dragon’s Breath, wound in thick skeins of 100% superwash wool that’s a light DK weight.
How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style . How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style 
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In knitting, there are a few common knitting styles. Most often you’re going to encounter continental style and English (throwing) style on your knitting journey. I recently had an old video teaching continental style get a lot of views. Based on the comments, it was clear the people wanted to also see a throwing tutorial, so here you go! 🧶
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Please note that there is a LOT of variation in knitting styles, and one isn’t necessarily better than another. Most often, I’ve found it comes down to two things: how you were taught and whether or not you’re really into colorwork knitting (which can involve a mix of styles). 
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Longer-term knitters who’ve made it this far: do you prefer one over the other? And why? 
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#handsoccupied #englishknitting #learntoknit #knitting #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration
How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
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