my first etsy sale!

I finally made my first sale on Etsy!!!!!!!!!!

I know this might not seem like a 10-exclamation-point-worthy event to those of you who are unfamiliar with Etsy, or those of you who are Etsy sellers that have feedback on 50+ transactions.  But it's cause for celebration for me!  It motivated me to get a few more completed items that were just languishing in the "craft closet" up and listed.

I managed to take some decent photos but would like to build a homemade light box so I can get those nice "professional" looking shots as well.  I still want to take some photos with other backgrounds and with models as well.  I'd love to be more thorough about my progress on each project on my Ravelry account so that if people are curious what I'm making they can take a sneak peek.  I also like that I can make notes about pattern changes or how I came up with the design on Ravelry and not feel like I'm putting too much information - Ravelry is for geeking out.  Etsy shoppers may not always be as interested in all the minutiae.

I am hoping to get some more items finished and in the shop in time for people's holiday gifting.  It's tempting to turn right around and spend the money I made from the sale on something for myself, or for another knitting project, but I really need to work my way through this ridiculous stash spread out in three locations all over our house.  I do want to reinvest the profit in my "business" (I put it in quotes because it seems weird to call it that!) but instead of buying more materials I think I ought to wait and try to put it toward something like labels for the items or business cards or what have you.

Eventually my goal is to make enough from the sale of my hand knits, etc., to supplement our family's income so that I don't have to work as much (preferably at all!) outside the home.  It might be difficult to dedicate as much time to this endeavor as I'd like over the next few years while our babes are itty bitty, but because I love knitting and crafting it's hardly a chore to try.  And that is half the point; to be able to spend time with my children during these already fleeting years while they are young.

The worst that could happen is that I make a bunch of beautiful things and get to share them with some people.  Sounds pretty win-win to me...

knitting to revive my sanity

Today was a long, strange day at the restaurant.  I blame it on that mesmerizingly beautiful Full Harvest Moon.  Of course it couldn't have had anything to do with the fact that I forgot to set an alarm and my son didn't wake me up at the usual time, making me a half-hour late for work.  Or that I'm preggo and have "mommy brain" (that is the technical term, just so you know) and really struggle some days to keep my you-know-what straight.

I have the rare opportunity to forget about today's stress and unwind a bit right after getting home since my son is down for his nap.  I tell you what, I am going to pick up some knitting and turn on the television.  The television is for background noise, the knitting is what really helps me relax.  Knitting for me is like a good, hard workout for my mind - repetitious activity without the stress, a way to cast off the mental detritus of the last 8 hours and expend that reserve of nervous energy left over after a crazy day.  Lots of people prefer not to engage in a pastime that requires attention to detail after a demanding shift but I find it actually helps calm my nerves quite a bit.  It's either that or some form of intoxicant and being in the family way the latter isn't really an option!

I am hoping to work on a sweater I started about a month ago so I can move on to some other projects.  I have finished the back and now am starting the front.  The whole front/back thing with sweaters (and left/right with socks) always trips me up - I need to make peace with circulars and find some projects that don't involve such a convenient spot at which to abandon a project that doesn't have quite so strong a grasp on my interest anymore.  I really hate blocking and sewing pieces together, too.  In fact, most of the time I don't bother blocking at all.  It just seems so tedious, kind of like gauge swatches, but I have made peace with those after a few complex projects gone horrifically awry.  I am kind of ADD sometimes about my knitting and would rather be able to do a project start to finish than have to hack away at it 5 rows at a time and sew a bunch of stuff together afterward, worryin about if the seams are too obvious or crude looking and whether or not all the pieces are going to fit together properly.

I just felt the baby kick.  He's probably saying, "Hey ma, get back to work on my sweater already!"  I guess I'd better before I've frittered away his older brother's nap writing a blog post...!