Fall 2012

Well I am having a bit of market withdrawal. Kelly asked for gross sales figs recently, and i was surprised to see i made $587. The bulk of earnings came from 2 events - 1 sweater sale and the last day, which was brutally cold. I was selling knit hats like 60. Probably did close to $200 that day.

So what does that mean  - cold summers are good for knitwear vendors. The jewelry guys were doing $200 each week. It would definitely be nice to do $200 a day more often.

Have started selling patterns of the weasley sweaters. They sell steadily. Now have large 1 size R, lg 1 size H and child's W. Am building up a bit of a stockpile of ready to ship sweaters. There's always someone who wants one somewhat suddenly.

The pattern experiment has been good - i do have other text products i could concentrate on.

One customer had the nerve to open a case against me on Etsy. So irritating. To open a case, the item has to be undelivered or be not what was expected. Customer opened case after 2 weeks on a custom item that wasn't even going to be finished for 3, and would take 2 wk to ship. Clearly there were no ground to open it at all. Appealed to Etsy. Sent a screen cap of Can Post graph showing item was received 3 days ago. Hang on - this just in - Etsy sends email that case has been resolved and closed.  What a relief. I hated seeing that little red warning bar. And receiving the warning email. Wondering if the cust was not very bright or trying to get something out of it - faster more expensive shipping at my expense, perhaps. Friends, govern yourselves accordingly.

We've listed the house. Looking to downsize, fewer steps, lower mortgage. Living out of boxes is a bit hard. I've got my essential kn supplies sort of  isolated. Went looking for guitar pieces to work up some christmas stuff. Well, I've got it moved up from boxes in the basement. Maybe tomoro.

So we beat on. Tiny house is so appealing. Along with my teardrop trailer.

Best wishes much appreciated!

Omg - the market is nearly over!

Well, a lot has gone on since my last entry.

Our Manitoba mission trip has come and gone. The time again went by too fast. Our schedule gets so crowded there wasn't time to try my bison fleece experiment. But we have a bison ranch out here near Milton. So maybe Benny and I can do a road trip out there for that purpose this fall.

I have picked up the yarn for some fine gauge alpaca socks for Stella and some slippers for Audrey. The house is a disaster what with getting ready to sell, but i have managed to keep these precious parcels aside.

I have gotten totally hooked on camping, am dying for a teardrop trailer, and dream about a handmade wooden one, maybe arranging for someone to make it for me for my honey for our 25th anniv in 2 yrs. Would also like a really sweet tiny home, but that will take more of a sales pitch.

Cambodia Kevin  had an FB status a day ago saying Manna4Life has been awarded NGO status in Cambodia - PTL!

And i'm still mulling whether the market experiment has worked.

On the one hand, i love the market. I'd rather be outside shilling knitwear any day than be stuck indoors at a mall.

On the other hand, my kind of classic knitwear doesn't seem to generate that much interest with the market crowd. You're there mainly thru summer, so i was making up cotton knits like crazy just to have something seasonal. But that's not what i want to spend my time doing. I ended up having a lot of sweater orders, and honestly, the time would have been better spent  remuneratively out on my deck with a cup of coffee filling orders. There are really only 4 weeks of the market where people are thinking about cold weather knitwear. Around Labour day, it was still hot and little kids were chuckling about who would buy mittens in summer. (I had only just put them out).

The only other variable is  whether or not the regulars would get used to seeing you there over the cycle of another summer and come to you with orders and gift ideas.

But i tell you, 5 am comes painfully early if traffic to your tent is light.

Depending on how flush we are and how ambitious i am, it might be worth considering for next year taking out a full time vendor  spot, but planning not to be there too much in the spring.

But it is fun and friendly. Has been worth a try. I really wanted it to work. The jury is still to a certain degree out.

Planning, however, to fully enjoy (split infinitive) my last 2 weeks there.

Market friends

The market experience continues to evolve. Highlight this week occurred when Joshua swung by to pick up the maple leaf skullcap he had asked for last week. The look on his face was priceless. It's so nice to be able to gauge in person how the customer reacts to their custom order. He clearly loved it.

One of the wonderful BAC volunteers helped me set up my booth last week. Note to self - double check that all weights have been lifted out of the car. When i went to set up, I had only 3 weights. Luckily my friend Margaret was on the way and i was able to get her to look for the errant weight.

Meantime the wind picked up, and we had a solid little downpour. I have all my inv pegged to bungie clotheslines hooked between the legs of my stall. I was fairly effortless able to swing all the lines to the interior  right under the roof. So nothing got damaged.

The watercolour vendor beside me was not quite so lucky. There was a bit of water damage to some of her matts. However the day became searingly hot by the end, so my damp socks dried out completely. And when i glanced at her matts they seemed to have dried up too.

Other vendors were busy hanging their walls when the rain came. i don't have them and felt a bit incomplete without them. But i noticed the wind wobbled the stall with wall more than it did mine. And as long as all the merch stayed dry, I'm happy with my solution.

It's the first day i hung the HP sweaters, blue and black - i don't have a demo version of the red left. I thought this would be pointless as i'm not doing the greatest traffic in small ticket items. But a lot more people stopped by and lingered over the sweaters. Go figure. Gotta get a red one worked up.

Have had 2 bits of feedback about not preferring the moccasin style men's slippers. Not sure what they want but i can work up a sample of a more common look. Not what i would want, tho.

Someone took a card interested in crochet lessons.

It was great to have Marg come by. We got a lot of planning done for the upcoming Manitoba trip. And she brought me a much needed coffee and mini banana loaf. And the formula of me setting up early morning, and having hubby come and help me for vehicle fetching at teardown worked quite well. And i even found a wheelchair ramp close to the elevator/washroom doors that makes it easier to do that side trip. The cooler temps helped. Will be glad when the dog days of July are behind us.

Market love

Well, I've survived 2 days at the market, Art in the Open to be specific.

Today I made 15x more than last week. Things are lookin' up!

I think it's the yarns part of GoodYarns that loves the market. Today a young woman named Princess asked if I make tuque style hats, and how much. I told her that depended on whether for child or adult, etc. She asked if I knew the movie Aquatic Life, which my daughter Holly had acquainted me with this winter. Hey, as a kid that grew up wanting to work on the Calypso, I loved that movie. Anyway the customer is looking for mom and tot Team Zizou hats - and i love this concept. Whether  this plan makes it to completion or not doesn't matter. The exchange was so hilarious.

Another customer was a lovely young lady named Holly. She tried on my oversize Gryffindor tam, and it looked fabulous on her. Anna, the vendor beside me let Holly use her mirror (gotta get me one of those - thanks Anna!) I told her my Holly, the quintessential HP fan, would definitely approve.

One returning visitor loves the HP display, and has informed me these are the Motherwell team colours.  Someone else told me if i want to sell more, tell people these are the colours of the Brampton Excelsior, the local lacrosse team.

I've given away quite a few business cards to people simply looking for knitting or crochet lessons. Gerard will be returning to a pair of half decent man slippers, navy blue.

My old neighbour John dropped by today and picked up a cute pink, jute and orange cotton ball cap for new-ish granddaughter Zoe.

It's exhausting - getting up at 5 am, which i never do. Lugging my carcass and canopy over there, hanging up my weights, setting up my bungie cord clothes lines, and then the rush to tear down.

But it is really fun. Shooting for my 10x the cost per day next week. Might just make it!

Visit me at Art in the Open, Brampton!

Well it's official. I'm in as a vendor at Brampton's Art in the Open, which is a branch off its Farmers Market. Run June - Oct.

I've been looking forward to this for a few years. I'm hoping to have 1 red Weasley sweater available every weekend. Sorry, can't really drop the price - it's already a steal in terms of the number of hours that go into it. But you can save on shipping by picking one up there. And it's aways nice to  eyeball the real live article. The red chunky with red neps that i've been using is harder than hen's teeth to come by. So i've picked up some other variations in my travels - one with more multicoloured neps, another without neps in 100 acrylic. We'll see what the pub  thinks of the options.

i've also put in for a Kudos phone dongle so that i can take cc payments on my phone. i do have a PP one apparently coming, but it won't be here in time for the market, and not everyone has a PP account. Can't hurt to try the Kudos.

The full gamut of HP merch will be there. Also my other fundraising items - Kevin's caps for his work in Cambodia, my uber warm WICM hats, our fundraising books. I have other ideas - want to do my Kidney Beanies for the Kidney Foundation.

Come and visit me - basically on the steps of the Rose Theatre in BT. I have a really good feeling about this!

you know you've arrived when...

Report on golden acorn book from the original junebug, on reading the book to her grandson:

“Read the story to Josh… right away he he got the connection to June & Skipper .. After the story was finished he ran upstairs to rummage through a box of old do-dads I have kept for years. I asked what he was looking for & he replied.. *that acorn necklace..you keep all that old stuff in here *.. He was very impressed by the story..”

Am so lovin that he thought the acorn necklace was a real artifact!

March Break!

Well I'm slightly saddened to read today that the maple syrup season may have started early and end early as well. Temps are supposed to be glorious this week. But apparently once the buds come out on the maples, the saps goes bitter, and doesn't make for good syrup any more. Oh well, Aunt Jemima with 15% real syrup will have to do. I'm dying to get out into the garden this week.

Have so many expansion plans for the garden. I think after 10+ yrs in this house I have finally figured out a good spot for the veg garden. Other half may not be as enamoured of it, but i missed my zucchini harvest last year, and i'm not going thru that again...!

Currently on the needles - we are getting ready for a sales table in the mall to promote our Golden Acorn fundraising book. I've had a notion that i would include knit mini squirrels - basically a ball with a fluffy fun fur tail, embroidered face - with the book to entice buyers. Ok, here's a pic of the prototype - altho in the interest of pseudo mass production, i'm moving to a ball body, no arms, ears or acorn. Will also have available diy acorn necklace kits in a baggie. And heck, it's a bonding moment with the team and a chance to promote WICM - complete win-win.

My childhood friend Kelly of Boston Terrier Rescue ordered a book online yesterday - felt good to transfer that directly to Norval PC thru Canada Helps as a donation to the trip. Thanks Kelly! There's some momentum happening again here people!

So kinda busy around here. Gotta get my normal time adjusting act into gear. Happy spring break everyone!!!

Triumph over toe up socks

Have been poking away this weekend at toe up socks.

I mean i kind of like the old way. It's like driving a standard transmission, there's more action on the journey.

But it's true, they go a lot faster.

Am not real happy with my turkish cast on. it should look more seamless. I may have to revert to sock monkey mouth, or the tried and true 2-3 stitches per 3 needles.

Wasn't happy with the holes along short row heel. But i think i like the finish on the wrap and turn on 2nd half of heel. Still fooling with the rejoin at the instep - make one before the new needle, then kn st 1 plus mo together helps on one side. Need to keep fiddling with the other. Getting close anyway.

Motivated enough to order some new sock yarn colours from mm.

Currently on the pins - Cabin Fever's Jane Austen shawl. My niece has a bd in late Feb, and is prez of the Jane Austen fan club. She's not a college kid any more, but might appreciate a cozy alpaca shoulder wrap in JA style. It's going pretty quickly in chunky on 10 mm needles. My soon to be 18 yr old is the vp of the JA fan club. Here's hoping she doesn't claim it first!

Herdsy

Well, the first rant of 2012 is long overdue. Topic - the herd mentality on the front page of Etsy.

Don't get me wrong - there are many things i respect and admire about the hand craft/artisan site.

But I am really board by the grey love on the home page. And spare me - this stupid funny glasses case in grey felt. Running stitch in a glasses shape on a boring grey rectangle stuck on a hand in front of your eyes. My 6 year old could come up with that. I've seen this un-funny glasses case at least twice in the last 24 hrs. For 24 bucks no less.

And how many times do i have to look at that fargin rip off coffee bean coffee cosy in its plethora of colours. Ok, so you know how to knit a 4 inch strip with a cable in the middle and garter stitch edges, and stitch on a 'super cute' button. Big whip. My all thumbs 15 yr old daughter can do that. Worth 17 frickin 50. That scrap of yarn might be the equivalent of 50 cents. She was looking for some winter income to supplement busking in the summer. I'll tell her to stock up on grey. It goes with everything.

I mean, there's so much actual good stuff on there - can't we do better?!

And why grey. It's winter, the sky is grey. I don't want to look at bloody boring grey. I've seen 2 grey treasuries in the last 24 hours.

And what's with the geometrics. All the angry triangles are aggravating my vertigo. Yeah, i want a whole houseful of what the cuss geometrics.

And i'm sorry that video on cat hair crafts - i had to take a double antihistimine after that one.

Somebody, please, anyone, come up with something creative, skillful, interesting and pleasant to look at.

Come on Etsy. It's enough to turn people off artisan work right at the front door.