F.........ebruary Experiment

You are invited to celebrate the month of February with me as I show a little love to my Etsy shop with an experiment. Although my sales were OK in January, I'd like to see those figures improve and know there are things I can be doing to promo Peacox Creations. I'd be delighted if you would follow along with me as I try these techniques:

1. Blog every day with an update on what I did the day before.

2. List or renew at least two items every day.

3. Take new photos and edit them at least once a week, even though I know on this old, slow computer, that will be a challenge.

4. Introduce at least one completely new product.

5. Edit the present items in my shop with better tags, titles an descriptions.

6. Be active with at least one team I'm on a day, posting in the team forums, reading others' blogs, or perhaps making treasuries.

There must have been a method to my madness for choosing the shortest month of the year!

One of the new items I'm posting today is this set of crocheted cotton dishcloths/facecloths knit from a yarn that makes its own stripes. They arrive tied with a matching ribbon, so they are quickly ready to tuck in a gift, or untie for immediate use!

N.........ew Year's shop goals

Setting goals is important any time of year, but January seems a better time than most. Prompted by the Etsy Bloggers, I set out to form this year's goals of my Etsy shop. Over many years, I've learned to keep goals reasonable and considering the economy I've decided to feature smaller, practical items. There will still be some new baskets and Christening Gowns, but for now I'm concentrating on scrubbies and scrubbie dishcloths. The latter are washer and dryer friendly, and the small scrubbies can be washed in the dishwasher. Just because they're practical, it doesn't mean they can't be attractive, and they're offered in sets of two or six to keep costs down. As you can also see, our beautiful Katydid has decided to "help" me attain my goal, and posed on my make shift light box. She and her brother, Kirby, are often seen in "helpful" mode, lying on the bed as I'm trying to make it, jumping in the dryer when it's warm, and sitting on my lap as I try to craft. How could anyone attain goals without them?

C.........amille just couldn't wait!

She was supposed to wait until Thursday, but she just couldn't! She had to tell about her trip to visit Grandma yesterday! She hopped right into the car, and wanted to drive and then sit on the console, but then was a good girl and was buckled into the back seat to be safe. But it was all worth it. She even was able to watch Grandma craft. Over many years, Grandma has probably made thousands of dishcloths that she donates to

organizations for their craft bazaars and gives as gifts. Look at those marvelous fingers! They're almost 94 years old!

S.........crubbie/dishcloth Part 1:

For many years, I have loved using handmade dishcloths and nylon net scrubbies. Finally, it hit me that I could combine them and make the most useful dishcloth ever! For those of you who crochet, this mini-tutorial may give you all the directions you need. The complete pattern and finished dishcloths are also available on my etsy site in the right hand column.You need about 7 yards of nylon netting cut into two inch strips. One purchase of the netting which is 72" wide will give you many scrubbies. With an "I" crochet hook make a loop. I crochet loosely, so you may want a "J" or "K" hook. Single crochet three rows, increasing as needed to lie flat. It should be about 3" in diameter. Finish off. You now have a very useful scrubbie as is. If you wish to continue with the dishcloth, see the post below!