Creativity

I love seeing projects that crocheters just come up with by themselves, and I especially love it if I was able to help in some way!  One of the areas of crochet I've been exploring recently is Tunisian, and I've taught a few classes on it.  I came up with a scarf pattern that was designed to help students learn three basic Tunisian stitches (Tunisian knit stitch, Tunisian purl stitch, and Tunisian simple stitch) and posted it on Ravelry (I tried to include lots of pictures and written descriptions of all three stitches so that it wouldn't be too hard to give it a try without an instructor).

The other day, I had an email waiting for me -- one of my pattern purchasers was writing to show me the house jumper that she made with Tunisian crochet to use up her stash!  It's amazing how she created this beautiful project from scratch, and I'm so happy she shared her pictures with me and gave me permission to show off her talent and creativity to you all :-)

Appreciation and Automation

Wow, it's been a busy week!  I don't want to talk too soon, but I think a pattern of mine is going to be published in a magazine!!  I was putting the final touches on the sample to send for approval and still need to double check the pattern before turning that in.  More details will come as things firm up...

Pushing to meet this deadline really made me start appreciating what great opportunities might be opening to me and got me to focus on the positive rather than the negative.  The housework is still piling up, I'm still woefully behind on paperwork, I can't get MailChimp to automatically integrate with PayPal, but hey, I'm trying to let it all slide down my back like water off a duck and "like my life" :-)

Mmm, I am feeling a creativity spurt coming on though -- I've been seeing some really cool patterns in my mind's eye, so I'm hoping I can start actualizing them soon.  As I've written about in the past, I so totally appreciate how small business owners struggle with doing the actual thing that they love (making their product) versus the business, marketing, organizing, etc. side of things.  I'm enjoying trying out some new software products that are supposed to help automate certain functions, and I will definitely share as I find ones that work (probably helpful for me to share the ones that aren't so great either).  I continue to really like MailChimp, but I have been experiencing some problems with trying to get different services to integrate with each other.  Customer service has been responsive though, so I'm hoping to report a happy ending to that saga soon.  I also think it might be time for me to start utilizing an accounting program to keep track of expenses and income (my Excel spreadsheet has been working ok so far, but I'm starting to see limits to my having to input everything manually).  I just read about www.outright.com, which sounds like it might be what I'm looking for, but there is a monthly fee that kicks in after a trial period.  I'm going to keep searching for a free service and will report back on that too!  Let me know if you've had success with a service you like :-)

Like Your Life

Sometimes someone just says something that has a profound effect on you.  I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but, on Tuesdays, a group of us meet in the gym at work to do 1/2 hour of yoga.  We pop in a DVD and just follow along.  At the end of class this past Tuesday, one of the ladies in the class said to me "I walk 5 to 7 miles a day, and I've been working in the garden too."  I said that I thought that was great, and she turned to me with this great big smile on her face and said "I like my life."

Wow.  That simple statement just stopped me in my tracks and had me thinking on and off all day.  Maybe it really hit me because I'm not sure I can say that right now.  It's been very busy and stressful at work recently, which of course has made it difficult to keep up with crocheting and small business matters when I get home.  But, like all changes you face in life, it just takes some getting used to and getting into a groove.  The weather has been getting better here in DC, which always makes me feel better and more optimistic.  I'm getting more efficient at work, so I'm not as tired when I get home, so you know, with a few adjustments, I think I'm on the verge of liking my life too :-)

Let the Sun Shine

Wow, what a difference a few degrees can make! I am always amazed by how weather affects my mood, my motivation, my ability to get stuff done...

So, my latest thing has been experimenting with tapestry crochet. I feel old school by pulling out the graph paper, but I really haven't researched what software is available to help with this. I really like incorporating tapestry into working in the round because, then, it really has that intricate knit look to it. I hope to post some pix soon.

Other than that, the Mailchimp is working well, though I haven't figured out yet how to archive the newsletters yet, but it will come :-)

Ok, this was just a quick update, more posting soon!

Chevron Crochet Tote Bag

Ah, my latest creation is done and posted on my Ravelry page!  The Chevron Crochet Tote Bag is really a fun project and a great way for a beginner to practice the double crochet stitch without getting bored!  And, except for the color changes, it worked all in one piece.

I made this project as a sample for Looped Yarn Works since they stock Berroco's Weekend Chunky yarn, but ended up making one to keep for myself :-)  I also love the handles -- I got them on http://www.fabric.com/, but they're made by Cindy's Button Company, a home-grown business in Idaho.

Now, which project idea to get started on next?!?!

Email Lists

On my to-do list forever has been the need to get my email lists organized so that I can stay in contact with my customers, my crochet students, and my blog subscribers.  And, I haven't wanted to say it, but the newsletter has been sitting and gathering dust, and I really want to get that up and running again too.  So, I went in search of a mail list service that will meet my needs and not cost too much (ie nothing!). 

Well, I think Mail Chimp is the winner!  It so far meets my 3 criteria:  cost (it's free up to 2000 addresses and 12,000 emails per month), ease of use, and cuteness.  I really like companies that have a theme and a personality.  They don't take themselves too seriously, but they do provide a serious product and service.  They are user friendly for us non-techies, and they offer lots of options, starting with free but then with reasonable add-ons (hey, I'd be glad to start paying if I end up with more than 2,000 followers!)

So far, I figured out how to import the lists of emails that I had already organized in Outlook.  Oh, I also like the fact that they have a lot of free guides and resources targeted to specific things you want to do, like send out a newsletter.  And, they even have a guide for Etsy sellers.  We'll see if this all actually works, but so far so good!

Three

Have you ever really noticed that things seem to come in threes?!  When something bad happens, I find myself trying to find two other bad things so that the badness is over.  I'm not sure if that carries over to good things, but it's probably a good idea to look for three things to be thankful for as well.  I even remember from 9th grade grammar class that, to write an effective paragraph, you should write a topic sentence then three more supporting sentences. 

So, why am I fixating on threes?  Because I'm also finding that I can only really seem to accomplish three things in a day.  Now, sometimes, each thing has subparts, but the point is that my to-do list for the day can have as many things on it as I want to put, but it seems that only three of them really get done!  So, why fight it, go with it.  Remember my tip for sitting down and listing all of the things you need to get done on one side of a folded (lengthwise) page?  Well, now, pull out a red pen or a highlighter and mark the three things that you are going to accomplish first.  Tomorrow morning, do the same thing.  Before you know it, all of the items on the list will either get done or you'll discover you can do without it!  Ok, get going!