RAKJ Patterns has a free pattern blog

The very first pattern I every purchased came from RAKJ Patterns. I came across her Etsy shop while searching for something cute. Well I found a ton of cute patterns in her shop and immediately purchased quite a few of her patterns packs. My collection of her easy and unique patterns has now grown to an outrageous amount. I seriously have lost count.

She has now started a new blog where she posts free patterns! Yes I said FREE! How cool is that? Check it out at www.rakjpatterns.com Her patterns are awesome!!

You can also see more of her patterns by following these links:

Website: http://www.rakjpatterns.com
Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RAKJpatterns
Ravelry shop: http://www.ravelry.com/stores/rakjpatterns
Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/RAKJpatterns

Now working weekends just through the holidays :)

Since I opened my shop, I have worked weekends and holidays. I would wake up at 5 a.m. and work until midnight and sometimes even 2.a.m.! It began to wear on my relationship with my other half and he finally told me enough was enough. He supported my business but I no longer had time for him or my children. I would be on the phone but not really listening to the person on the other end because I was so consumed with crocheting. It was a constant battle but in the end he had won. I wanted to please my customers and rush everything out right as they ordered it. Just work, work work! I learned that I can still please them and my family if I allow myself enough of a turnaround time.   When they receive their item(s) they know it is well made and that I took time to make certain they will be satisfied with their purchase. If a customer needs a rush order I can accommodate them without losing that sale and they are likely to return. If I have multiple orders in a day, no problem I have that 3 week cushion. I do get busy and receive a lot of custom orders.

I stopped working weekends and holidays and it felt so nice to relax...well after about a month! I will admit it was really hard at first because all I thought about was the business and how many emails I had waiting was I going to lose a sale...I was overwhelmed! Surprisingly, I didn't lose any sales!

Now that the holiday season is sneaking up on us I will be working during the weekends on rush orders (only if the rush order listing is purchased), back stock and some new items ONLY. All regular sales will resume on the next business day. I want this holiday season to be a successful one for me and my customers!

Never to early for Halloween and Christmas

Oh Me...Oh My! I am working hard to get my orders processed and out. Business is starting to pick up for me (which is a little strange since it is summer time...but I have no complaints) I went on a yarn shopping spree today and I cannot believe how much I got for under $40. (I used a lot of coupons) The main purpose for this trip is for my Halloween and Christmas lines. I have a ton of new stuff just begging to be worked up! I cannot wait to get started. I have added quite a few new items to my shop already. I love Calleigh's clips & crochet creations cape sets and will be adding many of them to my shop as time permits. Be on the look out for em'. I already have the turtle cape done and I am in love with it! I am also trying to keep up with all my sites and will definitely try harder to blog a little more.

I just have to say I ♥ what I do and appreciate all the new photos I have received of my products! A Huge thank you to My Framed Photography, Pinky Promise Photography, Shear Perfection Photography and HMN Photography for all the beautiful images!

Well...I'm off to finish a mermaid tail set and hopefully sneak in a new item before working up more orders ;)

New items are coming

Now that I have recovered from my recent back injury, I am back to work in full force. Since it is the slower season, I will have a little more time to get some back stock done. I also have lots of new stuff that I am working on. I am just a busy gal. My goal is to get all my camera critters and shutter bugs up! I'm also going to be working on some adorable cape sets from the lovey Calleigh's Clips & Crochet Creations. I just love all of her stuff. Right now my current wait time for orders is about 1 week...Yay! I also started a 10 buck Tuesday sale where I list new items on facebook only for $10. If you haven't already stop by and like my page. I often give out coupon codes and also participate in a lot of giveaways. www.facebook.com/lovemeragged A huge thank you to all 910 of my fans. You all keep me hookin away! I can't wait for you all to see what I have been working on!

Emmy's Auction

Please stop by http://facebook.com/KhysCloset and do some bidding. I have quite a few items in Emmy's Auction over at Khy's Closet to help raise money for a head stone for Emmy! We all come together in a time of need and help each other. It makes me feel good to know that so far there are approximately 120 items from many different vendors up for auction. My thoughts and prayers are with this family and I just know that this will be a successful event!

Blessed beyond belief

I am so thankful for all my new facebook fans that have stuck with me. It is people like you that keep me going. I love what I am doing. I am also grateful to my customers and all the positive feedback! You all rock! This coming week, I will be mailing a box of beanies to St. Jude's Children Hospital! I am also working on a box for "Now I lay me down to sleep" These organization have really hit a sweet spot with me. In the near future...I will be making two more donations. I will blog about those two in another post. I am still very busy and trying to sneak in some new stuff in between. Easter is coming and I have a couple things I will be posting on facebook and in my shop! I just made a few huge orders for some awesome yarn and I am so excited as they will be arriving today. I have a lot of new headbands coming out also. Once it calms down a bit for me I am going to sneak in more of my new line of Shutter bugs and Camera Critters. I can't wait to reveal a couple new surprises too. Oh and I must mention...If you are a crocheter or knitter, you must check out http://www.rakjpatterns.net/ for a great membership. I have been a member for a few months now and all I can say is A-W-E-S-O-M-E You must check it out. There are so many benefits of this membership. We have a lot of fun on game night too. I don't want to give up to much...check it out for yourself. Become a member...especially if you are a beginner and want to start building your pattern supply. I am also looking forward to my 1k giveaway coming up soon. I am scouting out some pretty awesome vendors to participate in my giveaway. It's going to be amazing. I must get back to work! Stay tuned!

Wow...What a month!

Sorry about the delay in posting....phew...It has been an amazing last month and a half for me! I owe a huge thank you to Calleigh's Clips & Crochet for doing a feature on my shop!! Thank you Calleigh! I have been so busy! In the last month, I have been part of 3 huge giveaways on facebook, have donated (2) $25.00 gift certificates for a celebration of life raffle, working on all of the orders I have received and trying to squeeze in some new stuff in between. Sleep? who needs sleep? lol I average about 3-4 hours a night....(if I am lucky) I now offer rush ordering in my shop! This will help those needing their item(s) get them super quick. I have been slowly adding my headband, Shutter Bug and Camera Critter lines.

I thought it would help to add a waiting list to my blog so that my customers can see exactly what I am working on at the moment. So far it is a huge help to them and especially to me! Why didn't I think of this a long time ago? Who knows! I am working as fast as I can to get more of my new stuff out and also getting  photos of my items on actual babies. I have a few amazing photographers that I will be working with. I can't wait to receive the photos!


 On Friday, Feb 24th I will be offering a special coupon code to celebrate my birthday. I'm not sure if I will do it mystery style or let everyone know what the percentage off will be. The code will be listed on my facebook page. 

 I am ecstatic that I have grown from 17 fans to 657 since about November or December 2011. Thank you too all my new fans for sticking with me. I am working hard at filling my shop with fresh new stuff  as well as taking care of my customers. My customers always come first.



I also have many more animal hats to make...they are going to be adorable! To be realistic, I have tons of new ideas and can't wait to get this stuff done and up! Keep an eye out for them. I usually list my new items on facebook first at a special introductory rate before I add it to my Etsy shop. If you haven't already "liked" my page, hop on over to www.facebok.com/lovemeragged and click the like button. I am currently a part of 2 giveaways now. There are lots of amazing vendors in each one...so get your entries in soon. 

 This is going to be an Amazing year for Love Me Ragged by Tracy! Stay tuned!

How It All Got Started....

Happy New Year!!! So I have decided to actually start blogging for 2012. I am so excited about the re-opening of my Etsy shop last year! (I really opened in 2010 but got cold feet) With a lot of support and encouragement from my sister in law Nicole, I decided to give it my all. At first I originally opened up shop to make and sell rag quilts. Business was slow...very slow. I had not one sale for 6 months. I was thinking of new ideas one day and a thought crossed my mind...oh my gosh, I know how to crochet too! I ran out of the house and headed to the craft store for a few things. (few being quite an understatement) I whipped up some hats here and there and listed them. I took a couple to show off to Nicole (who by the way is also a  photographer) and she loved them! Now why the heck didn't I think of this in the first place? Hello? Sister Photographer...needs cute props especially for newborns and children! I started thinking of other "prop" ideas. The sleepy owl came next...and boy was that a huge success! My daughter Amanda (whom we've called Panda since birth) inspired my panda hat. I am very blessed to have Nicole not only as my sister but also as my main photographer. She gives me great ideas from a behind the lens point of view as well as new and fresh ones. Plus I have three nieces and a nephew on call for modeling...tee hee! I am working super hard to add new things weekly. Ever since I added the Sleepy Owl Hat to my shop, I have been hooking non stop! This little creation has me dreaming about hot pink and green owls...lol! I make so many of these hats! I have quite a few new animals coming soon as well! I have a plethora of ideas written down in notebooks for this years line up and I only hope I can put hook to yarn and get them all done!!! Both mine and Nicole's links are listed under my banner. Go ahead and take a look around. Until next time....happy hooking!