Ads

I finally got my butt around to creating an ad for Ravelry so that maybe I can get even more business from there.



I have a bunch of customers who love spreading the word about my bags so I thought it was time I did a little advertizing as well! My best customer has not only sent 4 people my way but has also decided to feature me in her first huge swap as well! Nine custom zipper box project bags is so awesome! I've had fun grabbing new prints to use! Course I've also been thinking about the huge craft fair I'm in in 6 weeks! I haven't started to panic yet but I'm sure it's the calm before the "omg I have how many bags still left to make??!!" storm.

I'm offical, almost!

So I was invited to be in a Holiday Bazaar here in Rochester this coming October but in order to be apart of it I needed to finally become an offical small business with my own tax id. This week has been productive and not just because I've added 9 new prints to my shop too! I obtained my DBA (doing business as) last Tuesday and finally got answers to my tax form (NYS DTF-17) questions yesterday so I could submit the form online! Hopefully by the end of August I can start getting supplies and not have to pay tax :) Mailed my bazaar deposit today. Then after I survive this weekends civil war reenactment (picture me in a long sleeve multi-layer dress complete with corset and 90°+ with high humidity), I have to start my goal of making 17 bags a week! I've been going over the logistics in my head and I think I can handle it without going nuts but talk to me in a month!


Me: Boo, smile!
Sophie: Not today, I'm feeling frizzy.
Me: Then get out of my picture!!

Shop Featured

Oh cool! I was featured in someone's AllAboutEtsy blog!

OMG

A woman who purchased a bag back in the beginning of February finally left feedback...negative feedback. She says that the first time she closed the bag, the drawstring broke. I am feeling a rush of emotions right now. I'm horrified that this woman potentially ruined my reputation on Etsy without ever speaking with me first. I didn't expect her to leave feedback since she purchased a bag from my shop so long ago and to get negative feedback before ever talking to me to try to work something out, how rude! I use quality materials and I sew the crap out of the 2 ends so that they do not come apart. How she broke the drawstring is beyond me. I am extremely honest person and I stand by my workmanship! There is a part of me that thinks the bag she bought is fine and she's just out to get her money back. I checked what feedback she left for others and she has left negative feedback for someone else today as well but wrote that she did make an effort to contact them but didn't hear back. What am I chop liver that I don't get the courtesy of a convo first before she ruins my Etsy life?!?! I was about to celebrate my 6 month etsy-versary with a sale but now that'll have to go on hold until this mess is cleared up. So I sit here needing to vent and on the verge of tears trying to come up with a polite emotions in check convo to send to her to try to "Kiss and Make Up". Is it so wrong of me to have doubts since she made no effort to contact me first to try to resolve the issue before leaving feedback?!

You know when...

You should stop sewing and go to bed when you sew thru the side of your finger because you decided to wipe away some lint on your quarter feed foot while the needle is moving!

My Inspecter

Before listing a new project bag in my shop, each bag is inspected to assure optimum quality is upheld!


"well the bag is the right height, looks like you've attained the right amount of holding space"


"front looks good but kinda floppy"

Silk

As if I don't have enough project keeping me busy, I have to have an Esty item peek my interest in raising silkmoths for silk.

So inbetween calls at work I have been searching google for info on it. Just how hard would it be to raise my own and then process the cocoons? I've found a couple interesting sites that look like the owners have taken a lot of time to put their sites together with a ton of resources.

I'm interested in learning to spin yarn but it would be cool if I could use silk with the other yarns or pure silk yarns. I'm having visions of beautifully woven silk scarves from my loom. Dying to my own specific colors.

I'll probably be consumed by this till the weekend and then lose interest. Well maybe in just the raising part. I can only imagine my furball trying to eat the moths and finding the food/leaves to feed them would probably be a pain too. I need to research if I can buy bulk cocoons somewhere on the net.

http://www.kiva.net/~daylight/moth.html
http://www.wormspit.com/index.htm

My Mini Helper

It's easiest to give her her own piece of fabric and pattern piece. Otherwise, she'll sit on the one with the pins and sharp scissors cutting it out! (I was cutting out the pieces for my Civil War corset that I almost completed at the Ivy Thimble All Sew Weekend)

Happy 4 month Esty-versary!!

Wow it's been 4 months already since I opened my shop with the inital 10 bags! Of those 10, only 3 are still for sale. Today has been a banner day. Not only has it been 4 months but I've sold 5 bags today! That is the most I've sold in a single day so far!! All of these bags can be relisted as I have enough for at least 1 bag of each :) So those will be doled out in 2's for the rest of the week to give me more opportunities at promoting my "new" items in the forums! I've learned so much since I've begun that when my friends express interested in opening their own shop I'm bursting with tid-bits on how to get up to speed much faster then I did. I don't think I'd be where I am today if I didn't discover the forums and the chats. Oh! I sold 2 bags to Austria today! That brings my foreign countries to 3! I would have never specified UK and a couple other countries if I hadn't been in a chat room with a couple UK people who advised they wouldn't bother asking for a quote for shipping. They want it listed or else they don't even think twice about buying. Since then 3 UK and 1 Austria buyer! Yeah me! 57 down and 63 to go till my Bernina sewing machine is paid off!!

Launched my shop

Today I finally launched my Etsy shop with the first 10 project bags!

My etsy shop

Since I'm determined to make my new used sewing machine pay for itself, I've turned my ideas for cool things into real items to put in an Etsy shop. I have the inital 10 medium sized project bags finished with 3 more almost done and 8 linings for future bags done. I'm cropping the photos for the initial 10 now and will be creating all the "terms and conditions" for my shop and listings afterward. Hopefully within the next day or 2 my shop will launch. I just need to sell 100 bags to pay for my machine :) which I think is totally doable!

excited

My friend asked if I wanted to buy her Bernina Artista 180 off her so she could buy her friends even more advanced Bernina so her friend can buy the top of the line model...of course I said yes :) Excuse me while I surf for embroidry patterns :)

ravelry

I GOT MY RAVELRY INVITE!!!! Look for me as MissFiberFox (duh hehee). I'm finishing up some renovations on my condo but once I've got my computer/art, er I mean guest room all setup I'll have all my stuff logged!

as if I don't have many other projects to work on already!!

I've lived in my new condo for a little over 3 weeks. I'm very behind rereading HP so that I can finally read the newest and final book (currently starting HP5). But I find myself itching to knit something new. Something I haven't done before. I'm thinking about knitting my first sweater and a tiny one at that.

I saw the Child's Placket Neck Sweater (from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson) knit by Knit & Pieces and ear marked it as one I'd like to do. So as I was at work trying to figure out a project to scratch my knit itch I was reminded of that sweater. However, the link that she included in her picture blurb led to a page not found error. Almost 2 days of eating lunch at work searching the web, I finally found the pattern online and then spent most of the rest of my lunch today figuring out what yarn I might want to buy to knit it with. I'm still not sure if I want to knit it in a cotton blend or one with wool in it. I do know I want it to be soft, warm and with as little acrylic as possible. Natural fibers please!!

My first hat!

Pattern: Simple Hat
Source: Cables Untangled
Material: 2 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran #?? Pink
Needles: US8 16" Clover Bamboo circular
March 2007



I decided to bipass a simple plain hat and went straight for a complex braided cable rib one instead. I used beautiful yarn that I can't wait to use again for a second one for me mom. There are a couple oops that I can hide easily enough with how I wear it but when my mom said she wanted my first one I couldn't part with it and insist I make a perfect one for her. Pattern was straight forward. Oops were just the product of half paying attention while I was listening to my soap and knitting at the same time. Would definitely recommend.

Ravelry

So in an effort to join more of the online fiber community I signed up for a ravelry invite today. I just checked my position in the line...

• You signed up on Today
• You are #23791 on the list.
• 15363 people are ahead of you in line.
• 70 people are behind you in line.
• 34% of the list has been invited so far

Needless to say it's gonna be awhile.

I've been MIA from all things fiber for the 6 weeks as I became a home owner for the first time this week and was all wrapped up in packing, closing and moving. On the plus side my LOOM IS HERE!! My parents brought all the boxes I've been storing at their place when they came to help me move. Now I just need to paint out my computer/art room (aka guest room) and I'm going to clean up my loom and weave a scarf to get me back in the game.

I spent most of April and May knitting the Wool Peddler's Shawl in a teal peacock color. It turned out fabulous! I love it and finished it in time to wear to the first reenactment of the season! People were ohh-ing and ahh-ing left and right! I'm contemplating making it again only this time adding a bunch more repeats. However, if I go to the 145th anniversary of Gettysburg next summer I won't be knitting much of anything this winter as I'll need a new wardrobe complete with a stunning ball gown to reenact with!

The new Interweave Knits comes out in less then a week :) I love the sweater on the cover! The tilted duster in that shade of purple is soo me!! I can also see myself wearing the Bryant's Slipover to work.

Summer Knitty

So I have finally become a true blog knitter and have been anticipating the latest Knitty publication for the summer. While on lunch today I became gitty when I saw the new photo on the front page signally Summer 2007 was finally up! I wasn't all that impressed with the patterns though. A bunch seemed so much alike. The only pattern I loved was Chapeau Marnier. I could see myself doing it in a light dusty blue.

I'm loving the new issue of Interweave knits but then again I always do. So far I'm loving the Wheat-Ear Cable Yoke sweater and the Syncopated Caps the best.

I just finished my first lace, shawl, large project. I'll post all about my Wool Peddler's shawl soon.

Beginning of my knitting journey

In late summer, early fall of 2006 I became interest in knitting again when I realized there were so many accessories I could make for my Civil War wardrobe to make my appearance seem even more authentic. I already had a set of metal 13" US8 needles and after lurking through many many knitting and fiber blogs, I finally decided on my first project.

Knowing that as a beginner it wasn't the best idea to jump into the extreme deep end with trying to knit a huge beautiful lace shawl, I decided on smaller yet still complex project or so I thought. I have always loved cable knits. The intricate and complex cables always left me in aw. I always imagined the patterns itself would be something I would really need to figure out and work at to grasp the way to do it.

I had been lurking around the Irish Hiking Scarf KAL for a few weeks. I took a look at the pattern and was in a little disbelief that the pattern would work. Remember, barely above beginner at this point. I was in Wal-Mart running an errand when I decided to check out the clearance bins and came across the yarn for the project. At $2/ball you can't go wrong.

So home I went and immediately after all my groceries were put away, I started my Irish Hiking scarf!




Day 1 left me with 2 repeats and a sense of "That was it? It was that easy?!"



By the end of the first week, working a little after work each night left me a third of the way done. Come picture time, Sophie (the fur baby) couldn't resist helping me setup the shot for that weeks accomplishment. Though I think she was just waiting for me to turn my back so she could get up close and person with my scarf!




Finally bought a set of shorter bamboo needles that I absolutely love. I have since invested in other sets of bamboo needles in other sizes.



Spent most of the Thanksgiving holiday with my knitting in my hands. This chic can multi task!

Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf
Source: Hello Yarn
Material: 2.5 balls of Lion Brand Lion Wool #147 Purple
Needles: US8
Mid October 2006 - Beginning of December 2006

First Dishcloth

Being a slightly above beginner knitter at the time, reading the pattern for MD's Ballband Dishcloth confused me royally! When I read "slip stitch" I was like what you want me to slip one off and let it go but won't that make things unravel and eventually be a messy tangle?? Then I planted myself in front of the knitting section at Barnes and Noble and dug through all the book until I found one with amazing pictures and descriptions of all the terms in the pattern. It was like a light bulb went off in my head and the "AH HA!" hit me! From there I went home, grabbed my needles and yarn, then created this lovely dishcloth in less then a weekend watching about a weeks worth of All My Children! This will definitely not be the last one I make!



Pattern: Ballband Dishcloth
Source: Mason Dixon Knitting
Materials: Sugar 'n Cream 02741 Playtime
Needles: US8 straight Clover Bamboo
February 10-12 2007