Month: May 2021

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The Best Laid Plans

There is truth to the the adage the best laid plans….wait, let’s use the original language, The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men. Gang aft a-gley. You make plans and then things go off on their own thing. If you want to read the poem, it’s worth a peek.

You can try and wrestle them back to the roadmap of you can chart a new course with them in mind or you can just follow and let them lead. There is no wrong answer to that, either. Well, that is to say, any of those choices could be the right thing to do.

I had decided on a plan to stock the shop and keep things up-to-date. The process would be to create a new item, photograph and  edit, the item. Create a new listing. Renew an older listing. Tweak a listing (using ERank Pro), do a yarn review, if applicable and then place the item into the Lookbook.

Not a bad plan. Unless you become obsessed with making planner stickers. And I have, they have awakened a lost love. When I first went into business, I designed business cards, logos, stationery, etc. I loved designing and now I have discovered I can design planner stickers. All I need is the software (and I have Canva and IPiccy), a printer – turns out the one I have in on a list for one of the best to print stickers, and some sticker paper. I thought using labels was good enough but it is not, so I have to make the investment.

Several pages are already in the books but haven’t been listed. I can list them as templates only until the printer paper gets here. Still has to be priced out but shoouldn’t take long to arrive. This is very exciting. I’ve calmed down enough to get back to a regular schedule but once the paper arrives; all bets are off.

 

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It Relieves Stress

During the lockdown, knitting and crochet had a resurrgence in the middle of their resurrgence because it relieves stress. There was already an uptick in knit and crochet and that tick multiplied itself many times over with 1. The pandemic. 2. The new VP crochets. 3. The second gentleman’s daughter, Ella, exploding Instagram with her crochet and knitted goods.

We’re in a cycle now where half the folks in the US are going to be stressed. The pandemic is still top news and it’s not really clear how the states reopen and politically, it’s now the other half’s turn to feel as if we’re in the hands of a madman.

Knitting and crochet can only do so much.

For those of us who knit and crochet for a living, this has been something of a good period. I normally slow down in February but the beginning of the year turned out pretty great for me. I am hoping it continues in the fall but I am a little late in getting out spring/summer gear and fall is coming round the bend like the anchor in a relay race.

But because knit and crochet are such a part of my existence and because I aready work from home, the lockdown was pretty much what other folks had to do. My life didn’t change that much except we couldn’t go out to dinner. I was taking the lockdown in stride until the people around me went off into a different mode and until I found myself with orders in the beginning of the year. 

I did experience a little stress. And I had to turn to other places to find some relief. I discovered audiobooks and podcasts. I could turn on one of those and combine it with knit and crochet and be educated and entertained.  Audiobooks can be hit or missed based in who is doing the reading but podcasts are a great source to take a breather with even if it’s about Etsy shop success.

I listen regularly now to something that peaks the interest and keeps the stress level down. It relieves stress for me. I hope everyone finds something that helps them out.

 

 

 

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Don’t Stop

Don’t stop. It is what I have to tell myself every once in a while when I am feeling like I’m feeling now. It’s not quite bored but it’s not enthusiastic about my work, either.

I am finding when I leave the house to do something – like go get a blood test orget a teeth cleaning, even when the appointments are in the morning, I can’t get into my schedule. Today, I didn’t have anything to do outside and I still had some trouble getting something done. Things that usually go fast, like these mittens, are taking longer than they should.

 I find myself staring off into space – not thinking anything in particular – well, I’m thinking I should be working and not staring into space. I am working towards 14 finished objects to go into the shop. Why 14? Because I want to follow a tip I heard in a podcast and I want to see if it will make a difference in my shop.

What’s the tip: 

1. List something new

2. Renew a listing

3. Tweek a listing

4. Do three social media things a day – it doesn’t say if it has to be the same  platform – like three tweets.

I have a feeling this mike work because I’ve been doing something like it. This is more deliverate and intentional. I like that and it’r right up my alley has something I could do every morning. I think the podcast where I heard the tip is here. It’s going to take me a little bit to finish up 14 things but once I get them going, I’ll devise something to let you know how it’s going.

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The Circle of Life

It’s the circle of life that leads us on….yeah, nice song, but that isn’t the circle that’s on my mind. The one that’s on my mind is the circle of life that is our wedding bands. We had new ones made for our 25th anniversary. These are they:

We are thinking of doing a Zoom vow renewal. We could do it and then get them resized at our leisure.

Something to think about as I think about how to do a Zoom vow renewal.

On mainstreet in Knitsville, there’s plenty of work going on from the restart of a crochet afghan using the colors of the rainbow plus black, to the creation of scarf and hat combos, it looks like yarn has exploded around the studio. This is not going to get better as I just ordered 3 sets of Zing double points and 2 of the Lion Brand santa bags which has 9 skeins each, an order from Premier that has 15 balls and yet another from Lion Brand that has 13 skeins – all told about $170. I spent that from the money I got from being an election judge. I still have some left over. Money and yarn.

I know I am going on a yarn diet. There’s more than enough to get things done. I am using the older yarn in the stash as well as some of the new yarns. I broke out the Yarn Bee Sugarwheel and made a scarf/hat combo. It turned out well. Did mention I also ordered a new wig for Naomi? She needs some hair as an option. I have five packages coming. It’s gonna be like Christmas.