Instant Gratification

Remember this? I put this photo up in yesterday's post. Oh, btw, here's the link for the contest.

Anyway, I posted this scarf yesterday and put the scarf and the hat in the shop for sale. Last night, right before dinner, I thought I'd check to shop views to see if anyone was looking around.

The scarf had sold.
This brings two conflicting thoughts to mind.
The first: YIPPEE!!!
The second: I sold it for too little.

The first thought tells the second thought to shut up. Pricing has been a big issue in both the freelance and handmade fields. We've had this discussion before: some folks are very quick to point out how pricing too low kills the rest of the industry. I still hear it from people who tell me I price my stuff too low.

Too low for what?

See. This is why the first thought tells the second thought to stuff it. For those of you who are thinking of selling your items, you will have to figure out what works best for you and let everyone else's opinion roll off your back.

Sometimes you have let it roll off your own back. I worked out a formula and I plug it in and a price comes up. Sometimes it seems reasonable; sometimes not, but some things about the business remains the same: materials cost what they cost, postage and fees are usually consistent. Time it take to create an article usually changes so I put in an average value for that which can increase over time like a raise or salary increase. And then I live with the numbers.

I do something similar when figuring out prices for the in person sales. There are some different considerations (like no shipping or handling fees) but the formula remains pretty much the same. Sometimes it means some really good prices - steals almost. Sometimes it means something will be pretty high end. Most of the time it hits it just right. And that might be the best you can hope for.

So I will probably get over the price thing - in truth, the price is probably about right to slightly too low - but the gratification of the sale remains with me. To know folks will buy your stuff. It's better than when I sell something I've written - and that's a pretty good high!

I'll worry about pricing another day - when I schedule time to worry about things. But for the moment, I'm going to rejoice that I have made my 18th sale since being in business for almost a year.

YIPPEE!
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I Can't Keep Up

Keep those tips coming for the giveaway contest.
The things I'm learning. Since it is my contest and I can make the rules, I will be giving away an additional prize of stash yarn to the tip that personally helps me the most. So, now, you have more to win! Keep them coming, they are very helpful and very diverse. Knitters Rock.

Dig the color of the scarf and hat. Aubergine. Doesn't it make you drunk just saying it? I love the color and you know what? I didn't even know I was making a set. I made the hat about a week before I made the scarf. They aren't supposed to be a set, though I do think they came from the same pattern book.

I bought four books from Knit Picks while they were having their 40% books sale. I will review them all in detail at a later date, but I am salivating over two of them, one has instructions that I either need to give up drinking altogether or increase my intake three fold in order to understand, and I don't remember what the last one was. (I just went over the site and looked it up...it's OK.)

But this hat and scarf - or the original patterns - came from 24 Hour Knits. There's some nice stuff in that book and I am certain that if I ever completely follow a pattern as written - it would be from that book. Of course, I say that knowing I rarely do a pattern exactly as written and the road to hell is paved with good intentions - but still.

I've started a prayer shawl. I gathered my shawl books together because I'm feeling a shawl mojo starting (say good-bye to hats for the moment.) I am missing a prayer shawl book. I have the feeling it's up in the office which means that when I find it, it will signal the second coming. But even so, I have eight books of shawl patterns. Eight. I just like books. Nothing wrong with that.

I went stash shopping for another project and discovered a bunch of Homespun (of course) so now with that added to the skeins in the upstairs stash not to mention the new skeins in the trunk - I have contracted prayer shawl fever. I have a challenge to see how many I can finish between now and the end of the month. Nineteen days.

What do you think? How many can I get done?


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The Chicago Top Ten for the Week of Nov. 9, 2009

Let's do some housekeeping:

1. You can enter the giveaway contest to win a copy of Knit Fix and other goodies here.

2. I hope you are all reading the tips that have been entered. There are some really good ones there, heck, they're all good. And they will all be the subject of their very own posts giving credit to the person who submitted them. I'm learning some new things every day from you guys (which happens to be a very good tip submitted by a reader!)

3, You won't believe what I just did! I had a meeting with my new pastor this afternoon and of course, I mentioned my knitting. She said she knew someone who had a stash of yarn from a yarn shop that closed down and they were giving it away and she wanted to know if I might be interested in having some of it.

I said no.

Before you beat me to a pulp.

Then I said to myself: "Girl, you crazy, you better get some of that."
I said: "This is yarn from a yarn shop?'
"Yes."
"Oh yes, we want some of that. We can use that to make prayer shawls and use them for members and the like."

You can put your knitting sticks down now. You won't need to beat me with them. I was thinking about the huge stash of yarn I already have and I was also thinking my mother also told me to say know when folks offered stuff.

But that was all overridden by it's yarn from a yarn store and if it's the yarn store I think it is - they don't sale very much acrylic yarn (which I love) but this could be a source of some natural fibers and that would be a great source of higher end items that can be made for church members.

In any case, that old training was left behind!

But that's not why you're here. You're here to see who and what I've chosen for this week's list. I am eager for you to see them so without further ado (what's an ado, anyway?) here, in no particular order, is this week's top ten:

Gray Mohawk Hat by LeafLee
Come on, now. You gotta admit it's way cool. I like the fact that it even exists.

Fall and Grapes by promirta
This is a lovely and unusual piece. The entire shop is like that. Another newbie who makes the list their first time out.

Evening Stroll by Elizabeth Wren
This isn't the first time Elizabeth has made our Top Ten and with work like this lovely shawl, it won't be the last. It's just beautiful and it looks snugly.

Crochet Picture Frame by double stitch
Now this is something I've never seen before and when you look at it you say, 'well, of course!' I love creativity and resourcefulness.

Abstract Gold Earrings by allisonmooney
These earrings are almost 3 inches so they have substance. I was thinking I shouldn't wear the big earrings because I have no neck and then I saw a reporter on the t and v and she has hair even shorter than mine and she was wearing these big a earrings and she doesn't have a neck, either. That's why these earrings are on my list.

I want to thank the new followers that I've picked up and remind all of you that I will give a shout to all of (especially if you have a blog or store or both to promote. In the meantime, I enjoy you all very much.

Now, back to the show...

Red beret for kids by fril
I've never seen a leaf pattern done in this way. Great job? I'm so gonna make my own version! Thanks for the inspiration,

Holographic Bling Pendant by FireGrog
Gimme,gimme,gimme,gimme

Blue Dreams Quilt by kateemarie
Wow! Lovely simply lovely. I don't have this kind of patience!

Rebecca's Growing Garden Pendant by westbyron
The piece is very sweet and the description is touching. Read it for yourself and fall in love with it.

Spiral scarf by trucksandpearls
This scarf is quite lovely and the care that went into it shows up very nicely. If I didn't knit, I'd be looking to buy it.

There you have it - isn't an unusual but exciting list? Christmas is getting closer, do that holiday shopping and you can have bragging rights over your friends. Look locally, look at handmade and see if that doesn't supply your every gift giving need!


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