I received an order for 8 appliques yesterday from the boutique place I have been working with.
It's only about a $30 order but I'm excited. When you think about it, a few of those a month really start to add up after a while. It's money to be saved later for emergencies or necessities.
Sometimes I get down on myself because my stats aren't in the 100's for sales, but I have to remind myself how much I sell locally as well. Word of mouth is an amazing thing.
And in today's economy a sale is a sale - no matter how big or small.
I need to stop beating myself up and be arrogant for once. I'm a pretty damn good crocheter and I'm not going to let anyone else make me feel as though I'm not.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Living the crazy life
It's been a crazy week back since our trip to CA.
The house is slowing coming back together and I think I'm winning the fight against the ever encroaching army of laundry.
I started back at the gym and was crazy enough to subject myself to the extreme embarrassment and insane intensity of an advanced step class.
Did I mention that I barely have rhythm?
Toss in a plastic step, fast music and difficult choreography and you'll find I resemble a hyperactive hamster with four left feet.
I'm determined to lose weight this time. I need to find some part of my former self that I know is in there somewhere.
I still have a lot of down days and I still am trying to find a place where I fit in socially, but I'm learning who my true friends are and that's what counts. To me friends of the heart are way better than friends of the face. Basically, people who truly care about you vs. those who just put on a mask and pretend to like you in public.
On the Moose Threads front I haven't really been working on any new designs. I'm a little burnt out.
I'm finishing up a sub hat and scarf set for a friend and I received notice that I'm to expect a large applique order sometime next week from the boutique place.
In the meantime I've been attempting to organize and catalog my insane yarn stash. Every few months I have to basically do what any business does - inventory.
I have to note what I've used up, what new yarns I've received - and arrange them in storage bins that make it easy for me to find what I need.
Since I haven't done this in a long time, all the closets in my house look as though Sully from Monsters Inc. lost his cookies in them. It's a technicolor, yarntastic mess.
On a more exciting note the trip to CA made me realize how dependant I am on good the Internet to run my business.
With a shop on ETSY, one on 1000 markets and a lot of e-mail interaction with customers I was shocked at how much I missed when I didn't check up on things for just two days.
Now that I'm working with other businesses in terms of my appliques etc, I really needed to be on the ball.
So I sucked it up and used a portion of the Moose Threads profits I'd been stashing away for the past 6 months and bought a 3G iPhone.
I needed something that had wi-fi and true Internet access. Something I could take, edit and e-mail photos with. Something I could use to answer e-mails and convos.
I've only had it for two days and already I'm in love. I'm finding I'm more efficient with things and I'm not holed up in the office chained to the desktop. It even came in handy entertaining my husband during our 30 minute wait for dinner last night. ESPN at your fingertips!
It was more money than I would have liked to spend on a phone and accessories but I think it was well worth it.
The house is slowing coming back together and I think I'm winning the fight against the ever encroaching army of laundry.
I started back at the gym and was crazy enough to subject myself to the extreme embarrassment and insane intensity of an advanced step class.
Did I mention that I barely have rhythm?
Toss in a plastic step, fast music and difficult choreography and you'll find I resemble a hyperactive hamster with four left feet.
I'm determined to lose weight this time. I need to find some part of my former self that I know is in there somewhere.
I still have a lot of down days and I still am trying to find a place where I fit in socially, but I'm learning who my true friends are and that's what counts. To me friends of the heart are way better than friends of the face. Basically, people who truly care about you vs. those who just put on a mask and pretend to like you in public.
On the Moose Threads front I haven't really been working on any new designs. I'm a little burnt out.
I'm finishing up a sub hat and scarf set for a friend and I received notice that I'm to expect a large applique order sometime next week from the boutique place.
In the meantime I've been attempting to organize and catalog my insane yarn stash. Every few months I have to basically do what any business does - inventory.
I have to note what I've used up, what new yarns I've received - and arrange them in storage bins that make it easy for me to find what I need.
Since I haven't done this in a long time, all the closets in my house look as though Sully from Monsters Inc. lost his cookies in them. It's a technicolor, yarntastic mess.
On a more exciting note the trip to CA made me realize how dependant I am on good the Internet to run my business.
With a shop on ETSY, one on 1000 markets and a lot of e-mail interaction with customers I was shocked at how much I missed when I didn't check up on things for just two days.
Now that I'm working with other businesses in terms of my appliques etc, I really needed to be on the ball.
So I sucked it up and used a portion of the Moose Threads profits I'd been stashing away for the past 6 months and bought a 3G iPhone.
I needed something that had wi-fi and true Internet access. Something I could take, edit and e-mail photos with. Something I could use to answer e-mails and convos.
I've only had it for two days and already I'm in love. I'm finding I'm more efficient with things and I'm not holed up in the office chained to the desktop. It even came in handy entertaining my husband during our 30 minute wait for dinner last night. ESPN at your fingertips!
It was more money than I would have liked to spend on a phone and accessories but I think it was well worth it.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
What a difference a dosage change makes
For almost a month I had been so lethargic I could literally sleep the entire day and not feel rested.
My depression felt like it was back in full force. I was hot. I was cold and I just overall felt worse than a diver on the receiving end of a massive whale fart.
It wasn't until my mom reminded me that all my symptoms always show up when my thyroid meds are off that decided to get them checked.
Turns out my levels were so out of whack that my doctor had to raise me up to 250 micrograms. This was the dose I was on while pregnant and landed me in complicated OB due to the high dosage.
I started taking the meds two weeks ago and I'm religious about them. My husband has also been great about reminding me since I have to take them on an empty stomach.
All I can say is I can feel a change. I'm not tired, I'm feeling a bit brighter about things and my hot flashes have settled down.
Now all I have to do is get some of this 210 pounds I'm carrying around off my heiney.
My depression felt like it was back in full force. I was hot. I was cold and I just overall felt worse than a diver on the receiving end of a massive whale fart.
It wasn't until my mom reminded me that all my symptoms always show up when my thyroid meds are off that decided to get them checked.
Turns out my levels were so out of whack that my doctor had to raise me up to 250 micrograms. This was the dose I was on while pregnant and landed me in complicated OB due to the high dosage.
I started taking the meds two weeks ago and I'm religious about them. My husband has also been great about reminding me since I have to take them on an empty stomach.
All I can say is I can feel a change. I'm not tired, I'm feeling a bit brighter about things and my hot flashes have settled down.
Now all I have to do is get some of this 210 pounds I'm carrying around off my heiney.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Rockets, requests and randomness
We've been on vacation in California for the past two weeks.
When your husband is in the military your vacations tend to consist of trekking to visit family during random times of the year.
This time we decided on making a 15-hour drive with toddler in tow, across mountain passes and busy freeways. Crazily enough we made the trip in one day without any complaints from our toddler and without a DVD player. A few new toy planes and cars were plenty of bribery it turns out.
After our first stop to visit family I was reminded of just exactly why we moved two states away.
Constant snide comments about my weight and about my parenting skills - or lack there of- were too much to take.
When a certain loved one told me to "Do myself a favor and not have anymore children for I'm ruining the one I already have" I felt like I'd been decked by a Jenny Craig dropout going through cupcake withdrawals.
In the meantime, though Moose Threads was technically on vacation I was deftly attempting to fill some custom orders out of courtesy despite having limited access to the yarn supplies I needed. At what point does one draw the line on customer service?
I'm surprised my head hasn't spun off my neck and landed in the pile of donkey dung that apparently I'm constantly stepping in in terms of my life.
Needless to say I'm looking forward to returning to WA.
On a good note, I did manage to finish a new sweater design that at the moment is intended for my soon-to-be-three-year-old toddler. He's obsessed with rockets at the moment.
This pullover is made from Cascade 220, a hand wash Peruvian wool I had in my stash. I created a rocket applique and tried something new in terms of my flight trail trademark. A matching hat created the ensemble.
I'd love to hear what you think of this new item.
On another note, I was given the challenge of creating a Thomas the Train applique by a dear fellow Homefronter. This is my best attempt. My husband was impressed... my toddler was screaming "Thomas, Thomas" and tried to run off with it... but my picky self doesn't know what to think.
Thoughts?
When your husband is in the military your vacations tend to consist of trekking to visit family during random times of the year.
This time we decided on making a 15-hour drive with toddler in tow, across mountain passes and busy freeways. Crazily enough we made the trip in one day without any complaints from our toddler and without a DVD player. A few new toy planes and cars were plenty of bribery it turns out.
After our first stop to visit family I was reminded of just exactly why we moved two states away.
Constant snide comments about my weight and about my parenting skills - or lack there of- were too much to take.
When a certain loved one told me to "Do myself a favor and not have anymore children for I'm ruining the one I already have" I felt like I'd been decked by a Jenny Craig dropout going through cupcake withdrawals.
In the meantime, though Moose Threads was technically on vacation I was deftly attempting to fill some custom orders out of courtesy despite having limited access to the yarn supplies I needed. At what point does one draw the line on customer service?
I'm surprised my head hasn't spun off my neck and landed in the pile of donkey dung that apparently I'm constantly stepping in in terms of my life.
Needless to say I'm looking forward to returning to WA.
On a good note, I did manage to finish a new sweater design that at the moment is intended for my soon-to-be-three-year-old toddler. He's obsessed with rockets at the moment.
This pullover is made from Cascade 220, a hand wash Peruvian wool I had in my stash. I created a rocket applique and tried something new in terms of my flight trail trademark. A matching hat created the ensemble.
I'd love to hear what you think of this new item.
On another note, I was given the challenge of creating a Thomas the Train applique by a dear fellow Homefronter. This is my best attempt. My husband was impressed... my toddler was screaming "Thomas, Thomas" and tried to run off with it... but my picky self doesn't know what to think.
Thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)