Into Spring

It's been a little while since my last post, so time for an update. I've been dyeing lots since I got back from Unravel and I've nearly finished the colours I'd listed as "I must take these..". Once they're done I can move on to the "It'd be nice to take.." list. I've planned a new display to revamp the stand after last year's rather disappointing sales, so it will be interesting to see what difference there is. I'm going to try and make it a bit more homely and welcoming and will have chairs with cushions and a nice rug so I hope people will want to step in and of course buy something while they're there!

On Sunday , I took a few hours off and visited a local urban farm, Forty Hall Farm, which was having a lambing open day. It was a bit cold, so they were mainly cuddled up keeping warm and not gambolling about, but it was a nice afternoon out and I enjoyed seeing the animals - here's a picture:

  
I've been thinking about this year's yarn club and will probably go for at least two gradients this time round as there seems to be a lot of interest. I haven't decided finally on the colours yet, but am leaning towards cerulean blue and amber-honey, but I can always change my mind right up until the announcement is due! Sign-ups will open perhaps a little earlier this year, to coincide with my next newsletter (see right) and I'm going to offer two skein sizes each month - 5 x 20g and 5x 50g.  

I'll be announcing it on facebook too - here's a link to my page if you'd like to follow my ramblings!Willow Knits on Facebook

Back to the dyepots!

A busy winter

Following on from my last post, it certainly has been onwards and upwards!

January got off to a great start with a very busy St Albans farmers market followed a couple of weeks later by a successful Waltham Abbey Wool show. It's the most local show to me (about 20 minutes' drive!) and it was good to meet several people I knew from Guild and from my general social life as well as customers old and new!

February has been busy too - I was offered a cancellation spot at the Unravel festival in Farnham and was absolutely delighted to be able to go. I had been turned down in my original application back in September, but must have been on the reserve list. It was my first time there and was my best show ever in terms of sales. The venue, organisation and general ambiance get a big thumbs up from me too - the tea trolley going round the stalls and the house cat deserve particular mentions! I did take a picture of my stand, but it is so out of focus that I can't put it up here - you'll just have to take my word for it that it looked good.

I've got about eight weeks dyeing time to get ready for Wonderwool Wales now and then I Knit Fandango is a couple of weeks after that, so no pressure then!

I've got a couple of new colours for spring - Lavender Garden and Seascape (pictured below) - which are going to be featured in Inside Crochet magazine's next issue (no 63) Inside Crochet, but the surprise hit of the season has been Petrol Green, which has sold fantastically well. Bottle green was my school uniform colour, so I've always felt a bit ambivalent towards it! I'm sold out at the moment,  but will put up a picture when I've got a new lot ready. Now to go and get some more yarn ready to dye!

  

Into Autumn

Wow, I've just noticed that I haven't posted here since May. I have been using my Facebook page to give small updates as I dye more yarn or do something interesting and have been keeping this for a longer posts, but always end up thinking that I'll sit at the computer and do it soon, but not right now - hence the long gap!

Anyway, here goes:
The yarn club went well this year. I announced the colour themes in advance, so people could pick which months they wanted to go for, avoiding anything they didn't like. I like the opportunity to experiment a bit and came up with some colours that will be keepers and going into my general rotation, plus a couple, which didn't fit the colour themes I was aiming for, but did happen to be just what I've been trying to dye for general yarn.

Shows: I've signed up for a new show, Festiwool, in November which, like the Waltham Abbey Wool Show, is fairly local to me. This one is in Hitchin, Herts - about 45 minutes' drive from home and timed in early November, so customers will still have time to make their gifts! I wasn't planning to do any more shows this year, but this looked to good to miss. For 2015, I've applied to Unravel in Farnham, my first attempt. The deadline for applications has passed now and I'm in tenterhooks waiting to see if I've been successful.

Markets: After a couple of months' break, I went back to St Alban's Farmers' Market on Sunday. It was fairly busy and several regular customers came up to say Hi and buy stuff! I'm at Harpenden in a couple of weeks time. I've got a new alpaca scarf in the ready-made ranges and am hoping it will be popular. The sample I took with me was stroked a fair bit, so that bodes well. I've applied for a couple of extra craft fairs local(ish) to me too, so I'll be adding them to the "Events" page of my website when I get confirmations. 

and finally, I've moved and updated my website to a 1and1 my website - I found it pretty easy to do and I like that I can update it myself, the old one relied on a webmaster to do everything and it just wasn't satisfactory.

This post is quite long enough now, so that's it for today - I'll write again in the next few weeks,     

Moving forward

Well, Wonderwool was quieter on the sales front than I had hoped, but otherwise a good weekend. Several customers from last year came back to buy more and I found I had given out all the leaflets I had brought with me, so as a publicity exercise it was good - since coming back I've had more likes on my facebook page and my yarn club sign-ups have been going well.

I think I really need to re-vamp my display and range of products, so I'll be working on that for the remainder of the year. I decided not to go to Fibre East this year and got turned down for Yarndale, so there won't be any more shows to do until 2015. I've started by ordering a vinyl banner with the logo very prominently on it - several people said they had been looking for my stand, but hadn't realised until they were right there and speaking to me, that they had found it!

I'll be investing in some gridwall too, so I can display the stock more effectively. I've been working on some designs for the stand too - sadly pilfering of both stock and samples is becoming a problem at shows and I'll factor in some anti-theft elements to the design.

As for the range of yarn, I'll be trying some silk mix yarns and some different weights. I don't want to move away from silk entirely, as I want to have products that are different from others that are on offer and there are already so many beautiful wools on the market.

The first show of 2015 has already been announced - the Waltham Abbey Wool Show, which will be in mid-January and I've already been contacted by the organisers. It was a new show last year and I found it very successful, plus it's held only 20 minutes drive from my home!

Some of the new yarns I'm considering have arrived - a silk-alpaca mix and a merino-silk mix, both lace-weight - and I'll be starting the dyeing over the next few weeks. Pictures to follow!

In the meantime, as summer appears to have arrived, I went for a lovely walk with my husband last week along the canal/river Lea towpath from Hertford to Ware and through the Hertfordshire countyside. Here's a couple of pictures:

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!  

Fibre East 2013

I'm just begining to recover from a busy weekend at Fibre East. The bags are unpacked and the banking is done, so it's time to review.

Firstly, I like the new venue as I can drive there in just under an hour and so didn't need to stay over and it was easy to find and park etc. I was in one of the marquees, but as they were on hard standing there was no tramping about in mud and there was penty of room for everyone to get round and see the stands. There was heavy rain overnight on the Saturday and some water did run through, but I and the people nearby had the put everything up off the ground or in plastic storage boxes, so no damage. Other weren't so lucky and had stuff in cardboard get damp.

I set up on the Friday afternoon, so I wouldn't be in a rush on Saturday morning and would be all ready for the customers when the show opened.  The only thing that struck me was that there were many different rooms and it did take a while for everyone to filter through and I'm not sure that everyone got round it all. My sales were actually down on last year by about a third, which is of course the bottom line and I was a bit disappointed. I did think that I would be up on last year as the weather was so bad then that people must have been put off attending. Saturday was busier than Sunday by a long way. Many of the other traders I spoke to had the same experience.

It must be difficult to find a venue where you can get so many traders under one roof though as at Wonderwool Wales and I think people will get more used to the school's setup for next year.

However, I don't want to sound as if it was a negative experience - I enjoyed the weekend, met some great people, stallholders as well as customers, and was very impressed with the efficiency and good humour of the stewards, not to mention the bathroom facilities!   

Here's some pictures of my stand and I've added the bolero pattern to my Ravelry store (I'm AnneWillow there):

July update

July already and I'm getting ready for a weekend away in Derby for the Knitting and Crochet Guild convention and AGM. It should be most enjoyable - workshops, talks, a show and tell and plenty of knitting and crochet chat, all in a plush hotel. I would have liked a pool too, to get a swim in before breakfast, but that's just me being picky!

Then in two weeks' time, there's Fibre East. With the change of venue, I can now commute from home in under an hour, so no need to stay over anywhere. Both hotels in the nearest town had terrible reviews on tripadvisor, and I mean terrible - you'd be better off sleeping in the car than staying there -  so I think I've dodged a bullet! I've been dyeing plenty and have just got one more colour to go. As ever I would like to have done more, but I think you just have to stop and make do with what you have. No-one will know what I haven't brought anyway.

I'm taking a new colour, Storm, that went well at Wonderwool, picured here. One skein is in the Etsy shop and I've got four more of a new dyelot to take with me to Fibre East.

There's been a lot of talk on Ravelry about theft at shows, both of stock (yarn and kits) and even a display shawl. I know people will steal anything, but it's very hard on small businesses where losses have a high impact on profit and it seems very personal. I know I'll be keeping an eagle eye on my yarn. From doing the markets, you do get a "nose" for people who don't seem "right". I always make sure I engage with them as soon as they come to the stand and never leave them unattended. They usually get the message and clear off. I had a scarf stolen at St. Alban's a few years ago, when I did let myself get distracted by another customer - never again! I started my working life in Selfridges department store and the training I got there has always stood me in good stead.    

And, yes, even as late as the seventies, it was pretty much like the TV show!

June Update

As usual, lack of blogging here means that I've been very busy!

June at St Alban's was, like May, reasonably busy after a quiet start. I didn't sell any of my cushions, new or older, which is a shame as they're fun to make, but I can't spend time making something that doesn't sell well. I did sell three of my cotton scarves though, so I'll have to get going on replacing them for September. I've put the remainder in my etsy shop until then, but so far not many people have even looked at them. I often find this - things that sell well at the markets just sit on etsy and vice versa!

I've started dyeing for Fibre East now and have done a couple of solid colours so far -cranberry red and duck egg (a pale turquoise). I'm dyeing the variegated ones next week to replace those that have sold out. I rather over-estimated how much I would sell at Wonderwool, so I've got a reasonable range already put by. The mini skeins went well ,so I'll try and build up a stock of them.

I went to the Kaffe Fasset exhibition "A life in Colour" last week as a birthday treat for my mum. It was truly inspiring. I hadn't realised that he also quilted and his use of colour is what really sets him apart. I would like to quilt, but I just need more hours in the day to do everything! I have seen his books on knitting and tapestry, but to see the items "in the flesh" and close up was wonderful. I will have to get my tapestry out again! How lovely for him to spend his life doing something that he finds such a pleasure - something to reflect on for us all.

I also went to Hampton Court for a day out with my husband, I loved how the tudor and later parts of the building meshed together. it was so big, it must have been like a self-contained village when it was operating as a palace. Sadly it was too windy and cold to look round the gardens too, but they alone would take a full day - we will have to go again to see them.

Back to winding and skeining silk now!  

Fibre East is coming

Still cold and almost wintery here, but my next parcel of silk has arrived from India and I'm getting ready to start dyeing for Fibre East at the end of July.

Mainly I'll be doing some old favourites, that I sold out of at Wonderwool, but I've got a couple of new colour combinations running around my head, that I'll be trying out, plus some other colours that customers asked for.

I've also got St. Alban's Farmers' market in June (9th) to make some stock for - I've got a couple of new cushions to take, plus I'm trying to get some more colours in my cotton scarves finished. As usual the "summer" is upon me before I'm really ready!

I'll be away from the market in July and August, so I should really think about getting stock ready for Christmas!

In the meantime, I'm going to the Kaffe Fasset exhibition in June with my mum as her birthday treat - we're both looking forward to that, it should be so inspiring.

Busy again - into May

Well, I still feel tired after Wonderwool, but am now getting back to normal. The next focus is Fibre East in July. I didn't apply for Woolfest (june), but might consider it next for year.

The yarn I had left is mainly in my Etsy shop now, with a smaller amount kept to take to Farmers' markets. I've got to order some more yarn and have a list of colours that I want to dye. It's funny how the colors that sell well online or in other areas didn't go at wonderwool, but others that I thought may stick went straight away. I was pleased that the new lace-weight yarn seemed popular and I'll be ordering some more in time for Fibre East.

Since getting back I've had several online orders and a busy morning at St. Alban's Farmers market yesterday - my bank manager will be pleased!

Fibre East is at a new (indoor!) venue this year and will be near enough for me to commute from home, which will be great. Nice as it is to stay in a hotel etc. nothing beats your own bed for a good night's sleep.      

Wonderwool - almost ready

Well, since I last posted, the dyeing is all finished - I can't do any more as I've run out of yarn! I keep thinking that I'd have liked to have included another few colorways, but as I've been laying it all out to do my final stockcheck, I think there's actually plenty to make a nice colourful display and, as I've said before, no-one will know what isn't there!

I'm spending the day packing before setting off early tomorrow morning - my aim is to get to the showground about lunchtime and get set up reasonably early. This gives me time to buy anything I've forgotten in the town before the shops shut!

I'll take plenty of pictures and blog about my expeiences whrn I get back next week.

Back to sorting and packing now!

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!

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!
  

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.

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!

New Silk - 2

I've just had a scarf in my latest colourway back and am very pleased with it - I've decided to call it "blueberry". It's already in my etsy shop and I'll be taking one to Royston market with me tomorrow.

I had a fairly busy morning at Harpenden last Sunday, although the weather was not nearly as nice as had been forecast and we had quite a lot of rain to start off with! however, it didn't seem to put people off coming out and it was a good end to my season there - I'll be back in September ready for Christmas!

Tomorrow is forecast quite wet and windy too, so I'm not really looking forward to a morning outdoors. Royston can be a little quiet too, so let's hope people come out to support us.

New Silk

Just a quick update to show off a new colour in the silks - I've decided to call it "tropical" as it reminded me of a warm caribbean sea - turquoise and blues with a hint of emerald green.

One of the finished scarves is in my Etsy shop and I'm taking another to my Farmers' markets. I think my customers are going to like them!

I'm off to Harpenden farmers' market on Sunday, which will be my last one there until September.

The weather is forecast to be very warm, so I'll be concentrating on my silk and cotton scarves, plus hoping to get orders for my summer boleros.

I try to wind down a bit in the summer and get ready for my busy time in the winter - it will be nice to have some free weekends and I may even clean the house!