While it has a smooth taste, the flavor profile reminds me of the Sun Tea I used to drink in my childhood when it didn’t have the right about of sugar in it. I will be honest though, most black teas remind me of Sun Tea. The black tea taste is very strong when compared to the chocolate notes of this tea.
I am not apologizing for yet another sports title.
So, a few things.
Starting later today, the tea blogs will start back up, daily for now, though those will taper off to 2-3 days a week by the end of the month. Crochet Book blogs will come out on Mondays, and Crafts From Around the World come out on Wednesdays and Fridays. Crochet patterns will come out a few days a week, I’m still working on that schedule. I’m also going to start writing down when I think of the yarns in my collection. That will probably be updated on the weekends.
YouTube videos will be starting this month. I’m thinking How-To videos on Fridays and Vlogs on Mondays. What do you think?
I probably won’t have many behind the scenes blogs going forward, between all the series starting back up, the YouTube channel, and general inventory prep for the shows in May, it’s a lot going on. I will be doing a weekly newsletter for those who join the email list letting all of them know about upcoming product updates, the actual YouTube upload times, and when I’ll be live on Twitch. There will also be more about the sale going on the week of my 39th birthday.
Despite how the package recommended I make this, I just used hot water.
I’m not a big fan of most rooibos teas. This one, however, I really do enjoy. If you’re looking for a tea with a subtle taste, I would definitely recommend this one.
In water, it reminds me of a dessert tea, but one that can be had at any time of day.
So, the first 2 events for 2024 are now in the books.
I have 2 more confirmed events in May and possibly 2 more in August, though I am still waiting on confirmation on those.
Making upgrades to some of the gremlins.
I had a conversation at today’s event that I have actually had a few dozen times.
Inevitably, some will look at my work and ask how I get my stitches so tight.
Usually telling them that I have essentially crocheting since I was a child will stop the conversation. Unless they see me writing just before or after they see me crochet.
See, I’m left-handed. Except when it comes to crochet. I was taught to crochet by right-handed people. I learned to use my right hand to hold a crochet hook. Which also means I hold my hook with what I (and a lot of crocheters I know) call a death grip. I also crochet counterclockwise. Which, for crocheters, means that I crochet backwards.
It makes it interesting when I go to teach people how to crochet, and they get slightly confused before they realize what I’m doing. The people I teach do crochet in the right direction because 9 times out of 10, they are right-handed.
I’m getting ready to start writing about the yarns I use.
On the YouTube front, I have deleted the 3 videos that I had up on the site. I do plan on re-recording all 3 of them this week. Starting with the crochet tools and the yarn types videos.
On the blog front, I have 3 series that will be starting or restarting soon. I spent the weekend adding 250 draft titles to the site to make writing the posts easier.
I apologize for any rambling. As I write this, it is 1:53 AM EST.
So, for a while now, I’ve been planning blog posts. I have pages of research. What I didn’t have, was motivation to actually write them. Until recently anyways. If you want more information on that, see the 2 blog posts for this one in this category.
I just finished inputting 212 draft titles onto the site. I have roughly 50 more to add, but that can wait until I’ve gotten atleast a couple hours of sleep. I plan to actually write all the blogs over the next couple of weeks, and start posting them on a schedule before the end of the month.
I went to a small business meet-up tonight. I confirmed something that I’ve actually suspected for awhile. I am, currently, the only crocheter, in Hampton Roads, that specializes in TTRPG/Fantasy creatures. I really do need to figure out how to capitalize on that.
I’ve spent the last week or so, updating all of my social media research, and doing more research on YouTube videos. The last time I did YouTube research was 3-4 year ago, so I know what I have is severely out of date. I plan on recording/editing new videos (and re-record) existing ones this month so I can start posting those in March.
I will most likely be updating all of my social medias this month. I’ve sadly, neglected some of them. I am working on changing that and getting on a better update schedule.
If you are in/near Smithfield, Virginia this weekend, I will be at the Wharf Hill Brewing Co. both days selling product. There will be a product update, and a photo update on either Monday or Tuesday next week.
So starting in February, I’ll be posting YouTube videos. I’ve started recording how to make the patterns from the granny square series (https://octojellycrochetstudio.com/?cat=729445598). I’ll also be re-recording the Crochet Tools video that is already up and the Yarn Types Video. With all of that, there will be 22 videos going up on February.
I’ve also been researching older crochet patterns to post on the site and working on posts about my opinion on the yarns in my collection as well ass the crochet books in my collection.
I have taken a small break from the tea posts, but those will be making a come back sometime in March, as I work to make this site more crochet/fiber art oriented. The Crafts around the world series will return in March as well.
I also plan on delving into writing my own patterns this year. I may post some of them onto this blog. I’ll be starting with DnD Monsters.
So I added a newsletter sign up to the site. I don’t plan on having the actual newsletter go live until Feb. 5, but I figured I’d get ahead on getting people to sign up for it.
It is 100% free.
The newsletter with be weekly, on Mondays and contain information about what events I have coming up, and sales I may be planning and when the product updates will be happening.
I decided to have this information in a weekly newsletter, rather than a weekly blog because I don’t really enough going on at the moment to justify an entire blog post every week to it. There will still be a blog post at least once a month with all the business updates for the month though.
In reference to my previous (to this one) blog, Im restructuring my blog schedule as well as streaming lining the rest of my social media posting schedules. I’ve got my fingers crossed, that by doing all of this, it will help with my anxiety. After 6+ years (of it being this bad), you’d think I would have that handled by now.
If you’re going to be in, or near Smithfield, Virginia Feb 10 & 11, I will be at the Small Business Market being held by Wharf Hill Brewery Co. from 1pm to 6pm (Feb 10) and 12pm to 4pm (Feb 11). This will be my next in-person sales event.
So…first off, I would like to apologize. I did not keep to the posting schedule that I had announced just before the new year.
There has been a lot going on, IRL, that has been affecting my mental health. Which, as a result, has killed the majority of my motivation to do a lot of things. I’ve had to put daily reminders in my phone to just do basic things.
I have, very recently, seen my regular doctor about my mental health, so I’m now on an antidepressant and will (soon) starting and things are in the works to help improve my mental health.
My hope, is that I will find the motivation to do daily posts, or at least the motivation to post 2-3 times a week.
I will also be doing monthly product updates starting in February.Getting the YouTube channel off the ground and getting a stable streaming schedule going are also in the plans for the next 2 months.
I’m hoping to do live shows on Facebook and Instagram over the summer, but I still have some things to figure out for that. If you are not already following my on either of those, please do.
I’ve been playing around with the idea of having an email list. It would be one a month with any major plans, product launches, or in-person shows going on that month. Would that be something you’d be interested in?
I do have 3 more in-person shows scheduled for the first half of 2024. They are as follows:
Small Business Showcase : Wharf Hill Brewing Co. Smithfield, Virginia. February 10 & 11 1pm to 6pm
Bacons Castle Village Faire : Bacons Castle Surry, Virginia. May 4 10am to 4pm
Tidewater ComiCon : Virginia Beach Convention Center Virginia Beach, Virginia May 18-19 10:30am to 6pm/11:30am to 5pm
So the newest gaming convention was this past weekend in Williamsburg, Va. While I do the usual post-convention mental exhaustion and deal with need to be away from people (which is always a thing, even with non-negotiables such as a child), I figured I would let you know my thoughts on how it went.
Though it was created in response to changes (drama) made with a convention in Virginia Beach, it had a good turn out and minimal hiccups.
The hotel was clean, but definitely on the older side. It’s vibe kinda reminded me of those hotels you find on the side of the highway that are clean, but haven’t been updated in a couple of decades. Honestly didn’t surprise me though, as most newer hotels don’t build spaces for conventions/conferences/big events into their buildings.
Table fees ($90) were actually really low by convention standards, but first a first year show, very reasonable. My overall sales were just over 3x the table fee and I have a few custom order requests to look at and build quotes for. I enjoyed it and definitely plan on coming back next year.
I met some new vendors that I hadn’t met before and re-met vendors I had crossed paths with at other shows, but didn’t have a chance to talk to before.
There was more downtime that I would have liked, but I did get a chance to get some future planning done.
I have 3 more shows on the books so far for 2024. More details on those shows later.
There will be a shop update this week, as I’ll be putting everything that didn’t sell at Convival in the online shop. I am also open for commissions.
You ever have one of those weeks were you know you have a lot to do, and that list just seems to be getting longer by the minute?
That’s me this week. Also, sorry this is late, I meant to have this ready to post this morning and this got out of hand.
My kiddo is being home schooled while some things with him get figured out. I was informed 2-sih hours ago that he’ll be having an assessment on Wednesday. While I would have preferred said assessment was in the morning, they have in scheduled for in the afternoon.
It’s fine, I’ll make it work.
Thursday is the day before my first convention for 2024. It’s also a Den Meeting (Boy Scouts) and my monthly Small Business Meet-Up. I’ve enlisted my mother for help with the logistics with that as the 2 events to overlap.
I also need to prep all the Friday home school stuff to give to her so that she will have it, as he will be spending the weekend with her.
Friday thru Sunday I will be vending at Convival 2024 at the Clarion Hotel in Williamsburg, Va. This will be their first year, but so far it looks like it will be fun and a good turn out. If you are going to be in the area, multi-day and single day passes will be available at the door. Events kick off at 3pm on Friday and end 3pm on Sunday. For more information can be found at https://convivialva.com/.
I will have the contents of the shop, as well as dice bags, scarves, hats, and more amigurumi that haven’t made it into the shop yet with me. I will be taking custom orders as well.
I do have some ultra big news in regards to the business.
I’ve been accepted as a vendor for the Tidewater ComiCon. They are (to date) the largest ComiCon in Coastal Virginia. This will be there’s 10th year. The show will be at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. I’m uber excited about being accepted. This show is May 18-19. I plan on debuting some new products at this show. More info to follow as the show gets closer.
