Monday 21 November 2011

Pricing too low, mushroom dye bath, xmas cards and a workshop

I had two fairs this last weekend and I realised that Im pricing my stuff way too low.
And since Im not selling  exclusively to live and pay bills ( yet...) Im not sure I should hike prices up and risk them not selling.
If they didnt sell I might be found in months to come, drowned in amongst my xmas robins, owls and Jude fantastical beasts collages lol

My makes are my therapy after all lol
Now my stuff isnt months of hard work to produce one master piece of course............no, mine are makes that spring to mind ad hoc and if they sell, great...
If they dont sell, they get donated to raffles, charity shops or cat rescue fund raising colleagues.

But having said that, I almost sold out of the knitted head huggers I made and several ladies bought 2 or more of them.
In fact at one time I looked round and saw 4 ladies and young lasses heads bobbing about, wearing the head huggers theyd bought off me a short while before!
I wished Id taken the camera and taken photos because I have to admit they looked smashing on real heads and not just on a wooden hat makers dummy block like at home!
So whilst I might have charged way more and really covered the costs and my time involved in making them...........I still wouldnt have felt any the more chuffed. 
But logically I ought to raise prices, so in time I can prop my pension up abit when I do leave work.
And I do need to find another outlet or two to sell my makes in......since our lovely Art Box shop in Hull has closed....so thats a new year resolution.......to seek out new shops to sell in.
So Im back to knitting hats and head huggers for a couple of smaller craft fair stalls in december now.............and making more robins and owls since they too flew off the stall.

Robin above, obviously is confused about his colourings but I couldnt be bothered to leave the chair to find more brown wool fabric........so used what was to hand.
If Id gone off searching I would have missed the subtitles from the new 'The Killing 2' show on tv. And its another great, dark thriller from scandinavia so had to stay glued to the box!
Anyway confused robin above...........note his beak?
I dried some corn husks to tweek into beaks - and it seems to have worked, may do more like that but maybe abit smaller and tighter folded. 
And I have finally found a use for all the blummin narrow ribbons inside tshirts, blouses and jumpers. They always end up poking out above my v or scoop necked tops so I cut them out and now have a pile of lengths to use up...........so am using them to hang xmas decs with.
waheyyyy recycling!

I made up some christmas cards for myself to use but instead of the blinds samples, here Ive used xmas fabrics.
Heres the first batch..

So okay....I LIKE trees!



 And here are some of the dubious mushrooms that have sprouted in my raised beds.
Dye pots rather than soups.
One is a summer leftover dye bath with mushrooms added, one is fresh rainwater and the other was tap water.
Ive strained them out and have yet to immerse fabric in the dye baths. I may reheat them not sure yet.

And.............Ive signed up for Karen Ruane's
''buttons and more 2011'' 3 week online workshop.
It starts this week so Im seeking out my whiter than white, old linens and lace, to try and recreate my own 'Ruane' treatment buttons.
Karens stitching is simply delicious.......
but I may not reach that standard!

AND Ive also signed up for Sharons take a stitch a week, free year long workshop which kicks off in january.
It may make me actually tackle some of the amazing embroidery stitches I saw folks do over this last year of her tutilage.
I may even make my own stitch sampler.
Did I say it was free?
So how could I resist!

1 comment:

  1. you are certainly busy!!! I am sure you will create some gorgeous buttons....

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