Crochet for Summer?

Summer is a great time to finish-up some pending projects for wintertime gifts & sales. I have all of these great ideas spinning around in my head. Unfortunately, I also have a lack of time. Between long hours at work, and an upcoming move next weekend, it is hard to justify the 'me time'.

I sent this past weekend up in NJ with family. I have so much Jersey pride, it seeps from my pores. Being from South Jersey is not glamorous. Heck, we even get the left-over trains from North Jersey (word-of-mouth from a conductor!), and our houses have been locked-in time from the 1950s. You grow-up your whole life saying how you can't wait to leave this 'dump' (guilty!). Yet, I always find myself being pulled back like a moth to a flame...

Anyway, I tried squeezing in some crochet time. I had wished that I had brought it to my cousin's house (a great alternative to staring at my phone with convos die-down), but I had forgotten. Plus, I had enough glasses of wine to sufficiently talk everyone's ear-off and ignore my phone for the entire night.

However, I did manage to bring it to the pool the day prior:

I keep a balance sheet for all of my sales. I call it my 'profit and loss statement', because I manage it on an excel spreadsheet (who knew this anthropology hippie would adapt so well to finance!?). It brings to my attention the amount that I spend on yarn, the amount I earn, and most importantly, it brings accountability. To summarize, my sales this summer have been, well... disappointing. It is really hard convincing people that wool can be used in hot summer months.

I did have a moment last month, where I had turned to an alternate medium within the crocheting field. Clothing yarn! So far, my clients have been reasonably pleased, but fickle nonetheless:

The gorgeous black beauty on top is my cat, Mila. The handsome stud below is my manger's kitty. Honestly, Mila hasn't been too interested in the kitty sac. However, my manager's kitty LOVES it. I think Mila has lost interest due to the fact that I had made it too big. It is a little bit heavy and cumbersome for her. However, the grey and white sac below was made much smaller, and is therefore much lighter.

I only made three, and I am currently only making these when commissioned. The materials are old t-shirts and leggings, that were cut into strips, to make balls of yarn. This website has a great tutorial to follow.

I was inspired by the tutorial here, although I did not follow it. 

I worked my crocheted cloth in double-crochet rounds until I found a bottom size sufficient for the cat. I then worked back and forth, leaving an entrance way, about 15 stitches wide. I then worked in decreased rounds close-off the top.

Next time maybe I should just make this, and call it a day!