The Cost of Running a Shop

Good Thursday Afternoon Crocheters!

I am going to jot down here today some of the items I have run into in the last week or so while working on my first Etsy order:

1.  The cost of supplies - I vastly underestimated how much the supplies would run me, Ex: the Hat & Scarf pictured here sold for $35.00 in my shop + S/H - in this case the supplies cost all of $12.81 ($3.99/skein x 3 skeins of yarn + 7.5% tax)

So then for the Afghan pictured below I sold it for $75.00 + S/H - and in this case the supplies are running me more than usual, the afghan was originally made for a friend of the family, one of my Girl Scout Mom's who requested it - and to make her a nice soft & warm afghan I made it out of Yarn Bee Tender Touch brand yarn - which runs 155 yards of yarn to a skein - which means I am having t use twice as much as I calculate it would, the yarn runs $3.99/skein and this afghan will require somewhere around 16 skeins of yarn or $68.63 total cost leaving my profit just over $7.00...

2. Not having Calculated shipping costs exactly quite yet I have set aside about $30.00 of the order to pay for UPS Ground Shipping, I prefer this method so I can accurately track the package.

That being said I have increased the price on an afghan made with the Yarn Bee yarns to $100.00 so my profit margin is higher.

As of today I've completed 2/3 of the scarf - just have the other side of the border to do + the fringe and then I need to construct the hat, however I need to purchase that additional skein of yarn first.  And I am about 1/2 way done with the afghan! Super Excited about that and I can't wait for the woman who ordered them to get them.

What's everyone working on today?!?!?!?

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Projects - Projects - Projects

Good Friday Afternoon Crocheters!

Hope Everyone's Week is Wrapping up Nicely!

I have a stack of requests from my friends and family I need to get cranking on - It's going to be a super busy Christmas season for sure!

First one of my other Girl Scout parents has requested hats/scarves for her entire clan, I am starting off with a Minecraft themed hat/scarf for her Granddaughter.  We've settled on these two:

Image Courtesy of DIY Crafts

Image Courtesy of Kid Stuff

So I begin on those as soon as I finish some arm warmers to go with the Monster High Hat I made the other day.

Then she's requested hats for everyone else in her family - one a musical themed one, one NASA/UConn Themed, Flowers and there's like four others!

And I also got a request from another Scout Mom, the same one I made the blue afghan for has requested an infant sweater/hat/afghan set for a baby due in December.  WOW my head is truly spinning!

This weekend though I begin on my Etsy order and I have a secret project I am working on for someone special in my life that I won't discuss because it'll ruin the surprise ;-)

Oh and at some point the woman who ordered the Daisy/Chevron afghans is requesting two more daisy afghans...though she's on vacation for now and then is having surgery so it'll be a while before I get those in.

Busy Busy Busy but I Love it!

Order Your Own Scarf, Hat, Arm Warmers, Afghans, Etc through my Etsy Shop

Scraps - What to Do with Them...Make a Scrapghan Of Course!

Good Tuesday Morning Crocheters!

Happy Day!

The sun is shining here in Southern North Carolina and it looks to be a gorgeous day!!

Every once in a while the question of what to do with your scraps comes up in conversations - my preference is to turn them into what I call Scrapghans.  They are just afghans I've made using nothing but scraps, there's no ryhme or reason to the pattern of colors, just what I grab and when.  I have once I keep at home and recently I gave one away to a photographer here in town and yesterday she sent me the cutest picture of it being used.

First here's the scrapghan I am referring to

And here's the picture she sent me yesterday

Photo Courtesy of Lifescapes Photography

OH MY GAWD I could just squeal! I had to look at it more than once to say yes that's the same afghan as above! But I did an OMG isn't that little angel just the Sweetest?!?!

So how do you use your scraps?

I am always taking requests for Scrapghans! They come from my imagination and I am always willing to share them with them world!

Yarn to Afghan Creations 1st Sale

I am sooo Excited to Announce that I have made my 1st Sale through the Etsy Store!!!

So super excited!! Here's what I've sold one each of:

Soo Excited!!!

Go and Order Your items from my shop

Older Projects Bring Back Memories

Good Saturday Morning Crochet Friends!

Have you ever dug through photos of your old projects and remembered each and every single one of them? I did that this morning and did it bring back memories of each and every single one of them!

Like this baby blanket I made for the receptionist at my kids after-school program, I loved putting it together for her and trying to create a pattern I thought she'd love!

And this Black & White chevron I made for our wonderful neighbor! He takes such good care to ensure our yard is mowed, he's always bringing us food, etc. it was the least I could do for it! He's also super involved in our local POW-MIA group and those are the colors of that group! Win-Win!

Or even this dual-colored blue square blanket I made for my son, at his request, he wanted a blanket of his own, so we decided on these two shades of blue and I came up with this beautiful square pattern! He still has this on his bed today - near 2-years later!

Then there was this gem I assembled for my daughter, our biggest Washington fan in the house, her after school program has them carry cards that they scan in and out for attendance - I put this together one night for her so she could carry hers in style!

Then there was this project - this one seriously got away from me in terms of size...WOW I never expected it to get as big as it did when I was making it - to give you and idea our bed there is a king-sized bed and that afghan takes up the entire thing! I didn't have a purpose for it, so I gave it away to a friend from high school for her teenagers room.  Last I heard she loved it!

Last but certainly not least a tri-colored chevron afghan I made with all intentions to sell - though it didn't - and now it has a home with my Parents! I use it whenever we go visit them! I love this Chevron with these colors!

It's amazing the rinse and repeat of patterns I use and the variety in which things can be made!

Happy Saturday Friends!

Order your Own Afghan/Wallet/Whatever your imagination sees fit through my Etsy Shop

A Request by One of My Girl Scouts Finished!

Happy Friday Crochet Friends!

A while ago I made an afghan with my family's assistance - they picked the texture/colors and I assembled it and made a square afghan that was so very pretty - sadly I didn't get any shots of it before I gave it away to one of my Scouts! That very night one of my girls made a request for an afghan of her own - her Mom told me Blue...pattern/size/style didn't matter just make it Blue...so I did and here's where it got tricky - my Hubby suggested I do a Chevron pattern lengthwise vs. Widthwise as it normally goes...so I chained out 400 and began the process, all in all it was very time consuming but so worth it! The results are simply amazing!

Let me know what you think

It's Folded in 1/2 Here lengthwise

Order Your Own Afghan at my Etsy Shop

Enjoy Your Night Friends!

A Chevron Afghan that's Size Got Away From Me

Well Crochet Friends! Happy Wednesday!

I finally finished the 2nd Order in the Daisy Afghan Order set for Lori and I am very pleased with the outcome!  Remember she ordered this

Well last night I finished hers and this is what I came up with

I am very happy with it - though the final size is the same size as a Twin Bed!  Ah well, I prefer to finish an afghan with the same pattern I started, I don't like to finish 1/2 way through the pattern - so once I hit the end of the 2nd to last yellow top I measured it and it was too small - so I then added another white section and then the repeated pattern at the top and it got too big...she asked for Adult sized and well this is certainly adult sized!











I've sent the pictures to her and I am hoping she loves it as much as I do!

Now to finish the Blue afghan for my Girl Scout and while I wait for her 3rd request I am working on another scrapghan! It never stops does it?!?

Anyhew, have a Great Wednesday ya'll!

Order your own Afghan via my Etsy Shop

My Current Project

Good Morning Crochet Fans!

I wanted to talk about today my most current projects that I am super excited about - I always have at least two projects running simultaneously and this go round is no exception!

First I have an afghan I am working on for one of my Girl Scouts - she requested an all blue blanket - so I'm working on a tri-blue colored chevron pattern that runs down the length of the blanket vs. up and down (my hubby's idea), it's super cool while remaining nice and long (i.e. its as long as my king sized bed is wide + some!)

Second, I am working on another afghan to go with the daisy one that was ordered - the woman has requested a five color chevron pattern using a pale blue, yellow, pink, purple and white! It's super pretty and coming together so nicely! This time I opted to lay out the pattern on a spreadsheet so as to not lose track of what I am doing and personally I am in love with it! This is what she asked for:

After not being able to locate the pattern exactly I opted to lay it out in such a way that it starts with Yellow-Blue-Pink-Purple-White-White-Yellow-Blue-Pink-Purple-Pink-Blue-Purple, rinse and repeat! I am planning on using a white border to trim it out!

Not posting pics of final projects though until they are complete!

Happy Crocheting All!

My Most Recent Creations

So for now I am going to share some of my most recent creations!

A Burgundy-Gold Hogwarts Gryffindor/Redskins Themed Scarf

Chevron Afghan in a Wool Yarn

Multi-Colored Daisy Granny Square

A Basic Square made of Two Shades/Textures of Yellow

This is what I do with leftover yarn! A Scrapghan!

A Multi-Shaded Pink Granny Square

A Shell Tri-Colored Baby Blanket

A Shell Tri-Colored Afghan with Fringe

Looking forward to working with all of you in the future!