Editor’s Note: This is a story featured in this month’s edition of Hartselle Living. Look for the new edition at select locations across the Hartselle area.

Creating simple, easy-to-follow crochet patterns has led to a successful online business and book-writing career for a Hartselle mother of five.

“Sweet & Simple Baby Crochet,” a 128-page book written by Kristi Simpson of Hartselle was released Sept 18 and is available online at rajkpatterns.com or Amazon. com. It will be sold at book and craft stores in the near future.

The book was written under contract and published by Stockpole Books, a Pennsylvania publishing company. It features 35 easy-to-follow crochet patterns and is illustrated with 150 color photos by Hartselle photographer Lindsay Kubica. The book is priced at $19.95 per copy.

Simpson’s first book stems from the success of the online crochet pattern business she and her husband Jason started in their home in February 2010.

“We started from scratch and business was slow at first,” Simpson said. “Then it took off like a rocket. We started getting orders from all over the world.”

The family-owned business soon grew to the point where Jason was able to give up his job as a restaurant manager and devote full time to their business.

“That was a big step for us,” Simpson pointed out, “because it brought us together as a team and provided the time we needed to manage a growing business.”

Time management can be tricky at times but our children come first,” she added.

Simpson, a 2002 graduate of Hartselle High School, gives credit for her start as a crochet pattern maker to a do-it-yourself crochet kit she gave her 13-year-old daughter as a Christmas gift about seven years ago.

“The kit had everything needed to make a shawl,” she recalled. “My problem was I didn’t know how to crochet, and the only way I was going to be able to make the shawl was to follow the instructions and teach myself.

“My interest in crocheting grew with each loop I made,”