Sports teams are filling my days

How did this happen? I come from a family that was not particularly into watching sports on television. In fact, I only remember watching sporting events when the Olympics were on television.

Now all of my time seems to be filled with figuring out which teams are in the football playoffs, which baseball or basketball teams might be popular, and what colors the flags are in golf.

Why am I doing all of this? Because I have been making beverage cozies with sports themes. A while back I was trying to think of things to give to men as gifts and realized that other people probably have the same issue. I started with a beverage cozy for football for a teacher, then added a few to my Etsy shop. From that, I have had people ask me to make golf and hockey cozies, which have been a fun challenge. I also recently made a baseball cozy and a basketball pencil holder. In addition, with some input from a customer, I added stripes to my football cozies.

I am having fun creating these items, partly because they are not extremely complicated. They do require some thought to make them look the way I would like them, but not so much that it takes a week to create a new item like the puppets I had been doing. Hopefully I will be adding patterns for these cozies soon; I have already added a simple football cozy to my Etsy shop.

Some time I may figure out a soccer cozy, but I am not sure how that one could work at this point.

Another reason for my interest in gifts for men is that I may soon have to stop making gifts for children due to the CPSIA, which would require me to test all of my items for children under twelve for lead, even though yarn and polyfill stuffing does not have lead in it. The cost for what is acceptable testing according to this act of Congress would cause the items I sell to be out of the price range of all but the richest of parents. If there are not changes to this act of Congress, I will have to stop selling my letter pillows, which I really enjoy making for others.

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Etsyhooker of the Week — Monkey Travel Club

Sometimes I guess you find something that is well received and you go all out. With Monkey Travel Club, you find a shop with a theme that seems to be popular as well as very cute. These gadget cozies are an adorable way to protect your electronic gadgets and will make them easy to find if you happen to set it down or stuff it in the bottom of a bag.

If you need a cute little purse for running a few quick errands around town, this is the perfect one. It would even make a good gift for a school aged girl.

For those of you who cannot stand a day without your coffee, here is the perfect cozy to make your drink stand out from the crowd. Monkey Travel Club has many different colors to choose from, and even has a custom order listed.

If you head over to Etsy, please check out Laura’s Left Hook as well.

ASL Sign for the Post: To sign monkey, just pretend to be a monkey; put your arms out at your sides and pretend to be scratching the air at your sides.

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Etsyhooker of the Week — WeeBeeUniquesByJulie

As a crocheter, I think to myself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” when I look at this offering by WeeBeeUniquesByJulie. I certainly have been known to indulge in some ice cream straight from the pint on occasion, especially after the kids are in bed. I love that she shows it with the “low fat” peeking out from the top. Mine would never say that; I tend to hit Dove or Ben and Jerry’s if I get a pint.

WeeBeeUniques also has a couple cute sets of facial scrubs with great packaging. I love the bright colors of these sets, but you could also get a set made to match your bathroom if you want.

I had a difficult time deciding which item to put in as my third to showcase WeeBeeUniques. She has many lovely items to keep adults warm, but this adorable hat and sweater set caught my attention.

If you head over to Etsy, please check out Laura’s Left Hook as well.

ASL Signs for the Post: To sign ice cream, imagine you are holding an ice cream cone and licking it. To sign hat, pat the top of your head.

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