Holiday Wind-Down

Well with Christmas over and the new year coming up, things are winding down a little. I say a little because there is quite a list still going for the Glitch butler plushies. For those that don't know what those are, here is a quick update on that:

Glitch was a game that I (Monica) really loved to play, sadly, it closed down the beginning of December and I received permission to create some plush dolls(? not sure what else to call them lol) that resemble the house butlers from the game. Here are pictures of some I've made so far:

Each is completely unique, as there are probably more than 8 choices for each body part. So each is a custom worked piece where I hand paint the fabric before sewing them together, then there is tons of hand sewing on details, even needle felting and crochet on some of the details. It's been really great to work on them, and I have a list so long for orders right now I'm going to be busy for the next two months! Crazy!

On top of that my fiance and I are talking with some friends about opening a store (that is completely unrelated from the online shops we sell in) where I would be running the cafe portion. I've always loved the idea of running a cafe, but part of me worries if my crafting will have to take a back burner- which I really don't want to happen.

Which brings me to my reason for writing today. I've felt like this for quite a while and wonder if sometimes other full-time crafters feel the same way. I chat with friends about working, or am introduced to someone new and explain to them what I do and I get the reaction from them that they think I really don't actually work. When in reality I end up spending anywhere from 5-7 hours each day working (usually with only 2-3 days off a month). I'm either taking care of household work, or I'm crafting for the online shop, there isn't much time for anything else. Yet for some reason people who aren't really into crafting think that I just sit around and do nothing all day. Why is that? Do others that craft get this from people they know and meet too? Maybe I'm just not really explaining well enough what I do? It's pretty frustrating. I do tend to be sparse with details, especially if I know the person I'm talking to insot into crafting (I figure I will bore them to death). 

And now knowing that in just a few months I could be running a cafe full time, what happens if I'm forced to choose between crafting and the cafe. Ugh. Not a choice I ever want to make. I hope I will be able to find a good balance between the two.

Anyways- back to talking about the online shop. Hopefully there will be some cute little crochet things popping up. I really want to find some time between the plushies to crochet on a more regular basis. Not that I don't love making the plushies, but I've found that I miss being able to crochet on a regular basis a lot. I'm also considering making other kinds of plush critters with the technique I've been using for the butlers. It really opens up a lot of options for design.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------