Finding My Niche

I've been busy working on Xmas knits, but I've also been contemplating how to make my Etsy shop successful. I've been reading articles and scoping out the shops of the highest sellers and have determined 3 things:

1. supplies sell the best.

2. good, artistic photos are essential.

3. you need a niche product.

What is MY niche product? I don't know. Knitted items really don't sell well. I guess there are just too many knitters out there & I've noticed that people really undervalue the effort that goes into making these items. I hear "I can get that cheaper at Target"... well, yes you can, but it won't be a high-quality, one of a kind, hand knitted item.. it will be a machine knitted item from China made with acrylic yarn! (but I digress)

What I need is an item that is inexpensive and non-durable, so that I generate repeat business. I have a few ideas percolating in my brain and have even started on a prototype for one. I'm also thinking of getting back into hand-dying yarns, spinning more and maybe even doing yarn wholesale (but need to get my dba first).

So for now I will just keep scheming, staying up late fleshing out ideas and praying that I can make this work, because really this is what I want to be doing for a living. I don't mind working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, as long as it's something I love.

OK, So I Lied!

Yeah. I lied. I promised to blog more in August and here it is November and it's only my second post of the year!

I blame facebook. I spend all my computer time there these days & have only just started getting back to Ravelry and blogs. I have been knitting however, and doing a bit of spinning. I've also opened an Etsy shop (check sidebar) to try to raise a little extra income because my hubby is still in need of work.

Currently I'm working on a dress for my friend's new baby niece. The pattern is Anouk from Knitty. I'm using the same yarn but the body is pink and the trim is white. The pockets will have a white background and purple flowers. Depending on how much yarn I have left, I may even make a complimentary diaper cover.. we shall see! I will post project pics later.

No promises, but hopefully I'm back. :)

btw- how do you like the new look?

Sinusitis

Just when I thought I was getting better, Sunday evening I start spiking a fever again. Yesterday I went to the doctors again. What started out as a nasty viral infection has mutated into a nasty bacterial infection. So, now I'm on antibiotics and am hoping this finally clears things up as I have been sick for 3 weeks now and it is making me seriously cranky!

I haven't even had the energy to knit!

You Make My Day

While getting caught up on my blog reading I discovered that the wonderful Devin nominated me for the "You Make My Day" award. awww! (blush) Thanks Devin! Right back at cha!

So, it's my turn to nominate a few people.

Joanne for being my dearest friend. You are always there when I need someone to talk to, even if you are on the opposite side of the country.

Mary for saying what I'm thinking in a far more eloquent way than I ever could.

Christy for sending me a wonderful, thoughtful package that arrived just when I needed a pick-me-up the most.

Thank you!
There are lots of others I would like to give this to, but unfortunately they are not bloggers. Maybe I should just tell them, eh? :)

Mock Albums

I ran across this the other day and thought it would be fun to try. It is! Mary, I think you will enjoy this...

Here are the rules:

1 - Go to Wikipedia's random article page - The first article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to the Random Quotations page - The last four words of the last quote is the album title.

3 - Go to Flickr's Interesting photo page - Third picture, no matter what it is, is your album cover.

Put it all together to make your album. Either crop it to CD cover size, or just use the raw image itself... the only rule is you're only allowed to add the album title and artist title.

Here is mine:
Now go make your own. :)

Silly Slippers

Ok. I just had to share these with you...

And they've got memory foam in base which make them super comfy as well as completely goofy! XD

Happy Ho Ho Ho To You!

X-mas knitting finished in the nick of time, cookies baked, house cleaned, presents wrapped, dinner prepared & waiting to go in the oven!

Now time to grab some hot cocoa and watch A Christmas Story.

Hope everyone has a happy & safe holiday!

Why Can't We Be Friends

Not usually the type of thing that I post here, but it's something that I've been pondering the last few days.

Within Ravelry there is a groups/forum page. It's wonderful, it allows people to make specialized group based on interest. I'm in quiet a few and every one has it's own group dynamic, although most are dominated by the posts of just a handful of members.

Now I am the first to admit that I am not everyone's cup of tea. I've always had very few, select friends. I sometimes feel like I'm a cult film, not for general consumption but loved by those few who get me.

That being said, there is one particular group that I'm involved in that I thought I would fit right in with. I really enjoyed it for about a month until it started to be dominated by just a few people and I realized that my opinions were drastically different from those that were being espoused. And being the type of person who dislikes conflict, I don't feel comfortable making my opinions known because I'm afraid that a. it would hurt someone's feelings and b. I would be attacked for them. So instead of having an actual debate about things, I sit here reading posts and start to feel contemptuous of the people who are posting.

It all makes me think that I should just leave the group, which makes me very sad.

Help Name A Sheep, Win Valuable Prizes!

My dear Hogwarts Sock Swap partner is having a contest for her 100th post! Go check it out!

Ok, off to frantically knit.. how many days left till Christmas? EEK!

Potpurri

Home sick today... must have been all that fresh air, definitely not good for me!

Got a few things done yesterday...
I was going to make a sleep sack (thanks to Maggie for the link) out of the remaining fleece, but didn't have enough so I made a pillow for the cat's window hammock (modeled by Windle).

Apparently Windle wanted to be prominently featured in this post...

About 1" left to go before toe shaping. Hopefully I will finish it off tonight while watching Drive & Heroes! (They killed Peter! You Bastards!)

Found this at DataWhat, thought it was interesting enough to share: