Peppermint Swirl

This adventure started with a text from a friend.  She sends me a photo of a beautiful red and white afghan that looked like it was made out of peppermint candy.  I had seen this same photo on Facebook and Piterest, and I had been interested in making it, but had other projects going.  

Luckily, my friend wanted to use it as Christmas present for her mom.  She asked how much would charge for something like this.  I quoted her a price and she asked for two!  I was pretty pumped because I thought this would be a pretty straightforward and simple project.

I started doing some research for a pattern to create the swirl.  I ended up at this website.  It the exact photo she had sent to me and I was excited!!  You should know something about me, I always search for already written patterns.  I have never wanted to be a pattern writer, so major props to those who write patterns.  Now back to the story.  I thought I had found the pattern, and I was super happy!  I click the link and it takes me to the Red Heart website and to their Peppermint Swirl Afghan pattern. Yay! This would be nothing short of awesome, except for one thing - the Red Heart patter was NOT AT ALL like the photo.  Oh no! What do I do.  I obsessively contemplate using the pattern from Red Heart because it was already written and I would not have to figure anything out.  I decide to use the pattern.  I hit up my local Hobby Lobby, one because it is close and two because I love their store brand wrosted weight acrylic yarn.  I come home and I am ready to get hooking.  

I get going on the pattern, make it through the first round and to the second.  This would be great!  Then I actually try to execute the second round.  I am instantly lost.  Oh boy!  Do you know what this means?  I am going to have to work on this on feverish levels until I figure it out.  But first my family needs dinner, baths and to bed.  Once the dinner dishes are loaded in the dishwasher and the kiddos are in their bed, I start up again.  Now, I consider myself a pretty experienced crocheter.  I have been doing it for over 20 years.  So how could this pattern be so confusing?  I can read it just fine, but what I am doing is not working.  I remember seeing a link to a video on the website, so I swallow my pride and check it out.  It is a brilliant video put together by The Crochet Crowd, showing exactly how interlocking crochet works for this pattern.  It was perfect!!  Mikey was excellent at explaining the technique and even better at demonstrating (I might have tried to keep up with him during the video, and I came close!).  

Thus the journey began.  I took the project with me while I visited my mom for a quick get outta town type vacation.  My cute kindergartener was off track and I need a day or two out of the office, so away we went.  

The first afghan went fairly quickly, mostly because I was able to work on it most of the days I was at my mom's.  It was great to see it come together.  I delivered the first one and got to work on the second.  The process of making this lovely project is well documented on Instagram (@thatyarngirl), but as you can see, there are some here as well.  All of that documentation was loved by some of my friends and family.  As Christmas came, so did orders for other items and I became super busy.  

Etsy has been a love hate love kind of experience for me.  I really did not know how to use it to my best advantage when I opened my shop the very first time. But this was going to be the year for me.  I renamed the shop to something that made a bit more sense and listed some of my more popular items.  I set up the apps on my phone to notify me of any shop activity, created and advertised a coupon code, launched the items, and waited with baited breath for people to flock to my shop. 

And flock they did! In the form of favorites, views, and likes, but not in the form of orders.  I can't pretend I wasn't a little broken hearted.  But the last day my coupon code was valid an order was placed.  I was stunned!  Guess what they ordered?  The Peppermint Swirl Afghan.  I was humbled!  This project had been a process and a journey, and now someone wanted to be part of it.  Wow! Just wow!

Until next time!