Invincible! - Well, Almost

Excited, that's what I am. I had two sales this week. I sold two purses that were a special order..that's two wonderful things in one sweet package.

Two of the five bling purses I had for sale are gone off to someone who wants them..asked for them..requested them.

Two sales is good and when someone asks you to do something specific for them that raises you to the level of couture: you will so have to make an appointment to speak with me in the future - unless you become one of my posse, my crew, my entourage.

Even if you don't sell your stuff, it's really nice to have people ask you to make something for them. Especially if you're a knitter and you're going to have a stockpile of things - because that's what happens when you knit: things get made. It's good to have a place other than your own to put them. It is that much sweeter when someone is really to give you some legal tender.

Of course, that comes with responsibility - I will soon be posting an interview I did with someone on Etsy who - get this - has had multiple sales every day for more than a month. You read right, EVERY DAY, multiple sales - as in more than one, more than two. Looking at her shop and reading her interview has given me some ideas to help boost my sales as well as promote the handmade movement. (You know i multi-task whenever I can!)

The interview will be up on this site in short order and I am sure you will find Leanna just as inspiring, creative and modest as I do. In the meantime, my day is pretty clear except I am going to tackle the stash in my office. It's down to three boxes - remember it was about six - I am going to try and get it down to (gulp) zero to one and that one box will go in the basement with the rest of the stash. I know, I dream big.

It's So Easy

NOT!

I know, it's been more than a week. And what a week it's been. I started the new writing gig and truth to tell, it was more of a rough start than I'm used to - mainly because Handmade News is big news and I didn't map out the internal resources I needed to in order to do it all justice. So, I spent several restless, sleepless nights causing myself stress before beginning to calm myself down and put it all back into perspective.

Add to that, my online knitting group StitchCraft on meetup.com is growing! The last time I really looked, we had about 40 or so members - we are now over 70! So somewhere between stressing out over the new job and making myself crazy are plans to get that group together for a fun night. It has to be at night and it has to be planned right so I'm thinking somewhere in September when folks are done with summer and will want to pick up the needles to do the holiday knitting that will be just around the corner. This is a good problem to have but sometimes it's hard to balance the bad stress with the good stress. At some point, it's just stress.

But wait...there's more.

I think I told you our bazaar was successful. We had over $400 in sales. That's the good part. The not really bad but has to be dealt with part is that our supply of prayer shawls and afghans were seriously depleted. Baby blankets we have, but afghans and prayer shawls are practically sold out. Which means the group (of which I am a leader) has to have one or the other on their needles for the foreseeable future. And I do have one on my needles, but it's going into the shop. There's an afghan that's an expired listing that's going to the group.

There's good news...

My office is 95% organized. I can step into it and not have to step over a clutter bomb. The only boxes left are my stash boxes (now down to two!!) and the boxes of craft goodies I inherited from my mother in law. Not much left to do but vacuum the carpet, put the new speaker wires into the speakers and let Joe clean the carpet. Alas, it looks like an office instead of a craft room - but I smile every time I walk into it. Yes, when it's all done, I'll take a photo.

I will also take a photo of the beautiful afghan on my needles. It should be done sometime this weekend - I'm hoping for tomorrow. I would take a pic now, but it's 2 in the morning and the light isn't good. Besides, if I finish it tomorrow, I can take the shop photos and blog photo during the same session.

Forgive me for being away so long - I have missed you - but sometimes you have to ride the breakdown so you know when to get off.

Gracias a la Vida

Sometimes you just have to go by faith. I know God has a sense of humor. I know he knows my thoughts and has said: "I knew you were gonna think that a thousand years ago...still funny!"

I have a new goal. Sorry to say the sock phase has moved from my life. However, I will not just casually flip over a sock pattern in the future. I will now look at it can consider it the way I do other patterns and decide if I wish to do them or not. I believe this to be progress.

No, this new goal is something which will please me, please my hubby and provide me with increased efficiency and peace of mind.

I am going to clean my office. I mean really clean my office. Someone in one of the Etsy forums was so proud of their cleaning their space they posted a picture of it on line - for the entire world to see.

I want some of that madness. (No, I'm not competitive - what a thing to suggest.)

She asked to see what our spaces looked like - hear that, God is laughing again. I would like to be able to comply with her request but in order to do so, I need to get busy. So this is my new goal - and your job, dear friends, is to hold me to it. It is for my own good and the good of the community.

Crazy Bout That La La La

You don't really want a picture of what I am about to describe. Joe and I were upstairs with Duke. Duke heard someone at the door and he does what his DNA dictates; he went downstairs and started barking like a maniac. (Remind me to tell you a story about the word 'maniac.') Joe went downstairs and let Duke out and then came back upstairs.

I came downstairs later to clean the kitchen. I washed the walls, the floor and started putting some dishes in the dishwasher. I walked over to this very laptop because it was playing the music when I noticed it on the floor.

That which cannot be photographed.

But it came from the dog.

From the tail end of the dog.

And there was a lot of it.



Over my yarn.
Do you need a moment?

I called Joe downstairs and he looked at it and said, "Oh. I wonder if that's because I've been feeding him rice."

Huh?

So, my first thought, of course, was can I save this yarn? The answer was no even though the yarn was wrapped in plastic and that plastic was in another plastic bag. It was just one huge skein of Caron By the Pound, but I would have been a little freaked out - so out it went. Duke was in the backyard when I went to throw it out. I showed it to him and asked what was up with that? But he refused to answer - though he did look somewhat contrite.

There's just no way to close this out so I'll just move on...and yes, I know. There is no longer any yarn on the floor.
oh, yeah...the dog is fine.


Know what this is? It could be a sleeve...and it would make a smoking sleeve for a sweater. (Note to self - design a sweater using this as a sleeve.) (Second note to self - forget that first note - cuz she's crazy)

It is, however, not a sleeve. It is the making of a wrap. That when finished will have tapered ends and I will either place a buckle or pin on the ends to complete it.
I also completed a beach bag I was working on. This bag expands like you wouldn't believe. It's made with acrylic yarn (I thought it should have been made with cotton, but nope, it's acrylic.) It's the second one I've made. The first one was my one and only sale on Etsy and it occurred to me I should probably make another since the first one did sell.

Well, at least the kitchen is clean.

When Karma Taps You On the Shoulder

I can't go downstairs to get the camera because when I came upstairs, I told Joe I was coming upstairs to clean my office (which is a serious clutter bomb) and I was cleaning the office. I started in the corner that has the upstairs stash (that is no longer a stash.) These boxes here:
Well, oddly enough, I decided to go through the boxes to see what could be consolidated now that it wasn't a stash and therefore didn't need to be organized I am more willing to take a look at it.
You see in the photograph five garment boxes and a big storage box. If I had a camera upstairs (note to self, stick a digital camera upstairs) and if I took a photo and placed it here - you would see only three garment boxes and a big storage box.

The stash that is not a stash has shrunk!

I have comfortably consolidated yarn that it left me with two empty boxes! This is the cosmos taking immense pity on me and saying: "Dear child, we know you are trying your best so we will give you a hand here."

I know what you're thinking, but no, I am not going to fill these boxes with new yarn procurements. There are enough loose skeins on the other floor that can fill them, but I am not going to fill them with yarn at all. These boxes are going to find themselves over at Marilyn's house where I am certain she can use them (and I don't really care if she can't cuz they'll be out of my house!)

Now wasn't that worth stopping the work and telling you about?

In The New Era of Hope

I went to my office early this morning (all of a five second commute) so I didn't come downstairs at all until it was almost noon. I came downstairs to this:









The carpet needs to have the biannual carpet cleaning, and I really need to knit Duke a new bed, but that's not the amazing thing. The amazing thing is yesterday when I came down.

this and






this








and this







along with this







and also this







was all over this









I wish I could say it was all put in nice little cubby holes that would make Martha Stewart declare my house a 'good thing.' But it is not so. There are now little piles of things in the perimeter. The good new is there is a path so I can shampoo the carpet. And the better news is I can tackle one little pile at a time. The bad part (but which could be a good part because it involves inventiveness) is I need to create a space for my goods to be nicely stowed while they wait for me. My office is incredibly small. So the only space is to be found in the basement where my little gym is. I will not be sacrificing fitness because I now work out upstairs since my little VCR stopped working down there. And also with good weather comes walking. I see a box system in my future since there is a semblance of one already down there.

On to step two: prepping the new space!