Autumn News

Well, autumn is in full swing now and I'm getting busy. Harpenden was very good last week - plenty of customers and nice weather! I've got a "free" weekend this week and then back to St Albans on the 12th.

I'm making poppies this year, after a suggestion by one of my customers, which are being sold in aid of the British Legion - picture below:

I didn't get into Unravel, which was very disappointing, but I understand competition is fierce. I do hope that I might get a place if there is a cancellation, as it's commutable and I would be able to go at short notice. I was asked to take up a cancellation place for Yarndale, but I just couldn't do it. I wouldn't have had enough stock, plus getting somewhere to stay for the weekend would have been very difficult, I'll still apply there next year though. In any case, I've got Festiwool in a few weeks and then the Waltham Abbey wool show in January, so there's plenty to keep me occupied. I've just applied for Wonderwool Wales 2015 too and am keeping my fingers crossed for that.

I've added an "Events" page to my website, so I can keep a diary running covering the next couple of months' fairs and markets, so it will be easier for people to know where I'm going to be. I've already had a couple of enquiries via the "contact us" form - it's nice to know people are looking!    

Thinking of Spring

Time has again gotten away from me once again and I've come here to collect my thoughts and put a bit of an update on screen.

Firstly, it seems to have stopped raining at last - I've had some very wet markets this winter! However, that doesn't seemed to have put off my customers at St Albans farmers' market and it's a big "thank you" to them for their support. Not the same at Harpenden unfortunately, which has been a bit of a disappointment overall this year, but I'm finished for this season there now and won't be back until the autumn. I'll see how it goes for the pre-Christmas trading and then make some decisions.

Otherwise, I've been pretty busy with online sales and now getting ready for Wonderwool Wales in April, which I'm looking forward to very much. This year my husband is going to come with me. I'll be working the stand alone during the day, but it will be nice to have his company in the evenings. We're going upmarket and staying in the Caer Beris hotel for three nights, which will be a nice touch of luxury. I've got a list of all the colours I want to dye, but don't know if I'll get it all done in time. At the Waltham Abbey show in January, I took orders, which worked out well, so I'll do that again.

Before Easter I've got three fairs to go to - I'm at Artisans of Ware on April 6th and the following weekend I've got two events - a fair in Wanstead on Saturday 12th and St Albans farmers market on Sunday 13th.

Finally, we had a nice break a couple of weeks ago, skiing in Levi, Finland and here's a picture of the snowy landscape which I loved.

November-December update

Well, I knew it had been a long time, but I've just seen that I last posted on October 17th and have missed out November entirely!

Since then, I've dyed and posted the third instalment on this year's yarn club and I hope people like it. I've tried a different approach this year, by thinking of a base colour and trying it in different strengths and combinations, so each month's club yarn is a toning set rather than a collection of different colours. The final set of the third instalment, which was based on turquoise as the dominant shade, is now in the shop.   

I particularly like the Plum & Jade colourway on the far right - I think it will be added to my repertoire!

November sales were a bit varied - in particular I was really busy at St Albans Farmers' Market, but only took about a third of what I was expecting to do at Harpenden Christmas Carnival, which is usually the best market of theyear. Other stallholders felt the same, so I'm glad it wasn't just me, but it was disappointing all the same. Anyway, in contrast December has got off to a storming start - Ware was really good and I had my best market ever at St Albans yesterday. My bank manager will be pleased!

I'd like to wind down for Christmas, but can't do that not just yet as I've still got three fairs to go to - I'm at an event in Wanstead Village (London E11) on Saturday and then two final markets the following weekend - Royston on Saturday and Harpenden again on Sunday. Let's hope they're just as busy as the previous December events have been!  

August update

I've just signed up for my first CAL (crochet along) on Ravelry. The pattern ( www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-circles-scarf ) is a lovely scarf designed by the talented Valerie Bracegirdle and she used mini skeins of my yarn for her prototype. I've got one and a half skeins of Silver Berries in my stash for personal use, so I thought I'd join in, expand my crochet skills and make something nice for myself.

Here's the yarn:

I'm starting to think about my September (and beyond) markets and am getting autumn/winter stuff on the needles. I've got a new yarn for this season, which is a nice and bright space-dyed wool-acrylic mix in three colorways. I've used a chevron design again (my favourite!) and I'm pretty pleased with the result:

 

The colors remind me of liquorice allsorts - my favourite sweet - and the scarves will be going out starting with my October markets. 

 

I'm starting a new market this year in Ware, the Artisans of Ware craft fairs, which begin for me on  6th October. It looks like a great venue - indoors too, yay! I went to a college in Ware for a while and it's a nice town, not too far from me. September at St. Albans is my first though on the 8th. I've been off for a couple of months and it will be nice to get back - fingers crossed for dry weather. 

 

I've taken the plunge and joined Facebook too www.facebook.com/WillowKnits so there's another way to keep in touch with people.

 

February update

Well, January was a lot busier than I thought it would be! I was looking forward to hibernating a bit and getting on with some personal knitting - mainly a fair-isle pattern hat for my husband in his rugby club colours-  but business got in the way - which is good!

I went to St Alban's Farmers' Market in January and was expecting it to be fairly quiet so soon after Christmas, but it was really busy. Strangely, Harpenden market, at the end of the month and after payday, was quiet - so it's difficult to plan! I was fairly busy online as well, selling quite well in my new year sale and making my first lace-weight sale. I've now got a couple more lace-weight skeins in the shop and will be dyeing more as I work through my plans for Wonderwool. 

It's just hit me that I have only about 10 weeks to get all the yarn ready for Wonderwool, so I've done a stocktake, made a list and started dyeing. I did the first colorway yesterday - bottle green, a surprise hit at Fibre East last year - and will start stockpiling.

I'm off to St. Alban's on Sunday (10th) - the weather forecast is for rain and sleet, so I can't say I'm looking foreard to being outdoors all morning! I'd feel warmer of course if it was busy - last year was, so thermals on and fingers crossed!    

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!  

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! 

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.   

May-June update

May has been a very slow month for sales, both St Alban's and Wheathampstead markets were quiet - for many stallholders, not just for me, and the Etsy shop has been quiet too. I had hoped the yarn would fly out the shop, but perhaps I'm being too optimistic!

I've been trying to use Ravelry more - I had been on it for ages, but not really used it as much as I should, so I've been busy uploading pictures and joining groups. It's quite compulsive!

I'm looking forward to June, with the Fair in the Square at Highgate (London N6) on the 18th being the highlight. It's a lovely area and I've never been to a sale there before, so I'm hoping to meet lots of new customers. Check out their website www.fairinthesquare.co.uk for all the info.

As well as thee, I'll be at St. Alban's (12th) and Wheathampstead (19th) as normal. Let's hope they're busier than May!

I've started making up a wrap in the bamboo yarn I dyed and am going for a dip-dyed effect and a chevron stitch pattern - it's going a bit slowly, but I hope to have it finished in time for Highgate.

Also, my silk supplier has had to switch to a different yarn and I've got a sample of that to dye and make up. It's spun in the same way as the original one, but is thinner - more DK than Aran - so I think I'll take the opportunity to try a different design. It's time for a change anyway.

Picture to follow!