Problem Solved!

When you have just one skein of a yarn, what do you do? Do you have a go-to plan or strategy to solve the problem of the lonely skein?

If you Give a Mom a Quarter...

If you give a mom a quarter,
She goes to put it in the vacation piggy bank,
On the way to the piggy bank she spots a full trash can,
On the way to empty the trash can,
She sees some dirty laundry,
While gathering all the dirty laundry,
She pulls sheets off a bed,
While changing the sheets,
She spots a dirty glass on a bedside table,
While taking the dishes to the kitchen,
She runs the dishwasher,
While running the dishwasher,
She hears the mail carrier,
While she goes to check the mail,
She carries in the empty trash cans,
While she opens the mail,
She sits to the computer to pay bills,
When the phone rings,
That a child is sick and needs to be picked up...

And guaranteed, someone will ask, 'What did you do today?'

LOL At the end of the day she wonders why she 'didn't get anything done...'.

:)  Thinking of all you parents out there fighting the same fight!

Motivation Monday: When 'Better Than Nothing' is Not Enough

Whether it's work or relationships or spiritual life or fitness & health, is there any part of your life that has been just 'good enough'?  

Is it time to push past 'Better than nothing'? 

When 'Better than nothing' (in fitness, in health, in relationships, in work) is NO LONGER GOOD ENOUGH. It's time to push past the plateau and create something more. 

Boil it down to what is essential. What do you want to work on? What one step can you take today to get you out of 'good enough'? 

Am I talking in circles or do you know exactly what I'm talking about? If this resonates with you, it's your sign to make progress today and this week. 

We can do it! (As I reach for a stitch dictionary and a hook...)

I Love Yarn Day! Saturday Oct 14

Tomorrow! Get ready for I Love Yarn Day! Read about some activities and inspiration HERE.

Crochet Edgings!

Crochet Edgings for a Perfect Finish is now available!

Crochet Edgings is my 7th online class with Annie's. I hope you love it. It's very fun. I hope that it excites and inspires you to have fun with your edgings and not just think of them as an after thought.

Look for it here on the Annie's website with my other 6 online classes. Is the market saturated by Ellen teaching crochet yet? LOL Thanks for your continued support!

Here are the cats during class development...

Motivation Monday! BEE Awesome.

I'm sure you can relate. Life has been crazy busy here in Go Crochet Land. I'll try to pace it out so I don't over-share all in one post.

First... Motivation Monday.

I ran my #12 Half Marathon this weekend. I find this pretty hilarious because I never liked to run as a kid. I kinda hated running. Soccer practice, running laps around the field to warm up was the worst part of soccer. It seemed so pointless. Looking back I think I hated it because I thought it had to be an all-out sprint. (And it was, I guess). But if I had just relaxed into it and didn't push so hard I would have enjoyed it more. (Is there a life lesson here?)

I ran the Queen Bee with my BRF Lisa. It was her 28th Half Marathon, my 12th. Yes, that is a spoon in my shirt...

You see, it's like this...In the finish chute, they have all sorts of goodies and I had no place to put them. Applesauce, granola bars, water, bananas, chocolate milk, they handed us sunflowers. I just couldn't hold it all.. so I put my spoon for my applesauce in my shirt and then forgot about it...

I drank the chocolate milk and the water, of course. In the finish party area, they gave out BOTTLES OF WINE... and mimosas. I'm not a big drinker but I took my free bottle of wine anyway and gave it away ;)

The medal is a wine stopper! My friends were like, 'Why would I need one of those? Who stops drinking in the middle of a bottle?' LOL. It's such a wine-centered-culture we are in these days.

Anyway, I'd rather eat my calories than drink them.

Back to my point... I hated running as a kid. But when you have a buddy to run with and you get to talking, suddenly the miles fly by and you forget you are running (mostly). There is no need to be competitive or sprint, it's ok to relax into it and let it be or let it BEE!  haha. I crack myself up.

I never thought I would be a runner. The idea of running had me like, "uh, NO!". But it's amazing what happens when you just do something (anything) and you rest a day and the next time you do it again but add two more minutes. And you do this for a month or six weeks and suddenly you look back and say, "Wow, even in a month I have made some progress".

You don't have to run. I know it's not for everyone for lots of reasons. But if you start something, you have to keep with it a little bit to give yourself the joy of looking back and seeing the progress.

How will you be awesome today?

Welcome!

Welcome to any new visitors in addition to my returning friends!

I have to say Thank you to Brenda Bourg for the interview in the new issue of the Talking Crochet Newsletter.

What you can expect to find at Go Crochet...

MOTIVATION!  I work hard and I hope it's contagious! All I ask is that you consider making a decision (any decision) today that helps you be closer to happy. Fitness, crochet, love, whatever.

CROCHET!  Most of the content is crochet because that's my passion! When I can reveal new stuff (and there is always something new in the works...) I love sharing it here.

COACHING!  I have two types of coaching available. If you want to become a successful crochet professional, either designer, teacher, tech editor, contract stitcher, etc, I can prompt you toward your goals! It's a great way to stay accountable to yourself and make it happen!  Email me at Ellen @ GoCrochet.com for rates. You get the benefit of my 14+ years of crochet industry experience!

LIFE Coaching! Because Crochet Career Coaching is taking off so well and I know there are many of you who want the accountability and motivation to reach personal goals, I am qualified to help you there too!  Email me at Ellen @ GoCrochet.com for availability!

How will you be awesome today?

Starting a New Binder

You all know by now that when I start a new binder, that it's a big project. Let's keep our collective fingers crossed that this is the best new project ever!

What are you stitching right now?

Don't Hesitate.

There are some amazingly motivating things on YouTube. You are probably already aware, but here's one you might like! A good friend shared it with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lz0VOltZKA

Don't think, just go.

Scribbled Notes

Hi there! How are you? What are you working on these days? Tell me about your crochet projects or some wellness accomplishments! I am being flooded with ideas lately. 

 How to choose? It's so hard to choose which creative idea to work on first. 

The priority, of course, is contracted work first and creative ideas work around. For me that means lots of ideas scribbled on scraps of paper and backs of bills. :) 

Then, I usually take a snapshot of my note because I know I'll lose the scrap of paper or I'll pay the bill. 

The insurance company would probably be quite confused to see this scribbled on the back of an invoice...

Promo! Knit and Crochet Now!

I got to film a couple of quick promos for Knit and Crochet Now! Here's one of them!

Check out some of my solo projects here and here.

Wellness Coaching for YOU!

Now that the Go Crochet Coaching is well established for people who aspire to be crochet designers, teachers and tech editors, I'm ready to open up Wellness Coaching for You!

Are you ready to make some wellness or career changes in your life but need some accountability and direction?

Message me at Ellen@GoCrochet.com to see how you can create change in your life! Place 'Go Crochet Coaching' in the subject line for aspiring crochet professionals, or 'Go Crochet Wellness' for wellness, fitness, motivation and career goals!

Motivation!

I find it hard to get motivated when I don't love the project on my to-do list. Either it was assigned (and it wasn't my original idea) or the yarn isn't a great match for the project.

What's the cure?
I need to MAKE it my own. Get started and commit to making the best project possible.... so here I go! Off to make the best project I can with the specifications the buyer wants!

Theo stealing my glasses...

Season 8 is HERE! Knit and Crochet Now!

Knit and Crochet Now! is Here! It's airing now on some stations and other stations will be rolling it out in coming weeks. If you can't wait, you can get it ALL right now with a free trial of the all access membership. Check it out! 

A few things have changed this season, many things have stayed the same! Give it a try! 

Also, I swear, the group photo above was an impromptu thing. I thought my day was filming from the waist up or I never would have worn yoga pants, hahahaha!  Poor Kristin, middle back, had literally JUST ARRIVED in town when they threw her in front of the camera. She's a great sport and the camera loves her. 

Restore!

I'm taking the day off... sorta. I'm trying to restore my yarn closet to THIS level of organization. I started last night and I think it's going to take a week. I have let my office and this closet descend into the chaos that I can't even show you, it's so shameful. My office is the "dump and run" spot for me. There are reasons that door stays CLOSED.  

Also, restoring my mind today! I found a ton of old project binders that I no longer need. I found my original manuscript for 3 books including one that I never published and proposals for 2-3 more. You know binders represent BIG projects for me. Now I have empty binders to start NEW big projects! I can't wait.  I'm going to visualize myself in 5 years finding these binders when they are full and projects are completed... what was in them? What projects did I accomplish that I was proud of?  

Who needs a bucket list when you can make a Binder List?

Extension!

I really despise asking for extensions. Sometimes life happens or projects take longer than expected. Extensions should be (and thankfully are) very rare for me.

I got two more days and it feels like a stay of execution. :)

Anyway, it will be worth it. It's a great project.

So, this is a short post so that I don't squander the gift of time I've been given. Back to work.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Looking back isn't always painful.

Today I worked on an interview piece that will be coming out in early October. (I'll link it when it's live!) The interviewer asked questions about projects that I'm proud of and it pushed me down the rabbit hole of my over 300 projects, the books, the classes, etc. I spent some time reading the reviews of my 6 (one more on the way!) Annie's Online Classes and it was like a balm to my soul. People took the time out of their day to say such nice things! You can read for yourself! So nice! Thank you!

Crochet is an amazing hobby (or career) because you can SEE the tangible result of your work. That doesn't happen for many professions. Our world is so virtual and vague that it's gratifying to work with something tangible and visual.

(Here's a look back at a favorite project sponsored by Red Heart, the Brocade Throw) A few people have even taken the challenge to create this monster and did great with it! One bite at a time, you can do it! 

For those of you who need more validation... here's a tip, see if it works for you.  For years I have kept an email folder and an actual paper folder that I call "The Smile File".  When someone sends me a compliment or a card or something meaningful, I keep it in the Smile File.  Then, on the bad days when it has become clear that a door has closed, or uncertainty hits, the Smile File is ready to reveal the truth of those moments. Kindness exists. Maybe start a smile file? Or send someone a note of kindess for them to tuck away in a smile file?

I won't spill about which projects and fibers I love the most, I should wait and let the interview reveal that. It's easy to look back so much that you run into a pole.  I can't wait to share with you the Looking Forward part.

I have some BEAUTIFUL (so pretty that I'm actually saying it out loud, not self-deprecating, not qualifying my work like I usually do, no 'if I had it to do over again...'. NO) I have some beautiful work that will be revealed in the coming months.  I'm seriously contemplating writing another book too. It's percolating.

In the meantime, I have another side project going on and I need to know what classes you would like to take and which teachers in the industry you would like to learn from IN PERSON... Comment here and let me know what is on your crochet bucket list.

An Essay in Photos

Last bits from vacation

We got to see an alligator in the wild... that was something. (I was actually kind of thrilled because we were on a bridge above and I knew we were safe).

Then we left the beach and stopped by the lake to hang out with cousins for the weekend.

 

When I disappear...

When I disappear it is usually because I have a tight deadline or family vacation. This time, it was both!

The project, in process goes into the front seat but the reinforcement yarn is accessible in the back. At every rest stop, I'd grab the next color that was needed.  

I don't mind being a passenger because then I get a great deal of stitching accomplished. 

We made it to the beach. It was so incredibly windy that I couldn't crochet on the beach. I didn't want blowing sand in my work.

But, I could crochet by the pool...

And I could crochet at the tavern...

And I could crochet in the hotel guest laundry... 

Cupcake break! 

Run break! 

The project made it through 6 states and shipped from Kentucky. Done and home!