Cross stitching on a rainy day.

What a beautiful fall day here in mid-Missouri! I woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning to the patter of rain. It's been raining here off and on all day so I just curled up in my chair and stitched to my hearts content. Is there any better way to spend the day than doing something you love to do?

Yippee!!

Got online last night to check my listings on ebay and discovered I had a sale on Esty. YIPPEE!!! It's so thrilling to see that e-mail telling you that you have a sale. Even one sale makes it all worthwhile.

Now I'm feeling more motivated so I'm off to finish my santa whimsey.

Have a great day everyone!

How I learned to cross stitch

When I was about 15 years old, I ended up with a horrible case of strep throat. My grandma, who was living with us at the time, thought I could relieve my boredom by cross stitching. She purchased me an adorable kit that would look great in a child's room when finished and proceeded to teach me how to get started.

I admit I wasn't hooked at first because it took me at least 4 years to finish that piece. Once it was done though I was hooked. I ended up getting that piece framed and gave it to my sister when her daughter was born.

I stitched randomly over the next 5 to 10 years because I'll admit I was a normal teenager and didn't have much time to spend stitching. It wasn't until my second child was born that I picked it up again and I haven't stopped since. My baby is now 14 and I stitch some every day. It's my therapy.

Books

I don't know about you all but I am an avid reader. I could devour at least 4 or 5 books a week if I didn't have to deal with every day life. Darn life! Sometime this year I just got to where reading just couldn't keep my interest. That is until last week.

I found a new author named Hunter Morgan who has a series of books that I encountered in my local library. The first book was She'll Never Tell, the second was She'll Never Know, and the last was She'll Never Live. Great series about a serial killer in a small town named Albany Beach. I enjoyed them alot. Check them out!

Are you feeling richer?

Are you feeling richer? According to the news last night Americans are feeling richer. This is due to the stock market taking an upward swing. Yeah, right!

I don't know about the rest of you, but my husband and I aren't feeling any less of a pinch these days due to stocks "reacting favorably". Grocery prices are still high, gas is still high, and our paycheck is still exactly where it was a few years ago.

I got so pissed off last night at that announcement that my poor husband must have thought that at any moment my head would start spinning around and bile would come shooting out of my mouth. I ranted and raved about the stupid, over paid politicians who are trying to convince us that the economy is turning around. Let them try to live "richly" off of the pay we regular folks receive and see if they are feeling rich at the end of the day.

Sorry! Just had to vent. This was the final straw for me, especially after more layoffs at my hubby's work last week. Fortunately he wasn't one of them but we feel the axe looming over our heads on a daily basis while the big wigs talk about making more cuts because they aren't getting enough profits. I'm so sorry, Mr. Big Wig that your monthly bonus wasn't up to your expectations. Earning $20,000 a month just isn't enough I guess.

Thanks!

I'd like to thank the people who commented on my earlier post about being discouraged. I'm not giving up because I don't know what I would do in my down time if I didn't stitch. It's what I do to relax. I'm one of those people who can't sit still. I've always got something in my hands either stitching, reading, or doing puzzles on my daughter's Nintendo DS.

I think I get this from my grandma who was always stitching, knitting, or crocheting no matter where she was.

Thanks again for your support and keep doing what you love to do.

Keeping busy

I've been keeping busy working on new cross stitch stuff. Here are some of my new just finished items I have listed on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160363202850&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160363205975&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

I'm currently working on a Santa whimsy and looking through my patterns for yet another project.

Feeling discouraged!

I'm a positive person, I see the glass as half full, but right now I am feeling so discouraged about trying to sell my creations online. I do everything I can think of to promote and sell my cross stitched creations but to no avail.

I use Etsy, Ebay and Artfire as sources for selling online. I tweet, post in forums, use facebook fanpage and talk to anyone who has a pulse about my shops, crafts, and my passion for cross stitch. What's a seller to do?

Any advice from my fellow crafters would be greatly appreciated.

Have a good one!

Happy Monday!

Kids are off to school, hubby off to work and it's time to restore my house to it's previous splendor (you know, Friday when everyone was gone and I had the whole house clean and pretty for a few hours).

Heading off to clean house and then see what I can create. Happy Monday, y'all!

Promoting

Promoting is a necessary evil when you are trying to sell your own crafts online. I, at first, didn't want to get involved in all the promoting sites because after all it's time consuming. Let me tell you the real reason I resisted, FEAR!

I consider myself somewhat computer savvy even if I am in my mid 40's and have been a SAHM for the last 14 years, but some of the ways of promoting your own business just scared the beejesus out of me. I decided to be brave and tackle Facebook. After all, my own 16 year old daughter was on Facebook, how hard could it be.

I'm still confused by Facebook. I have managed to get a personal page and a fan page up and running. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/StitchcraftsonEtsy?ref=ts This is my fan page. I'm also proud to say that I twitter, blog, and have 2 Facebook pages. Not bad for a middle aged mom.

But what the heck is it with the Farkle, farming, and other stuff on Facebook? I guess I'll figure that out one day too.

Now I'm waiting to see if all this promoting pays off. But if it doesn't at least I've made new friends along the way and I've learned something new. You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Christmas Tree Sampler Standup/Block with plaid fabric

Here's the newest piece I just listed in my Etsy store. I had listed it on ebay but no luck there. Changed the ribbon to green instead of a solid red I had and put it on Etsy.

Finished my pumpkin that I was working on. Now I have to figure out what I want to stitch next. I love to look through my patterns but often get sidetracked for hours looking through them and trying to decide what to make.

What should I stitch? Something just cute, something floral, holiday themed, Santa, country, I just can't decide. Helpppppp!!!!!

Where are the sales?

Where are all the sales? I've been working hard, sometimes I think I work harder at promoting than I do on my craft, but my sales have been lagging. What's a crafter to do? Somehow I need to find a balance between promoting and crafting. Darn this internet! I easily get sucked into reading other crafters blogs, viewing others shops, blogging, tweeting, posting. It's a vicious circle I can't seem to get out of.

Deep soothing breath, chanting to myself. Great! Now I'm talking to myself. I'm outta here. Going to stitch my way to a calmer, peaceful place.

Happy crafting everyone!

Stitching time

I'm sure there are other crafters out there who find it difficult to get that little block of time when you can work on your craft. Another three day weekend gone and I didn't stitch a thing. Now it's Tuesday and my house looks like a giant picked it up and shook it. Took me a solid 4 hours of cleaning, doing laundry, washing, wiping, dusting, etc. to get it back in shape. Unfortunately it will only take around 1/2 an hour for the results of my work to disappear. But for now I'm off to stitch.

I'm not stitching

I haven't stitched a bit over the last 2 or 3 days. It seems like once I get out of my rhythm I find it hard to get back into the groove.

I'm not sure if other moms notice this but when my husband is home at an off time of day for him, the whole routine of the house gets thrown off. I told my hubby the other night to just stay out of the way until 6:30 am when we would be done getting ready to head out for the day. I think I hurt his feelings but he would have upset our morning routine and it was much easier to keep him out of the way than to change the routines of three people.

I'm probably the only mom looking forward to Tuesday when things will go back to normal! I apologize to my family for feeling this way but I am a creature of habit and routine.

Busy Day

I didn't find time to stitch today. Somehow my husband and I ended up with doctor appointments on the same day within 20 minutes of each other so we went together and then went and had breakfast. It was nice to spend some time together but I can think of better places to do that.

I've been working on a pumpkin/fall pattern and it's almost done. Can't wait to finish it and turn it into something for the fall and upcoming holiday season.

Just Finished

I just finished the turkey that I took pictures of while I was working on it. Here's how the finished product turned out. The first picture is of course the front, the one next to it is the side view. I'm happy with the finished standup picture.

I listed it on etsy just a little bit ago. Look for my stuff at www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5451311

I also finished another standup today that is Christmas themed. It's a tree with with the word NOEL underneath and letters of the alphabet framing the tree.

Fall

Definitely feels like fall here and I guess that's why I've been inspired to stitch fall themed patterns. Today I plan to turn some of my stitchings into completed products. I'm anxious to see how they turn out.

Finished one, started another

I think I've finally got my groove back. Finished stitching my turkey yesterday and started on a pumpkin pattern. I feel like making fall stuff I guess because the weather here in mid-Missouri is fall like.

It was 49 degrees this morning. The pool is steaming and now I wish that I had gotten in and removed the steps before the cool down. I'll just have my husband do it! He can thank me later! Ha! Ha!

Off to stitch. Happy day!