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.

Yet Another Cowl

As promised, here are pics of one of the cowls I finished.





This cowl was made using Merino that I spun a few years ago. I used the eyelet & flame chevron stitch from my Vogue Stitchionary, Vol. 1. I cast-on 112 stitches on size 9 needles. The finished cowl measures 26" in diameter & 7" wide. Yes, it is up on Etsy.

The other cowl I finished just isn't up to snuff. It's pretty laying flat but looks like crap on, so I'm gonna frog it and try again. Might be a while before the redone is posted, I really need to get back to holiday knitting... only 20 days left! eek!

Knit, Knit, Knit

I've been sick the last couple of days, but that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting! In fact I've finished off 2 more cowls! I will post pics once I have some daylight to do it in, my camera takes crap pics inside but loves natural light. I guess it's time for a new one, eh?

In other news, I made my first etsy sale! It was for 2 pairs of dryer balls! I whipped up a few more of those, hoping to get regular business from them.

Unfortunately, ArtFire seems to be a bit of a bust... just not getting any traffic there. I'd really like it to take off, but I'm going to focus my energies at Etsy for the time being.

I'm also working up a new design for gloves. I've got an image in my head, but can't seem to find anything similar in my stitch libraries. I just don't know if I'll have the time to perfect the design & get the item knitted before Xmas.