Heavens to Etsy!

Yeah like I'm not the first person in the history of that website to make that joke. Anyway...

I just made my first Etsy sale! Yay! Some nice gal in Ohio bought my wood bead hemp anklet. I say it's about time, I've had the jewelry up since October. But I guess people are not as quick to purchase something so easy to make as friendship and hemp bracelets. I was sure the guitar pick earrings would sell fast since they're just so sweet but *shrug* I'm hoping the crocheted stuff will start to pick up, especially the amigurumi, because while they are in theory easy to make (most patterns are just single crochet stitches done in a spiral) they're time-consuming to make and frustrating if you lose count or your stitch marker falls out (you don't know how many rows I've had to redo...). Right now I'm working on a slime (from the video game series Dragon Quest aka Dragon Warrior) amigurumi, but this particular one is a late birthday gift for Gahmstead. I'm going to make more though, but I think I'm going to relegate them only to selling at the anime conventions this summer because the person who made the pattern is on Etsy and I don't want her to recognize her pattern and get upset that I'm technically using it for profit. I'm still working on the Waldo scarf. I haven't done much more work on it this week because I was preoccupied doing other things, then I picked up the slime the past 2 nights. But I should get that done soon. Then maybe another Gryffindor scarf while I still have tons of crimson and gold. A better one this time. Maybe I'll copy Flav and do one in the newer style (it's only fair...she copied the Gryffindor scarf from me first LOL) And of course, more amigurumi. I think I'll eventually gain much success selling the amigurumi - especially at conventions. If I can find or come up with patterns for a lot of the more popular anime and video game plushies, they'll sell like hotcakes at the conventions because people would rather buy cheaper handmade ones than the commercial ones that can go for up to $25-$30. I also have to make some more jewelry. I haven't made any since the Christmas gifts I made. Since those take a lot less time, I should just take one evening and crank out a good chunk of earrings and bracelets. The good thing is I have until May to stock up for the first convention (AnimeBoston).

So I mentioned earlier this week that Wig and Gahmstead's band, Umbilical Cord, would be playing at a concert in memory of their friend Joe who died last September. Yeah, well, last night they were told they were not playing. This wouldn't be such a huge kick in the ass if it wasn't planned for months and on top of that, Joe's brother Chris was saying all week how he wanted Wig andGahm to play this one particular song - that they spent all week learning. But Chris wasn't calling the shots, it was his cousin, so I can only surmise that he didn't take Umbilical Cord into consideration when planning the concert. Still, as Joe's brother, Chris could've stepped in and said something. I mean, I don't think any of these bands had a close connection to Joe (although I wouldn't be surprised if they did personally know him, this kid did nothing but go to concerts) and Wig and Gahm were close friends. I wonder if they even tried to get the band Hostile Takeover - they knew Joe really well. Maybe it did have to do with the fact that Umbilical Cord still isn't a full band, but it shouldn't because that hasn't stopped them before and their music can hold its own without a drummer (although it does help). Whatever the reason lies in Joe's cousin, not his brother. I'm actually surprised it was a cousin planning the whole thing, I thought Chris had a lot more to do with it. If he did, this problem would'nt have arisen and we'd have some more material for Umbilical Cord. But shit happens. On the bright side, I have 25 Umbilical Cord business card magnets to give out. So if you want to see a really bizarre band logo on your fridge everyday and be reminded of the website address let me know.