Our Featured Guest Star- Crocheting the Day Away

Today we are welcoming Mary from Crocheting the Day Away.  Mary has two blogs, one about life and family called The Englar Fam; and the other one, Crocheting the Day Away, is centered on crochet.  She also has a wonderful Etsy shop called Fountain Top Creations that sells her crocheted creations.

Mary is flying in from South Dakota and I’m afraid I didn’t warn her about the pollen cloud that currently covers the Atlanta area. I’m sure South Dakota is still in a thawing process. Hopefully, she works well with extreme climate change.

I would ask my assistant, Tom Selleck and his mustache to dust the pollen off the limo and go get her, but Tom is off on vacation this week. He and the ‘stache packed up their Hawaiian shirts and headed off to Key West for Spring Break.

My buddy Phil Keoghan, who was going to cover for Tom, ended up going off to supervise the Amazing Race and left me in a lurch. Apparently his Emmy Award winning show is more important than my Green Room guests. Hmmpf. I told Phil that I was very disappointed in him. He raised his eyebrow and…sigh…well what was I saying?

Oh. He had to go.

Which left me with a surly Miley Cyrus. How did that happen? Well, frankly I’m not sure. Something about getting caught climbing down the trellis from her bedroom window. And I believe she borrowed the car without asking and may have had a huge party and totally trashed the house while her parents were away. And then she said something about her hair and her boyfriend and that girl that texts her snotty messages and you won’t believe what so-and-so said about such-and-such and how can she be expected to assist me when her outfit clearly doesn’t match the room décor and like, does this skirt make her butt look big?…blah…blah…blah.

Her dad sent her here as a punishment. Which begs the question, just exactly who was he planning on punishing? He felt that a little honest work would be good for her. So, in the spirit of one parent helping another, I put her to work putting together centerpieces for Oprah’s April Fools Day shindig. (She has a party for everything). A little glue gun therapy never hurt anyone.

So now that Mary has arrived, let’s go sit down on the pollinated patio and have our interview. After she quits sneezing.

I’ll bring the tissues…

Suzy: Tell me a little about yourself, your family, your other hobbies …

Mary: I am a Christian Stay-At-Home-Mama to our daughter Hailey. She is a fun and busy little thing. I married my high school sweetheart. Well actually we met at church in high school but it’s the same I think. Anyway! He is my best friend and I am so thankful for having him as a husband. We love being together and laughing. The most important this in our lives is putting all of our trust the Lord and working everyday to do our best to glorify Him.

crocheted flower hat for kids

Mary: Personally I enjoy time with friends and family, crocheting, coffee, Etsy, Florida, our dog Flurrie, pictures, volleyball, blogging, music, and other random things. I have recently been putting some more time into my Etsy shop. I love crocheting and want to share my items with others.

colorful crocheted granny squares

Suzy: When and why did you start blogging, and where would you like your blogging to lead?

Mary: I started blogging in July 2008 when I was 17 weeks pregnant with my daughter. I wanted the blog to be a place where our family and friends could go to see what we are up to. Our families don’t live close so we wanted to keep them close in our lives. The other nice thing is it became my pregnancy journal. I love looking back on how I was feeling and all the other fun stuff.

Mary: Now our blog still has the same purpose but I have also made some great blog buddies. The blogging world is amazing to me! I have “met” many mom’s just like me. So the blog is also a place to bring in new friends!  I also started a crochet blog that has been fun. I use it to share all of my crochet
projects and inspiration. I have “met” a whole new group of bloggers that have been such a great inspiration.

crocheted pink bird for kids

Suzy: Can you tell us a few things that most folks don’t know about you?

Mary: Hmm probably that I am my own worst critic. I tend to be very critical with my crocheting and other random things like pictures I take.

Suzy: Since I’m kinda a crafty blog, I have to ask. Are there any particular crafts that you enjoy the most?

Mary: I LOVE crocheting! I have been doing it for about a year now and love it more every time I pick up a hook. I also recently picked up knitting which is fun too, but not as much as crocheting. I also enjoy cooking, scrap booking (when I’m in the mood) and trying new craft projects with my daughter.

crocheted flowers colorful

Suzy: I know you have a very busy life. I also know first hand how time-consuming a good blog is. How do you schedule it all in?

Mary: One thing that has really helped is writing as many blog posts as I can ahead of time. Usually Sunday night is when I can get in some good blogging and will schedule posts for the week. I do take advantage of nap time as well! There are weeks where I feel the need to cut back to focus on other things or if I need a break.  I also have to say that the program I use for writing blog posts is awesome and really makes things easier. If you’re curious it’s called Windows Live Writer.

colorful basket of yarn

Suzy: Since I’m also kinda a sitcom blog, my buddy Tom wanted me to ask you if you have a favorite celebrity. Other than him of course.

Mary: That is a really tough question! I can say the two that make me laugh the most (which is important for me) are Jim Carrey and Paul Rudd.

Suzy: Can you tell us a little about what you are promoting right now? Anything coming up that you want us to know about?

Mary: Yes I am trying to promote my Etsy shop! It’s called Fountain Top Creations. The name was inspired by my daughter’s favorite hairdo, the fountain top ponytail! The shop is filled with my crocheted hats for little ones. There are also some other fun things thrown in.

And right now…Celebrate Spring by getting 15% off your orders! Use coupon code SPRING15 when you check out!

Suzy: Mary, thank you so much for taking the time to come down here for an interview! It has been a real pleasure to meet you. Please take a few moments to check out Mary’s sites, Crocheting the Day Away and The Englar Fam. And be sure to stop by her Etsy shop, Fountain Top Creations to see some wonderful crocheted creations.

Now I believe we need to get back in the Green room. Apparently, Miley (whose cell phone seems to be firmly attached to her ear) got into an argument with her current squeeze.  Apparently he said something to so-and-so who totally dissed Miley and then got all up in his grill and like, she’s a total skank and totally into drama which Miley is so totally not into.  And in an act of protest, she has hot glued herself to the buffet table.

Honestly, I’d leave her there, but I really hate eating off of TV trays.

Just saying.