Monday Mayhem - 2019, The Year That Was.

Since we're coming to the end of the year I thought it was time to do a wrap up of what I have achieved this year. I will start with the projects that I have finished.

These are the objects that I have completed this year.

52 Comfort Bears
9 Sheep
4 Ducks of various colours
A Blue Horse
A Purple Cat
A White Dog
A Gold Fish
A Brown Bear
3 Blankets
6 Shopping Bags with Pouch
5 Shopping Bags without Pouch

That is a total of 84 finished objects.

Looking back at the blog it seems that I was more productive in the first month of the year and in the last couple of months than in the middle of the year. The only projects I managed to finish in the middle of the year were comfort bears.

My to-do list looks like this :-

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Matinee Jackets in pink and purple
Tiny Dogs
Heather Hippo
Large Witch
Large Penguin
Small Rabbit
Panda
Frog Keepsake Pouch
Ankylosaurus
Bottle Cosies in more team colours (Bulldogs, Geelong, Essendon and West Coast)
Medium Bunny
Tiny Duck
Large Bunny
Small Turtles
Platypus x 2
Koala x 2
Tommy Tortoise
Towel Toppers (Tea Towels)
Small Jug Covers
Large Jug Covers
Simple Owls
Animals from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" which include:-
A red bird (made one)
A yellow duck (made one)
A Blue horse
A green frog
A Purple cat
A white dog
A black sheep and
A gold fish

Current Work In Progress:

Comfort Bears
Yarn Eater (Hungarian Crochet) Blanket
Story Time Blanket
Double Knit Butterfly Blanket
Corner to Corner Picture Blanket
Sunhat and Bootees in white & pink
Short rows knitted scarf
Sheep of all colours
Shopping Bags with Pouch
Lounge Chair Cover

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Picture Blanket (need samples so people can see what they might be getting)
Article in Broomstick Lace
Article in Hairpin Lace
More dinosaurs

On a different note, my weight loss hasn't gone to plan. At 127.9kg I think I have actually gained weight this year. 

The only other thing of note that has happened this year is my change of status and income. The government, in its infinite wisdom, decided that I wasn't doing enough for my ex-wife to qualify as her carer. This has meant that I have taken a pay cut and have had to adjust my spending accordingly. 

I'm not sure what the new year has in store for me but I do hope things improve. I don't make New Years Resolutions as they are too hard to keep. I do have plans for the year which mainly involve crochet and losing weight but I will try and take one day at a time. I wish all my readers a happy and prosperous new year. 

Richard. 

Monday Mayhem - 2018 - the year in review.

It's the last day of the year and time to look back on what I have achieved and what I want to achieve in the new year.

Two years ago I gave myself a weight loss target of 40kg. At that time I was 131kg. At the end of last year I was down to 129kg, which wasn't exactly a major milestone. This morning when I weighed myself I came in at 126.4kg. At this rate, it will take me about 20 years to lose my excess weight, but, on a positive note, I am moving in the right direction.

On the crafting front, my achievments are a little more impressive. Here is a list of all the items that I have made this year.

52 Comfort Bears
2 Jug Covers
4 Beanies
16 Appliques
4 Simple Owls
4 Shopping Bags
4 Tea Pot Cosies
4 Graduation Owls
3 Wash Cloths
3 Plastic Bag Bags
21 Sheep
16 Octopuses
1 Dog Coat
2 Sunhat and Bootees Sets
3 Small Penguins
3 Blankets
2 Toy Bears
1 Mouse
1 Bird

Looking to the new year the plan is to continue losing weight by increasing the amount of exercise I do, set aside time each day to practice my music (especially the piano) and continue crocheting.

On the crocheting front, here is my current to-do list.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Matinee Jackets in pink and purple
Tiny Dogs
Heather Hippo
Large Witch
Large Penguin
Small Rabbit
Panda
Frog Keepsake Pouch
Ankylosaurus
Bottle Cosies in more team colours (Bulldogs, Geelong, Essendon and West Coast)
Medium Bunny
Tiny Duck
Large Bunny
Small Turtles
Platypus x 2
Koala x 2
Tommy Tortoise
Towel Toppers (Tea Towels)
Small Jug Covers

Commissions

Sheep (I have one of each of 6 colours)
Animals from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" which include:-
A red bird (made one)
A yellow duck (made one)
A Blue horse
A green frog (one already in stock)
A Purple cat
A white dog
A black sheep (made one) and
A gold fish

Current Work In Progress:

Comfort Bears
Tunisian Spiral Blanket
Yarn Eater (Hungarian Crochet) Blanket
Story Time Blanket
Double Knit Butterfly Blanket
Corner to Corner Picture Blanket 
Large Jug Covers
Simple Owls
Sunhat and Bootees in white & pink
Short rows knitted scarf

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Picture Blanket (need samples so people can see what they might be getting)
Article in Broomstick Lace
Article in Hairpin Lace
More dinosaurs

While the sheep started off as a commission it may be time to move them to a new category, along with the comfort bears and jug covers. The new category will be for ongoing projects, things that I seem to keep making because they sell really well or just because I want to continue making them.

I will continue trying to make one comfort bear every week, continue making sheep until I have 2 of each colour and continue making the animals for "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" until I have 2 of each, which could take a while since my sister has asked for a full set.

That's about it from me for this year so I will take this opportunity to wish all me readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Until next time, have a good one.

Richard.

Moday Mayhem - The year that was and plans for the new year

The Year in Review.

2017 was a little different for me. My posting schedule wasw thrown into disarray, mainly due to study commitments and memory issues (I kept forgetting).

My aims for 2017 were to lose 20kg and complete one trauma teddy each week but it seems that I wasn't particularly successful. I lost 5kg in the first few months but then put on a couple of kgs when I started walking regularly. I started the year at 131kg and fisnished at 129kg. A whole 2kgs lost. It's a start, I guess, but no where near the target.

The Trauma Teddies is a little confusing. I was sure that I had managed to make one each week, but checking the blog indicates that I only made 51. I think that, during the weeks that I didn't post, I must have missed one.

Checking through the posts I workd out that I had made 51 Trauma Teddies, 6 Shopping Bags, 6 Jug Covers and 5 Owls. It wasn't my most productive year but still pretty good.

The Year Ahead.

The plan for 2018 is to continue losing weight, continue making one Trauma Teddy (to be called Comfort Bears from here on) each week, to make at least one post to my blog each week (even is it is only an apology for not posting a WIP or FO post) and to be more proactive with my shop (http://madeit.com.au/rosescraft). I'm also going to try and update my Facebook followers (http://www.facebook.com/rosescrafts) each week, including the special discount offer that I will be running all year.

I'm not going to set an actually kg target for this year. I will be happy if I can lose some weight. My overall target is to get down to 90kg.

That's about it for now, I hope you all had a good Christmas and I wish you all a safe and prosperous new year. I will try to get my to-do list updated for next week.

Richard.

PS: I have been diagnosed with mild sleep apnoea and this may be affecting my memory. I still need to discuss this with my doctor to figure the best course of action.

Monday Mayhem - The Year That Was 2015

In some ways, 2015 was a year to forget. Two trips to the hospital to be probed (one of which I'm still revovering from) and a cancelled holiday due to have to pay for a removalist haven't really made it a good year.

On another note, I did manage to finish quite a few projects and I went through my Friday FO post to make a list, and here it is.

Trauma Teddies - crocheted     47
Trauma Teddies - knitted            4
Jug Covers                                       2
Drink Bottle Cosies                      20
Toys                                                10
Beanies                                          13
Scarf                                                 1
Blankets                                           2
Man-Bag                                          1
Baby Jackets                                   2
Bootees                                            2
Doilies                                              1
Shopping Bags                               3
Display Box                                     1

Not all these were made completely by me, the knitted trauma teddies were knitted by someone else and I just sewed them together and stuffed them, and one of the blankets was started by my wife.

As usual, I have a big list of things to try and get through this year and I'm sure I won't get through them all, especially if I sell things and have to add to the list. Here is my current to-do list.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Teapot Cosies
bag holders
Jacket, Pants and Hat sets
Sunhat and Bootees in white & pink
Matinee Jackets in pink and purple
Tiny Dog
Heather Hippo
Large Witch
Large Penguin
Shopping Bags
More dinosaurs
Small Rabbit
Large Jug Covers
Panda
Small Penguins
Frog Keepsake Pouch
Ankylosaurus
Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Current Work In Progress:
Toddlers' Rugby Pullover
Trauma Teddies
Tunisian Spiral Blanket
Yarn Eater (Hungarian Crochet) Blanket
Story Time Blanket
Moogly CAL Blanket
Double Knit Butterfly Blanket
Corner to Corner Picture Blanket
Bamboo Stitch Beanie
Toddler's Jacket
Slippers for me (not sure if I will extend then to slocks)

Things I'm itching to get started on:
Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Picture Blanket (need samples so people can see what they might be getting)
Article in Broomstick Lace
Article in Hairpin Lace

That list should keep me going for a few years.

That's about it for now. I wish all my readers a happy and prosperous 2016.

Richard.