I used to knit, but to be honest, I found it a bit boring and I had been wanting for years to learn how to crochet. I tried several years ago and I made this abysmal pig plushie in which I just made up my own stitches. I still keep it as a reminder of how far I’ve come.
But then I was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer last February on Valentine’s Day.
Those dang Woobles ads kept filling my social media feeds, and since I knew I was going to be laid up at home for several weeks recovering after surgery and during radiation treatments, I bought them as a way to keep my mind busy while my body recovered.The kits were a bit pricier than I’d like for ongoing projects, but I think I would’ve continued having hideous pigs if I didn’t get the Woobles kits. Some friends of mine later sent me other kits for me to help them with, and those instructions are horrible so it’s no wonder they struggled.
It became my hyper fixation and also my way to disassociate with the world. Fatigue can set in when you’re not active. I found that crocheting really helped to keep me awake, and it also helped me to tune out the noise of the world. I got really into making no-sew whales because they’re easy and mindless.
In this photo are 30 crocheted whales, one whale for every dose of radiation I underwent over six weeks. For the next five years I’ll be monitored and scanned every few months, but I’m officially cancer-free as of now.
My parents work in healthcare so I’ve been doing peer-to-peer fundraising for healthcare since high school. At first, I started with Relay for Life with my high school track team and then when I went to college I organized teams for multiple years.
I’m a volunteer advisor for Extra Life, a division of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals that’s focused on using gaming for peer-to-peer fundraising. Because I had made all those whales I decided to try selling them at farmers markets for charity. I get most of my tables for free since I leverage the fundraising aspect, though not all of them. I have never had anyone complain about my price points or be rude. It’s been doing decently well; I’m debating making an LLC or DBA this year.
I also like making (finishing 
I like using crochet as a peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising method, and right now I’m keeping zero profits. 50% of revenue goes to buying more supplies and the other half is donated. Right now, profits are being donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles since I am a volunteer advisor for that group, but later this quarter I’ll be adding the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) survivors group at the hospital I was treated at.
I love supporting non-profits, but sometimes their inefficiencies drive me crazy. Most of my career has been spent in manufacturing management, particularly on the quality side, so process optimization, design for excellence, all that fun stuff is my bread and butter. I’d have a hard time staying with fundraising as my career although I have thought of it before. I think if I did it professionally it’d take my passion for it away. I like it as a hobby. I also like crochet as a hobby. I made gaming a job for a while and it made me hate it, so now I just do that as a hobby as well.
I livestream on Twitch (mostly gaming but sometimes crafting) and then I make short form content on YouTube. I stream mostly casual games, especially farming sims. I also play a lot of mobile and competitive games, but I don’t stream those. Mobile because I’d definitely doxx myself somehow and competitive because I get so salty. Every October I’ll usually play Dead by Daylight or Phasmophobia for charity donations. I’m the kind of person who’s incapable of staying idle, so much so that I have a tendency to overload myself.
Crochet was a big boredom buster for me when I was unemployed and recovering. Now that I’m back to working, I’ve reduced my markets down substantially because I’m simply not making as much stuff anymore.
If you’re thinking of trying crochet, I’d say don’t get discouraged but, also if it doesn’t look close to the picture/guide then either try it again or ask for help sooner rather than later, because unlearning bad habits is tough.
You can view her crochet videos on Youtube here: Crochet With Me – YouTube
You can follow her on (@dncingretsuko) (there are cute dog photos too).
