Goodbye, May... Hello, June

I had high hopes for May...

I ran a giveaway on my Facebook page. 346 people viewed it, 10 entered.😟

I barely got any work done on projects I had hoped to finish.

I entered a crochet-along contest with over a dozen prizes over the course of the month... and didn't win. 😟

I had a customer place a custom order. She seemed so nice, and was so insistent that she had no problem paying my suggested price that I started work, then sent the invoice. She said she couldn't find it, had me re-send it. I finished the order, showed her a picture. She said she loved it, and said she would check her e-mail and pay the invoice ASAP. That was two weeks ago... she stopped answering my messages. Why do people do things like that? I know I shouldn't take it personally, but it really got to me.

Even though I ended up with three sales in May (two Etsy, one local), I'm sort of burnt out with my business.

June is my birthday month... and my anniversary month (32 years!), so I'm not setting any goals for the month. No crochet-alongs. No contests or giveaways. No quotas. No striving to set new sales records. No planning on finishing anything. Just do stuff that I enjoy doing, and if it sells, it sells.

Maybe I'll buy myself some pretty new yarn, too!

As I finish up my fun projects in June, I'll post pictures here... and hopefully by the end of the month, I'll be out of this low spot I've been in with my crafting endeavors.

Project #1 - A Piggy Tissue Box Cover

Project #2 - Hansel the Hedgehog
Sold already, heads to California tomorrow!

Project #3 - an owl tissue box cover

I made some more egg scrubbies to finish up an order... then back to my random projects. I found some fun fur / tassel yarn in a box of yarn and thought it looked like the perfect yarn for a hedgehog!

There was enough yarn to make a Mama and Baby hedgehog! They're in my shop already! I'm also working on a baby blanket with some bulky yarn, and it's looking so pretty! 

I figure I'll have it finished in about three days! I started with 20 small skeins of yarn and I'm down to 8!

Finished! And made a matching bunny!
In my Etsy Shop!

Used some "Unforgettable" Yarn to make a cute little cowl
And it's in my shop too!

6/12 update... I've gotten a few sales this month, and have a few custom orders to work on... and yesterday I went yarn shopping. It was probably my biggest yarn shopping trip to about two years. I took advantage of Hobby Lobby clearance (75% off), 30% off regular prices, and over $60 in gift cards.

As a result, I brought home 39 skeins of yarn with a value of over $225 for about $5. 

Finished another baby blanket / bunny set. 

I found this adorable pattern, and have added it to my "must make" list... I envision matching it up with a ripple baby blanket in the three colors of the puppy. 

Quick but cute project... matching baskets! 

Custom mermaid, try #1. Rainbow tail not quite rainbow enough! 

Playing with new metallic eyelash yarn from my Hobby Lobby clearance purchase! 

Custom mermaid order - much better! 

Oops, did I say no CAL this month?
Well, this dishcloth CAL is quick work. Here's a starburst bobble dishcloth in shades of pink. 

Custom order Monkey Hat... done!

Cuddly bear done, now on to matching baby blanket with same yarn!

June 21...a friend asks me if I would like to do a craft show with her next month... an outdoor craft show (she has a 10x10 tent) at a BIG street festival. Over 5,500 people visited last year. Yikes! All of a sudden, my "no quotas, no planning on finishing" theme went out the window. I'm trying to get a bunch of little stuff made up, to make sure I can at least make back my fee (which is more than double what I usually pay for a show).

I figure if I make an egg scrubbie, a reusable water balloon, and some other small item, like the octopus finger puppet shown, I'll have enough for a great day of sales!

Time for a fun project, a rainbow rug!

Finished the matching blanket for the cuddle bear! 

The next installment in the dishcloth crochet-along was one calling "Picking Posies" by Sweet Potato Crochet Creations. I chose to go with patriotic colors for the 4th of July! 

The month ended with record high temperatures, so I spent June 30th in my recliner in front of a fan, getting lots done!

Now I'll work on small filler items for the 7/28 Street Fair!

Stegosaurus "Rag Rug"

First came a rectangle "rag rug" made from a Free Pattern from Stiches n Scraps

I liked the way it worked up so quickly, and used up scrap yarn... so I adjusted a pattern for a chicken potholder and tried making chicken rugs: 

Then I saw a pattern for a stegosaurus amigurumi that was based on a half-circle, and the wheels started turning... 

And this was the result: 

I tried to write down my directions as I went along, so I could make another one... so here goes! 

I used 5 strands of yarn held together and a size 12 mm hook. I used about 18 ounces of yarn.

My approximate gauge was 5 stitches & 3 rows = 4", but gauge really isn't important. I even mixed up yarns... bulky, worsted, rug yarn... I really cleaned up some scrap yarn bins!

When I ran out of one ball of yarn, I tied on another... trying to replace a dark yarn with another dark yarn, a light green with another light green...

I sort of wish I'd done a row of SC in my ending colors across the bottom, so the legs would be the same color as that row... I also thought of making the spikes varying sizes... but those were afterthoughts, for the next dino rug! 

Row 1: 6 DC in magic ring. Pull ring closed, but do not join. You work back and forth in rows. I did a standing dc to start off each row, but you could start with a chain 3 at each row if you prefer. 

Row 2: 2 dc in each stitch (12) 

Row 3: 1 dc, inc, repeat around (18) 

Row 4: 2 dc, inc, repeat around (24) 

Row 5: 3 dc, inc, repeat around (30) 

Row 6: 4 dc, inc, repeat around (36) 

Row 7: 5 dc, inc, repeat around (42) 

Row 8: 6 dc, inc, repeat around (48) 

Row 9: 7 dc, inc, repeat around (54) 

Row 10: 8 dc, inc, repeat around (60) 

Row 11: 9 dc, inc, repeat around (66) 

Now comes the head: at the end of row 11, do 10 foundation half double crochets.

Turn and work back toward the body: 

SS, SC, HDC, HDC, DC,  DC, DC, TR, TR, TR

Hold that last treble stitch up against the body and slip stitch to the stitch on the body it matches up with (for me, it was the third stitch up)

Slip stitch 3 more stitches up the body, then work back down the head

DC, DC, TR, TR, DC, HDC, HDC, SC, SS (Yup, only 9 stitches, leaving one stitch on head unworked)

Turn and work back toward the body: 

SS in first two stitches, SC, SC, HDC, DC, DC, TR, TR

Slip stitch to the body. 

Now we work on spikes across the body. sc in next 7 sc

Turn, SC dec, 5 sc

Turn, SC dec, 4 sc

Turn, SC dec, 3 sc

Turn, SC dec, 2 sc

Turn, SC dec, 1 sc

Turn, SC dec

Slip stitch down the side of the spike you just made. SC in the next 7 sc and as above to make another spike. Keep going until you've got his back covered in spikes. You might end up with a few blank sc at the end of the body. That's okay! 

Tail: chain 15

SS, SS, SC, SC, chain 4 and slip stitch back  (making a mini spike on the tail), chain 4 and slip stitch back down the chain, HDC, HDC, HDC, HDC, DC, DC, TR, TR

Finish off.

Count back about six stitches from the center of the bottom. Attach yarn and make 6 DC

turn, 6 DC

turn, 6 DC

Finish off.

Count off another 6 stitches from the center in the other direction, and repeat leg instructions. 

Tuck in yarn ends, and you're done! My stegosaurus rug measures over 3 feet from head to tail, and about 22" from top to bottom. 

May - Bingo Board

For the month of May, I made myself a Bingo board: 

Some of the blocks on the board are sales goals: 
Beat my Worst May Sales ($0)
Beat my Average May Sales ($44.25)
Beat my Best May Sales ($65)

Others are beyond my control, such as getting two Etsy orders and two Etsy reviews, but I can promote my shop and send a note with orders asking customers to come back and review their purchase. 

I have a bunch of CAL (crochet-along) projects on my list for this month, and a few big projects, since I will be riding shotgun for a long multi-state trip (lots of crochet time!). 

I will be doing a giveaway on my Facebook page for this month. Guess which row will give me a BINGO first... if you get the right answer, you get a $15 credit toward anything in my inventory. If more than one person chooses the correct row, I will use random number generator to choose the winner. 
Here's a link to the giveaway

I found out that One & Two Company will not be doing a May CAL, so I changed that box to "25 Egg Scrubbies"...I will be participating in a Swag Bag promotion, and need to have 25 small giveaways ready by mid-May.