So Here Is My Story!

Where do I start? As far back as I can remember, I have enjoyed crafting. It used to be mud pies and other little things my mother always thought where cute, even if she had no idea what it was. I guess most of my inspiration came from her. She taught ceramics down in the basement for the longest time. She would always let us girls ( I have 2 very crafty sisters as well) come down in the basement and help her pour molds. She had a set of little molds she would pour for us so that we could paint also. Here is one I made when I was 12, however there where many before and after that. This is just one I have left.

Growing up my Grand-mother had a craft store in the front room of her farm style house. She loved making dried flower arrangements and she was really good at making bows. I wish I picked that up from her. She eventually moved the store out of her house and into a small store in town. I started working for her when I was a teenager. She would pay me and I would use the money to buy things I could make from the store. She also offered craft classes there, I was able to take a few and really learned a lot. Here is a Napkin Basket I made in a basket weaving class:
I tried many different crafts growing up. I even tried knitting and crocheting when I was about 10, but always came up with triangles. I tried making little quilts for my dolls, but the sewing machine broke so that ended too. By the way my mother used that sewing machine a lot. She made all our cloths and even all our doll cloths.

I think I was probably about 14 when I went to a family baby shower and one of my distant cousins through marriage had crocheted a baby blanket for a gift. She wasn't much older than me, so I thought why couldn't I do that. The mother was so happy to receive that hand made gift that it brought tears to her eyes. I thought " I want to make someone that happy".
So a couple months later I sat my left-handed self down and tried to determine a knitting pattern. I didn't have much success. I was determined to learn. So I switched to crocheting, my father had crocheted a blanket left-handed, so how hard could it be, right? Well, you definitely can't be afraid to undo your work. I tore out so many rows I can't even count. I finally figured out how to convert patterns and away I went. I have probably made close to 100 afghans and every time I gave one as a gift, which was most of them, tears well up in the receivers eyes. I'd have to admit, mine too. Here is the most recent one I made for a baby shower gift:

Since so many family members love to make hand made things and they also run their own business, I wanted to join in. That is when I came up with the idea of selling my crafts and others. I always enjoy seeing what everyone is making. I am genuinely intrigued by all the creativity. I have a great love for crocheting, but I do so many other things. Just in the last few years I started quilting. I've only made four, but I'm super excited to do more! I'm always looking for new crafts I haven't tried yet, and I pour my heart into each and everything I make.

My store that I opened in the winter of 2007 has been a great and fun way to sell mine and other's crafts. I came up with the name really from a joke, even though my store is no joke! While dating my husband people used to say when you guys get married and have children you better not name your daughter Lilly Francis LaVallee, because then she would always be known as the popular flower, Lilly of the Valley. So that is where I came up with my business name. I liked it and thought it was a cute little play on words. I had about a thousand ideas of what I wanted to sell, gift baskets, engraved items, and you name it, I wanted that to be my main business. As with most start ups I didn't have the funds to do any one thing, so I decided to open it up to sellers like you. That way more than just I can benefit. ( Right back to being at that baby shower moment of making others happy).

So I hope that helped you gain a little insight into my world and the world of Lilly of LaVallee Crafts! I enjoyed telling the story.
Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments if you would like.
As always,
HAPPY CRAFTING TO YOU ALL!!!!