My Chilly February Goals

I begin February with temperatures hovering around zero. Two days at home during a good old Buffalo blizzard helped me to catch up on some projects, and a few last-minute Etsy sales made January above average in sales.

February will be a prep month, as I gear up for spring craft shows:
March 9 - West Seneca East
March 23 - Depew High School
March 30 - Big Red Church (benefiting a Cub Scout pack)
April 27 - Relay for Life - Hamburg

So, I have ten specific projects I would like to finish:

Finish Drake the Dragon  -  DONE (I made a Custom Order Listing for him on Etsy)

Finish Hungry Caterpillar - DONE

Finish Ami-Along project - This month is a cute little monkey! Can't wait to get started! - DONE

Restock :
1. Plush Puppy - DONE

2. Mini Sloth
3. Bee
4. Cupcake Penguin
5. Karma Chameleon - DONE

6. Flying Pig
7. Taco

List all finished items on Etsy within 3 days of completion

Update current Etsy listings to work on better search engine terms, full use of 10 photos, and good descriptions

Four more water bottle slings
Eight more Christmas light bulbs
2 Nativity figures (never got around to these in January)

Continue with "No yarn purchases unless specifically needed for order"

Get leftover yarn in chair-side basket and bag in closet photographed, weighed and sorted to totes. - DONE

Oh, how easily I'm distracted. I recently got the book Unicorns and Dragons and saw a post from one of the designers featured in the book, saying that if you completed a Griffy by 2/17 and posted a picture, you were in the running for free patterns. It's a very detailed pattern, with over 40 individual pieces, but I jumped in... 

One more wing and three neck ruffles to go!

Finished 2/12 - Sold 2/22! 

And I saw a Facebook post about cute little towel holders that you hang over your oven door... of course, I had to make up a few... and a few more... and figure I should have about 20 made up for the craft show in a few weeks... 

Once I finished the Griffin, I decided to take a break with a quick, fun project... a standing gecko. 

I took a quick weekend trip to visit my daughter and her family, and packed about five different colors of yarn and a notebook of patterns. I finished a bunch of items during the trip: 

I also started a red & orange dragon, which I finished once I got home: 

On 2/24, we got hit with a high wind storm that took out our power. I was working by the light of an LED light, and finished up two projects that had been sitting around for a while (a pair of fingerless gloves and an Outlander capelet). It feels good to have my WIP (works in progress) list whittled down again! It makes the area around my chair neater, too! 

I have two days left in February... maybe I should get back to my original game plan and finish up some of the items I mentioned! 

Hmm... was there a mermaid on the list? I guess not. Then why did I make a mermaid? 

Wow, 2019. Here we go!

2018 went pretty well. My sales were up 50% from 2017, despite some disappointing craft shows. My Etsy shop is getting consistent sales. I managed to keep from increasing my yarn stash.

For 2019, I want my focus to be on planning ahead...
For spring craft shows, I want to have a good supply of Butter Lambs and Easter-themed items.
For the big street fest in July, I want to have loads of water bottle slings.
For Christmas, I want to have some Nativity sets made up, and Christmas bulb garlands ready to sell.

So, to accomplish that, I want to do a little bit each month. I should make a few water bottle slings each month, a figure or two for a Nativity set, a few Christmas bulbs, etc.

I also want to finish up some LPs (languishing projects)... those afghans that have been stuffed in a bag in the closet for a year or two...

So... specific to January:
Finish the Nutcracker Ami-Along (due 1/7) DONE
Wednesday, 1/2...

DONE! 

Finish the next ami-along (Clarence the Giraffe)

Started 1/22

Done 1/26 and sold 1/28! 

I made myself a chart to work from. I would like to cross off all these squares in January!

As I finish items, I will fill the boxes in with colored pencil. Hoping to have a bright and colorful page in my planner by the end of the month! 

"Etsy Seller" is an item that has either sold from my Etsy shop, or something I think would sell quickly: 

Etsy Seller

Braidy Slouch

Cat Hat

Cinderella Baby Prop

Cow - Black Sports

Cow - Tan Spots

Cupcake Penguin

Flying Pig

Gecko Frecko

Gus the Tractor

Hungry Caterpillar

Marshal Pig

Mini Sloth

Outlander Cowl

Plane - my pattern

Plush Puppy

Sleep Tight Teddy Blanket

Tinycorn

Octopus Hat

Baby Shark

"Scrap Yarn" is an item I can make with one skein of yarn or less, or with yarn that I have in my stash

Scrap Yarn

13th Doctor Scarf

Chameleon/Sally

Gecko - Light Green

Hedgehog/Fun Fur

Honeybee

Mermaid / Puddin'

Navajo Blanket Cardy

Nesting Owls

Olivia The Owl

Peas in a Pod Prop

Pizza Blanket Baby

Rainbow Chameleon

Sleep Tight Teddy Lovey

Super Scarf

Ugly Christmas Beanie

Wizard Blanket/ Infant

Paid Pattern refers to patterns I have purchased or won, but still haven't made... I would like to knock one per month off that list! 

Paid Pattern

Alice

Anne with an E

Clarence the Cow

Gingerbread Bakers

Gingerbread Basket

Hatching Dinos

Max the Rhino

Mr. Wiggles

Paco the Dragon

Pygmy Seahorse

PJ Pals: Charlie Horse

Rose Gloves

Ruby Roo Kangaroo

Texas Horned Toad

Tickle Monster

Valentine Dragon

Woven Trellis Scarf

Fox Stocking

Penguin Stocking

Ziploc Challenge - I filled a gallon Ziploc bag with scrap yarn and want to finish it by the end of the month.

First project was a striped gecko

Top Ten Stash - least yards - use up one of these: 

Finished a "Cupcake Cover" for an Instant Pot. That's my first "Etsy Best Seller" finished this year! 

Then I made another one, that looks like a cactus! 

Unicorns are always best sellers at craft shows, so I'd like to get a bunch of these made! 

One week in, and my chart is looking more colorful!

First sale of 2019... a Geico Gecko!

Working on Easter items!

I sold a pterodactyl at a Fall craft show... so made a new one to replace him! 

The grid is filling in more...

"Mermaid" was on the list... this one was fun to make!

I did a pattern test for a warm winter beanie... which meant I could cross off "Ombre" from my chart! The chart is filling in! Good thing, because I only have a little over a week left in the month! 

The month ended with a blizzard, keeping me housebound for two days. 

Volunteered to test a pattern for a Princess Dress Blanket... That tied me up for a few days.

I also got a local order for a dragon, so this cutie (which has 45 pieces in all) has been keeping me busy!

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!