Tuesday, October 31, 2017

No-No-November

Yup, in November I need to say "No-No" to my PHD (Project-Hopping Disorder) and focus on getting stuff DONE! I need to say "No-No" to buying any more yarn! All in all, there are 30 items on my list for November... but I have four craft shows, which may bring in custom orders and more items to replenish, so I need to hit the ground running this month! 


Finish up current orders
  • (20) cotton oil defusers 
  •  infant mittens with string
  • Custom Colors airplane
  • Mini Unicorn
No yarn purchases unless specifically needed for an order - Yup! 
Finish 2 of the lingering WIP:
  • tool belt / tools (tool belt done, needs tools)
  • farm play mat (3 squares done, do one more square, connect, add embellishments)
  • maroon cowl
  • scrap blanket  

Make Christmas sweater for granddaughter Done & Done! 
Make four (4) items to replenish items sold at craft shows: honeybee, tractor, gingerbread man, unicorn, fat cat, Pusheen unicorn - so many other items pushed these off the to-do list! 
Make a fancy owl coaster from the pattern I purchased on Etsy - started 11/28 - DONE


Sunday, October 1, 2017

The Pumpkin Spice Post

It's October, and everything is pumpkin pie spice, so that's what I'll call my bucket list for this month! 😜

I have two craft shows in October, so there will be the possibility that I will get some custom orders that will bump items from this list. It will be a month of catching up on WIP (Works in Progress), clearing up some yarn from the basket next to my chair, and getting around to those projects I've been meaning to do.

  1. Finish 2 items from this list: Maroon Cowl, Tool Belt, Tiny Unicorn, Linda’s unicorn, farm playmat, birthday sweater for granddaughter Aliya
  2. Finish order of 4 “under the sea” party favors (Order decreased, done, and then some)
  3. Scrap yarn challenge: jumbo ziploc bag of scraps from next to my chair - came close... got down to about 5 ounces of yarn! Orders and big projects kept me busy! 
    About 2 pounds of yarn
    Down to half a pound left, 10/27 
  4. Lavender Chair Midnight Star Mandala Vest CAL - DONE! 
  1. Get in 10 exercise sessions in October - gotta get back to that habit (3 down, 7 to go...)
  2. Stick to my diet plan and end up the month lighter than I started! (doing well on this!) 
  3. Stick to minimal spending plan
  4. Stick to yarn diet (Starting October with 602 yarns listed, 194.4 pounds, ended with 599 yarns listed... down by 3... but 197 pounds... up by 3, thanks to a few donations of yarn!)
When I was cleaning up around my chair September 30th (tidying the house for company coming), I put a big stack of patterns in a box. Later that night, when company was gone, I went through the stack, pulling out only the WIP patterns and stuff that I want to work on in October... I thought I would end up with 10-15 patterns... I ended up with 30! Let's see how many of these I actually make in October (these are just in the order they ended up when I put them by my chair): (Only used 6 of the 30 patterns)

  1. Log Cabin Slippers (need to finish 10/1 for a crochet along prize drawing)
  2. Fish Plushies (one of the patterns for the under the sea bags - made one
  3. Ballerina Hippo (small, cute)
  4. Tiny Striped Turtle (go-to pattern for small scraps of yarn!)
  5. Log Cabin Dishcloth (uses up cotton scraps)
  6. Lego Ninja (cute, trendy)
  7. Peace on Earth Angel (for Christmas shows?) made a couple of these
  8. Mini Giraffe (quick project, and giraffes always sell well)
  9. Airplane (they tend to sell as fast as I make them!)
  10. Cute little owl (uses less than an ounce of yarn... great scrap project)
  11. Sam the little teddy bear (uses less than an ounce of yarn... great scrap project) 
  12. Kooky Cat (sold one at my last craft show, want to replace)
  13. Aliya's sweater
  14. Honeybee (quick to make, and I've sold a bunch!)
  15. Butter lamb (need to have a bunch in stock for Easter)
  16. tiny unicorn (two started, need to finish them!)
  17. Tool Kit (need to finish)
  18. Emperor Penguin (it's a penguin... need I say more?)
  19. Little Red Wagon... cute, could be a neat display item for my table
  20. Coffee Coaster - quick, mindless project to use up cotton scraps
    Got an order for 20 tea cup coasters! 
  21. Angel Dishcloth - Will have to see if I sell any of these at my October shows
  22. Hedgehog coaster - these got a lot of interest at my last show, but no sales
  23. Dress Potholder - will see if these sell this fall
  24. Pusheen amigurumi
  25. Baby Trolls pattern - I want to make Mr. Dinkles
  26. Mini Bunny - quick, uses a tiny bit of yarn
  27. Pokemon Gloom - Looks like a challenge
  28. Cord Tamer - quick project, uses the cute buttons I bought
  29. Toilet Paper Cover - might try one for fall craft shows
  30. Pudgy penguin - want to try scaling the pattern down to make tiny pudgy penguins
    I joined a scrap yarn afghan Crochet-Along challenge. It's really cleaning up my scrap yarn piles!