Welcome to my crafty goals 6-month update! Last year I started making crafty goals for myself and thought it would be fun to carry on that tradition this year. With my crafty goals 6-month update, I will give you an update on my progress so far this year. I think this is a fun way to keep track of what crafty goals I’m doing and to see what else I can accomplish throughout the year.
For this year, I wanted to include some of the same crafty goals as last year, but also include some new crafty goals for 2018. There are certain things I want to work on in order to expand my little crochet business even more. These goals are in no particular order. Without further ado, here is my crafty goals 6-month update!
Budget Better
Last year, I started keeping a budget of all my income/expenses. I used a pre-loaded template in Excel and wrote down the different transactions. I also checked them with my bank statements to make sure I accounted for everything. However, I didn’t start at the beginning of the year like I should have. Because of that, everything was a little off whack and nothing added up properly.
PROGRESS: As part of my crafty goals 6-month update, I’ve been able to keep up with my monthly budget to track all of my income and expenses. Each month, I print out my bank statement and find all the receipts that go along with it. I made an Excel spreadsheet to help me keep track of my monthly spending and income. I think this has become a valuable asset as I know how much I’m spending and how much money I’m getting from orders, etc. each month. Once I complete the month, I put everything in a binder to keep it neat and organized.
Image from Google
Get Better at Marketing
I would like to have a better strategy for marketing. However, marketing isn’t my strong suit. Being a one-woman show, I find it difficult to market myself as I don’t always know what I’m doing. However, I know there are some things I can do to increase visitors if I do a little research. One thing I would like to do is look into adding an email list as I think this would be beneficial to me. I also want to understand how to use social media better and increase my social media presence.
PROGRESS: I haven’t worked on this goal as much I would like to. I’m still very unsure of what to do and where to start. However, I have tried to post more on social media, but it hasn’t been consistent. I will continue to work on this goal in order to get a better social media presence and understand the workings of marketing better.
Design More Crochet Patterns
Last year I made it a goal to design 1-2 of my own patterns. I far exceeded that goal and had a lot of fun in doing so. I enjoyed coming up with different color combinations and patterns and seeing the end result. Because of my enjoyment, I plan to continue designing more of my own patterns. I asked around and a lot of people mentioned they wanted to see more boy items, so I’m hoping to come up with some different ideas that everyone would like. I would like to design at least 10 patterns this year.
PROGRESS: So far for my crafty goals 6-month update, I have designed 6 out of 10 crochet patterns. As I mentioned, I really enjoy designing my own crochet patterns and want to continue to design more. I have a few more ideas in mind and will release those patterns soon, so be on the lookout for them.
Check out all my patterns so far here: Dalmatian Hooded Blanket, Ribbed Baby Blanket, Shell Stitch Blanket, Waffle Stitch Dishcloth, Nightberry Chevron Blanket, and Blanket Stitch Blanket
Learn How to Sew
I’ve been itching to learn how to sew recently. I’ve been on the hunt looking for the perfect project bag for what seems like forever! Learning to sew would be awesome as I would learn the skills needed to eventually make my own project bags. Who knows–maybe I’ll even start selling them? Either way, I would love to learn how to sew as you can create so many different things with a sewing machine. I always love looking at the different fabrics available as well.
PROGRESS: I haven’t worked on this goal at all. I still would like to learn how to sew, but I just haven’t had time yet. Maybe within the next 6 months I will have some time to devote to taking a class a Joann Fabrics and see if sewing is something I will enjoy.
Work Through My Yarn Stash
One of my goals last year was to work through my yarn stash. After I finished projects, I had some yarn leftover that I didn’t know what to do with. Some of my yarn has been sitting on my shelf for a while, so I wanted to finally get around to using it. Last year, I did a great job in using up a lot of leftover yarn, which I made into hats to donate to charity. I want to continue using up my leftover yarn and work from my stash as often as I can.
PROGRESS: I’ve done a great job in accomplishing this goal! Yes, I’ve purchased a lot of yarn so far this year, but I’ve also worked through a lot of my yarn as well. I’ve accomplished this by restocking my blankets on Etsy, using leftover yarn for charity projects, and designing my own patterns. Most, if not all, of the time when I purchase yarn, it’s because there’s a great sale going on or I have coupons. I try to keep a project in mind when purchasing yarn, but let’s be real-sometimes I purchase yarn because it’s pretty! With my crafty goals 6-month update, I have used up 92 skeins, which equals to a whopping 28,040 yards! That’s insane! I’m not about to stop now, so I’ll be curious to see what these numbers are by the end of the year. Last year I used up 45,252 yards (127 skeins)!
Yarn Dye More
While I’ve dabbled with yarn dyeing last year, I feel like I still have a lot to learn. I would like to increase my knowledge of this and see what dyeing method works best for me. I think it would be fun to have my own hand dyed yarn and see how they work up in different projects. There are so many color combinations and I have a theme in mind, so now is as good a time as any to get more practice under my belt.
PROGRESS: While I have practiced yarn dyeing more these past 6 months, I still feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong and how others can get such beautiful color combinations. I’ve watched different yarn dye methods on YouTube, but my results still aren’t up to par with what I want. I still have a ways to go, so hopefully I can understand the different methods better and my yarn dye results will improve.
Pattern Reviews
As you know, there are TONS of crochet patterns out there! I have a ton of patterns printed out, saved on my iPad, and on my Ravelry page. I’m probably never going to get to all of them, especially as more and more patterns are released, but it’s time I look through them. It would be fun to try out different patterns to increase my crochet skills and learn a new stitch. I would also like to keep things interesting and see what patterns I fall in love with and what patterns are simply not for me. If there are any patterns you recommend that I try, leave me a comment below and let me know.
PROGRESS: I’ve done a good job so far in trying out some new patterns. There are some patterns I feel like I would make again while others are one and done. This is a fun way to go through all the saved patterns I have and see which ones I love and which ones I can leave behind.
Check out the pattern reviews I’ve done so far: Briar Rose Blanket, Granny Hat, and Saturday Sweater Pattern
That concludes my crafty goals 6-month update. Did you set any crafty goals for yourself this year? If so, how is your crafty goals 6-month update progress coming along? Let me know by leaving me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
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