Ending the year with a sense of accomplishment...

We're four days into December and I'm just starting to think about December goals. Yup, that's the way things are going... I was actually 200 miles from home on December 1, doing a craft show. It went well, but drive time and time spent with family (I stayed at my daughter's house) slowed me down a bit on keeping up with orders.

Looking at the spreadsheet I use to keep myself organized can be a bit daunting...There are five outstanding orders... a dozen items that I had listed in my Etsy shop, but sold at craft shows, that I would like to remake... four major projects in my Works in Progress section. Probably a hundred in my "I want to make this!" list. There's a neat box of scrap yarn in my daughter's room that keeps calling to me... "Use me up!" I have a crochet-along project due on Monday, if I want to be in the running for prizes. See what I mean? So many projects, so little time! 

I would like to finish December with at least four Etsy sales, since I have been averaging four sales a month. I have an idea for some "stocking stuffer" listings, to save on shipping with small items. That just requires some photographs... and digging the items out of the closet where all my craft show inventory is stored. 

Etsy Goals: at least 4 sales (DONE)

> 20 Total new listings, including two "stocking stuffer" listings - DONE

WIP Goals: 

Finish one of the four major projects sitting around - DONE

Art & Soul Scrappy Scarf - DONE! 

Order Goal: 

Have all orders completed by Christmas - 

Nativity Set - DONE - four more ordered when I posted a pic on Facebook - #2 & #3 DONE

Baby toys (surprise gift, have to be secretive about this one) - DONE

I made a pair of crochet bagpipes for twin girls. One set pink with purple accents, the other purple with pink accents. The family loved them! 

Toddler gloves - DONE

Moose with red scarf - DONE

Fingerless Gloves...done...along with a bonus owl with the leftover yarn! 

CAL

Make chipmunk by 12/10 - DONE

Beat December Average sales of $234.38 - DONE! 

(Currently at $272.83 - can I beat the record of $296.50? Yes, I did... $357.83!)

Organization: 

Get stack of patterns by my chair sorted out into binders, so I don't have to search through a 2" stack whenever I'm looking for a pattern! - DONE

Personal: 

Make myself a new pair of nice warm slippers! It's silly to have so much yarn and have chilly feet! - DONE

My granddaughter came to visit... and left with new Elmo slippers:

And a new warm winter hat:

Then I started plugging away at the list of items I sold at craft shows, and had to deactivate on Etsy. First up was a pastel gecko, then I finished off the pastel yarn with an owl!

Yarn left over from my slippers made a cute striped gecko!

November already? Ready, Set, GO!

It seems like the year as zoomed past! Only two months left in 2018!

November will be a crazy busy month! I have five craft shows coming up...
Saturday, November 3 - Depew High School (site of three of my top five shows!) 😢 Record low sales
Saturday, November 10 - Lancaster Opera House show - first time doing this show... Did well, considering the weather was AWFUL!
Saturday, November 17 - JFK High School (doesn't have a good track record for sales, was considering dropping this one, but I'll give it one more try) - Dud... didn't make enough to pay for table
Monday, November 26 - a free show at a retirement village - first time doing this - a few sales
Tuesday, November 27 - evening show at a senior center - first time doing this show - weather was awful, but turnout was good. Had a few small sales, still not enough to cover table rent.

I'm hoping for good sales at this shows, which will add to my "must-make" list... as I get custom orders or need to replenish items that sold.

So my "Penguin Pail" for November is:
1) Finish Llama CAL

Done

2) Finish cowl to match fingerless gloves (shown in picture above), get them listed on Etsy

Done! 

3) Finish AMI-Along (an amigurumi crochet-along. I will find out what this month's pattern is around 11/5)

Chipmunks? Oh, yeah! I'm going to have fun with this one! 

4) Stick to the yarn diet! Work down that stash! (Success, worked down by 5#)
5) Make at least one project using buttons or beads (Used buttons on an owl custom order)
6) Keep up with craft show/Etsy orders

Got an order for this ready-to-ship playset... but realized I sold the mermaid last month! 

New Baby Mermaid finished to complete the set! 

Custom order for "Angry Cat" Hat... Done!

Etsy order... shipped within 5 days

Pig order... done

Facebook order... ready to ship!

Owl and Gecko done for custom order, working on blue cat

Got two more orders this week... so keeping up with orders is getting more challenging! 

7) Finish the green Super Scarf - DONE

8) Make five items from my "Upcoming Project List" (made 3 of 5... orders took precedence)

Speaking of the "Upcoming Project List"... I happen to love spreadsheets... being able to type up lists and sort them by different attributes appeals to me... so I typed up a list of projects I would like to make, and categorized by factors such as "yarn eater" (a project that uses up a lot of yarn), Etsy seller (something I think is trendy and will sell quickly on Etsy), Paid Pattern (patterns I have purchased or received as a prize, but still haven't used!), and "Use up Odd" (using a yarn that I have a very specific project for). The list is currently at 40 items, but I keep adding to it on a regular basis. I like the fact that I can sort through the list... such as "I really want to use up these five skeins of blue yarn... what's a yarn-eater that would finish them off quickly?" or "Scrap yarn is really piling up... what's on my list that will use up some small balls of yarn?"

So, let's see how many of these I can knock off in November! The more x's a line has, the more likely it is that I'm going to work on it!

Project	yarn eater	Etsy Seller	Original Design	Scrap Yarn	Best Seller	Paid Pattern	Order	Use Up Odd
Anne with an E						x
Braidy Slouch		x		x		x
Cat Hat		x				x	x
Chameleon / Sally			x	x
Cindarella Baby Prop		x		x
Clarence the Cow						x
Cow - Black Spots		x			x	x
Cow Tan Spots		x			x	x
Diddly Hedgehog		x		x
Dryer Balls								x
Gecko - Light Green		x		x			x	x
Gingerbread Bakers						x
Gingerbread Basket						x
Heart and Soul Scarf	x	x		x
Hedgehog w/fun fur				x	x
Honeybee				x	x
Marshal Pig			x
Max The Rhino						x
Mermaid / Puddin'		x		x
Mini Sloth				x	x
Navajo Blanket Cardigan				x		x
Outlander Cowl		x						x
Paco the Dragon Pillow						x
Peas in a Pod Prop	x			x
PJ Pals: Charlie Horse		x				x
Plane - my pattern				x	x
Pterry Pterodactyl		x
Purple Berkshire Pig				x			x
Purr-Maid				x
Rainbow Chameleon			x	x
Rose Gloves		x				x
Ruby Roo Kangaroo						x
Sleep Tight Teddy Blanket	x					x
Sleep Tight Teddy Lovey				x		x
Super Scarf	x	x				x
Swaddler Cocoon	x	x
Tickle Monster		x				x
Tinycorn		x		x	x	x
Valentine Dragon						x		x
Wizard/Infant	x

A donut wasn't on my list... but I made one anyways! 

Purr-Maid (Mermaid Cat) - Done!

Oh, yeah! October!

It's Monday, October 1st... a brand new month, a brand new start!

Last night, I was looking back on September stats. The numbers don't look good...

• I'm trying to "work down" my stash of yarn... but my stash went up 10%
• I'm trying to make a profit, but I ended up more in the red at the end of September! 
• I didn't complete my entire to-do list
• I didn't win any prizes with the two entries into the amigurumi contest
• The basket next to my chair that I was trying to empty is fuller than ever! 

But when I look at those numbers differently, I see that September was a very good month.

• The reason my stash was up 10% is that I finally got organized and entered the yarn I bought on Hobby Lobby clearance months ago! Now I can look up what yarn I have with a few clicks, instead of searching everywhere! 
• Doing an out-of-town show (360 mile round trip) inflated my expenses for September, but it was actually my best September yet for sales! I have set sales records for three months in a row now! 
• The reason I didn't get around to making more stuff from my to-do list is because I got orders! Orders are good! 😊
• While I didn't win any prizes with the Cow crochet-along, both cows that I made sold within a day of putting them up for sale! My other Crochet-Along (the Big Paws Monkey with Banana) turned out well. The generous designer gave everyone who finished the CAL a free pattern. I chose Ruby Roo Kangaroo. Can't wait to find the time to make up an adorable kangaroo mommy and baby! 
  
• Overflowing yarn basket isn't all that bad... Just yesterday I needed three different yarns from the basket. It will empty out eventually! 

So, I begin October with three craft shows on the calendar and a mission to set another record for sales.

Goals:

1. Finish Pattern Test of Wizard Wearable Blanket - DONE 
   
2. Finish Ami-Along (pattern to be announced later in October)  - DONE
   
3. Update my Etsy listings so that each listing has 10 pictures, better keyword usage, custom order info, and a note that I will refund extra postage if more than one item is purchased. (Since Etsy announced a special giveaway for Free Shipping listings, I'm working on updating listings to make them free shipping) 
4. Make a pair of Candy Corn Socks for the Halloween Hop contest - oops, didn't finish in time... didn't even start... 
5. Fill in between projects with items from last month's "Hot List" and yarn from the "use up basket"
6. Keep up with any orders received from craft shows/Etsy/Facebook... got a big order that I need to ship by October 30, so as soon as my yarn comes in, I will be putting in every last minute to finish up a Super Scarf. 
   
   
   

   

   Tuesday, 10/23 - 22" to go! 

Finished, and shipped on time!

Pumpkin Spice cow order... finished and shipped on time!

Green Gecko order... finished and shipped early! 

September, Back to School, Back to Basics

Ah, September! 
School is starting (my youngest is a junior in college, so school starting doesn't change my schedule much!), the weather is cooling off, and I've got a new focus on getting stuff done! I made up a page in my bullet journal with six points I want to accomplish each day: 

Bible reading in the morning 
Read one chapter of an inspirational book 
15 minute walk or other exercise 
Stay on my Trim Healthy Mama eating plan 
Take my vitamins 
Finish one project (even if it's a little light bulb for a garland!)

I've aced each category for four days now. Getting in just a little bit of exercise each day is helping me feel better, sleep better, and feel more on top of things. They say it takes 3 weeks to firmly establish a habit, so hopefully by the end of September, I will be over my allergy to exercise! 😏

September  Crafting Goals: 
Croch-Eh CAL - Big Paws Monkey with Banana Big Paws Monkey- DONE

Taking shape! 

And done! 

Amigurumi.net CAL - Elliott the Elephant by Storyland Ami

Make 45 crocheted Christmas bulbs for fall craft shows (takes about 20 minutes each) 

9/3/18 - 6 done

Got 7 done... 

Knock 15 items off my Honey-do list (currently at 55 listings!) Done - 6 of 15

Alien Finger Puppet

Ballerina Pig

Bear Cutie

Bunny Cutie

Butter Lamb

Chubby Airplane

Cow (One & Two Pattern) - DONE

Crochet Owl Basket

Cuddly Turtle

Deer Cutie

Donut

Egg Bunny

Finger Puppet - DONE

Flower Turtle

Flying Pig - DONE

Fox Cutie

FRF Mermaid

FRF Mini Giraffe

FRF Unicorn

Go Ball - DONE

Gradient Water Bottle Sling

Groot

Gus the Tractor

Little Birds Finger Puppet

Little Hedgehog

Mini Bunny

Mini Mermaid

Modesty Shield

My pattern plane

Nativity Set

Overalls Hedgehog

Owl In Egg

Patches Bear

Patchwork Pup

Penguin Cupcake

Plane, no propellor

Pusheen

Sam

Scrappy Octopus

Shark Bag

Shopkins Cupcake

Striped Giraffe

Striped Owl

Striped Rabbit

Tea Bag Coaster

Three Strand Slippers

Tiny Corn

Tooth Fairy Pillow

Turtle In Egg

Two-Ply Gecko (soft green yarn)

Unicorn Girl

Unicorn Ice Pop Holder

Very Hungry Caterpillar Blanket

Yoga Troll

Zoey Doll

While making these projects, I want to focus on using up the yarn from the basket next to my chair:

Finish the beaver I'm making to test a pattern DONE

Finish the 2nd cow I started for an August CAL - done

Finish a flying pig I started months ago - done

Finished the flying pig and a pony for a custom order on the same day! 

Make another Iggy the Iguana - Started 9/17 - DONE (and sold within an hour of going on Facebook!)

Golden Meatball custom order - done

Nowhere on my list does it say "snake" or "scrap yarn snake", but I pulled a ball of yarn from my basket and decided to make a snake... 

Saw a cute pattern for a Candy Corn baby outfit... and I really want to make it... but it's not on my list, I don't have a little girl around to model it, and I haven't been very successful at selling baby apparel... but the pattern keeps calling to me! 

I got an Etsy order for a ready-to-ship item, a Taco Blanket... so I made up a taco toy to send along: 

Then I made up another one, just for fun!