Just about finished for Christmas

I’ve been knitting almost feverishly for the last week and a bit to finish some orders that had come in recently. Completed and delivered  them yesterday so know I can concentrate on Christmas.

Ribbon-edged Bolero

I was asked to knit this sweet little bolero in a bigger size for a little girl aged 12 months. I used a cream DK yarn which is dappled with pink, as it knitted up it reminded me of rasberry ripple ice-cream! For the eyelet edging I used a matching dark pink yarn to complement the body of the bolero. Pale pink ribbon was threaded through the eyelets which gives it such a pretty effect.

 

Creamy Baby Duffle Coat

Once the bolero was off the needles I was busy casting on this cute little duffle coat.

I love this pattern, it’s a very simple garter stitch knit which knits up quite quickly. The size is 0-3 months, I was asked to create it in neutral colours as the baby isn’t born yet and the sex is unknown. I opted for a cream colour edged with green, to give it a clean fresh look.

 

I made some matching little boots to complete the outfit. The baby is due around New Year so hopefully he or she will be kept warm and snug in the new coat.

2013 has been a very busy knitting year which I’ve enjoyed immensely,  when I get some time over this Christmas holiday period I must put together a list of projects to be attempted in 2014!!!

 

My First Craft Fair

I did my first craft fair last Sunday at Croxteth Hall, the beautiful Stately Pile of the Earls of Sefton located just outside Liverpool. It was a little bit nerve-wracking to begin with but once we got under way it was fun and I managed to sell quite a few items, so at the end of the day I judged it a success.

I read lots of articles on preparing for craft fairs (with a few horror stories of peoples experiences) so I think I was as organised as I could be.

Since I was just testing the waters I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on putting a display together in case I decided not to go down this route again. I practised a few times on my dining room table with items I had to hand to get a decent display together.

I decided to have the display in two halves, clothes one side and toys on the other. As I was displaying knitted clothes I wanted to avoid laying them all flat in case it looked like a rumage sale. The garment rail bought cheaply from the Range fitted nicely on the table and could be adjusted to display the outfits at different heights and of course people love to browse items on a rail!

  

I had quite a few shoes and booties with me and found a cup cake stand was an ideal way to display them.

I displayed the toys at two different heights, covered boxes at the back held the larger teddy bears and a basket in the front housed the little teddies and bunnies.

Everything was individually labelled and priced. The display may need tweaking a bit for the future but on the whole I think it worked. People who didn’t have a baby to buy for were complimentary about the items so that gave me heart to carry on as well, and people did place orders for an item they liked but wanted it in a bigger size.

The downside to the fair was, that although I sold a lot of items I did sell them cheaply, maybe too cheaply. The area I think dictated the pricing and because it was my first craft fair I just wanted to sell…

The organisers to the fair put me next to a lady who also knitted baby items, they apologised for this but as all the other tables had been allocated they couldn’t move us.  To be fair even if we were tables apart we may still have taken trade from each other but being placed so close made it a tad uncomfortable.

The fair wasn’t as well attended as I would have hoped, we seemed to have a steady trickle of people but not the crowds promised.

The experience though was a good one, I learnt a lot from the other stall holders who have been doing craft fairs for years, so I am eager to do a few more. I think it’s a case of finding the right one were people appreciate hand crafted items enough to pay a good price.