Summer Sale!

I am heading back to Scotland Friday night, and I am super excited. I am hoping to squeeze-in crochet time on the plan, in the car, and basically every moment I get! This trip is like a spa day, but a bit more boozy. So good for the soul. 

Before I leave and put my easy site on 'vacation mode', I decided to mark some of my summer items for sale.

These items are not what I usually make, and were a bit more on the experimental side. 

The earrings were actually made a couple of years ago, out of sea shell, czech glass, and sterling silver. I guess '08-'09 wasn't a couple of years ago, but it feels like it! I was making jewellery to sell for my first trip to Scotland. I happened to stumble upon them in a bag of mine. I shinned them-up with a sterling silver cloth and popped them back on Etsy! I love coming full-circle.

My godmother gave me hair clips many years ago, and I thought they looked fun with a bit of buttons, thread, and super glue. Why super glue? I didn't want the buttons to come loose with wear and tear.

Seashells on a crocheted mug cozy? Why not! Mix it up a bit. Reminds me a bit of an old lady retired in Florida in a condo somewhere, with a small dog and a pack of cigs. I kinda like it.

Last but not least, the baby crowns. Super cute! I love these. A lot of people are pushing me to make baby items. I understand that the baby market is a profitable market, but since I do not have children, nor am I around babies, I do not find a strong connection there. I certainly love new ideas and projects, especially commissioned. However, I think that after these sell, I am going to hold-off on further baby projects. Plus, I feel like they sell better with a model.

Let me know what you think!

New Start

I moved! Goodbye old view. Our first marital home <3

This past week has been a rollercoaster. Between a health scare to moving both apartments & offices, this past week has been nothing short of eventful.

I haven't been crocheting, and that makes me sad. It is my therapy. My 'me time'. Earlier this summer, I was loosely inspired by pins off of my pinterest such as this. My aim was to make crocheted items that would be versatile for both hot and cold months.

I used a 4.00m crochet hook and commercial acrylic yarn. The top flower necklace was made by joining three rose florets. For a great youtube tutorial, click here. I then joined them together with a ribbon. The necklace below was made out of joining chains with looped treble crochet.

Buy your own crocheted necklace at Caitlinrose.Etsy.Com and let me know what you think :) Sneak peak of my current inventory:

Treat yourself with free domestic shipping, with coupon code FREESHIP3 at checkout. Doesn't expire until 01.01.16!

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!