I know it’s been awfully quiet around here, but I’ve been busy being creative!
Summer came and went and now the snow is here – where does time go? I surely don’t know! 
Each of our granddaughters came individually to spend a week with us over the summer – Hailey (age 8), Jordyn (age 14) and Rebecca (age 17) and we had so much fun! We gave them each a list of things that we could do and they could each pick one “big” thing. Hailey chose going to the water park, Jordyn chose horseback riding, and Rebecca chose an airplane ride. We also went swimming at the lake, kayaking, made homemade sweet dill pickles, and to the fair.
The vegetable garden kept me busy – long into fall, I picked the last of the tomatoes from the greenhouse in mid-October! I have a lot of homemade spaghetti and pizza sauce stashed away – just in case next year is not a good tomato year.
I did my very first craft fair in August (Rebecca went with me – that was on her to do list) – it was a total bust as it rained like crazy, luckily I had a tent with a roof and sides! Because the first craft fair was considered a wash-out, I was invited back to the October show at no additional charge.
Everyone commented on how lovely my work was and how beautiful the amigurumi were – but they all seemed to run in the other direction when they looked at the prices! It’s so sad when people act like they expect you to give away something that takes hours to create. It was really rather depressing. I didn’t sell anything! I didn’t go with a lot of expectations as I know the amigurumi that I make aren’t for “everyone” – but I had hoped that I would at least back the money that I spent on the booth plus the cost of the item that I was required to donate.
My “real” job kept me busy and of course there were the presents that had to be made for Christmas – I’ll be writing about those over the next few weeks – look for today’s post about Jill the amigurumi giraffe.
My daughter and the girls came for Thanksgiving (they live 6 hours away) and we had Thanksgiving dinner in the early afternoon and then our Christmas that evening – so I can finally post about the things I made them for Christmas without letting the proverbial cat out of the bag!
I did a LOT of knitting this year, my daughter and each of the girls got a scarf, cowl or shawl and a hat plus each of the girls got a crochet amigurumi. I still feel very much the novice when it comes to knitting, but do have to say that my knitting skills aren’t bad — ok, they are pretty darned good. I still prefer to crochet and find that I can crochet SO MUCH faster than I can knit! But I love the look of knitted lace – so I will continue to knit.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve been taking a class offered through the American Crochet Association – called Crocheting for Profit. This has been a REAL eye opener, especially after the two less than stellar experiences at the craft fair. What I’ve learned so far through this class is that I’m really not charging enough! Imagine that. There is a lot of discussion about making a “fair wage” for your handcrafted items and I totally agree with that. But yet at the same time, how difficult it is to compete with someone who charges basically for materials and a few bucks in their pocket or the cheap mass-produced stuffed animals that you can buy at Walmart.
I’ve discovered, what I have thought all along – that I have a niche market and that I need to go out of my local area to attend craft fairs in order to sell the items I create.
So needless to say, I have a lot of work ahead and need to make some changes to how I think about this “yarn related business” that I want to pursue. So, I’ll be searching out juried craft fairs and setting up an Etsy shop for starters and I’ll have to learn how to market something that people want rather than need.
Enough rambling for today, so I’ll leave you with a photo of my current knitting project – it’s called Fall of Leaves Shawl, is available on Ravelry, and I’m using Malibrigo sock yarn in a colorway called Archangel. It’s my first experience in working from a charted knitted pattern.
Enjoyed reading about your activities over the summer and fall! Sounds like you and the grans had a great time!
And I empathize with you over the issue of pricing. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and think there are two main reasons why many folk balk at these prices: 1) needlework is viewed as “women’s work,”something we have done for free for centuries; 2) outsourcing to third world countries whose workers receive close to slave wages (I know ,that’s an oxymoron) so manufacturers can make a big profit while selling these items cheaply back in the US. I’m sure there are other factors involved (e.g., socioeconomic, geographic), but these are the two reasons that gave a big impact on the price many expect to pay for handmade goods.
So getting a fair price for our work depends a lot on whom we market to. For instance, I have a customer for whom I do custom crocheted pieces and she is happy to pay me a good price for the stuff I make for her. My impression is that she has a fair amount of disposable income, but she’s also a budding crocheter, so she understands the time it takes and the skill that goes into making custom pieces. I would love to have more customers like her. They’reout there; it’s just a matter of finding them.
And this is the first time I’ve heard of the American Crochet Association. How does it compare to CGOA? I used to be a member of the latter but let my membership lapse.
Hi Patrice
So glad you stopped by! We had an awesome time with the grans and I can’t wait until next summer.
I totally agree with all your reasons why many people balk at prices and disposable income is certainly a factor. I do live in a very rural area with a high unemployment rate so I’m sure that has a lot to do with my experience at the craft shows this year. Next year I’ll travel farther from home to more populated areas.
I’m not sure how ACA compares with CGOA to be honest – I’ve looked at CGOA several time, but haven’t joined. ACA is more expensive, but it’s very active – webinars, Facebook group, etc. A lot of good energy with a lot of active members who are making that move from hobbyist to professional.
Hey Nancy, then I will definitely have to check out ACA. Other than the conferences, CGOA didn’t offer much, so it’s good to know there are other options out there.
Awesome. The website is http://www.americancrochetassociation.org/ I look forward so seeing you in the groups 🙂