April update

Once again - time has flown by since I last posted and lack of blogging means that I've been very busy!

I've just got back from St Alban's market, where I actually felt warm for the first time this year! It was fairly busy and I sold a couple of my wooly scarves, plus a mohair, which was pleasing as this was their last outing until September and I'll now move over to summery yarns (cotton and silk).

I've nearly finished my dyeing for Wonderwool - I've used nearly all the yarn I bought and have done what I hope will be a nice selection of colours. It's hard not to dye all colours I like myself, but I've bitten the bullet and done some that I really don't like (lilacs especially).

I'm now concentrating on the labelling and packing - just a little less than two weeks to go. I'm looking forward to it and it will be an adventure!

March update

How time has flown by since I last posted!

February in St Alban's was very, very wet and so fairly quiet. I moved stalls, as my usual place had a cover that was full of holes and drips were coming through onto the "counter". I'm so glad I did, as it gave way at the end of the market and a huge deluge of water flooded over the stall - it could have been all over my stock! Harpenden was better, although so cold!

March is nearly over now, but it still doesn't feel like spring - we had snow at St Alban's a couple of weeks ago, but a busy market in spite of that. I'm at Harpenden again this Sunday and am just hoping that we won't get rain! That will be my last one there until September - I just go to St Alban's all year round.

I'm getting a bit stressed as I'm getting ready for Wonderwool. I has a delivery of yarn from India held up in customs for a week or so - entirely my own fault - while I applied for an import number from HMRC. It all got sorted out reasonably quickly and I've now got the yarn and am dyeing it, but I'm about two weeks behind my rather ambitious schedule!

I'm sure it'll all come right in the end and as long as my stand looks well stocked, no-one is going to know what else I had hoped to bring...... I keep telling myself that and just keep dyeing!  

New colour of lace yarn (Lilac blossom) just added to the shop - the heavier weight yarn is being stockpiled for  Wonderwool.

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!    

Starting 2013

A rather belated Happy New Year to all  - I can't believe we're already nearly half way through January - it feels as if the Christmas celebrations are only just finished!

I'm back doing some dyeing again and have added some laceweight silk yarn to my range. It takes the dye slightly differently from the heavier weights and tends to come out a couple of shades lighter, but I'm pleased with the results so far. I've donated one skein to Bianca Boonstra in the Netherlands, who is writing a book of shawl patterns and wanted yarn for the samples. I'm looking forward to seeing it made up - the book should be published later on this year, but I think there will be some sneak peaks on Ravelry. I've got just got one skein for sale at the moment - 123g of winter berries, pictured on the right in my etsy mini.

I've got my first Farmers' market of the year at St. Alban's on Sunday - unfortunately snow is forecast, so i don't know if it will be busy, but I'll get the thermals and heavy boots on and give it a go!

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!