Who is reading my blog?

I have no clue, but maybe someone can give me some advice about my pattern.

My tunisian crochet pattern is written. I could take some pictures and make a video so everything is clear, but now what do I do?

I can...
a. Keep it to myself and make cute longies for my children and friends
b. Keep it to myself and sell the longies (and still make for my children and friends)
c. Sell my pattern
d. Give my pattern away for free
e. Any combination of the above

If I sell my pattern I have learn and deal with copyrights and I don't know if I really want to do that. If I give my pattern away for free - I doubt I'll ever sell any that I actually make (why buy things you can do yourself).

Do I even care about a profit? Honestly, it would just be nice to buy craft supplies. I have no idea if I want to deal with the upkeep of a store on Hyena Cart or Etsy. I don't even know how much it costs to have a store monthly. I can do a pair a week, but I don't really want the pressure of getting one done a week.

What about taxes?

The thought of ALL the work and money needed to get started is a little overwhelming.

Another concern is who will really buy my longies. I'm not going to lie - they are pretty awesome, BUT everyone is hurting for money. So, this is where I think selling the pattern might be best. However, the cloth diapering community has been very helpful, we are all on a budget, and few people know about tunisian crochet in the round. A free pattern would mean I can give back to the cloth diapering community and spread the love for tunisian.

I just wish that if I gave it away for free I could enforce others to pay it forward. I wonder if it would be possible to STRONGLY threaten/suggest a donation to miracle diapers if someone planned on selling them. The online cloth diapering community is large, but not that large. I could find the seller and call them out on some public forum.

These are just my thoughts. I know they are random, but I'm sitting her nursing Everett and I'm not going to try and organize them.

I need someone to tell me what to do.

Dyed Wool - First Attempt

Drying out.

My oops spot...

All balled up and ready to be tunisianed up.

It was quite a learning experience, but I'm eager to do it again and not make the same mistakes.

Tunisian in the round longies... perfect pattern

There is the tunisian up close. I love it.
Benny showing them off.
A little short, but what an awesome fit.

And I have 2 more skeins so I can make another pair... with matching trim.

And sometimes you get crafty presents

First, Everett is a smiley baby when he isn't crying. It's like either he is mad or happy - no in between.


Everett giving his new blanket from his Great Aunt Betty a snuggle.

Benny waiting for his chance to bounce. I didn't know that belly time was an invitation for Benny to try and sit on his brother.

You can see Brandon's knee. I'm not joking that whenever Everett is on his tummy Benny tries to sit on him! In a few months I'll let him, but for now we will stick to just letting Benny poke at Everett and give him kisses <3

Dyeing Yarn

My yarn is getting here Tuesday, but while all three boys are napping I figured instead of doing something productive I'll plan next weekend.

Before Friday: Prep yarn and write out detailed steps
Friday evening: Soak yarn in water, vinegar, and dawn dishsoap
Saturday Morning: Prepare workspace
-probably the kitchen counter... i need to lay down a tarp/garbage bags/old towels and sheets
Saturday an hour before I paint: prepare dye
-1/2 tsp dye to 3/8 cup of hot water, plus 1 tbsp vinegar... something like this
Saturday afternoon: paint and heat set my dye
-I still need to decide if I'm going to use steam or the microwave
Sunday morning: rinse my yarn and hang to dry
-I have no clue where I'm going to hang to dry. Hopefully, it will be nice out and I can put it on our porch - if not maybe the laundry room so it doesn't get in Brandon's way.

Next Project (s)...

I don't know at what point I became old and started to prefer "grandmother" hobbies, but I guess you need to start sometime. I'm not totally old. I don't like to cook or bake and I know little about gardening (however, I will someday when we have a yard). Maybe it's all out of rebellion. My mother isn't crafty at all. Actually, I feel confident in saying my mother will never make anything but food for her grandchildren. Which is fine - I know I'll forever hear "this doesn't taste like Grammy's" or "Grammy's are SOOO much better. Why can't you cook/bake like her?" It will be awesome... At least I have boys. They eat anything.

I need to get to diaper making. Pockets aren't working for Everett and the newborn diapers are too small. I have all this awesome fabric. However, my serger is going to need to be serviced. I'm totally pushing the thing into overdrive. It needs a good cleaning and the tensions to be fixed. I know I could always do turn and topstitch, but they take longer to dry.

Longies. There is always a crochet project started. I have two custom dyed yarns. One is here and the other is on the way. They are so pretty and I can't wait to tunisian them up.

I also have plain white yarn and dye on the way. Brandon is probably going to kill me. I might wait till we go home to PA to do it, but then my mother will want to kill me. There is just so much more room in PA and I can use the garage instead of our kitchen. I can't wait. There is such pretty painted yarn out there - I can only hope I can make some pretty yarn too.

So, for the record. It has taken me an hour and a half to write this blog. I've changed 3 diapers, fed Everett twice, read Benny a couple of books, and started a load of diapers. Everything just takes a couple of hours these days...

Nursing Pads

Nursing pads are a super quick and easy project. I personally HATE disposable nursing pads - that plasticy/paper feeling is gross and the price of them adds up.

I know some breastfeeding moms never need nursing pads, but I'm definitely not one of those moms. This is probably more than you would like to know, but I have super let down and am super leaky. It's nice that I don't have a supply issue, but I'm slightly over the wasted milk.

Anyways, if I were to use disposable nursing pads. I would be spending about $10 a week on pads, that $40 a month, and if I were to breastfed for a year $480. Is it worth $20 bucks in fabric for some good quality nursing pads - I'd say so! I haven't tried anything that you can buy in the store, but I hear they don't hold up at all.

I have 6 pairs floating around and since I'm washing diapers everyday it's not a big deal. They are made of zorb and bamboo fleece. They aren't itchy, they aren't too big or too small, and I don't feel like I'm being wasteful when I use a fresh clean pair.

You can find nursing pads on Etsy or Hyena Cart. The great thing about those two sites is the fact that alot of the moms making the products are open to customs. So, I higly recommend to my pregnant/ already breastfeeding/ someday parents to find someone to make you nursing pads that will fit you comfortably and made of absorbent materials!