Creativity

I have wasted many, many hours scouring the Internet for crochet patterns to match the vision I have in my head of items I want to produce.  What a load of rubbish!  What I mean is, I am working really hard to reinvent the wheel.  Why would anyone want to do that?

I have created my own patterns for crocheted items previously. Click here and here for examples of patterns available for digital download through my Etsy Store.

So, I am now working on a pattern for fingerless gloves, or more precisely, fingerless mittens because there is a thumb hole, but not individual holes for fingers.  I have ripped out stitch after stitch in an effort to create my patterns.

This it the first half of a pair of mittens:

Fingerless Mitten

Yeah, I know what you're saying.  It doesn't look like a glove or a mitten or anything else recognizable.  Well, maybe half of an orangutan mitten, but why would anyone want to put mittens on an orangutan?

I agree.  Stay tuned of the next iteration of my invention!

I Have Been Busy

I have been working feverishly to create items for my online store that can be found here and here.  I have sold several items on ebay recently and have even sold some items directly to interested individuals.

The key was finding what people wanted to buy and not concentrating on what I wanted to make.

Also, price control has become an issue for me.  If it is priced too high, no one wants it, even if the item is hand-made.  If it is priced too low, then the entire market for hand-made crafts is diluted.

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Red with black ruffle trim and large vintage buttons

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Blue chenille, lace trimmed with vintage white/rhinestone buttons

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style:  Blue chenille, lace trimmed with vintage white/rhinestone buttons

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Red with black ruffle trim and large vintage buttons

Everything Old is New Again

I recently ran a poll on Facebook to find out what is the best name for my craft business that has actually been in existence for nearly 5 years:  It looks like CHESAPEAKE BAY CROCHET is the winner.

Initially, I chose wisely.  I considered other ideas like, Chain Stitch, Hot Pink Crochet, Karen Crochets and on and on.  But Chesapeake Bay Crochet is the hands down winner.

I'll go with a winner every time.

So, I make hand made crochet items and I sell them.  HAND MADE.  No made by a machine or by a robot.  Hand made by ME.

I am working on updating my blog and my image for a better online presence.  I know how to do this!  I have a quality product at fair prices.  So, diving right in, again...

Mandala Crocheted by Kay Crochet

Etsy Updates

I have been working on updating my Esty site with additional pictures and items for sale. 

I have also updated my Pinterest site with similar pictures and items for sale.

Check them out!

Petrol Head? Gear Head? Motor Head?

I just don't know.  I've never before had a love affair with a car, except maybe my Chevy Cougar back in 2001, but even then, it was just a passing infatuation.

The number of cars that passed through my life is huge and not very stellar from a Ford Pinto, to a Beetle, to a AMC Gremlin, then a Plymouth Reliant K Car, and on and on ad nauseum.  Cars were transportation.  Nothing more than a method for traveling from point A to point B with a minimum number of calls to my road service. I had cars that were my least favorites, like the Honda POS that I (thankfully) totaled on Interstate 64, and cars that were favorites, like the peppy little Dodge Spirit.

Right after my near death experience on I-64 in which I lost a whole cup of Starbuck's Latte, I bought a Chevy Blazer from a friend and subsequently name it Big Blue. It was steady, faithful and reliable until it wasn't any longer.  Several times, Blue left me stranded and the repair bills piled up.  Because I needed reliable transportation, I bit the bullet, resigned myself to car payment slavery and started the search.

I live in Virginia, which has glorious weather most of the time, but there is at least one major snow storm a year.  After living in Florida most of my life where that sort of thing doesn't happen, I dreaded the next weather onslaught.  I wanted a 4 wheel drive car.  Maybe a Jeep.

Or so I thought.

The salesman at the dealership tempted me with an uninteresting car:  a 2010 Dodge Avenger (See photo.)

It had a single previous owner, six years old and... wait for it... only 13,170 miles.  

At first glance, I was all "Meh."  But I looked a little closer at the grill, and lights, the flared fenders over the wheels, the roundy hips in the back and my "Meh" turned into, "Maybe.'

Long story, short, I bought it, but still didn't fall in love right away.  That came later.  At first the Avenger was steady, reliable transportation that would get me from point A to point B without any call to my road service. 

Fast forward 8 months...

I made a road trip from Virginia to Florida, on my own.  A journey of 685 miles.  Somewhere on that trip, just the car and me, I fell in love.  It wasn't a head-over heels reaction.  It was slow, as I got to know her.  She became my close friend.  We bonded in a way I had never bonded with a car before.

Then, I gave her a name:  Emma Peel  (Look it up if you are wondering who she is)

I made it my business to find out everything about Emma: 0-60 in 8.3 secs, 2.4 liter engine, 173 hp @ 6000 rpms, 166 torques, 4 inline cylinders, 4 speed automatic transmission, front wheel drive, double overhead cams, average 24 mpg, curb weight of 1.5 tons.  That is just a bunch of numbers to me because I didn't bother to compare it to other cars. What I do know about my new best friend is that she wants to go fast.  She is eager.  She is willing. She is faithful and she is loyal.

On the con-side, she wags her tail more than a happy puppy.  She suffers from under steer in corners if I don't hold tightly to the steering wheel when going around and accelerate just right  (remember to brake BEFORE the turn and accelerate into the turn).  She has the same turning radius as the Queen Mary.  And the car is made of plastic... everything is plastic.  

Maybe it's time to dress her up a little... new seat covers and floor mats, steering wheel cover, maybe a dash kit.  After all, what girl doesn't like a bit of make up every now and then. 

Persistence and Flexibility

This morning a song from my youth made famous by the group Chicago was running through my head:  "Only the Beginning..."

The key to a successful online business is two-fold:  persistence and flexibility.

In the beginning, I have found that I need to try different things until I find that one perfect niche for me.  Right now, I am working with my abilities and seeing if I am making progress.  Mostly I am finding that sales on ebay seems to be the best.  Eventually, someone will buy what I am selling.  The question remains, do I going yard selling every weekend to find things I think will sell or do I continue crocheting items and putting them on Etsy?  I have put a couple of patterns on Etsy of items I have sold, but so far, no joy.

The next idea is creating a SteamPunk Barbie clothes pattern and also to create a clothing kit to sell.

For today, I will complete the shawl I am currently working on.

Choose Your Thoughts like You Choose Your Words

Now that you have examined how choosing your thoughts makes an impact on your growth and potential, you can also take a look at another area in your life. Firstly, however, take a moment to realize that there are two components of whether or not you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

Growing up, you may have been told that you are not as good as someone else in a certain academic subject, sport, or talent. This has been your belief for all of your life. After all, you were told this over and over again. You heard people in your environment from parents to teachers that you were not as good as someone else in a certain area.

On the other hand, you may have been told that you were perfect in a certain subject or area and never really taught to question those parameters. You may think that the bar was set, you reached the goals and that your job is done. This is part of growing up with a fixed mindset.

Secondly are the stories you create as you grow up; you may have judged yourself as someone who is not as good as simply because a statement was made on one occasion. You held onto that belief with no prompting from someone else, yet you continued to carry it into adulthood. Either way, there is no need for blame in either of these situations. As an adult, you are free to re-create your life as you see fit.

Choosing Your Words for Your Self

When a friend comes to you feeling unaccomplished or less than, you more than likely are an encourager – someone who takes their feelings into consideration and lifts them up. Why not do that for yourself as well. Change your thoughts, change your mind and watch how you talk to yourself as well.

When it comes to yourself, do you beat yourself up, criticize yourself and not give yourself the same break you would give your own friend? Choose kinder words of communicating for yourself and be aware of too much negative self-talk. 

A growth mindset allows you to tell yourself that you did not do as well as you had hoped and also speaks to you that you can and will do better, achieve more. All this without the negative self-talk that comes along with it.

Choosing Your Words for Others

In the same manner you would want to speak to yourself with kindness and encouragement in order to foster your potential and development, take that opportunity to foster and encourage the development of another.

Instead of making excuses for them, hold them accountable, encourage them to see where they can do better and offer them the possibility of achieving more and doing greater things with their life and with their minds.

When you choose your words carefully, whether to yourself or to others, you make a difference which can then result in making a change.