Dyeing Again

I've gotta say, 2012 is proving to be an interesting year so far. Much, MUCH different from depressing, dark, hopeless 2011. So Yarndeavors was hacked; it wasn't malicious, just annoying—the result of someone with too much time and knowledge on their hands, and nothing better to do. Though they did dismantle my yarn shop.

This led to some serious thought about what I wanted to do with Yarndeavors, as well as my life. I mulled it over, did a little research, and opted to make the commitment to Yarndeavors—for real. Will I become a sock yarn maven like Lorna('s Laces) or Tina (Blue Moon Fiber Arts)? I don't know. Maybe! It would be cool if I did.

It would also be cool if I could sell enough hand-dyed yarn to supplement other forms of income and ease the need to have a Real J-O-B™.

That said, after scouring the ZenCart forums, I realized that's not the way to go (my GOD does that app get hacked into! It was jolting to read the hundreds of accounts similar to mine).

So I opened up an Etsy shop.

And I revamped the website (to reflect the link changes, and tweak the template slightly).

And I set up a Facebook Page (which you can go "Like").

And then I sold a bunch of yarn. (!)

So now I'm dyeing again.

Of course, now would be the time my camera decides not to like batteries anymore, since I have a few items that need photos before they can be listed. (Tech support said newer 1.5-volt AA batteries are—get this—too powerful to work in my camera, which is maybe six years old; that newer 1.5-volts benchtest at 1.8 volts, so I need to get really cheap or older somewhat discharged batteries and by the way they no longer sell the AC adapter for it but it's available on Amazon for fifty bucks...) Well, the el cheapo Ray-O-Vacs I had on hand didn't work...

BIG sigh.

OK. So I might not be documenting by still camera for now. I have a mini-DV camcorder that takes stills, and as of last month it still worked. And I have a Friend With Cameras I might be able to bribe to help out (she shoots NASCAR races and co-produces a nationally syndicated NASCAR talk radio show "On Pit Row"—I know, you wouldn't think it to look at her) but I digress.

So I did all of this, and then doors started opening. Small ones, but they're definitely leading me down a path related to fibers. I mean, this one door that opened, there is really no other explanation for it except it's definitely a DOOR. And I had the courage, for once, to walk through it. As soon as things gel, I'll blog about it. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it's not a path I've walked before though it's one I've pondered in the past.

It really is true, that when you make a commitment to something, doors open. Of course, part of it is being able to SEE the door when it appears (which I did for once), and having the COURAGE to walk up to it and through it.

I'm not the least bit surprised that this stuff is opening up, either—the Word of the Year that I chose is "Self-Reliant"—and the doors that are opening are definitely designed to make me so.

If the year keeps moving like this (minus camera challenges), I might be somewhere pretty amazing by the end of it. :-)

posted by Jeanne @ 10:01 PM