Ooo Baby, Baby
October kind of caught me by surprise – even though I saw it coming. It’s here and now the count down to busy season and craft season begins and I am thinking what I always think: I will not be ready.
There are things to knit. Patterns to refresh. Pictures to take. Listings to write. Then there are the things I hadn’t planned to make until I had an idea that seemed too good to leave alone. That last part might have something to do with it.
Between DesignBCB and Stitch, Pray, Repeat, I can always find something else that would be lovely to offer. A hat in another color. An ornament for another kind of crafter. A mug for the person who believes dawn is a perfectly reasonable time to start a project—as long as there is coffee.
Coming up with the idea is quick. Getting it ready for someone to buy takes considerably longer. And the ordinary work does not stop while I prepare for the extraordinary work. Orders still need attention. There is still a household, a church calendar, and a life beyond the shops. I cannot simply put everything else in a drawer until January.
Although I could probably find a drawer. Whether it would close is another matter.
I am beginning to suspect that my definition of “ready” is part of the problem. In my imagination, ready means everything is finished, photographed, listed, packed, and waiting. Every good idea has become an actual product. There are no loose ends. For someone who works with yarn, that is a fairly ambitious position on loose ends.
Perhaps I need to ask a smaller question: What needs to be ready first?
The things people already love. The things I can realistically finish. The new pieces that deserve a proper introduction, rather than a hurried photograph and a promise to talk about them later. Some ideas will have to wait. I don’t especially enjoy that part, but having an idea does not automatically give it a place at the front of the line. This I learned from years of thinking it did and still not getting it done.
So here I am again, heading into the busy season with work on the needles, products to share, and a list that could use some firm supervision. If you are also looking at the calendar and wondering how you can be surprised by something that happens every year, pull up a chair. We can commiserate together.
I would offer you coffee, but we should probably put it somewhere away from the yarn.
New in the Shops
We Craft at Dawn Mugs! As, go take a peek and heart so you can find and so the Etsy algorithm works for me!