When the shine is taken off ...

I had my sales report from The Emporium, Yeovil yesterday and was soooo happy!  

I had sold five of my knitted jumpers/cardigans and one of my mum's knitted cardigans last week.  So six in total.  SIX!!!  Absolutely fantastic!

Today, my youngest and I went in to stock up a little with the newest knits I've made this past week.

I then tidied up my little unit a bit; rearranged a couple of things; and then I discovered a price tag tucked in with some prints that are displayed in a basket.

This price tag came from one of the jumpers that has sold ...

Now I sell my knitwear at a very very cheap price.  If I was to sell them all in my Etsy store I could easily ask double of what I am charging in my Crafty Phoenix Lady unit.  There is no way in this world that I am receiving the true price.  In fact it mainly covers the cost of the yarn (which in the majority of cases is acrylic or acrylic mix).  The time I spend knitting these little garments is not recompensed within the price.  In short - I am underpricing my time.

I am (sadly) pricing to sell within the environment they are being sold.

However this particular price tag belonged to one of the jumpers that has been sold.  But this particular jumper was knitted using a yarn that was 100% wool and cost a fair bit more than the usual acrylic/acrylic mixes.  About seven times more!  Seriously - good yarn costs - and it costs because it is usually pure wool and in many cases made by an indie dyer running their own little business.

 So I had charged this jumper at a higher price to take into account that the yarn cost me more.   I also included a note to say as such on the jumper, along with the yarn label showing the wool content and  care instructions etc.

What makes me very sad and upset is that on my sales report none of the items of knitwear sold showed up at this price.  They were all the prices I charge for the acrylic/acrylic mix jumpers and cardigans.  

All I can think is that the customer really liked the jumper but didn't like the price ... and sadly tore (and it was torn at the punched hole) the label off and hid it in the basket of prints.  Surely if it had come off "normally" it would have been on the floor below the rail.

I'm not sure what I am supposed to do with this.  

Do I put up a sign above my knitted garments explaining all of this?  

Do I stop selling my garments there?

Or do I put up my prices and put them at a more realistic price for my time and effort?

Please help!  

All I know is that I feel upset about this and it has taken off the shine from the original joy at having sold so many.

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Conscious in Apricot and Plum

I hate anything going to waste and feel a real sense of achievement if I can use something and have minimal waste.







I bought a ball of yarn from The Wool Warehouse (along with several others!) and this 100g ball of yarn ... King Cole "Splash" in Apricot ... isn't it lovely?  It's actually even prettier in person.


My first pattern was my go-to Beyond Puerperium by Kelly van Niekerk of Pekapeka Design Studio.  I love this pattern and could almost do it blindfold now!  It is such a gorgeous pattern with that little twist of having a side button band which just makes it so quirky and different.  My sister-in-law loves this pattern and has received several for her sons (my gorgeous nephews).

So here is my latest Beyond Puerperium which I think I'll name Apricot Splash Beyond Puerperium.

 Really pretty and effective, isn't it?

 After much rummaging through my (ahem three) button tin(s) ... 

I decided to go with three orange buttons and two purple. 

So, with making a 3 month size cardigan I had some of my 100g ball left.  

As I said earlier I hate to waste anything and I thought I'd like to try another pattern.  

After much deliberation I decided to go for Conscious, another pattern by Kelly van Niekerk.  

This is a little jumper that goes from newborn to ten years.  

It is a pattern that is designed to make the most of lovely gradient-style dyed yarns.  These yarns carry a higher price tag as they are a labour intensive process for indie dyers.  Using like this you can keep the cost down by using a neutral to team it with.  Hence the name "Conscious"!

Another confession - my Apricot Splash is not dyed by an indie dyer and hence not so expensive.  But I felt that it made the most of the pattern of the yarn - 

and I wanted to see how the pattern knitted up.

I decided to go for the 0-3 months size as I wasn't sure how far the Apricot Splash yarn would go.  

 

I teamed it with a part ball of a plum coloured double knitting yarn 

(I confess I've lost the ball band and am not sure which brand this is ... oops)

as I thought it would bring out the heathery plum colour in the Splash yarn.

What do you think?

I personally love it!  I think it makes for a very pretty little sweater 

... and it used up most of what was left of that 100g ball of yarn!

I've also crocheted a little Barbie skirt and still a little left for perhaps another one!

See how far one pretty100g ball of yarn can go!

PS Both items will be in The Emporium, Princes Street, Yeovil on Thursday!

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#craftyphoenixlady #thecraftyphoenixlady #beyondpuerperium #conscious #kellyvanniekerk #Pekapeka #me1ske11 #theemporiumyeovil #KingColeSplash #Woolwarehouse

Happy Sundays

I recently started a new blanket ... which may take some time 

as it is supposed to be worked on once a week - on a Sunday.

I joined a little club to receive a wonderfully happy parcel of little bags every month.  

These little bags contain two brightly dyed mini-skeins of Cuddlebums yarn to be 

knitted up every Sunday into a "Happy Blanket".  

(Check out the facebook page for Cuddlebums).

I decided to knit mitred squares as in the Sock Yarn Blankie pattern.

I cast on 47 stitches for my square.  

It makes up a nice size square and means that I can join-as-I-go known as JAG (anything for an easy life!) 

I also decided to alternate with a darker coloured yarn to make the bright happy colours really POP!

You can see my project page  here

It is so much fun and makes me smile every time I add to it!

PS There are leftovers from each mini-skein so these are being knitted up into another scrappy blanket!

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#CraftyPhoenxLady #thecraftyphoenix lady #Cuddlebums #HappyBlanket #sockyarnblankie #mitredsquare

Prettiness in the Wilderness

We're not gardeners!  

Isn't that an awful confession to make?!  

Well it is on my part as my parents are - and are really really into their garden!  

I think they sigh and shake their heads when they see what we attempt to call "our garden"!

I tend to potter.

I like to pot up the hanging baskets and the wire window boxes and have them looking pretty.  

I have lots of pots with nice flowers in.  

But the rest of the garden has been kind of let go of!  The lawn has sprouted so many weeds I'm not sure there is any grass there at all.  

We are slowly getting round to clearing some of it - and when I say slowly - I mean slower than a snail's pace!  (It is a bit like the sorting out of the house - it all takes time!  Sadly not helped by my lack of energy levels at times and with J being away at work for most weeks.)

I went out to the car yesterday to go and pick up my youngest from school 

and noticed this glorious flash of red ... and it was this gorgeous poppy.  I love poppies. 

 I got out the handy mobile phone and photographed it.

Along with this bright yellow iris 

Isn't it the most stunning yellow?  I have always loved irises too.  

I had to draw a vase of irises for my 'O' Level Art and always have fond memories of that!

And these hollyhocks ...

Aren't they pretty?

They always remind me of Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddleduck.

Notice the crafty shooting of these photos?  You can't really see the wilderness from these, can you?!

#craftyphoenixlady #thecraftyphoenixlady #prettyflowers #thewilderness #lucy.mclaurin

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School Pick Up = Knitting Time + a little rage

Does anyone else suffer the mental school run, drop off and pick up?

You know, when everyone forgets their highway code and drive like maniacs; ignore the hashed yellow lines outside the school; cause umpteen bottle-necks; and consequently those two times of the day are literally hell with you driving white-knuckled trying to find a safe and considerate parking space in order to drop off your little darling or to pick them up.  Surely I can't be the only one that endures this?!

We only have one child that requires this level of parenting now.  My daughter is now working - and no longer at home - and she drives herself!  The two eldest are now at college and catch a bus in; my eldest son is at secondary school and he has a school bus pick him up literally from our gate!  The youngest son is in his final year of primary school and will be catching the said bus with his brother come September.

Whilst this is exciting and the next step in his life, it is also scary and rather sad.  

This is my youngest and he will no longer be at Primary School.  I want to shout from the roof tops that I will no longer have to do the dreaded school run ... but I also won't be having the short period of time with him where he reflects on his day and sometimes just chats on about anything ... and there is no more little ones to go through the younger schools.  They are all growing up so fast!  And there is no stopping that.  So at the end of July when he has his final day at this school, I'll be sad as I'll be losing that time and his younger days.  My last baby is growing up.

Anyway, I digressed fully from what I was going to write!

I have come up with a solution for when I pick him up.  I go half an hour early and park up - safely - outside the school.  This has become ideal time for me to do a bit of knitting (or crocheting or reading) whilst I wait - so I gain a little sanity and manage some knitting at the same time.  

Win win in my view!

So, today, I snapped a photo or two of the blanket I was knitting whilst waiting for school to end.

I bought a couple of King Cole Curiosity Cakes in Ocean colour-way 

when they were reduced in my local craft shop.

I though they would be ideal to make a little baby blanket - 

the size that will go over them in a pram or buggy or whilst in their car-seat.  

I also wanted to take the "Ocean" further and make it reminiscent of waves.  

It looks quite effective, doesn't it?

And rather soothing to be able to knit a simple pattern whilst waiting in the car!

And this sweet little blanket will be in The Emporium, Princes Street, Yeovil this Thursday!

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#craftyphoenixlady #thecraftyphoenixlady #theemporiumyeovil  #lucy.mclaurin #kingcole #knittingincar #school run

2015 being transferred

Today's job is to transfer the posts from 2015 into the Pages part of this blog.  

I want to keep all my posts together here on this blog.

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Jacson's Shawl ~ the beginning of the Shawl-a-thon

I made an advent shawl!

I know it's not the right time of year!  

This was actually made back in December but I just haven't got round to photographing it and writing a little bit about it. So, here, at last, is my post about Jacson's Shawl

I often get a monthly yarn box from Rosie's Moments.  She dyes the most gorgeous coloured yarns and it is an absolute joy to open her delightful themed boxes.  Seriously - you should try them!  I also love that Rosie is down here in The West Country too.  Always good to support local indie-dyers.

knitting whilst surfing!

Knitting in the car whilst waiting for school to finish

We had a year long "Around the World in 80 Days" with the sock yarns relevant to the countries visited along the way by Phileas Fogg and other little extra treats relating to that particular country.  There has been Mother's Day boxes; Easter boxes; and lots more to tempt any yarn-loving person. 

At the moment Rosie is running boxes themed around Aesop's Fables.  It is great to re-learn those old fables and have yarn dyed to go with them, and of course the other little goodies like handmade soap; stitch markers; and more!  She also has a monthly box that has different yarn weights in each month - which is great as you can try out all those different thicknesses of yarns and again in such beautiful colours.  Oh and not forgetting a box that is themed Sweets around the World - so there is a naughty sweet treat, yarn dyed to go with that particular country and so on ... you get the idea ... they are rather addictive and have so much gorgeous yarns ....

Anyway, I diverse, one of Rosie's seasonal box was an Advent one which contained 24 mini skeins all wrapped up separately and numbered, one to be opened each day on the lead up to Christmas - a yarn-lover's advent calendar!  She also included a pattern named Jacson's First Christmas, which was a super shawl pattern using green and different colour minis in between - like a Christmas tree wrapped in tinsel! 

The only slight snag was that I wouldn't have chosen such a bright green - I would have had a dark green.  Rosie dyed several batches of different shades of green and it really was pot luck as to which green you'd receive.  I found it refreshing to work with a shade that is slightly out of my comfort zone and I love it!  It is all down to personal taste, after all, isn't it?

Isn't it pretty?

And it started off my little shawl-a-thon ... more on that soon...!

:•:♥:•:Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ:•:♥:•::•:♥:•:Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ:•:♥:•:

#craftyphoenixlady #thecraftyphoenixlady

#rosiesmoments #Jacsonsfirstchristmas #shawlathon #christmas #knittedshawl #knit #shawl 

Three months! And the task of copying stuff over

I am brimming with all the things I have made and really want to show you

 and tell you all about them, but I feel that I should also be copying over all the old posts from http://thecraftyphoenixlady.blogspot.co.uk/ so that all my ramblings are in one place! 

 Makes sense to me. 

 However it is a task and a half and is taking for-ev-er! I have just finished copying over my first year - 2014 - when I started my blog. I was pretty good that year and posted every month and sometimes several times a month... hmm ... my posting regularity has gone down considerably since then (which will make copying over the next few years much easier ...) but I do really need to get on top of posting on here regularly. 

So ... if you see me ... or don't hear anything from me ... please give me a little nudge to remind me to pop my creations on here and all the waffle that goes with it!

Oh and the three months ... well three months today my baby is getting married! My little girl (not so little now at 25 - but still my little girl) is getting wed. 

 Eeek!!! 

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Starting Over ...

I am having problems accessing my other blog http://thecraftyphoenixlady.blogspot.co.uk/ ... I can't post on it!  It has been driving me mad ... to the extent that I decided that I would start over with a new blog!  

I'm just hoping that this one works okay!

One of my first tasks will be trying to copy over the previous posts so that they are all in the same place.  So please bear with me and keep your fingers crossed that I manage this one okay!

I'll be back very soon ...

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