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April’s Update

So this update is coming out a few days later than originally planned.

My original April plans involved daily blog updates, weekly youtube videos and essentially, every other day Twitch streams.

As you can see, none of that has happened.

In IRL land, I have, after just over 6 months, found a new day time job. It will be part time, and starts on Monday. As a result, I’m having to change my entire posting plan for April. Which is fine, I was just not expecting to have to do so this soon into the month.

The business got mentioned in a Hidden Gems Article from the TableTop Creator Hub. Here’s the link, if you’d like to read it. https://www.tabletopcreatorhub.com/post/hub-hidden-gems

In roughly a month, I will have my first event since early February. Between May 1 and June 3, I will have 3 in-person events.

May 4, 2024 Bacon’s Castle Village Faire Bacon’s Castle, Surry, Virginia

May 18-19, 2024 Tidewater ComiCon Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia

June 2, 2024 IAWIA Newport News Pride Festival Tradition Brewing Co., Newport News, Virginia

I’ll make before and after posts about each event as they happen. There will also be tiktok videos for each of the events and possibly YouTube videos about them.

I’ll have a better update about posting schedules and upcoming projects in the coming weeks.

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Checking In

Greetings.

So, I’ve started updating YouTube. The Traditional Granny Square Video is now live (https://youtu.be/vJA9c3Bi5-w ).

I’ll be making a Crochet Tool Basics Video and a Yarn overview video later this week. So I can get them both up next week. The next few videos after that will be video companions to the patterns in the Granny Square Series that I wrote last year.

I’m also going to start a series in April about my thoughts on the yarns in my collection. I have everything from the Standard Acrylics to Specialty Yarns like Camel and Yak. I’ll also be discussing the companies/brands that the yarns can be obtained from if you wish to try them yourselves.

I do want to apologise for how sporadic my March updates have been across the board. I had to deal with a carbuncle in my left shoulder that made it difficult to anything productive for about a week and a half, and hard to crochet for atleast 2 weeks. It has almost healed, so I am working on getting back on track with things.

My birthday sale was last week, while it didn’t do as well as I had hoped, I did make one sale. That has already been shipped and should be arriving to the customer on Thursday.

That will probably be my last sale for the year (if not longer). I have noticed that over the last 2 years, anytime I run a sale, 9/10 sales, no one buys anything.

I did have some Stress Eggs and a few more cryptids to add to the shop, which will probably be done this weekend. Then I’ll be grinding through making as much product as I can since I’ll be at the Bacon’s Castle Village Faire on May 4 and Tidewater Comicon May 18-19 and I don’t, currently, have enough product for either event.

I’ll also start streaming again (this week) early Sunday morning, and I’ll be adding Tuesday evenings and 1-2 other days during the week as well. I plan on streaming crochet and Stardew Valley (for when I wear my wrists out crocheting). Watch my Instagram if you haven’t signed up for my Newsletter (https://mailchi.mp/422652eef148/newsletter-sign-up ) for that schedule.

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There’s a sale going on.

Today is International Women’s Day.

As the owner of a woman owned business, I can appreciate today of what it’s intentions are.

Today is also my birthday. I’m 39 this year.

As I do every year, I’m having a sale where the percentage correlates with how old I’m turning.

And as usual, no one has ordered anything.

I have decided that this will be the last sale I run, as the lack of sales when things are on sale, trigger my depression more that no sales when everything is regular price.

I’m going to start streaming some games along with crochet soon. I’m debating between Stardew Valley or more involved game like Destiny 2 or Baulder’s Gate.

What do you think?

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LeGrange Grey : Dryad Tea

As I am overly fond of all Earl Grey teas, I opted for this one for Dryad Teas this morning.

The berry scents from this tea, are not overpowering, which I appreciate. The vanilla does a good job of mellowing out the berry scent while combing it with the earl grey to give a nice calming smell while in it’s pre-liquid form.

While it was steeping, I did notice that the earl grey scent did become more prominent.

Taste wise, it’s about what I expect of an earl grey tea. The aftertaste is more fruity than a normal earl grey, but not unpleasant.

It can be purchased here: https://dryadtea.com/products/lagrange-grey?_pos=1&_sid=7f01e41ff&_ss=r. As with all Dryad Teas, it can be purchased in a sample size to try before you commit to a larger ounce size.

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So That Was Fun

This morning started off with a minor heart attack, thank you, Meta for that.

I plan on finishing the product update today.

My yearly birthday sale will start tomorrow (Wednesday) and run through Sunday. Everything in the shop will be 39% off.

The YouTube channel will start receiving new videos in the next 2 weeks.

In case the Meta goes down again, if you’d like to know about sales and events before I post them on social media and this blog, please join my newsletter.

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Scarlet Seamstress : Dryad Tea

Dryad Tea has been around since 2012 and is based in Colorado. They are big on TTRPG and Fantasy themes and also see tea related pottery.

The tea itself is a very pretty red color. It also has a very interesting taste profile. In it’s dry form, the spearmint smell is very overpowering, but in liquid, I can barely taste the mint. This is honestly, one of the few teas that I started and finished while it was still hot. This is a tea that I will definitely be getting more of.

This is available at :https://dryadtea.com/products/scarlet-seamstress?_pos=1&_sid=83d9b0051&_ss=r&variant=33181010886791. It is available in a sample size if you wish to try it out before committing to one of the larger ounce sizes. It is also available by the pound.

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Black Chocolate Black Tea : Spice & Tea Exchange

If you’re looking for a smooth, black tea. This is a good choice.

This is another one by the Spice and Tea Exchange that is available by the ounce in either a pouch or a tin. https://www.spiceandtea.com/Black-Chocolate-Tea

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.

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It’s March and Full of Madness

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.

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Blood Orange Smoothie Herbal Tea : Spice & Tea Exchange

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.

If you wish to purchase some for yourself, it can be found here : https://www.spiceandtea.com/Blood-Orange-Smoothie-Herbal-Tea.

It can be purchased by the ounce in either a pouch or a tin. It can also be purchased in their stores if you happen to have one nearby.

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Halfway thru 1st Quarter

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.