The results of my Friday Night Craft In!

Friday was a busy night for me. I finished a few bracelets, tied in the ends on dishcloths and bracelets, and got many more things ready for the show on Sunday. I made up some price labels, and a sheet with all my prices and quantity of each item to make things easier for Christine and Mary-Ellen when they sell my stuff for me while I am at work. I am so incredibly lucky to have friends like them. Christine is the woman who is setting up the show, and she will have a table there with some of her hand made goodies to sell. They generously offered me a small piece of their real estate, and I am going to fill it with some of my stuff.
I started with just a few skeins of cotton yarn for the bracelets. The plan was to make a bunch of each of these four, because they seemed to be the most popular. I ended up making a few black and a few white, and one each of the pink and blue. I also started on another one in a different shade of blue. I'm really hoping people like the other colours I chose! I want to get a larger variety of cotton colours to make these, but I have SO MUCH already that I just can't justify getting any more until I sell some more stuff, preferably made-out-of-cotton-stuff.
Here are just a few of the bracelets I have made. I think I finished 8 last night. I have 23 so far, and I am hoping to bump that number up just a little bit. I am giving deals on buying three bracelets and five bracelets. They look great worn grouped together, and odd numbers nearly always look better in accessorizing, as far as I am concerned!
I have a HUGE stack of dishcloths that I am really surprised with! I crank these out in less than an hour each, and it always surprises me when I count them and realize I have way more than I thought I did. Twenty three of these, as well. (Where are you, Jim Carrey?) Many of them are the regular, corner to corner cloths that everyone makes, but a bunch of them are striped, ribbed and otherwise, made a bit more interesting.
I went to Value Village today on a whim (Rick had to go to Canadian Tire, which was right next door) and I wandered around looking at whatever I could find. I was going to pick up some yarn, but the original price tag was still on it, and it wasn't much of a savings to buy from there. And who knows, the stuff could have been super stinky or something equally gross. I did look through the wicker basket collection they had going on. I found some really interesting ones, that would have been the perfect size, but I really didn't want to pay >$7 for ONE of them. I ended up with three really nice, identical rectangular baskets, with little handles, for under $7 for all three. They hold everything beautifully, and can stack together when I am not using them. I will definitely use them for all my future craft shows!

I can't wait to see what all the other Friday Night Craft In participants worked on! I am so excited to see where this fun night takes us all in the future.
Sorry about the iPhone quality pictures, and the poor lighting. This is how I usually work, with just a reading lamp to light my area. I rarely need to watch what my hands are doing while I knit, so lighting isn't super important.

Craft Show This Weekend!

This Sunday, Made In Windsor is having another craft show. I will be working that day, as I usually do on Sundays, but my stuff will be available for purchase, as my friend is going to sell it for me. I will have baby booties, earrings, bracelets, dishcloths, hair bows and gadget cozies available.
I'm still working on more bracelets. In my post about them, Joy asked:

Ah, fun! Are they i-cord? I love i-cord for its potential uses, but I haaaate making it. I once made a tank top with braided i-cord straps (so, three strands per strap), and I basically swore never to make i-cord again :P

They are in fact icord! I actually don't mind making it. The bracelets are fairly short, so it's just icord in really short bursts! I can do a bracelet in about 20 minutes, sew the ends together, and be done with it if I am too annoyed. This hasn't happened yet, so I think I am doing ok.

Don't forget, tonight is the craft in, hosted by Scootchidoo Too! I plan on making loads of bracelets, and doing some final craft show prep.

Saturday, I will be teaching some people how to make baby hats on knitting looms with LeeLee Hats! I am super excited for that, as well.

This weekend is going to be great!

Monday, April 25, 2011

No self portrait today, as I feel and look terrible. I just wanted to make a quick post as I am participating in The Friday Night Craft In hosted by Scootchidoo Too.

You can join in if you'd like! There will be a prize given away at the end of it all.

Knitted Bracelets!

These are my new favourite thing to make, hands down.
I've been trying to figure out something small and quick to make that could be sold year-round. A bracelet was just the thing. I am using cotton so they are lightweight, and won't overheat your wrist if you wear a stack of them. And they have just enough stretch in them to fit over your hand, without being too loose when being worn.
I think I am going to have them all one price, and if you buy more than one, have them be cheaper. They look way better in groups.
These are the colours I have so far. I want to make at least two of each colour, and then have quite a few white ones.
I'm also trying to decide which colours to make for myself. Right now, the top three (dark and light pink, and white) are the winners.

Now for a little market research:
What colours would you like to see? How many would you like in a group? How much would you pay for 1? What about for 3?
If you could give me your thoughts, it would be much appreciated!!

Self portrait Monday: April 18, 2011

Happy Monday! It is past the middle of April, and it is SNOWING! I couldn't believe it this morning when I checked Twitter, and then took Winston outside. He loves it! It's not that cold out, so it's not all that bad.
I've been working on lots of dishcloths lately. Most of them have some sort of textured stripes, but some are just plain.
I finally went to the city library last week and got myself a library card. I took out seven(!!!) books, and have flipped through most of them already. I am reading Dogfight, A Love Story, by Matt Burgess right now. I also have a hold on Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I am looking forward to that one, as well.
I ordered some buttons from Wicked Wool Gathering on Etsy. Her prices are awesome, and I can't wait till I get them. She doesn't just sell buttons, either! She has all sorts of other things, too. I definitely encourage you to check her out.
I am going to be holding a contest here on my blog very soon. I need to list some more items first. And, well, make them too! I have plenty of knitted items, but no back stock of button earrings. I also need to photograph some of my smaller knitted items. Gah, I've been so lazy!

How have all of you been?

Contest Winner!

Thanks to everyone who tweeted/posted about my contest, and those who entered! I had a few people who tweeted, but never commented, so those entries(?) could not be counted.
I used random.org, and this is what happened:

Congratulations Vema, of Lamazonian Handcrafted Jewelry. I will be emailing you shortly!

Keep an eye out, because I will be posting another contest in a few days. This time, the prize will be something from my Etsy shop!

An update about Heartsy

My shop was not accepted on Heartsy. I am totally okay with this, though. Spring/summer aren't really the right time that I want to promote my shop. As much as I love doing the button earrings, I want my main focus to be knit accessories. I plan on reapplying to Heartsy in the early fall.
I do want to thank every single one of you that did take the time to vote. I ended up with 40-something votes, which really surprised me, to be honest!

Self portrait Monday: April 11, 2011

I feel awesome! I'm kind of a total grease ball in the photo, but please ignore that. I didn't sleep well last night, but I still feel great. Maybe it's the fact that I have a brand new yoga class in two hours. I've never taken this class (Sivanadana) before, and I don't really know what to expect. I am also going to be taking a beginner class this evening, so I should be quite sore by bed time. I'm really loving the yoga classes I've been taking. There was one that wasn't as great as the others, but I know now to avoid it next week. I have a few classes that I am definitely going to do every week.

I listed quite a few new items in the Etsy shop this week. More earrings and some baby booties. Rick and I are going to photograph my phone cases and hair bows this week and I'll list some of them soon, too. We just have to wait for the weather to cooperate. It's been rainy and dreary off and on the past couple days, and they're calling for more of the same this week. Once the clouds part for a little bit, we'll get stuff done!
Like I mentioned on Friday, I submitted myself to Heartsy. I only have a couple hours to go, and I really hope to be accepted. I need less than a dozen "Yes, Definitely" votes, and I will make it to the next step. If I am not accepted, I will wait until the early fall and try again. That season is definitely more "me" friendly, considering I knit primarily wintry items.
I also still have the contest running. Only a few entries! If I don't get more than 10 entries, I am going to postpone the contest. All the people who have entered so far will have 5 entries into the next contest I run.
How are all of you doing? Anything exciting in your shop or on your blog?
I have to get ready for yoga now!

Vote for Me on Heartsy!

Many of you are Heartsy.me lovers. I just came across it recently. I decided to add my shop as a potential deal.
Now all I need is for you guys and girls to vote for me!

You don't need to sign up to vote. All I need you to do is click "Yes, definitely"
Thank you so much!

My First Treasury Feature!

In the wee morning hours, I received a convo on Etsy saying one of my items was in a treasury! Like I mentioned yesterday, I finally listed some knitted items.  A pair of my baby booties was chosen.

I'm really hoping some more of my items are chosen to be part of treasuries in the near future!

Today is A Great Day!

When my life takes a turn for the better, I want to try to mark it down so I can look back when things are kind of crappy. This is one of the rare days where everything seems to go great. Even Winston (our dog) seems to be cooperating!

Two days ago, I started taking yoga at the aptly named Downtown Yoga. Like I mentioned a couple days ago, I bought a Groupon ages ago, and I finally put it to use. I am sore, but I feel awesome. I am going to attempt to take three consecutive classes tonight. The first is slow, the second is hot power yoga, and then the third is meditation. If I can do this, and do alright, I will make sure to fit this into my schedule every single week.

I listed one pair of earrings this morning, and before I could even post about them anywhere, they sold! I need to edit some more pictures and list more. Rick did a few photos for me, but he is so much of a perfectionist, that it ends up taking him a super long time to do them. I will do a quick edit on some of the photos I took so I can list more. Editing and photographing is the most difficult part of having a shop, for me. I have no idea what I am doing most of the time, so I end up just doing a few basic things to make the items pop a little more.

I am also listing some baby booties. There are only a few pairs right now, but more are coming. I am also going to try to add some hair bows and iPhone cases over the next few days. It's been rainy and gloomy outside, so as long as I can get a few hours of sunshine to take some photos, they will happen!
How are things with all of you?
Don't forget about my contest!

Self portrait Monday: April 4, 2011

Happy April! I was planning on doing a once a day posting for this month, but we all know how that turned out last time.

I took some more photos of earrings this morning, during cloud breaks. It's been kind of icky out there, and good lighting has been difficult. Rick is going to do some editing on them, and I will have them in the shop throughout this week.
I'm starting yoga this afternoon. I bought a Groupon a while back for one month of unlimited yoga at a nearby studio. I am finally getting around to using it, and I am super excited. I've never done yoga before, so I'm a bit nervous, too.
I haven't been knitting a whole lot lately. The main reason for this is that my storage for all my finished objects is over full. I don't want to knit more stuff, and have nowhere to put it all.
Don't forget about my contest that I posted yesterday! You can win a free year on Flavors.me! It's been confirmed by one of their employees that it is in fact one year from sign up. Hurry, go comment on the post for your chance to win!

My First Contest!

I've been wanting to do a contest for a while, and I finally have the time to actually do it.
I am giving away a free year* on Flavors.me!! I have my main page, Knit, Nicole, Knit! made there, and it is super easy to use. This is my website, and it took me all of 2 hours to set up.

There are a few ways to enter

1. Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
2. Tweet/post about this contest. Please leave a link to your blog, or your twitter name if you do this. (1 entry each)
3. "Like" me on Facebook
4. Buy something from my Etsy shop (10 entries per item. There will be more items posted soon!)

Leave one comment telling me all the things you did, and on April 16th (two whole weeks!) I will use Random.org to pick a winner, and post who it is on the 17th. Please include a way for me to contact you, twitter, email address, or a link to your blog where I can contact you. Once I post the winner, they will then have 24 hours to contact me. If I don't hear back from them at that time, I will draw a new winner.

Good luck!

*The reason for the asterisk is that I am not 100% sure that it will be a complete year. I signed up a couple months ago, and I am not sure if the second account is one year from sign up, or one year from the date I purchased it, which was in February.