It's been too long!

I don't quite know where the time has gone - it's been ages since I wrote a post on here!

In my defense, there has been a lot going on - with school holidays and opening a shop! I now have a bricks and mortar shop in Breedon on the Hill, NW Leicestershire on the same site as Priory Nurseries. The owner is gradually converting the old farm buildings into small retail units to give new businesses a start. There are several gift shops, antiques, book shop and card crafts, as well as the plant nursery and my wool shop - well worth a visit if you are in the area! There are more businesses moving in soon as well - including an old-fashioned sweet shop next door to me! :o)

I am gradually increasing my stock in the shop from the companies I already have yarn from, and there are several companies who I have contacted about ordering from.
I also went on a natural dyeing course a few weeks ago, and once I have some more equipment, I will be dyeing yarn to sell in the shop and on the website.
I also have a couple of bag designs to write up and loads of ideas for more :o) Now I just need a bit more time......

First pattern design!

I never thought I would have a go at designing my own knits, but it seems to be happening at the moment!



I saw a picture of Yoga Socks on Ravelry and wanted to do some for a friend since she always has cold feet! I was going to use one of the patterns in the database, but decided to have a go at making my own pattern so that I could sell them to other people in the yoga group if they wanted them :o)



Ok - here's a pic of the finished objects. That's a shock in itself - that I've actually finished a whole pair of socks!

I've written up the pattern properly as well and I'll get it on my site as a pdf for free download, but I'll put it on here too. If anyone wants to use is, feel free - but I would appreciate any comments about how the pattern is written and how they come out if a different yarn is used.


I used TOFUtsies 'Hot Foot It' and I think I could get at least 2 pairs out of one ball.
I used a set of 5 dpns - size 2.75mm


So - here's the pattern:


Cast on 60 sts, split between 4 needles (15 each) and join.
The stitches on N1 and N4 hold the stitches for the back of the leg.
N2 and N3 hold the stitches for the front of the leg.

Rounds 1-16. Work in K2, P2 rib
Rounds 17-32. Work in stocking stitch
Rounds 33-46. Work in K2, P2 rib as set in the cuff

Divide for heel
Round 47. Work in rib as set for stitches on N1, 2 and 3 and 2 stitches on N4 (47sts in total), then cast off 26sts, rib to end as set. (34 sts remaining)
Rows 48 and 49. Work straight rows in rib as set

Instep
Cast on 26 stitches and join (60sts)
Rounds 1-12. Work in K2, P2 rib as set
Rounds 13-24. Work in stocking stitch
Rounds 25-36. Work in K2, P2 rib as set
Cast off in rib


I hope all that is clear. :o)

I've got a couple of bag designs which I've not written up yet. I'll get those on here as well at some point.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Lottie. I've not done this before :o)

Rules

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. Ten years ago May 1998 - I was finishing my last year at Uni doing an Occupational Therapy degree and looking into getting a job.

2. Five things on today's "to do" list (in no particular order) - Washing up, cooking tea, entertaining the kids, knitting, tidying up.

3. Snacks I enjoy - Chocolate! Dry cereal straight from the packet.

4. Things I would do if I was a millionaire - Open a yarn shop :o) Own my own house again, talk to the local farmer about extending the garden.

5. Places I have lived - Worcestershire, Nottingham, West Cumbria, Derbyshire, NW Leicestershire

I'm gonna tag:
Iwouldratherbeknitting
Wolfmaiden
Carl
Christine
Knitwithwine

(Knittermum)

May Market - how it went!

I had a good day at the market - this is the first time I've actually been able to sit down and think enough to write this!

I learned alot on the day - knowledge that I will use for future fairs etc.

Firstly, there were several people who visited my stall who asked for cheap acrylic yarn in a variety of colours. I had been thinking about moving towards stocking mostly natural fibres, but I'm now going to have a range of value acrylic yarn as well as the more expensive yarns which yarn addicts like to fondle! The Fyberspates yarn I had on my stall was very much admired, but no sales unfortunately :o(

Also, I decided to have a range of knitted items for sale on a future stall which would appeal to non-knitters and maybe tempt some of them into starting to knit :o)

I've started making some little bags and a dolls blanket. I've also got plans to make some hairbands and bracelets as well. These are my first designs! They are fairly simple and easy to make and I am planning to make up some kits for later fairs. Once the patterns are written up and the items finished and photographed, I will have them available as free downloads on my site.

I'll get some photos on here as soon as I have some.

I will be at a couple of school fairs in June, so most of my designs at the moment are aimed at primary school age children, but I will look into adapting the designs or making new ones to appeal more to adults.

Castle Donington Medieval May Market

I'm going to be having a stall at the May Market at Castle Donington on 5th May. I'm really looking forward to it - hopefully I'll make enough sales to cover my costs, but the main aim of the day is to market my business in the local area.

I've got some business cards and leaflets printed now - it's all feeling very professional now! The market should be fun - I'm making a medieval dress and a rustic shawl for the sale and I'm going to be making the stall look medievally.
I'll post pictures next week :o)

The TOFUtsies have been selling well on my site - although I made a bit of a mis-calculation of the costs, so I've lost money in the first few sales! Oh well - teething problems - and I'm glad I've got it sorted now! And I'll probably be ordering some more very soon. The fact that they take 2 weeks to arrive is annoying - but just means that I have to plan ahead a bit.

I finished a project!

I finally finished my Mum's jacket - a pattern from Simply Knitting. To be fair - I finished it before Christmas, but it was a bit too tight, so I unpicked the seams and re-knitted the body sections. The knitting went fast, but then I left it for ages because I was putting off doing the sewing!

I've got 4 more projects to finish now before I'm going to let myself start any other big project - although I might let myself have a play with the SWTC Terra and make myself a hairband - partly because my hair is driving me bonkers!

My Sudoku blanket is coming on well now - I've even started the sewing! :oO I'll get a photo of my progress up here at some point. I've got a big incentive to keep doing that one, because it is for my son and he gives me a sad face if he sees me working on anything else!

Update on business

So much for me doing a few posts over a few days! Where does the time go?

I met with a rep from Coates Crafts today to talk about stocking some yarn from Patons. There are some really nice yarns in that range at reasonable prices! He's going to send me some style sheets of the yarns I am interested in, so I'll be ordering some from them at some point.

I've booked a stall at the Castle Donington Medieval May Market as well now - on May Day. I'm really looking forward to that as I'll get myself known more in the local area. Hopefully I'll make some sales, but even if I don't, it's a chance to be seen.
I heard about a craft fair in the local area today, so I should be going to that too! It's not till August but it gives me a chance to get some display garments made and maybe to sort out some of my designs!

I've got business cards off to be printed now, and leaflets and posters nearly ready to distribute, so it's all coming together!

Busy life!

I've not managed to do any posts for the last few days so I'm going to have to do a few posts over the next couple of days!

Nothing ever happened about that order - not that I expected it too! I just don't see the point in doing something like that - but hey ho!

I've put in another order from SWTC, so I'll have some new yarns on the site soon - and more for me to be tempted with!!! The Terra yarn that I ordered from them last time has inspired me though. I've been having loads of ideas about jumpers/tops to make with it - I just need the time to try and make them real now!

There are a couple of books on Amazon that I like the look of - both on knitting (surprise surprise!) and I've decided to use them as an incentive to get some projects finished. I've got 5 projects on the go - some of which have been sitting waiting to be sewn for tooooo long. The plan is - when I've finished these projects I will buy myself the books - hopefully that will keep me on track! I got tempted by some sock yarn today, but I must resist!!!! :o)

Don't know what to think :o/

I had a sale last night on the website by cheque/money order, but the person hadn't used the discount coupon. I know that if it was me, I would have been kicking myself but wouldn't want to contact the company or cancel my order (to re-order) because I would have felt that it was my fault.

So - I emailed the person to find out whether they knew about the discount and that if they wanted to take advantage of it, to send a check for the lower amount. I wouldn't send any yarn out until I had cleared funds - which is said on the website - and I repeated this in the email. However - the mail bounced back. We wondered whether it had just been entered wrongly so I phoned this morning - number not recognised.

So now I don't know what to think. I won't be sending the yarn out until I have money in the bank, but it feels very strange that someone would do this. And there is still the possibility that it is still a legitimate order but the person didn't want to be contacted. I don't know - just have to wait and see :o/

Had 1st Sale!!

I had my first sale on the website last night and sent the parcel this morning! It's really nice to get started. Hopefully, this will help other people have confidence in me, so I will get some more customers (fingers crossed!)

My brother wants some yarn from me and I've spoken to other people who are interested, so here's hoping that this is the start of it.

I've been thinking about visiting Donington Sunday market next weekend to find out how much it would be to have a stall there. It would be good to get more local people knowing about me - especially since there are not many yarn shops around here now.

I really want to get some more stock, but until I make some more sales I don't really want to put any more money into stock. It's difficult - the site would look better if I had more of a range, but at the same time, I don't want to take too much of a risk!

New blog created for Create and Knit news

I'm going to start using the Create and Knit News blog for updating the website, so this one can be more about me and my projects, although I'll keep updating this one with general progress on the business etc.

I've looked at other people's blogs from ravelry recently, and it has been interesting seeing what other people do with their blogs.

I've just got a new digital camera and once I have worked out how to put pictures on the computer, I will start posting relevant photos too. Make it look at bit more interesting!

I've got all the yarn that I've ordered now and I've had a lot of traffic to the website - no sales yet though - but it is really encouraging having people visiting!

Site is live!

We're still waiting for a couple of boxes of yarn from America, but they should be here in the next couple of days.

We've moved the shop to the front now so now I need some customers! :o)
There's still a few things to do on it - a few pictures to upload and some tweaking to make it look more attractive. Still - it's live!

Yarn has arrived!

My first load of yarn has arrived, along with some needles and patterns. Hopefully the rest will arrive later today or Monday. I need to get all the photos done now for the site and finish inputting all the details - then we can go live!

Web-site almost ready to go!

We've got paypal working now, and most of the legal stuff on - just a few more bits to write now. And of course, wait for the yarn to arrive so I can do some photos!

I've ordered some yarn from a British company as well as some needles and patterns, so at least I will have a few different brands of yarn to start with. I'm going to re-invest the initial outlay as I make sales and gradually build up my stock.

I had a meeting with a Business Link advisor yesterday to talk through the idea and what I've done so far. He gave me some advice about things to check out and I'm going to go back when I've finished writing my business plan so that they can read it through and tell me areas that need improving etc.

The site should be live next week. I should get some of the yarn this week, and some next, so when it's all photographed and input into the site, I can start selling!

Progress on web-site

We've got the logo up on the web-site now, and a series of pictures as a header - the same as on the holding page.

I've started putting the details of the yarns that I've ordered in as well, although obviously the pictures will have to wait until I receive the yarn.

We've also managed to get the weight to show in grammes instead of pounds, although I don't know if I'll keep the shipping weight of items on there. It will be enough to state the weight of the ball of yarn and have the cost of shipping stated clearly in the checkout.

We've got a few more bits to do - the legal stuff is pretty much written now - just needs uploading. There are a few more bits to write as well - descriptions of yarn etc, and I think I'm going to do an 'about me' page.

Order has been made!

I've placed an order with the American company and it is on its way! :o) It was very scary placing that first order, but hopefully now I've done it once I won't be so difficult next time. It should be here in just over a week and then I can start putting pictures on the website and start selling!

I need to place an order with the British company now as well, so that I have all the stock I need to start.

It's all very exciting. :oD

American supplier

I've been speaking to a rep from an American company about being a UK stockist of their yarns. They are nice looking yarns and there aren't many stockists in the UK that I have found while searching. They have got a review about one of their new yarns going in a UK knitting magazine next month and he has offered to have my site as the named stockist on the article! I've just got to get an order in over the next week or so, so that I have stock when the review is published.

The pressure is on now to get the site up and running and have available stock. It's all very exciting - I just hope that I get customers!

Information from supplier

I spoke to the Area rep yesterday to get some more information about making an order and asked which yarns were the most popular. The yarns he told me were the ones that I had been thinking about ordering, so that was encouraging! He is going to send me some style sheets for a few yarns which have been brought out since I first enquired.

I will probably make my first order in the next couple of weeks. I would like to have the site live in about 3 weeks. It is very scary and very exciting!

I had a meeting with the business manager at the bank today as well and got a business account sorted out.

Project photos

I've started putting images of knitted/crocheted items onto ravalry and I thought I'd start putting some on here too. At least the finished ones for now.

This slipper pattern was in one of the Simply Knitting magazine and I have bought some more yarn to experiment with different colours/yarns etc.

They are very quick to make and warm to wear!

Beginning of web-store

We've started to create the web-store - behind the scenes at the moment so we can build it and get everything sorted before being visible.

It's interesting trying to get it how I want it - influenced by other web-sites that I've been looking at. There are some things on other sites that I think work and some I don't. We're sorting out the categories of items, although this is difficult until I make some decisions about which yarns I want to stock. I am waiting for one of the reps to get in touch with me so that I can find out which yarns are the most popular.

I've got to write the necessary fomal things such as a privacy policy next and we'll get the logo uploaded onto the shop.

It's all very exciting - it really feels like it's happening! :o)

Welcome to Create and Knit

I've been thinking recently about setting up a shop to sell knitting yarns and needles etc, partly because I have a yarn addiction and can't resist buying it when I see it! The plan was to wait a year and write a good business plan and then set up a shop when my youngest started playgroup.

I started contacting yarn manufacturers to get an idea of the minimum orders and costs of buying wool to sell and discovered that with some of the company's at least I can sell yarn on-line without having a physical shop. This led to the plan to set up a site now and try to get a customer base in my local area (and further afield) so that if and when I do open a shop, I am more likely to get custom.

Therefore, I chose a name that felt right (and was available!) and got my holding page set up.

This blog is to keep a record of my progress to date.