Category: Amigurumi

The Time Has Come….For Me to Start Stressing

March 26, 2019Amigurumi, Conventions, Crochet Journey, , , , , Leave a comment

I like to think we know each other well enough now for you to know that I am not the most laid back of people; probably why I’m diagnosed with chronic migraines. I like to be as much in control of my own destiny as possible. However, I also am aware of my (many) faults, one of the biggest of which is that I hold an advanced degree in the field of Procrastination.

Sometimes it isn’t even that I procrastinate so much as I am just slow still at crocheting, and am easily distracted…..squirrel.

Whatever the heart of the matter is, as of today I have 30 days until Awesome Con and my first convention of 2019. With that deadline approaching I am starting to worry about the fact that I don’t have as many Luvvies ready for stock as what I was hoping for: This fact has me more than a little nervous. Part of the reason I don’t think I succeeded as well as I could have in Rhode Island is because I didn’t have enough stock – neither from a diversity standpoint, or from the multiples for the same item. Another reason could be different crowds, different desires.

It is this second reason that has me doubly nervous about Awesome Con – that and the fact that I have never attended the convention before, even as a guest. I don’t know what to expect. Are these fans who have a wide array of interests? Should I focus more on my Pokemon materials? More on less popular characters? It is this indecision that is hindering me the most because I start a project and then stop it because I think something else could potentially sell better.

I’ve been tying to think about what I want to do. I’ve done superhero Luvvies before and they have not been super successful. At the same time, some of the more generic cuties that I had so much fun making and that I think will be well received, sit unloved and have to be packed back into their crates to wait for the next con.

I’ve been trying to look at a some what different approach. I’m doing comic/fan related softees, but more generic. Bear with me, I know that doesn’t make a ton of sense.

One thing that I’m trying to incorporate is having some of the Peanuts characters available for sale. I have just completed Lucy van Pelt and Charlie Brown. I’m hoping to be able to get at least Snoopy and Woodstock done so they can join their friends.

I grew up with the Charlie Brown cartoons and comic strips (and yes, I sobbed uncontrollably at “Snoopy Come Home,” I do not watch it any more). And I enjoyed the “Peanuts” movie when it came out. To me, the Peanuts gang is timeless – it isn’t something that is going to be a fad that I have to make sure I hit the right con at the right time. So I think they will do well.

Also when talking about more “timeless” fandoms, I have been working on a series of Winnie the Pooh characters. I have Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger, too all ready for Awesome Con. I am hoping I will be able to get Eeyore done so he can join his friends.

My room was done in Winnie the Pooh for years when I was growing up – and then I changed to Strawberry Shortcake. When I was pregnant with Desi, I immediately knew that I wanted her room in Pooh, too. She still has that theme, even at 10. She loves the characters, and they definitely had a resurgence with last year’s “Christopher Robin.” With all that said, I think they can be rather successful at the convention.

Of course I know that the con is the same weekend that Avengers: End Game debuts, so having some Iron Man, Cap, and Hulk would be a good idea. The question truly will be how much can I get done before it is time to go?I guess we will see how much I can produce and that I’m happy with. In the meantime, the stress is on, as is the countdown.

Hugs and Cuddles,

Elisha

Sometimes you have to improvise

March 20, 2019Amigurumi, Crochet Basics, Crochet Journey, Patterns, , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’ve been on my crocheting journey for about 18 months now – rediscovering a love for the craft, and trying to balance my obsessive tendencies with using crochet for the therapeutic benefits I recognized in it early on.

One thing I have not ventured into much in this time is designing my own patterns. For the most part, I rely on people more talented that I am to design amazing patterns and then I use that roadmap to create my new friends. I have designed one pattern fully in my time and it had mixed results.

However, I have come across an interesting dilemma recently, and that is the need to improvise.

For two orders I was asked to customize a Luvvie. This was a little overwhelming to me. I wanted to do something quality and awesome for the customers, but I also was aware of my (perhaps self-perceived) limitations of needing to have that pattern to guide me. I’m actually the same way with drawing – I cannot free hand draw, but if it can follow someone else’s drawing, I’m typically able to do a rough facsimile.

With the picture on the left, the ask was to modify the voodoo dollies that I regularly make and create a type of voodoo princess, complete with a succulent crown. In the end, this one only had limited improvisation needed – I added some rows to the neck to give her a longer, taller frame, and I used the pattern from another design to create the crown. All in all it was improvisation, sure, but it was definitely within my comfort zone.

However, with the picture on the right – that was decidedly out of my comfort zone, but I am insanely proud of how she turned out. A custom commission from someone I met at Steel City Con, this was to be a Luvvie representation of her Furry avatar – the character she cosplays as and created. I wanted this to be perfect for her, and looking at it there still are things I would have changed. In the end, the finished product is very similar to what the character looks like. I ended up cherry picking ideas from about five different patterns to come up with the finished product and was happy with the results.

There is a difference, though, between planned “improvisation” and true, on the fly improv.

Recently, one of my all-time favorite Etsy designers released a series of Winnie-the-Pooh inspired characters. Pooh and friends are some of my favorite characters and have been for years. I have made versions of some Pooh characters before, but because her patterns are always super cute and work up easily, I was stoked to be able to make these.

As I started with the first pattern, Pooh himself, I soon realized there was something not quite right.

In one of the rounds, the designer wanted me to reduce my stitches but in doing the exact stitches asked and counting what I was doing, I just wasn’t ending up with the right amount. After driving myself crazy for about 30 minutes, I finally stopped trying to crochet and pattern read at the same time and sat to actually read the pattern alone: It was then that I realized, the stitch count would never match because it looks like a line in the pattern had accidentally been omitted. So, I faced a dilemma – what was I going to do? Should I message the designer on Etsy? That would probably mean I couldn’t work on this any more for the rest of the night. But if I didn’t figure out what to do how would I move on?

This is where improvisation came in.

Reading the pattern, I saw where the designer was trying to go, and I could envision how this row was going to lead to the next row – the only question was even though I could see what was needed, how was I going to make it happen? Once I get into a rhythm with a project, I usually don’t like to stop because then it is more difficult for me to get back to where I was at and sometimes (though I’m told it is only me who thinks this) it looks like the stitches are different from one working session to another.

My solution was a mixture of techniques and hodgepodge. It wasn’t the most elegant solution, but it was able to get the job done and I don’t think my Luvvie is that worse for the wear. Basically, I went by the number of stitches that were indicated for the row, and if that meant I had to add an extra stitch, or single crochet for three stitches where the pattern didn’t indicate, or add a decrease then that is what I did in order to make sure the next line got on track.

Although it might not seem like a big deal, to me it was an example of how far I have come in this process. When I first started doing amigurumi, if my stitches didn’t work out exactly I got so flustered I wasn’t able to figure out what to do, and I wouldn’t dare deviate from a pattern. That is the one good thing about working in the round versus working in rows; if you need to add an extra stitch or remove an extra stitch between rounds, in 99% of the cases, you won’t be able to see where the issue occurred – rows are not quite that forgiving and often you start to shrink in or expand out when a stitch has been gained or lost.

I may be all for celebrating the small victories, but that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to go completely rogue at this point. I still consider myself a student of the craft, and I’m still learning, so patterns are the best way for me…I’m just slightly more comfortable to dip a toe into the ocean to personalize or to regroup if there is an error in the pattern itself. Who knows? Pattern designing might not be far behind for me, but for now, I’m happy with my Luvvies just the way they are and grateful for the people far more talented than I who make these amazing patterns available.

Hugs and cuddles,

Elisha

She sells she sheds….sometimes

February 14, 2019Amigurumi, Crochet Basics, Crochet Journey, , , , , , Leave a comment

My yarn stash and other amigurumi materials have finally done it – they have taken over about fifty percent of the usable space in my house. You can’t walk in my living room currently without stepping around a skein of yarn, or a bag of fluff, or seeing yarn remnants on the floor. I try to be organized and keep my materials in one location, but they seem to multiply (and we are not talking about my inability to say no to purchasing new yarn).

It is coming to the point where I have to make a decision about what to do with everything I use for business – especially during these times when I am frantically preparing for a con and there are projects half done (also known as PHd) left and right, and more that are completed packed in storage containers. My daughter thinks it is hilarious to see all the yarn and plushies all over the house; my husband is probably not as amused.

With all this as a consideration, my father and I have been talking about either adding on to my house – extending and finishing my basement to design a work room – or creating a true she-shed for me.

I had never heard the term “she shed” until I saw the State Farm commercial about a year ago with Sheryl calling State Farm because she thought someone burned down her she shed. Once I heard the term I just lost it; it became the funniest thing in the world to me. Men can have their man caves – we will have our she sheds thank you very much.

Although, as I mentioned, it is undeniable that my working materials for the business have taken over living space in my house and I need to find a better way to organize them, and there is something super appealing about having that personal sanctuary to call a she shed. My fear with this is if I would get a she shed, I would never see my family again.

That meme is so true that I cracked up for about half an hour after I first read it because it is me. The positive is all my work is in our living room, so I am present in the room with them and can watch TV and movies together as a family even while I am crocheting. If I would relocate to a she shed, that might become my permanent residence – especially if there would be a day bed out there. But to have a place of my own, there’s a great appeal to that, too.

I know no real decisions have to be made, and maybe this will just remain a pipe dream – for all I know the business could crash and burn and I would just crochet here and there in the future and a she shed would be useless. And if I did have a place of my own, I would end up separating myself more from my family, which I don’t want – that is one of the major benefits of crochet is that I can sit and talk with them while playing with my yarn.

Oh I just don’t know. I guess the only thing I can say at this point is – watch this space to see what happens.

Hugs and cuddles,

Elisha

When OCD Meets OCD

January 4, 2019Amigurumi, Crochet Journey, , , , , , Leave a comment

For years I have worked to come to terms with the fact that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Sadly mine does not manifest in the need to clean (hence my disaster of a house), but mine causes me to fixate unrelentingly on something and think about it morning, noon, and night – to almost unhealthy levels. Sometimes the obsessive tendencies stay for many years, sometimes they go away in short order. But, even when a compulsion fades away, another is usually in the wings and swoops in to take its place. When I was growing up, my mother referred to these “episodes” as “phases” or “fads;” it was only when I got older and started to understand more that I realized that it wasn’t just a passing fad…people don’t get that obsessed over fads as much as I do – to the exclusion of almost everything else. However, it has struck this level of mania with crochet as it has at other points in my life.

The ironic thing is there is a term in the crochet community that people say they have OCD – “Obsessive Crochet Disorder,” where they have a desire to eat, talk, sleep, work crochet. When they aren’t practicing the art, they are thinking about it.

But what happens when Obsessive Compulsive Disorder meets Obsessive Crochet Disorder? In my case? Pretty much no focus for anything else.

I am feeling under the weather today, so I went through and organized my patterns that I save on my Google drive. I have so many patterns, it is impossible to believe I will be able to ever make one of every pattern. Yet, I find myself skulking on Etsy to see if there are any new patterns that have been released that I can use.

The same is true with my yarn stash. I have tons of yarn – more than I could use in a year….but, it always seems like there is a sale or something else that is going on that I need to get at least one more skein – maybe it is for a pattern that I need a specific color I don’t have, or maybe it is just that a sale is too good to pass up. I do worry that if this is a more manic episode with my compulsions that in a year or so I will stop crocheting altogether and then end up with tons of money poured into something that I now have no use for. I also worry that I will end up with raw materials that I won’t use because I have given up.

Even though I can identify with my rational mind that I don’t need something or that I don’t need it now or that I need to wait until I use some of what I already have – there’s that voice that niggles me from the back of my head that says – do it! You don’t know if you will be able to find this again. Sometimes I can quiet the voice and walk away and content myself with what I have. Other times there is no turning back and the voice won’t go away, no matter what I do, and it won’t be happy until I buy my new yarn, or new hook, or more safety eyes.

For the time being, the other OCD, obsessive crochet disorder, is moving at full steam ahead, too. I get so much joy and relaxation out of what I’m making – even if the project doesn’t turn out exactly the way that I want. But, the cynic in me – the one who is cognizant of the manias that I have gone through and what is left in the wake – worries. All is good now – almost 2 years in – but what happens in six months, a year? What happens if I wake up tomorrow and decide that I never want to crochet anything ever again? At this time I can’t imagine it, but I also know it is a real possibility and it is only the compulsion that keeps me moving.

It is definitely an interesting conundrum. It is one that keeps me up thinking at night – which I’m sure is not good for the obsessive in me.

For now, I am trying to just hang on and enjoy the ride and try to tamp down on the more obsessive moments of my compulsion; and, I’m also trying to learn to not be too hard on myself in those moments that my compulsion takes over and try to do better the next time. At the end of the day, I guess that is all we can do; work to be our best selves and to handle situations better than we have previously. It will be interesting to see the convergence of these two and see which, if either, comes out on top.

Hugs and cuddles,

Elisha

Happy New Year – A Look Ahead

January 3, 2019Amigurumi, Crochet Journey, , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s difficult to believe that another year has come – and gone. While 2018 wasn’t an easy year, it was a year filled with changes (some good, others not so good). And as with each year that passes, the changing of the calendar from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 brings about a time of reflection.

I’m never a good one for making resolutions, usually those go by the wayside for me in about a week into the year. However, I do appreciate the chance to revisit the highs and lows from the previous year to see if there are ways that I can improve.

A year ago, I never would have imagined having a blog – I am not the most steadfast companion, and although I used to write for a living, I can’t always find the time to sit and choose the perfect phrase that I like to present when I know something is going to be published. I’ve tried blogs before and have lost interest in them, seeing them go to the great landfill of blogs that were started with the best of intentions. Yet, here I am, with a blog, and maintaining it (semi) regularly.

I also would not have expected a year ago to have a business. When I first started crocheting, as I have mentioned before, I did it as a way to reduce stress and to relax. The decision to try to make a go as a business was a more organic offshoot, as was the decision to go to cons as a way to get my Luvvies out there and to network.

One thing I can say for sure is I have a lot to learn. I have learned a lot about crochet and patterns and yarns and my preferences, but there is a wealth of information I still have to learn. I also have more to learn about the business side of things: Yes, I am an accountant, but I am not a business major – this just means I can balance the ledgers and file taxes, it doesn’t mean that I know about marketing and promotions or how best to approach things.

Something I need to consider seriously in 2019 is marketing – which includes promoting myself at conventions. In the three cons I did in 2018, I met a lot of wonderful people, and found some Luvvies some great homes, but I also lost money because of the price for tables, and the fact that I don’t like to charge a lot for my items. Whenever someone asks me how much something is, my gut reaction is to say $15 – even if it cost me $15 in yarn to make and took 20 hours of work. My one friend says it is because I try to price my items as though they are mass produced and not the limited number that they are. That probably is true. I don’t take into consideration the time and effort it takes me to make something – I think more about what I could buy a comparable item for at Wal*Mart, and it definitely is not an apples to apples comparison.

There are so many patterns I want to try for the new year, but the funny thing is for as many patterns as I have backlogged that I am dying to try, I keep stalking Etsy, Ravelry, and Amigurumi.net to try to find new patterns. If I would quit my day job tomorrow and just crochet my little heart out, I don’t think I could make one of every pattern that I have in a year’s time; however, I will still be on Etsy five minutes from now looking to see what I might have missed.

While I still navigate through some of the growing pains associated with starting a business and learning more skills in my chosen craft, I am so grateful that I get to share this journey with you. Thank you to all for the follows, for the likes, for the comments – sometimes when I wonder what the heck I am doing, these things can give me a much needed boost to get through the day.

I am sending love and warm wishes for an amazing 2019 to you and your families. I am so excited to see where we go on this winding path together.

Hugs and cuddles,

Elisha