The plan that didn’t happen

Leonard Snart of Arrowverse said it best for planning : “Make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plans to go off the rails, throw away the plan.”

I had what I thought was a good,solid plan for the blog after my Bacon’s Castle vendor event. Then I sold out of just about everything. I have another vendor event this weekend in Fredericksburg,Va. I’ve spent every possible moment I could these last 3 weeks making more product.

Did I hit my production goal? Not even close, but it’s a one day, 7 hour event, so I should be ok, product wise.

I have another event 2 weeks from Sunday in Newport News, and then no other events until August. I have product prepped (just needs assembly) for the show.

There will be no shop/product updates until the middle of June. I’m going to try to get a couple of blog posts until over the next few weeks, I just need to find time to do some editing.

Working a Market

As a semi-professional crocheter, my life is filled with colorful yarn, endless patterns, and a
deep passion for the craft. I can create a wide range of handmade items, from stuffed animals and
clothing to home décor and accessories.

Like most crocheters who sell their craft, I have a niche that I crochet for, it happens to be Gaming/Fantasy. There are a lot of niches to pick from.


One of the biggest challenges of being a semi-professional crocheter is the time and
dedication required to create each piece. Crocheting is a labor of love that requires hours of
careful attention and a steady hand. Each stitch is meticulously crafted to create a beautiful
and high-quality finished product.


As a vendor at local markets and craft fairs, I have the opportunity to connect
with customers and share my passion with others. It’s a wonderful feeling to see someone fall
in love with one of my creations and know that it will be cherished for years to come.
Participating in markets is a wonderful way to showcase my handmade items to a
wider audience.


One of the unique benefits of selling crochet items at farmers markets is the ability to
showcase the handmade nature of each piece. Unlike mass-produced items, my creations are
one-of-a-kind, carefully crafted with love and attention to detail. At markets, customers
can see and feel the quality of my work firsthand, which helps to set my products apart from
the rest.


Another advantage of selling at markets is the sense of community that comes
with it. As vendors, we are all working towards a common goal: to share our handmade
creations with the world. By supporting each other and working together, we can create a
vibrant and thriving market that benefits everyone involved.


Of course, participating in markets also requires a lot of hard work and
dedication. Setting up a booth, transporting and displaying items, and interacting with
customers can all be time-consuming and challenging. However, the rewards are more than
worth it. By participating in markets, I am able to connect with customers and share
my passion for the craft in a way that is both rewarding and fulfilling.


Selling crochet items at markets is a unique and rewarding experience that
requires a lot of hard work and dedication. By showcasing my handmade creations at these
events, I am able to connect with customers and fellow vendors, and share my passion for the
craft with the world. Overall, being a semi-professional crocheter is a rewarding and fulfilling
experience. It’s a craft that requires patience, dedication, and a lot of hard work, but the end
result is always worth it. For those who love the craft as much as I do, there’s nothing quite like
the feeling of creating something beautiful with your own two hands.

Running a business is hard

If someone ever tells you that running a business is easy, they either have a staff who does 99% of the work for them, or they have no idea what they are actually doing, especially if they don’t understand that not all business run into the same cookie cutter set up.

The three most important things that I have learned about running a business : it’s hard, burnout is most definitely a thing, and staying organized in a way that works for you, takes time to figure out.

I’ve had this blog for 4 years now, and it’s only been in the last 2 years that I’ve really done anything with it. Most of the changes took place in the last year. Despite me making multiple blog update schedules, over the last year, I still have yet to follow through with any of them.

My on-line business started on Etsy, before I moved it to this site. I only started doing in-person selling events in the last year. I’m still trying to find time to create YouTube tutorials. Add Facebook/Instagram/TikTok and Twitter to that social media list and I have my hands full.

Not to mention the full-time job I already have and my currently 5.5 year old son, and its a wonder I’m still trying to get this business off the ground.

I do have a plan to make this my main source if income in the next 2-3 years. I also plan on changing this business from a sole-proprietorship business to a LLC business before the end of this year. I need to do a little more research on that though, before I start that process.

In-Person Selling Schedule

So far for 2023 I have 4 in-personal sales events confirmed. There maybe a couple more added to the calendar later in the year. At this time, I try my best to do vendor events near me, as logistically, they are easier for me to attend.

Event 1: Bacon’s Castle Village Faire

Location: Surry, Virginia Date: April 29, 2023 Time: 10am – 4pm

Entrance Fee: $15 for Adults, $10 for Students and Virginia Preservation Members. Children 6 and under are free

www.preservationvirginia.org/events/bacons-castle-village-faire/ if you would like more information

Event 2: Spring MAYkers Market

Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia Date: May 20,2023 Time: 9am – 4pm

Entrance Fee: Free

This will be held at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #4123

Event 3 : 2nd Annual Helping Hands Fall Festival for the Poquoson Museum Restoration Fund

Location: Poquoson Museum, Poquoson, Virginia Date: September 23,2023 Time: 9am-4pm

Entrance Fee: Free

Event 4: Hampton Comicon

Location: Hampton Roads Convention Center, Hampton, Virginia Date: October 7, 2023 Time 10:30am-4:30pm

Entrance Fee: Regular Pass: $15.00 VIP Pass: $25.00

www.hamptoncomicon.com for more details

As stated above, this is my craft event schedule so far for this year. I am hoping to add a couple more to the calendar, but this are the confirmed events.

Quick edit:

Check out this post to find out why vetting a potential show is important

So the blog did a thing.

So I got a notification a few minutes ago.

This blog has officially hit 5,000 all-time views. It’s exciting, I had figured with my sporadic update schedule it would be the end of the year before that happened.

I’ll have another update this weekend. I’ll be announcing my first big crochet project ever and be going over what live shows I have on my calendar for 2023.

Quick update

So, if you follow me on social media, you’ll know that roughly 13 days ago I lost access to Facebook due to being hacked, and then whoever hacked me got my account deactivated.

I’m still fighting with Facebook to get access back, since by loosing my personal account, I also lost access to the business account.

It was only this past weekend that I realized that 95% of my marketing plan is tied up in Facebook. I’m currently in the process of reworking my entire marketing plan. This is not what I had plans to do this early in the year.

Another result of this is that all my posting plans have to be reworked. Starting next Monday (1/23), I will be doing daily updates of crochet patterns. The weekly updates will start in February. I’ll post an update when I figure out what day of the week that will be.

I’ll be posting on Sundays, on TikTok, a short update on what is going on with everything. If you want to follow me there, I can be found on TikTok as octojellycrochet.

Business Update

So, I’ve confirmed my spot in a show in May taking place in Fredericksburg, Va. More details on that in a bit.

I’m in the process for applying to a Farmers Market that runs from April until December. Trying out something different this year.

Facebook will be done for a bit while I fight with them to get my personal page back and access to the business page back. My personal page got disabled do to being hacked and then tagged for being against the Facebook code of conduct.

I’m trying to be upbeat about this, but my anxiety is through the roof right now.

New Year, New Plans

Welcome to 2023 y’all.

So, a little housekeeping.

In 2022, I have 2,611 visitors. I’d like to have atleast 3,000 this year. I’m aware I should have a bigger goal than that, but I’m good with a small increase year to year for now. Now that I’ve added the shop side of things, my hope is that it helps with foot traffic.

Now for the new-ish plans.

So, starting next week, there will be daily updates of how-tos for various crochet stitches. I’m still working on coming up with a weekly series that will go out in Mondays starting in February. I’m also working on a couple of short series that will go out later this year centered around the seasons.

If you follow me on Facebook/Instagram, you’ll have noticed that I’ve started posting daily. I’m going to keep doing that until I figure out what social content schedule works best for me. I do plan on adding TikTok to that mix soon.

The YouTube channel will start being updated/revamped in mid-late February. I still have a little more research and recording to do.

How is 2023 shaping up for you so far?

Taking a Breather

So I have finished up my in-person selling for the year. I was going to try for one more show this year, but for reasons, I have opted not to.

I’m going to update/adjust things on the shop side of this site. I’m currently working on better product descriptions and I’ll get better photos taken this coming weekend.

Along with working on the research side of things for the blog, I’ have ‘m in the process of creating a daily, weekly, and monthly blog series. I’m also working on gathering holiday based crochet patterns to share.

I do have plans to revive the YouTube channel and I have almost worked out a steady Twitch schedule.

There will be a more in-depth plan for 2023 put before the end of 2022,I just have to finalize that too.

Little Things

So I am approaching a portion of the year where my stress levels are at their highest.

My son turns 5 this coming weekend, the weekend after that I have a big show and the weekend after that I have a little show.

I still need to redo all the listings (add/remove) before Black Friday too. Don’t worry, my Twitter people, I will disconnect this site from Twitter while I do that so that you don’t get spammed.

I should also be recording videos so that I can relaunch the YouTube channel in January, but that will be on hold until after the shows/Black Friday prep.

On top of that I do have a full time job that I have to deal with.

I’ll trying to do at least a weekly update until the end of year, but I make no promises.