These days at HaldeCraft I either feel completely on top of things and that everything gets done, or completely overwhelmed by things and that nothing gets accomplished. And those kind of days can happen back to back!
In ceramics, desire for the WTF mugs seems to have calmed down, so that’s allowing me to get some other work done. I had a whole bunch of things I wanted to add to the Colorful Collection by the beginning of October, and hopefully I have enough time now to get those done. It is kind of fun sitting down and doing a lot of colorful detail painting after large solid colors for a while.
In soap, last week (earlier this week? What is today? Wednesday, right?) I got the first six of the twelve testing fragrances listed, and I’m almost done wrapping the other six. Your feedback on these fragrances will help me decide which ones (if any) will get brought in as part of the regular lineup. I mean, I know from making them that I have my favorites, which ones I’d like to see come into the shop… but I don’t want to sway anyone’s thoughts. So just let me know, if you use these new soaps, which ones you like or don’t like!
In yarn, today I need to clear the soap off my work space so that I can switch to yarn dyeing. I’m getting ready to release the September colorway (Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows) and I’m getting ready to dye up the October colorway.
In HaldeCrate, the next Seasonal Collection to have a revist will be Snow Flurries. I’ve been so busy with the WTF mugs, though, that I haven’t really had time to think about what ceramics to make for it, and to get prototypes worked out. Last time I did a mug, a soap dish, and a serving tray. I was leaning towards a butter dish this time, and a couple of small plates, but I still haven’t had time to iron out the butter dish shape and now I’m feeling the crunch of time. Honestly I am not sure what I’m going to make. Maybe next week I can sit down at my handbuilding table and work something out, but… well, we’ll see.
In Patreon, I just put up a new chapter last Sunday, and now I’m working on some character rewrites/developments (in addition to the next chapter, as well). Did you know that the first week or so of the month is a great time to pledge to follow me on Patreon? You don’t actually get charged until the 1st of the month; so if you sign up around the 5th or later, you get the entire rest of the month with access to all of my posts, without having to pay yet. That means you have a good three weeks, at least, to read some of my fiction and decide if you like it enough to keep pledging. Pledges start at a dollar per month and go up from there, with different benefits for different levels.
In knitting, I’ve just reached the heel turn on a pair of socks in Scruffy-Looking Nerf-Herder, and that’s all I’ve been working on in the last week or two. I still haven’t finished the entrelac cowl, but that’s because I’m trying to figure out if I actually do have enough yarn for the cowl to wrap around twice. I think I’m going to want a crocheted border around it, and that means I have to decide if I want it to be the same color, or a contrasting/complimentary color. If I want it to be the same, I have to keep enough yarn free to do the border, which means it might not be long enough to wrap it around the way I want to. Hmm. Hmmmmmmmmm.
That’s about it for me this week. What about y’all? What are you working on, doing, reading, cooking, eating? Are you staying safe and healthy? If you’re a student, how are you taking classes? In person? Virtually? Both? If you’re a teacher, how are you holding up? I know a lot of my teacher friends are already feeling on the edge, and y’all have only been going at it for a couple of weeks. You are all rock stars! ROCK STARS!!! I have some nursing and medical professional friends, too, and y’all, you have been on the front lines of this for six months now, and I can’t believe that y’all are still doing things like smiling and talking in complete sentences. You are more than rock stars, you are the bedrock of our very foundation.
Anyway, tell me about your week! Tell me what’s on your plate, what you’re juggling, how you’re feeling. Read any good books lately? Seen any good movies? Still listening to the Hamilton soundtrack daily? Do tell!