Its New Year’s Eve, and 2018 is almost gone. Where did the year go? It felt like it went out faster than I can recall it being 2018. The year ended with me getting a cold that just won’t go away. Day 6 and its still here. So while I am resting, I thought I would put to paper my year in review.

January started out fantastic for Lee. The temp job he had became a permanent job! YES, Lee working full time, getting benefits, vacation hours. That makes up for the past 4 years. His boss is so nice, the company feels like an extended family, they all get along.

2018 began with me crocheting tentacles for the octupuses I ship to my consignor. Usually the first 3 months are quiet, but with Lee’s new job, he started to bring in a few of my animals to show his co-workers.  All of a sudden, sales were happening, custom orders were being taken and I was busy crocheting new animals.

Between consignment and new co-workers, I crocheted 150 animals, 90 of them went to Buy Hand Laguna Beach, 30 went to Lee’s co-workers of Lee and the rest for arts & crafts shows.

2018 I resolved to keep my consignor in stock of crochet animals, kids hats, and crossbody bags. I shipped product to her 9 times this year. She kept me quite busy, especially during the summer, with emails asking for crochet animals, as they were selling quicker than expected. That made it easy for me to not do any spring craft shows, more time devoted to her.

2018 found me creating and designing more patterns than in previous years. This year accounted for 6 new patterns. There were scarves, a hat, new animals just to name a few. I hope to be able to create more in 2019.

We did have a few fun moments: we saw one of my all-time favorite bands this summer. The Brian Setzer Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. Great concert, well worth the price. I just wish we could see his Christmas concert, it usually falls on the same night as Lee’s company holiday party.

The one project I HAD to do was to make my brother the blanket he now has. He lost his home in the summer to a wildfire in Redding. He lost everything he and Kris had. They got out, with their kitty, that was the most important to get out alive. They will rebuild on the same site. The blanket took me 3 weeks to make, a lot of hard work went into making it, but they have a new heirloom to cherish, and to keep warm.

Not only did Los Angeles have the Yarn Crawl in April, this past November, Stitches So Cal happened in Pasadena. Lee and I provided the fixtures for the knitting guild booth to display members knitted and crocheted items from classes we had taken. I knitted and crocheted 6 seat cushions for the booth.

2018 ended with just 1 craft show I participated in. I was able to clear out merchandise I had been crocheting and knitting this year. Even one of my favorite grocery checkers purchased scarves from me. She placed 2 custom orders, with a third order to be placed in the next few days.

There you go, 2018 was quite an eventful year. The kitties pouncing, playing with each other, getting along as the year went by. Lee working many hours every day, up at 4:30am, asleep by 9pm. Me, learning new skills, taking time to create new product, working on the blog.

Here’s to 2019, resolutions or not: Blogging, stay healthy & happy, take time for myself, relax and enjoy each day as it comes.