011. well, so, I may have a tiiiiny name problem

Very tiny.

In the process of cleaning up, I uncovered two ancient and unfinished cross-stitch projects. Unfinished projects tend to bug me, so I've been working on one of them the last two evenings. Nothing like discovering your younger self couldn't count either. ;)

Thing is, I already know I don't want to keep the one and even if I did want to keep the other, I have no idea what I'd do with it. So I'm thinking of putting them up for sale on etsy ... whenever I get finished with them. I need to sort a better schedule so I'm spending more time on my crafting, but Jyou has been sucking up all the time I can spare her in a mad rush to at least try for end-game. Ah well, each day is a little different in what I can tolerate, too, so...

010. wow, almost a month.

Clearly I should have included posting to this blog in the meme cycle somehow. Sumimasen. m)_ _)m I will try to be better over the next month?

Been awhile since I've updated my etsy shop, and since I just had a batch of winter goods expire, figured it was past time. So three new listings!

Retro-Inspired Quad-color Ripple Afghan $65

Ridley the Bear $18

Cloudy Skies Crib Blanket $18

Of stuff I have shot, I'm just about out of things to list, but I have four more waiting to be shot, plus a couple that are closing on being finished. Depending on how this tofu turns out, I might make more than the one, we'll see.

Seriously thinking about making an announcement that a portion of all amigurumi sales will go to Japanese relief, but I'm still a little on the fence about the whole thing. I mean, I'm doing this because I need the supplement to my income, but... I'd also like to be able to help, so...

014. well it's about damn time, right?

The socks, also know as those goddamn socks of doom. XD Finally finished last night and despite looking a bit weird in the above pic, they actually do fit. Oddly in places, but I'll wear them into the right shape eventually. Probably sometime next winter, if spring really is finally deciding to appear around here. :p

Of course this means I am now at a bit of loose ends to decide what I should be working on next.

013. you know that feeling

So many ideas for projects - and attending Sakuracon yesterday just made that worse - and not enough time to do everything I want to get done in a day. So while I have almost all of the camo-sheep's body parts done, his last leg has been giving me fits. I should have taken -it- with me to the con instead of something that I still need to pay attention to the pattern. Ah well, yesterday was filled with learning experiences, really.

So the most creative thing I've done lately has actually been my nails. Creme grey with ruby red tips (with just a hint of shimmer), which was an experiment I did just because of the con. I really like how they came out, though now I'm wondering if they wouldn't've gotten more notice if I'd used white instead of grey?

012. ah the smell of progress

And here we see both my very messy work space (meep) and the latest finished project. Sitting on top of the pattern from which he came. ._. But isn't he adorable? Also, I'm kinda digging these mouthless versions I've been doing lately.

I started a pea today for a peas-in-a-pod set, but I may set it aside tomorrow to start another sheep. Or two, depending on how much yarn the pattern uses. Always way more ideas than time, it seems.

011. fell off the wagon

To be honest, I haven't been doing much crochet this past week. A lot of mixed personal issues. Lots of grand plans and not a lot of time for much of anything, as odd as that sounds.

That said, I did get most of the sushi seal finished ... though he might have come out too big for the original idea. Sigh. This is what I get for free-handing him. When I finish this sheep, I might try again, using a different basic body shape, something more compact. Or I might try an alternate sheep pattern first. Oishi-kun is going to be a more involved project, since I want to have several interchangeable toppings, so I might be better off working on some other, quicker things first, just to build up more stock. I don't know, this is one of those ongoing debates.

I do need to post the potholders and pedobear to etsy, along with the sales posts on Dreamwidth. Or just hire a secretary to do it for me? Ah, if only...

010. oh what a week it's been

Oh the stress around here, it's been ridiculous. Meaning the only things I have to show for myself are one white and teal eggbear amigurumi and one custom-designed fish amigurumi. Had to alter the fins, since the body was medium dk/light worsted weight and the fins were fingering weight. Which I will be making a note of that when it eventually gets posted to etsy.

Which means I'm now trying to figure out what my next project should be. Or perhaps I should get back to finish those socks? (laugh)

009. something like progress

I've been feeling especially like crap today, so instead of working on creation projects, I had a friend help with image processing and then made three listings on Etsy. A lapghan and two amigurumi seahorses, as seen below. All in need of good homes, so if anyone is interested.... ;)

008. a day at the beach

Since today was one of those rare-in-spring, consistently sunny days, Si and I went down to one of the beach parks on the island to do product shooting. And enjoy the sun and fresh(ish - low tide, so definitely sea/fish smell) air. ;) Pictures still need to be processed, but within the week I should have two amigurumi seahorses, an amigurumi pedobear, some flowers, some potholders, and three blankets of varying sizes to process into my etsy shop. Not all at once, though, since I don't know how long it'll take me to have enough goods for another product shoot day.

I have a fish started, but after this I really don't know what to make next. Well, aside from the eggbear I started and never finished.

That said, I don't think I'll be getting any more crochet done tonight. It's gotten late behind my back and I've done almost none of the things I was wanting to do today.

007. and I will call him my squishy

So last night was mostly spent not-sleeping and working on an amigurumi seahorse, the baby Sohryu. At least, I think that's going to be his name on etsy, still not sure. Maybe Shouryu would be better, even though that's not the gaurdian's name. :p But he's a lovely light blue with darker blue flecks, the way he worked up.

Which means tonight I'm going to be making at least one more. Because Sohryu worked up beautifully, so why shouldn't I make more? ;)

My bag of goods to be shot is starting to fill up a little more, so when we can get some decent sun, we'll be going out for product shoots. And there will be much rejoicing.

006. oh hell

Already missed a day of blogging. This doesn't bode well for the future. Though in my defense (sort of), my sleep pattern has been all sorts of out of whack, so... Unfortunately, I also didn't really manage any production yesterday. You'd think insomnia, since it means more time awake, would mean more time to be productive. Oh how wrong you would be. There's worlds of difference between being awake and being awake enough to function properly.

... plus I needed to do my nails again. Trimming, filing, removing the old polish, applying the new, the whole works. Black this time, because I haven't in awhile and this is a new brand for me. Liking it so far, though I still need to pick up a top coat. And possibly a filler type base coat?

Here's hoping today is somewhat more productive. At the very least, I would like to make a spirited try at this seahorse amigurumi pattern. I don't know that I have enough yarn, but only one way to find out.

005. girly squares

It's been one of those days where I've done little more than sleep and try not to stab people in the eye. This is harder than you might think. The corollary to this being that I haven't really spent much time on crochet, seeing as my first choice in anti-stabbing is playing World of Warcraft. ;) But I did decide last night that I wanted to change things up a bit with the baby blanket I've been half-heartedly nibbling at for the last week or two. So now there will be a mix of traditional granny squares and the circle-center squares. Still all in pink, lilac, and white. Here's to hoping I actually have enough of each color for what I want to do?

004. the return of the socks

As promised, a post with pictures!

This is the one I started on Tuesday (top cuff at the bottom of the picture), but most of that progress was done yesterday on the ferry - this was half way through the return trip.

First of all, I'm loving the colors in this yarn. Even better, it's coming out as a sort of self-striping yarn, even in crochet (most of the self striping yarns I've used don't stripe as well in crochet as they do in knitting). These will be a good winter weight sock, as well, which is extra nice since I'm forever getting cold. ;)

The yarn itself, Deborah Norville's Serenity Garden yarn, color Sea, is a dralon microfiber, very soft. And also prone to splitting as I'm hooking. Sort of like working with embroidery floss, only with more strands.
A closer look at the other sock ... that I may or may not redo. XD I'm such a perfectionist sometimes. Fortunately, this yarn is very forgiven - I've done more frogging and reworking with this yarn than almost any other I've used lately and it still hasn't been any real problem. I think I'm going to have to get more of this in the near future.

003. socks!

There were supposed to be pictures with today's entry, but after a full day out and about, I barely have the spoons to write this entry, let alone futz about with pictures. Tomorrow, perhaps?

So on the one hand, Day's Out mean I don't have the same access to my crochet project. On the other hand, today's outing was into Seattle, meaning a ferry ride each way, a perfect time to do some work on whatever small project I can stuff in my bag. Today that was a set of socks.

I hadn't ever considered that one could crochet socks until I came across a book on exactly that topic while browsing my local library. So naturally I had to take a shot at it. Which meant going ahead and buying some sock yarn, in this case, Deborah Norville Serenity Garden yarn. It feels like this is working up thicker than perhaps knitting would produce, but considering how perpetually cold I am these days, I don't think that's a bad thing.

Okay, I could go on about how this project is working, but pictures really would be helpful, so until tomorrow...

002. Of granny squares and socks

So yesterday I finished out the two skeins of Lily's Sugar'n Cream (1 varigated called Buttercream and 1 solid, Softly Taupe) I'd purchased specifically to make potholders. Got four double layer squares out of them, so not bad. I make all my pot holders out of two squares stitched together, because I prefer to have something more substantial between me and oven-hot cookware. Two of them combined single crochet rows with rows of trinity stitch, while the other two were ... sort of basketweave? ;) More like ridges, since the front- and back-post double crochets stacked instead of weaving.

I really like Sugar'n Cream cotton, but it's definitely not a forgiving yarn. Works up well the first time, but if you have to frog and redo? Oh the strand splitting. But it comes in such a lovely array of colors, how can I resist?

I also managed a couple more Copenhagen granny squares for the baby blanket I've been nibbling at while watching TV the last couple of weeks. I have a definite love-hate relationship with granny squares. They're easy, which makes them perfect for doing while watching TV. But they can also get really boring. Which is why I have a whole book full of granny square variants.

Today was an errands day, so not much time for crochet. I did get the top cuff finished for the second sock. Tomorrow is a Seattle trip day, so I'll try to get some pics snapped for tomorrow's entry, get some color and visual appeal going on here. ;)

001. Well, why not?

I will freely admit that, when it comes to maintaining a blog, I'm pretty much terrible at it. Having fibromalygia and chronic fatigue syndrome ninja-pounce me in the past year and change hasn't helped. But the people of etsy swear by blogging and, well, I'm going to try. Since I am trying to do at least a little crochet work every day, even if I don't finish anything, at least I should have some small thing to write about.

Pictures, however, will be an issue. I'm not a photographer and rely on someone else to help me get the shots I need to sell my goods on etsy. So while I'll probably include some pics here from time to time, most of them will probably be taken with my phone's camera, so bear with me?

I have a collection of scarves up for sale on my etsy store right now, with a couple more waiting to be posted in my next update. I've been working on using up my cotton just recently, so there'll be potholders as well as amigurumi bears in the next batches as well. And perhaps some crocheted flowers? Or the baby blanket? I think that's going to depend on how long it takes me to finish vs. how long I have until our next good day for shooting. ;)

I am also always more than happy to do custom commissions. These are base prices, subject to change depending on specific fiber, stitch/pattern, and size. Prices go up with higher end fibers and larger sizes, and likewise down should you wish to send me yarn you've purchased yourself if you're looking for me to piece together squares.

Scarf - $15-$20, depending on length. Takes about a week from order to ship.
Adult-sized Afghan - $65+, depending on dimensions and fiber. May take as much as a month.
Crib blanket - $30+, depending on dimensions and fiber. At least two weeks, may take more.
Amigurumi - $8-12 per doll, depending on size. Allow three to five days per doll.
Shawl/wrap - $25+, depending on fiber content. About two weeks.
Hat - $35+, depending on style and fiber content. About two weeks.
Socks - $15+, depending on style and fiber content. Ten to fifteen days.