Oooh, did not know for Quelling Strike.

I think the others have pretty much stated the adventuring side o' things.

For crafting, I don't think it'll ever keep up with the rate you're leveling without a massive detour in play time.

In the long run, as a caster, I would probably suggest Weaver as your main focus. Supplemented by Goldsmithing.

My reasoning is for this is that many of the wands/staves/canes aren't a very attractive for just leveling up Carpentry and Botany. The time and money you'll save in purchasing a crafted magic weapon to affix materia to or even finding one seems worth it to me.

Weaving as a caster I think is where it's at. While you're leveling, you might initially buy your latest set of gear. But as you bring Weaver up to snuff, you'll be able to turn your old gear into materia, replace it with stuff you wear. And when the time comes, turn *that* into materia, which you could use to improve yourself or sell materia off for profit. Continuing to replace your own gear while creating more materia.

Similar deal with Goldsmithing. You'll have lots of accessories here and there, possibly turning all of them into materia at the same time, and replacing them with a new set. Between the two, you'll most likely have materia that is attractive to yourself and your friend, in addition to having excess ones to sell to the market to fund the equipment you aren't crafting.

With the time investment in general, it may be a very expensive and timely process.