EtsyHooker of the Week --- NoraDora

Vote USA Make a Difference - BLYTHE HAT
NoraDora is a getting a surprise this week with her honor of EtsyHooker of the Week since she believes someone she nominated will be on the blog this week (we will save that honor for later.) Nora is a lovely person who is always willing to help others, is active in many areas of the team, and has many awesome items in her beautiful shop. Fellow team member Valerie (of ValeriesGallery) said this when nominating her:

She is always ready to help anyone on the team and is a sweetheart! This in addition to the impeccible work she sells! Her snoods are an inspiration to us all!

Leave Only Footprints -ELLOWYNE WILDE SNOOD

Nora's shop seems to have taken off with her Blythe creations and now she has added some fashions for Ellowyne Wilde. Above is an example of her famous snoods, which are part of a little joke from one of the team's special promotion nights. Nora is also full of fun, so it is not surprising that something involving her shop would be part of a joke.


Bright and Light - WOMEN'S -TEEN HAT

If you are like me and love Nora's creations, but do not own a Blythe or Ellowyne Wilde, you are in luck. Nora has begun to make her incredible creations on a larger scale to fit the rest of us. Above is just one of the many colorful and unique hats that could be keeping your head warm and stylish this season.

EtsyHooker of the Week --- AStitchtoWear

La Parisienne cap-Azalea
This EtsyHooker of the Week may be quite surprised when she gets home on Monday from a long weekend to find herself honored on the team blog. Fellow team member Rebecca (otherwise known as adorkable1) nominated AStitchtoWear with the following words:

her shop looks awesome, her photos are great, and her items are really well crafted :)

Zig scarf-Two Teal
AStitchtoWear's shop is filled with stylish hats for both men and women, as well as warm and fun neckwear and a few summery wraps. Her photos highlight the items being worn by models who have on neutral outfits so the items shine on their own with no distractions.

Best Friend Beanie-Gray Blue and Brown
The Best Friend Beanie is a unisex hat that will certainly keep your head warm on a cold, windy day. This is the kind of crochet that most guys would be willing to wear.

Book Review --- Hooked on Murder

With winter coming for us here in the Northern Hemisphere, is a great time to start thinking about how to spent those long dark nights. While most of us will be busy crocheting our fingers off, we might like to take a break and do some reading- with a crochet twist of course.

In Hooked on Murder: A Crochet Mystery by Betty Hechtman, Molly Pink stumbles upon (literally) the body of her neighbor Ellen Sheridan. When the police arrive and find Molly hovering over the deceased, things get complicated. Things get even more complicated when her past relationship with Ellen is revealed. Ellen was once the business partner of Molly's husband. When he died, Ellen pushed Molly out of the business. Although Molly has since gone on with her life, the police don't believe there are no hard feelings. Not to mention Detective Heather has it out for Molly.

Ellen was the leader of the crochet group that meets at the book store where Molly works. To clear her name Molly takes up the hobby and joins the group in an attempt to find the real killer and clear her own name.

I enjoyed this light mystery. It's not going to be the cure for senility, that's for sure, but it was entertaining. Molly is an engaging character, although her inability to grasp the simplest stitches of crochet was baffling. Am I right in thinking Granny squares aren't that hard to master? The ladies of the crochet group were quite funny. I especially liked Adele. Her reaction to two ladies who dared to pull out knitting in a crochet group was priceless:

"We may be the new kids on the block, since crochet isn't nearly as old as knitting, but we will not be treated like the poor stepsister anymore." Adele raised her fist in a sign of crochet power, and you could practically hear some kind of anthem start in the background.

That rivalry is highlighted throughout the book. There were also some little tidbits about the history of crochet that I found interesting. And can you really have your pet's hair woven into yarn? I have enough around here to make a couple of doggie sweaters!

Although there was quite a bit about this book that I liked, I had high hopes for Detective Heather and was disappointed. The author makes her a two dimensional character out to steal the protagonist's man and put her in jail. And unless she has a dog named Scooby-Doo, I don't know how she could have been in charge of a homocide and miss such huge clues. That's my biggest gripe with the book.

If you want a quick entertaining read, I recommend this book.
--
Christina (caperchris.etsy.com)

EtsyHooker of the Week --- Valerie's Gallery

Nesting Bowls - Snowman
Valerie, of Valerie's Gallery, is the perfect choice for EtsyHooker of the Week this week. She has an awesome shop that she is always working on improving in all areas. She is an everyday participant of the team as she has taken the lead with the team promo thread. Her teammates respect and admire her (as well as drool over her creations.)

Mountainside Crochet had this to say about Valerie:

It has been my observation that Valerie is one of the most active members of the Etsyhooker Street Team. Besides her daily promo on behalf of the team, she participates in many ways and is a real leader. Val has a lovely shop filled with wonderful felted items from booties to pottery which each show off her wonderful talent in this field.

I have a feeling that Valerie is a very busy lady, yet when I needed help recently, she took the time to act as a special mentor to me and her quick answer relieved my anxiety and helped me have a smooth transition through handling my first ever Custom Order.

Sailboat Booties
Diana, a newer member of the team, had these comments about Valerie:

I would like to second the nomination for Valerie Kessler as the "Etsyhooker of the Week".
She contributes a tremendous amount of effort to this team and I think that she is very deserving of this honor. Being fairly new to this team, I look upon her as an example to all of us.
Thank you Valerie for all you do for us.

Felted Ponies - Set of 3 Autumn Collection
Jodi wrote:

Her work is incredible and I drool over it all the time. I also dream that I can do work like hers.

EtsyHooker of the Week --- RedBerryCrochet

Julie's scarf pattern has been published in Crochet World
Our hard working team leader is a great example to the team. She works very hard for the team, keeping up with lots of administrative type things that most of us never even know about. She has a shop that is an excellent example of great photography, beautiful items, and variety without seeming scattered. She also has a few items in her shop that her fellow crocheters might like to own, like her lovely stitch markers and patterns. She was nominated for this honor by NoraDora.


Paperback book cover

If you look through RedBerryCrochet's shop, you will discover a few bits of information about her by the items she sells. For example, she sells book covers. That gives us the hint that she must like books. In fact, one of her other jobs is working in a library.


Cat Toy Mice

Another section of RedBerry's shop lets you know that she must love her pets. She has pet blankets as well as cat toys. Her cat toys even have her cat as an adorable model.


Crochet Folk Art Patterns

Two sections of RedBerry's shop are dedicated to those of us who also love to crochet, as she does. She has stitch markers available that she created when she could not find ones that she liked herself. I have a set that I use often that I purchased from her. She also has several patterns available, including the folk art patterns above as well as a rug, cat toys, baskets, and a fried egg potholder.