Whoa. Wednesday. I almost feel like this should be a "Why I Haven't Been Blogging Wednesday" or "What Happened to September Wednesday" ... but maybe I'll wrap the post up with some "What's Been Going On". First, though, what I've been working on!
In ceramics I am ashamed to say there is not much. Oh, well, there's a lot, but so much I don't feel I'm making progress on anything. I just bought a TON of new bisque to glaze up and put some holiday/limited edition things in the shop for the Fall and Winter, so expect those to start showing up as I have time to glaze. I'm also sorting through a shelving unit of ceramics that started out as "everything on my Etsy shop is on this shelf" (so I didn't get that stock confused with my primary HaldeCraft.com stock) but has also slowly morphed into some sort of "I don't know where to put this hey here's a free three inches" shelf. So I'm slowly taking everything off, comparing my two websites, and seeing what is where and putting it on the appropriate shelf. Except that I've had to start a new shelf of "stuff that's not on any shop." Y'all, I just found an embarrassing 27 mugs (TWENTY SEVEN!) that were not on *either* shop. So now I'm faced with taking photos, deciding where to list them, and all that jazz. So mostly with ceramics this week I am doing a lot of walking from shelf to computer to shelf and staring sadly and wishing I was more than one person.
In soap I am wrapping madly, as I have time, because I have a LOT of soap to add to the shop. And I've sold out of a lot, so I need to make more, but am in that place where I don't want to make more until I get all this wrapped because making more of what I think I'm out of before I get everything I've made a few weeks ago wrapped is how I wind up with twelve bars of Tortuga Hills. Inventory! Checking it is a good idea! Anyway. Lots to come in soap in the coming weeks. Including a Halloween guest soap set, which I'll have up Friday or Saturday.
In yarn I am consumed with yarn club. It's taking me longer to dye this time than usual because they are all complex multi-colored yarns. But I love, love, love how they're turning out, and how complimentary they are with the artists and paintings that inspired them. And I'm already thinking about next yarn club!
In knitting I've finished a pair of socks in Weathered Wood and promptly lost them somewhere between the house and the studio, so no pictures until I find them. And I'm almost done with a pair of gloves I'm knitting for my sister-in-law. After that I have a pair of gloves coming up for a new friend who spent a whole day with me teaching me some new blacksmithing skills about which I'd been curious (when Amy and I went up to South Bend). And I want to start a new pair of socks in Irish Coffee. Whew!
In blacksmithing I am getting my twee little shop area set up here at home, and am getting ready to leave the nest of Leslie Tharp Designs and launch out on my own. My father-in-law was incredibly, unbelievably generous and I pretty much have everything I need for a small shop of my own. Which means it's time for this baby bird to fly the nest and strike out! Will I be bringing some forged items into the shop? Probably. Hey, I have to justify this new hobby, right?! I have some ideas for simple wall hooks and bottle openers, so... you know. Stay tuned.
In other things, while I was prepared to lose a week of work to drive up to South Bend and back, I wasn't also prepared to lose about ten more days when I got back. Between Hurricane Irma and the power being knocked out for a few days and having the flu (fortunately during the storm, yay?) I'm feeling really really behind. Behind in work (sure, I can do many things at work without electricity, but they're all messy things, and without electricity for our pump I can't clean up!)... behind in blogging (when I run out of time, the first thing to always go is telling you about what I'm working on so that instead, I can focus my time on working)... behind in planning (I'm afraid to open my day planner, y'all). Just... behind. I want to catch up but I almost don't even know where to start, there's so much to do. So I'm just whittling down the mountain as best I can.
So. That's me this week. What about y'all? What are you working on? What's baffling you? What's getting the best of you? What are you conquering?