Jumbled

That is how my brain feels...jumbled.  On top of that, I'm still a little sick! Unfortunately, I also made Eric sick.  It's just a cold but he felt so bad yesterday he had to stay home from work.  I got up and made him some yummy chicken soup in the crockpot and baked a fresh loaf of bread to go with it.  It was nice to have him home on a day I was off of work but not under the circumstances of course.  I tried to be motivated enough to work on projects for my business.  I finished one whole set of items yesterday and started on a second set.  Lately, I'm beginning to wonder if it is really worth all of my time and effort.  Handmade items are so time consuming.  On top of that, have you priced craft supplies or fabric? They're not cheap!  Put those two things together plus the fact that people don't like paying a ton of money for something they can buy much cheaper at a store - how is anyone supposed to make a profit? Oh wait, maybe that's why it's so difficult to run a business...

Despite my indecisive feelings about continuing down the road of selling handmade, I've finally decided to start selling gift sets in my shop. I've already been making these for custom orders anyway so it makes sense.  To keep them at a somewhat reasonable price, I'm going to charge $50 for the set plus $10 shipping (I mail everything USPS Priority Mail which is not cheap) and hope to God they sell.  Sets include a simple cotton + flannel blanket that's approximately 40x40, a burp cloth and two bibs.

I'm sort of starting to think that I'll continue to make these until I run out of fabric and then I'll quit selling online.  I will definitely continue making custom orders for friends and family members. Although, I'm not sure what I'll do with all the blankets and such that won't sell on my website.  Gift them, donate them, etc.? I'm just too far in to quit right now.  In reality, I've just purchased too much fabric (whoops). Eventually Eric and I will have kids and then I can use some of that fabric to make nursery items, toys, clothes, etc. but there's only so much fabric I actually need for that kind of stuff!

Lately, I've been more into needle arts than sewing so I'm going to have an abundance of knit/crochet items lying around.  I've decided to open a second Etsy shop (what?! I know...) to put those items up for sale.  The difference between this Etsy shop and my current Etsy shop is that this is more of just an outlet for me so there's no pressure to create anything. I'll just put new items on there as I complete them - if they sell, great! If not, I'm not sweating it.  Which is such a relief from the way I feel about my other shop.  My awesome sister-in-law, Kelsey, is currently in the process of making me a neat little logo for this shop.  Basically, it's going to be my catch all.  I've already technically opened the shop but there is nothing for sale yet.  I've actually almost finished the very first item I'll list on there.

On another note, it's already July which means I should be fully focused on creating all of my Christmas presents.  In short, that is not happening at the moment.  I have three gifts partially started but I have made no real progress in weeks. This is what happens when I take on too much, want to give too much and then realize I'm in over my head. Eventually, I'll get them completed but I would rather that be sooner than later since we will most likely be buying a house in a few months. I always tell myself, next year I won't take on too much! And then I do...story of my life.

I think change is coming although it may be slow and I must be patient.  I forgot to stop and appreciate all of the wonderful things I do have: a loving husband, a wonderful + loving family, great friends, a stable job, a really nice apartment, a drive to always create and learn, money to do things we enjoy, money to visit those wonderful family and friends and so much more.

That's all for now!

New Projects

Lately I've been working on several different projects.  Right now, I have six - yes six! - different projects in the making. Two of the six projects are Christmas presents for this year so I won't go into detail about them.  I still haven't finished the pajama pants I was supposed to sew my husband last Christmas.  I guess he can wait until this Christmas. I am in the process of knitting a baby blanket and the shell for a sweater (aka a sweater without the sleeves). Projects I've just finished include: two simple knit maxi dresses, a polka dot infinity scarf, a one-piece swimsuit and a crochet swimsuit.

From start to finish, the swimsuits took me the longest - at least 20 hours of labor a piece. I used the Bombshell Swimsuit pattern from ClosetCaseFiles on Etsy. She has an awesome sewalong on her blog.  I don't think I would've been able to complete the pattern without it! It was extremely helpful for someone like me who is just getting into apparel sewing.

I made the swimsuit on the right.  Funny enough, I also choose to make it in blue.

Here is the finished project! I love the way it turned out! Again, I highly recommend the pattern.  Even if you don't feel comfortable with apparel sewing, the sewalong is step by step and very detailed. The swimsuit I just finished yesterday is a crochet swimsuit! It was very labor intensive but rewarding. I used a vintage 1970's crochet pattern from Cemetarian on Etsy.

I planned to make the one piece but the sizing runs big so I had to back-track and make the two piece.  When I attempt to make the one-piece again, I may have to go down two sizes.  The bottom was just WAY too baggy.

Here it is before I lined it!  The pattern has 2 different suggestions for yarn.  I used two strands of black Knit-Cro-Sheen yarn held together throughout and I'm very happy with the result.  It fit perfect before I lined it.  After I lined it, it was a bit tighter but still wearable. If anyone has an suggestions for this problem, please leave a comment! I hand-sewed black lining into the cups on the top and into the whole bottom (except the two side connecting pieces). Next time, I think I'll sew black cups into the top instead of the lining.   I tried to google how to sew lining into a crochet/knit swimsuit but didn't get any results that were helpful.

I bought another vintage swimsuit crochet pattern Etsy from KnittingKnitch.  It looks so cute and I can't wait to attempt it!

That's all for today. I'm off to do laundry and other chores before I have to work tonight. Thank you for reading!

Even if no one is listening.

I decided that today I will blog - even if no one is listening. Journaling is good for the soul! Well, in my opinion it's good for the soul. I wrote "journal more" in my New Year's resolutions.  I guess that means I should try to follow through. I'm not sure I've ever followed through with a New Year's resolution....ever.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't follow through with those commitments.  If you are one of the few people who can actually follow through with those resolutions - you're awesome! I envy your dedication.

Anywho, moving on...

Last week if you had asked me how I was holding up, I would've say "I'm not."  Work has been stressful. I actually broke down and cried at work on Monday from the pressure and the stress that has built up. Luckily, this week is better.  I still have to shove the same amount of work into my week as I did last week but I'm doing the best I can. I try to stay positive when I can and right now I feel okay so I'm running with it. 

Ultimately, that is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.  My "ideal" plan would look something like this: I have the energy to build my business (WithLoveHandmade.etsy.com) while still working full time.  This means spending the majority of my time off doing something beneficial to my business. Ideally, I would build my business up so I could eventually, (a couple of years down the road) switch to working part time.  Now this next step is very idealistic but if all went well and I was making enough income, I could "quit my day job" as many Etsy sellers have been able to do.  This is my ultimate career goal.

There are a few problems with this plan. One of them being that I cannot decide what I want my main focus to be.  I'm not sure I want to continue doing baby blankets.  If I want to continue down that path, I'm considering moving into crib sets and/or quilts.  Another option would be doing the same baby blankets I'm doing now but adding the crochet edging on the blankets to make them more valuable and desirable. Also, I love knitting and crochet and have no outlet for those baby blankets.  If I moved into crib sets/quilts/crochet edged cotton blankets, I don't see those items fitting into my shop.  Shops need to be cohesive.  Otherwise, customers won't buy.  I could have a section on my shop for hand knit/crocheted blankets but I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I will leave that option open though. Other ideas I'm still considering include: hand knit purses/bags, easy to sew children's apparel, infinity scarves and the infinity scarves you can use as nursing covers and hand knit/crocheted car seat blankets.

Unfortunately, those are all radically different ideas.  I'm involved in too many hobbies and it's hard for me to choose just one.  I want to create things using all my skills! Unfortunately, that would not be a very cohesive shop.  I need to choose a focus....

Issue with crib sets/quilts: crib sets and quilts take more investment money.  Investing in baby blankets isn't so bad but once you get into quilting and crib sets, it requires more supplies, labor, etc. Therefore, it is a big decision to make. I could invest money into making a few sets or quilts and if no one buys anything, I could be out hundreds of dollars and wasted hours!! Scary thought!!!

Issue with infinity scarves/nursing covers: there are already a lot of sellers making these.  I'm worried it would be difficult to break into that market.  It would be difficult to differentiate myself from the competition.

Issue with knit/crocheted car seat blankets: I'm not sure there is a market for these.

Issue with hand knit bags/purses: I'm not sure this is something I would be passionate about doing.

Issue with children's apparel:  I'm not sure this is a practical venture.  Would I have to come up with my own patterns? If I found a few patterns I liked, would they be copyrighted therefore not allowing me to sell my creations?  I'm just getting into apparel sewing so it's not practical to think I could just come up with my own patterns right off the bat. This would require further research. Also, what sizes would I sell? Would I sell just girls clothes? Would I do boys and girls?

A few other issues: I don't want to take away time from hanging out with my husband, cooking meals, baking and the things I love (or need) to do at home. I would have to sacrifice some time I spend doing these things but I want to make sure that I leave plenty of time to do these things because they're important.  Basically, I'm worried about my time management. I'm also worried about my energy levels! I work hard all day. I'm on my feet most of the day and I'm usually stressed as stated above. This takes a lot of out of me! I'm worried I might not have the energy I need to work on my business after working 8-9 hours at a tiring, stressful job.


It would be great to have a partner in this but I wouldn't even know how to find someone.  If I did children's apparel I really think I could use a partner.


Yet another issue: I'm not sure how to market myself. It's so overwhelming and I'm not sure where to begin!! I know I need to do local craft markets and shows but those seem like a lot of effort.  I can't keep making excuses though.  Seriously, I need marketing help.


So those are the big issues.  Writing all of those down helped calm my brain - which is nice.  I feel a bit relieved.  Now, I just have to make a couple of big decisions and the first one being: what is my focus?  Once I do that, I definitely want to change my business name.  I need to come up with something relevant to my focus...


Anywho, if you read all the way through this - great!! Leave me some feedback if you have any input or ideas.  I appreciate any feedback. 

Thanks for listening :)