Thursday, January 8, 2015

Back in the swing of things.....


Hello there!  
Well, 2015 is over a week old already and this is my first post for the year, my 'post more regularly' resolution is kind of out the door before we even begin the year! :)

It has been hard to get out of holiday mode if I am honest, I love the slow mornings and unplanned days of holidays, with no real routines and lots of chilling out at the beach or daytime crochet without the guilt trip.  January is often not a very productive month around here, February and the return to 'normal' life seems to arrive very quickly! 

This year I am trying to be productive and stay in that 'holiday feeling' zone.  I have a couple of markets in January and not much to sell, so really need to get cracking on some stock!!

And I have bitten the bullet and made a schedule for crochet classes, workshops and crafternoons for the first few months of the year, starting this weekend!  Eek!
(so if anyone is around the Crib Point/Mornington Peninsula area and would like to join us, feel free to get in touch!  More info in the last photo, sorry about the fuzzy quality of the image!)  


This is a new project I am starting, my Summer Hearts blanket, so far it is turning out how I imagined, so that is a win.  Hoping to finish this one quite quickly, I am going to try and make more blankets this year.  I was quite pleased with making 9 blankets last year, and then I saw a post by the fabulous Patchwork Heart showing the 43!!!! blankets she made last year, how is that for productive! Amazing amount of work, and she works full-time as well!  I think I will take a small step towards this level of productivity and aim for 12-15 blankets this year, I hope that is doable for me!  :)


( My problem is that I get side tracked, spending too much time at the beach and in the garden, who could resist when this lovely spot is 5 minutes away! ;)  )

Somers beach yesterday. Beautiful!


....this is the little schedule I made for my crochet classes, I'm hoping there will be someone local on the Mornington Peninsula interested in joining me! :)   


I am also doing something very exciting for my little yarn shop, I feel that I have out grown the room I have been using for my stock, it is far to crowded and I can't really expand my range until I address the space issue.  So we are creating a proper yarn studio and workshop space just for me!!  
We have a large garage attached to our house that has been place where all our junk ends up.  We are having a huge clean out and then I am turning most of it into a gorgeous studio for all my lovely yarn, and there will be plenty of space for more yarn and for classes too! Yay yay!!  
It should be a win win situation, as the house will be much tidier and easier to look after without all my crafty things spread throughout the place. 

So that has also been keeping me busy, I really want to have this finished in a month or so. 

Ok, I better stop there, starting to ramble a bit too much I think, I had so much to catch up! 

I hope you are enjoying your January and getting lots of hooky time too! 

Talk soon, I think I will be starting my Friday Finds for 2015 tomorrow, so I will be back with that. :)

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17 comments:

  1. oh boy, I'm working full time as well and I didn't even manage to finish ONE blanket this year. How do you do that? Never sleep? I'm jealous! ;)
    Greetings from Austria
    Emm.A

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  2. What an amazing project converting the garage to a craft room, looking forward to seeing some photos of the end result.

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  3. Your beautiful works are an inspiration.

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  4. Sounds like you have some great plans for 2015.....just wish I lived closer, I would love to come along to a crafternoon! :) xxx

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  5. I saw that same post you mentioned about the 43 blankets last year. Totally amazing though they were done as orders (mostly). It's hard to compare your blanket making productivity with another crafter unless you do some sort of timed crochet session. I think 9 blankets for a year is very good - especially if you also managed to spend quite a bit of time on the beach!

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  6. The garage project seems just the thing you need. It will indeed be lovely to have a working space to yourself.
    (I miss this every day, as you come to mention it: my stuff is also shattered all through our house, too bad we haven't got a garage!)

    resisting a beach seems very very difficult! Just go and do your crochet over there!

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  7. Sounds like a wonderful mix of things to be doing. (The beach looks wonderful, especially since it's cold here, I wouldn't get much of anything done if I lived that close!) lol A studio, congrats on that! I've been in mine trying to de-clutter and stream line it better. Along with home improvement projects, so it's a mess here at the moment. Wow 43 blankets?! I was thinking 9 was a big number. I look forward to seeing the heart blanket complete.

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  8. The new blanket looks great already! I really like the hearts!

    Wish I could attend one of the workshops! Pity that Germany is too far away :S

    Take care
    Anne (Crochet Between Worlds)

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  9. Will your current hearts blanket pattern be available to buy at any time? Love it :)

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  10. I'd be pleased with 9 blankets too! I managed 3 last year, and a couple of them I started the year before - I'm forever getting distracted. Your crafternoons sound lovely, if only I were a bit closer..... x

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  11. Sending you best wishes for your classes, they will be brilliant.
    Hope your new craft studio is up and running soon, an exciting adventure to begin 2015 with.
    Beautiful blanket xx
    Helen

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  12. I'm sure your classes will be a smash!
    Wish you a belated Happy New Year! xx

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  13. Beautiful blanket start :-D I'm really sorry now I live nowhere near you so I can't come and join in!

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  14. I wish I was closer- I'd definitely be coming to your workshops! Your work is always inspiring! I thought of you when I saw this today:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/113079199@N03/15610098973/

    WOuld you be able to make one of these???

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  15. If I can... I wish to be with you for Crafternoons... but... it will be so far away from my home (Nancy - Lorraine -France=)!!!

    Have a nice day.














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  16. Thank you for the lovely mention, I admire your work all the way from England, your colour choices are fab! Isnt it great that we can be crochet colleagues around the world! Have a very hooky 2015! xxx

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  17. I agree with Emm.A above. If I can get one blanket done in a year, I will feel good! To aim for 15 blankets is insane...er ...very ambitious!
    I love your heart squares. I wonder whether you would be able to show us the reverse sides. Are you carrying the 'outside' edge colour under your heart until you get to the centre and then carry again until needed at the other side? I am wondering whether you will have many 'floats' at the back of your heart squares. If so, how will you treat that in a blanket? Will you sew a lining or make it double sided? So many questions! I will just have to wait and see as you continue with your hearts blanket. Good work!
    Jodie xxx

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