Wonderwool Wales

Just to say that I've been accepted for the Wonderwool Wales show at the end of April - I'm exited, but a bit worried already!

Harpenden was reasonably busy yesterday and we had a window of dry weather in the mass of rain that has fallen recently. On the downside, a rack of scarves blew off the stall and into a muddy puddle - they're not ruined, but I couldn't sell them and I've spent some time today washing the mud off them - they should be fine for next month.

My next market is St Alban's in January - I haven't been there in Jan. for a few years, but thought I'd give it a go this time round. I'm also having an online sale in my etsy shop - 10% off all items.

Best wishes to everyone for Christmas and the New Year - I'll be back here in January.

Another last effort!

Since I last posted, I've decided to do a final market at Harpenden tomorrow - the local council has allowed it to trade for a bit longer (3.30 pm)  and has arranged some christmas carollers etc. so it make the whole event a bit more festive. I'm hoping that people will still want to buy last minute gifts and the weather forecast is for dry conditions, so fingers crossed!

I've started making my husband a fair-isle style hat as part of his present, but he'll have to watch it being made over the holidays rather than unwrapping it on christmas morning as I've been making a few last bits for the stall. I had some odds and ends of yarn left which were not enough for a scarf, but have made cowls, mittens and hats from them and am hoping they'll sell. 

After a bit of an early mad rush shopping on Christmas Eve, I'm looking forward to putting my feet up with some knitting and a box of biscuits before we go to Christmas Day Mass and then welcome friends and family for lunch.

After Christmas it's the tax return!

One last effort!

Just getting ready for my last Farmers' Market before Christmas - it's at St. Alban's tomorrow. The weather forecast is for cold, but no rain, so not so bad. We've had some odd weather here, with some high winds - A couple of weeks ago Harpenden market was cancelled as the stalls were being blown all over the roads as they were being put up, so it was unsafe to hold it.  This was such a shame, as it's my busiest market of the year and I'm sure a lot of people were going to buy their Christmas gifts - let's hope they find their way so St. Alban's this week!    

To compensate a little, the Christmas Fair at Russet House School that I went to was great - really well attended and plenty of sales. I've been knitting like crazy over the past ten days, but as ever, there's still some stock that has sold out and I won't be able to replace in time.

Next week it'll be all go getting my own Christmas preparations done and then I'm hoping to have a week relaxing a bit and  perhaps doing some dyeing!

November update 2

Not the most snappy title for a post, but I really couldn't think of anything better!

I'm off to Harpenden Farmers' Market on Sunday. It is held to coincide with the town's Christmas Carnival, so it wil be a later start and a longer day (12noon 'til 6pm) than normal. The weather forecast isn't great, but I hope we will be able to set up while it's still dry and then we'll just have to take our chances with the rain! My husband is coming to help me and to provide much needed relief breaks during the day, so it will be nice to have some company. I was reasonably busy at Royston last weekend, so I'm just trying to get enough stock together at the moment.

I sent out the final shipment of my yarn club on monday and it's started arriving - so far people seem to like the colours and I'll be listing some spares in my etsy shop, once I know they've all arrived safely. I need to dye some more yarn, but may wait until after the holidays as I'm so busy trying to keep up with scarf sales at the moment.

I've only got two more events after this weekend - a school Christmas fair next Wednesday (28th) and then St Alban's Farmers' Market on 9th December. It's always a relief to finish and get ready for my own Christmas - so far all I've done is order a turkey!  

November Update

I can't believe that it's been a month since I last posted here - things have certainly been busy!

I had an exhausting but enjoyable day at the Alexandra Palace show - it was great chatting about knitting and crochet to fellow enthusiasts and we had several items from the Guild's collection on show, which were great conversation starters. Another lady demonstrated Tunisian Crochet - something I've never tried but now feel I could tackle. Probably something to keep for a break over Christmas - before then I'm just making stock for my Farmers' Markets.

St Alban's was very busy last month and I'm off there again tomorrow. Fortunately the weather is forecast cold and bright, ideal for me, and I'll be putting the holly garland on the stall as a not-so-subliminal "Christmas is coming" message to market-goers!

 The following weekend I'm at a craft fair at Royston garden centre - indoors (yay), which I'm looking forward to. I did one day there last year and it was pretty busy, so I'm hoping it will be the same again this year. As there's no Wheathampstead market this year, I can do both days and I can leave the stall set up overnight on Saturday. 

I've sent of my application for Wonderwool Wales, so fingers crossed that I'll be accepted. After the muddy experience of Fibre East, I'm not sure if I can persuade my mother to come with me, so I may have to do it on my own....anyway I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

October update

Wow - October already! Things have been very busy - which is good - but the blog has been sadly neglected.

I've been busy dyeing and am now on the second instalment of my mini-skeins yarn club. There aren't as many members as I'd initially hoped, but those that are in the club have been very positive and it's a good opportunity to try out some new colorways. I dye two or three large skeins at the same time as I dye the mini skeins and those that are popular, I'll bring into my standard rotation of colors -there's a couple already that I think will be a hit, plus a couple of custom colors that can be added too.

I'm off to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace tomorrow, where I'll be helping on the Knitting and Crochet Guild stand for the morning and then get a couple of hours to look round. I still haven't made up everything I bought last year, so I'll have to try to be restrained - not easy when there's so much good stuff there!  

On Sunday I'm at St Alban's farmers market - fingers crossed for good weather. We've got much more autumnal weather now and I just hope that it doesn't rain. A cold bright day would be lovely! I'm taking my yarn too as there was a lot of interest in it last month. People were talking about Christmas presents last month, so I'm hoping they'll start buying now!

September Markets

It was a lovely sunny day last Sunday at St Alban's Farmers' Market - warmer than it's been for the rest of the summer, which was nice to be out in, but unfortunately made for quiet sales. There's no market at Wheathampstead this coming Sunday, due to (I think) a change of management. I'm actually quite pleased as it has been very quiet and generally unprofitable during the year and it remains to be seen if it will get going again in October.

It will be nice to have a Sunday morning at home this week anyway.I've got some custom dyeing to do, plus getting my yarn club parcels ready to send off on Monday, not to mention knitting, so I've got plenty to keep me busy.

It's back to Harpenden Farmers' Market on Sept. 23rd, after my summer break, one I look forward to going to - it's always fairly busy and it's a pleasant town to visit.  

Into September

Now we're into the autumn and it's time to get ready for a new season of Farmers' Markets and even start thinking about Christmas! I'll be at St Alban's on Sunday and will be taking some yarn with me as well as my ready-made scarves, cushions etc. I'm charging up my Credit Card machine, so lets hope it's a busy start to the season.

Before that, here's a few pictures of Ireland, just to show it doesn't always rain in the summer!

Rested and Back

Back from a restful and very pleasant holiday! I managed to survive two weeks in a cottage in the west of Ireland without internet access and instead did lots of healthy outdoor stuff like fishing and walking as well as knitting and reading in the evening - we have no TV out there, so I went cold turkey on that too!
The weather was fine - only one wet day - and I even have a slight suntan. I took some good pictures and will put them up when I can download them. 

I got back to a fairly busy time, with sales from the etsy shop to despatch and the pleasure of seeing a picture of my yarn in "Knit Now" magazine. I did dye some more of the featured colorway, but sold out again before the magazine came out - so more dyeing to do. I've also worked out a pattern for the yarn and got the sample finished on holiday. I've sent a picture to the magazine - it would be great if they were interested in publishing it.

More to follow shortly, plus some pictures ......

August - Holidays and looking forward

Just a quick post to catch up before we go away for a couple of weeks on Thursday.

I've got everything sorted out and put away after Fibre East now and have updated the shop - I'm not putting everything on at once, just keeping a nice balance of colours. I've had some sales, which is pleasing for what is usually a quiet time of year, and have set up my yarn club entries. I had to throw away my shoes and I've just cleaned all the mud off my walking boots - let's hope this year was a fluke and next year's weather will be great! Entries for Wonderwool open at the end of September, which will be my next focus.

My yarn is being featured in "Knit Now" magazine shortly - out 23rd August, which is exiting. I can't wait it see it in print. The shade they're using is "rose graphite" and of course I've just sold out of it - cue some quick dyeing to make sure I've got some in stock ready!
  
We're away on holiday later this week to the west of Ireland. You never know what the weather will be like, but it's always good to pack plenty of wet weather gear, though you can be surprised and need to buy sun cream and a bathing costume!  

I'll miss the end of the Olympics, which I have been enjoying much more than I thought I would. We don't live far from the park, so will go and have a look round when it's all over. I wonder if they will open the pool for public swimming? I would love to try a length or two!

Fibre East - 2

Here's a snap of our stall all ready to go on the Saturday morning. Fortunately, we didn't suffer from the damp, although some of the paper on brochures etc. had absorbed some moisture. We were a bit concerned that the whole thing would be cancelled, but as people were queuing to get in and all the stallholders had travelled to get there, not to mention boooking accommodation etc. we were glad it went ahead.

The pathways got gradually deeper and deeper in mud as the day wote on, but there were plenty of determined customers and the farm staff and the organisers did their very best with bark and wood shavings to make the marquees habitable! Most people had come well equipped with wellies or boots and we were lucky that none of our stock was dropped or splashed. It was good to see and chat with everyone and generally people were remarkably cheerful. In quiet moments you could hear squelching though as people walked about!

We were pleased to finish in at the end of the afternoon and it had even stopped raining! We went for a quick pub supper on the way home - I must mention the warm welcome and good food at the Chequers in Keysoe here - and it was a hot shower and an early night to get ready for the Sunday.    

Sunday had much better weather and the field had drained, although the mud in the marquees was still there and I did think that this put people off browsing amongst the stalls as much as they might have done. In any case, we still had plenty of customers and I'm pleased to say that my bolero pattern proved popular. It felt more relaxed once the weather improved and Mum spent some time looking around and watching the sheep shearing. It was her first show - I hope it hasn't put her off as I'd like to do Wonderwool next year. 

At the end of the day, we got packed up fairly quickly and I even managed to drive across the muddy field without getting stuck! The drive home was through hot sunshine and the pleasant Hertfordshire countryside and when we arrived, my husband had cooked a meal for us and my father was waiting to accompany Mum home.

I've now got everything unpacked and sorted out and yes, I would do it next year - we surely can't get the same conditions two years running can we?  

Fibre East -1

This was my first ever show and I think it went pretty well, in spite of the weather, which has been well documented elsewhere.

Mum and I arrived on Friday afternoon and got the stand up in about an hour. I'm glad I already do Farmers' Markets, so I didn't have to think too hard about the display. I meant to have a practice run-through at home before I set off, but of course ran out of time. At that time the field was a little damp underfoot, but the sun was out and we had even had the air conditioning on in the car on the way up!

I'm so glad we didn't even think about camping! Our nearby B&B was delightful and we had such a warm welcome from the owners, complete with tea and cake, when we arrived. It was just us and we had a comfortable suite - ideal for relaxing after a long day on the stall.

Then overnight on Friday it rained! We weren't allowed to drive onto the field in the morning, but luckily, I had put in waterproofs and walking boots before I set off - not really expecting to need them - and we managed to get to our stall reasonably dry-shod. Inside the marquee, we could see that the pathways between the stands were going to get worn and muddy pretty quickly and felt sorry for people who had a stand in a bit of a dip, where water was collecting. Ours was on a very small rise and so had remained dry. Leaflets and labels had absorbed some moisture from the air, but apart from that we were OK. All we needed were customers! 

Getting There!

Saturday at the Knitting & Crochet Guild AGM was a good day - it meant an early start to catch the train to Birmingham, but it was so nice to see people I had not seen since last year and the day was full of interesting stuff. I enjoyed seeing other people's work at the show and tell, although it was a little daunting to be first up in making my presentation. There was also a talk on the Guild's vintage pattern collection and I have been inspired to have a look at one from my own, very small, collection to see if it could be updated to fit me. I'm a good bit bigger than their model!

Well, St Alban's farmers market was as wet as I'd feared it would be, but I did sell a few bits and managed to get home in time to watch the tennis, so not a bad day. Managed to get the wet stock dried out overnight!   

I've just got to add pictures to my bolero pattern and it will be ready to print. Here's the front view:

And finally - I was contacted by Knit Now magazine recently and they're featuring my yarn in their issue out on August 23rd. How exciting!
  

July update

I'm still working hard and getting ready for Fibre East. I've finished dyeing now and am very pleased with the final batch of "mixed blues" that is now dry and ready to be re-skeined and labelled. I've decided to call it "cornflowers".

All the labelling and re-skeining is taking a long time, but I've still got about 10 days to go and I can sort of watch the tennis while I'm doing it!

I've got a day off on Saturday to go to Birmingham for the Knitting & Crochet Guild AGM - it's an early start, but I enjoy the train journey and of course, I'll be taking some knitting with me to be getting on with. The day starts at 11.30 with a "show and tell" session, where members can show off their projects. I'm taking a scarf worked on the diagonal with self-striping yarn. It's an interesting technique and the yarn makes for an effective pattern.

On Sunday I'm at St Alban's farmers market - hoping for a rain-free day, which may be a tall order this summer, a busy morning and an early finish so I can get home and watch the tennis final!

Working Hard!

Just a quick update - St Alban's market was good, sales were up on last year and the weather held up until I was on my way home. We had quite a run on tea cosies and are making sure we are re-stocked for next time, which will be July 8th.

In the meantime, I've nearly finished my dyeing for Fibre East - just on more colorway to dye, which I'll get done tomorrow. I had a look at the range of colors that I'd done and thought "I need more blues", so mixed blues it is. I've just got to do the sewing up and finishing for my bolero and I'm about two thirds of the way through the first draft of the pattern, so I'm sure it'll be all ready for the show. I've dyed a selection of five semi-solid colors to make it with, so people can buy the yarn to go with the pattern.

I went to a training session at our local business centre yesterday on social media and marketing run by a very professional lady called Jo Sealy. She packed a lot into half a day and I came away with plenty of ideas about how I could promote my business. Starting after Fibre East, I think an email newsletter would be a good way to go. I'll get started on that in my spare moments!

           

June update

June already! It has, temporarily, stopped raining and I'm getting ready for another visit to St Alban's Farmers' Market. Last month was pretty busy and I'm hoping that this month will be good too, although rain and cold are forecast.

We've been having a run on our cushions over the past few weeks, which is great - I really enjoy making them and I've got two new ones ready for tomorrow.

Apart from that I've been dyeing, dyeing and more dyeing! Plus I found that the new yarn base I'm using is slightly different to the old one, so the bolero pattern that I'd designed will have to be re-sized and the sample re-knitted! Doh! Shouldn't take too long though and I'll post a picture here when it's ready.  

May already!

Just a quick update - I'll be at St Alban's  Farmers market tomorrow and am looking forward to it. It's finally stopped raining here and the forecast is for a sunny day tomorrow.

I've started dyeing in earnest for Fibre East now, so for the next few months my etsy shop will not have so much new yarn, unless I get all the fibre east dyeing done early! I've made a list of all the colors I want to take with me and in what yarn weights  - it looks a heck of a lot. I just hope I can sell most of it! 

Pictures etc. to follow.   

April Update 2

It's been fairly quiet for sales at my markets just recently- suffice to say that Wheathampstead didn't surprise me! I did sell a couple if bits there, but still came away having made a loss. I think it will have to go after May.

This weekend just gone I was at a craft fair in Hertford Corn Exchange on Saturday and that was even quieter! I only covered my parking, so another loss. I think it could be good there for the Christmas season, so I think I'll leave that one until September.

Finally, I was at Harpenden Farmers' Market on Sunday and at last some sales! The forecast rain held off too, so at least I can finish the month feeling good! I only do the winter months there, so I'll be back in September.

However, I've been busy online, especially with sales of my yarn, so the month is up on last year - not so bad in a recession.

My next event is a craft fair as part of the Kimpton carnival on 5th May - I stepped in as there had been a cancellation, but I did an event there a couple of years ago and it was quite well supported, so I'm looking forward to it.    

April Update

After a very pleasant quiet Easter at home with my husband and of course, plenty of knitting, I'm getting ready for my first Farmers' Market of the month at Wheathampstead. It's usually rather quiet, but I'm ready to be surprised!

I'm going to be computer-less for a few days next week while my machine is upgraded and tidied up - some thing necessary, but I'm not looking forward to it.

My consignment of yarn from India arrived very quickly (under a week!) and on a brief inspection the quality looks good. I'll have to go through it more thoroughly and also see how it dyes, but all looks well so far.

I'm down to my last few skeins of my previous base and have just been experimenting to try to get colorfast reds and yellows. One colorway (Firebird) is here and I'm going to try the same technique with a "berries" mix.

Easter Weekend

I sent my first parcel to Australia on Monday - it should be well on its way now and I'm dyeing again to re-stock the shop. Our new camera has really improved the pictures and I can get much better colour definition now.

I've added some more "Foliage" and have tried a new colorway - "Purple Berries", which I'm hoping will be popular. Pictures below:

I'm nearly at the end of this batch of yarn and will have to order some more soon.

Also, I've ordered a new base yarn direct from India, which I'm hoping will arrive shortly. I saw their stand at the Alexandra Palace show and bought a sample skein, which was really good quality - let's hope the bulk of it matches up! Just in case it doesn't, or that the parcel doesn't arrive at all (!) I've only ordered a relatively small amount.

I'm not at St. Alban's Farmers' market this Sunday at its Easter Day, but will be at Wheathampstead next week. Then the weekend after that I'll be at Hertford Craft Fair on Saturday and at Harpenden on Sunday.

New Plum yarn

Here's a picture of my latest colour yarn - Rich Plum. Three skeins available on etsy.

March update 3

Firstly, here's a picture of my latest yarn shade - cantaloupe, like the inside of the melon!

As I said before, I was aiming for peach, but came up with this, which I really like, so if it sells well I'll keep it in the repertoire.

I've been doing some more dyeing today and this time have gone for a rich purple-plum colour. I'd also like to do some jade green, a colour I hit on by accident when I was mixing up another blend, but I will have to get down to making sure I have all the colours in stock that I want to take to Fibre East first.

Harpenden was a lovely market last Sunday. the weather was great, it was well attended and my sales were up on last year - ideal! I'm not at another market until Wheathampstead on 15th April, so I've got a few weekends free to catch up.

Knitting wise, I'm trying to concentrate on my summer stock now - cotton scarves and an alpaca & silk lace-weight stole. Pictures to follow.

March Update - 2

Well, last weekend went as expected!

The craft fair at Hertford felt quiet for sales, but when I added up my figures, I had actually done quite well. I gave out lots of leaflets too, so I'm hoping that people will come back next month as well. I've found with my farmers' markets that some times people just check it out one month and then come back the next time to buy. I've signed up for next month too, so let's hope I'm right.

By next month the lifts in the car park should be working too - I couldn't manage to get my trolley load of bags down the stairs, so I took a risk and ran down the ramps with them - luckily I didn't meet any cars coming up!

Wheathampstead was quiet - as I'd expected, so I think I'm going to have to give that one a rest, over the summer at least. I haven't even covered my stall money there this year, which is a shame as it's a pleasant place to go and parking etc. is very easy. Anyway, I'll give it some thought before making a final decision.

I'm at Harpenden this Sunday, which I'm looking forward to. Plus the weather forecast is good - always nice when you're going to be outdoors all morning!

I've been doing some dyeing too - a new batch of my "Seas of Green" colorway and an experiment to try and get a pastel peachy color. This has actually turned out more of a bright cantaloupe orange - so perhaps I made the dye too strong! It's a lovely color, just not what I intended - picture to follow when it's dried.

March Update

Where does the time go! Sorry not to have posted for a while, but here goes with all that's happened since last time I was here.

Firstly - our holiday in Wengen was great! We did some skiing, some winter walking, riding about on little trains and generally having a good time, I think I may have lost weight too! Here's a picture of the view from our hotel room. I did take some knitting with me but didn't do any! I read "Little Dorrit" instead and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't get much time to sit and read, now that I don't commute, so this was a rare treat.

I did St Alban's Farmers' market last Sunday and sales were up on last year, which is good, but no cards sales so I didn't get to use my little machine!

I've got a busy weekend coming up, with an all-day craft fair in Hertford on Saturday and Wheathampstead Farmers' Market on Sunday morning. I'm not expecting too much at Wheathampstead, but am hoping for a good day on Saturday - it's a new venture for me, but an established event, so I'm hoping it will attract plenty of potential customers.

February Update - 2

It's been busy - which is great - but has meant that I've neglected to blog, tweet, etc. Anyway, now it's a rainy Saturday afternoon, the house is relatively clean, the shopping is done and I can sit at the computer with a clear conscience!

Updating from my last post - the pamper evening at Redbridge dram centre was dire as far as sales were concerned - I didn't sell a single thing, and it has been a long time since that happened! People did attend, but they just weren't interested in buying. This was true for all the traders, so it wasn't just my things which is some comfort. Also, to just make things worse, I forgot to take some knitting with me to do, so the evening was completely unproductive.

In complete contrast, St Alban's Farmers Market was really busy - I took more than I did at the December market and finally got to use my credit card machine! I didn't expect to do so much as the day was cold and wet and when I got home I had an online order too, so the month is ending on a high.

I'm at Wheathampstead Farmers' market tomorrow morning - perhaps that will surprise me by being really busy, but I'm not too worried now! The weather is forecast cold and sunny and I'm looking forward to the most delicious bacon roll for my breakfast there!

Next weekend we're off to Wengen in Switzerland for a week's skiiing, so I'm starting to relax already!

February update

January turned out to be quite busy online, although my market sales were down a bit on last year. We're finally getting some wintery weather now, so although it will be cold to be out selling, people should find that they need woolly scarves and hats!

I've been accepted to take credit cards and have taken delivery of my card machine, so I'm all set for my next market, which is a pamper and gift evening at Redbridge Drama Centre (London E14) this Friday. It's a new event and area for me, so I have no idea what to expect - let's hope it's successful! It's indoors - always good!

Also, I'm at St Alban's Farmers' Market on Sunday - last year it was pretty busy, but that's no guarantee that this year will be. Always a pleasant place to visit though and nice people, so I'm looking forward to it.

A busy time

Wheathampstead was fairly quiet last Sunday - as expected - but the weather was good and I did sell a few things, so not too bad. Also, one of the other stalls - Barn Bacon - make the most delicious bacon rolls I have ever tasted, so it's worth going just for that!

I'm at Harpenden this coming Sunday, always a nice market and I look forward to going. Hopefuly sales will be OK - for January I'm not putting everything out, but concentrating on wintery things. I ususally sell lots of hats to dog-walkers and gardeners!

Apart from the markets, I've had another etsy sale to one of my regular customers and have been quite busy "behind the scenes" too.

There's three new colours of DK yarn in my Etsy shop ( see mini shop right) and I've been experimenting with a new dyeing method to get red based colours to be colourfast. I think I may have found it. I've dyed a lovely solid cranberry-red colour in my DK silk and am using some of it to to make a bolero. I'm going to write up the pattern and "publish" it in time for Fibre East, so I can offer it to my customers there.

Finally, I've bitten the bullet and decided to accept credit cards. I understand to 66% of transactions are now made with a card and I'm sure I've lost business at my markets, when I've only been able to take cash, so I've put in my application. I've done my money-laundering checks and it should take about 4 weeks if I'm accepted, so fingers crossed!

Into the New Year

After a snowy and none too busy Wheathampstead in December, it was so nice to get ready for Christmas and then really relax and enjoy celebrating with family and friends.

Now I'm all ready to start January - I love that feeling of starting with a clean slate and making plans for the coming year. Things have got off to a good start with a couple of yarn sales on Etsy and one of my customers buying a scarf for themselves. I'm having a 10% off online promotion for January, so if anyone has any money left it's a good opportunity to buy some thing for yourself.

I've been accepted for a stall at Fibre East this July - it will be my first yarn fair and I'm pretty exited about it! Not sure how much to take, but I've asked advice on several forums, so hopefully other people will be able to help. I'm going to try to build up the yarn side of Willow Knits this year and this event will be a great opportunity for sales and publicity.

I've made a couple of cowls for my Etsy shop - something new - and will take some similar ones to my Farmers' markets too. My next markets are at Wheathamptead (15th) and Harpenden (22nd).