Mixing it up with the Public + My Etsy Reader

Staying at home as a retiree and sewing up stuff all day and trying to support the habit with an Etsy shop makes for a lot of alone time.  Hubby is constantly being asked for his opinion on all sorts of things that he is no expert on but he is also retired and nearby.

So yesterday was one of my few outings into the real, non-cyber world at a crafts fair.  Christmas-by-the-Lake was held at my old alma mater, Avon Lake High School.  It was a scholarship fund-raiser sponsored by the PTA so I felt good about supporting them and the most fun was meeting up with old friends and neighbors.

The front of ALHS as I knew it - pic from the web

For me, it was a good, even fantastic,  show since the one I did in October was a money LOSER!  I was pretty busy most of the day and if hubby hadn't come to assist I would not have survived the set-up and take-down on my own.  We even stayed overnight at a nearby hotel to avoid the long drive in the AM when the weather might have been iffy.  Disclaimer: The expense did not cut into my profits since I used my Hilton Honors points for a free night. I also got out of having to cook dinner for two nights straight :)  Cooking is definitely not my thing.

New Main entrance which is really at the back - low res pic from ALHS page

I was so busy talking, walking and selling I completely forgot to take pictures to put on this post. My selling space did look pretty spiffy and was quite generous. There was extra space around the allotted 10' x 10' so my hanging racks for bags and aprons could angle outward and made lots of room for shoppers to see and finger the wares.

Since I have nothing else to  dress up the post with, here are some items I sold.

               This wool purse was snapped up right away. 

I had just completed it days before.  My favorite part of this is the ruffle made from the selvage.  

The fabric is a herringbone that has been hand dyed by RubyMountainDyeworks. I was trying to match another purple solid to make this style:

                                       However, it was too red. I wanted it for the side pockets.

This gray bag also went to the show with me and was admired often and sold for my full asking price even when the buyer tried to get me to come down.  This little baby got more "favorites" in the shortest time on my Etsy shop than anything I have ever made. Now I am really determined to get just the right coordinating fabrics to go with that nice thick coat weight royal purple.  I have enough for at least two bags, so in the mean time, perhaps solid purple with a stitching detail?

                                                                Aprons went pretty well, too.

 This one had matching potholders that have a sort of bra-like look in this photo.

At right is the apron I wear at shows.  The two giant pockets hold my cash and other necessities.  This was my first show where my phone was one of those necessities.

Etsy has made available a credit card reader, the Etsy Reader , that works like Square and some other similar things but this one connects directly to your Etsy shop so that items are removed from your online shop as you sell them directly.  You can even use it for sales that are not Etsy items and it worked smoothly and efficiently and helped me make more sales. It emails you a record of each sale, adds up your totals, helps you make change and will email a receipt to your customer. Thanks, Etsy!

Oh, and those little cuties I put in my previous teaser post are still with me. I sold ONE but they were all handled fondly by lots of hands.  They will see another show day. Too small and fiddly to list and ship on Etsy.

ADSD - Attention Deficit Sewing Disorder

I have a diagnosis. Not officially but through years of self-study and dawning realization the verdict is in. I "suffer" from ADSD - Attention Deficit Sewing Disorder.

Disorder is always part of sewing:

But the inside of my head is sometimes in disarray. I start one project and then jump to another. I home in on one style and suddenly switch to another. 

Sweet and old-fashioned

to contemporary

to "antiqued".  From pillows to aprons in retro style

to who knows what style.

Then it was bags. Zippered pouches:

with faux leather

with birds and quilting 

Zippered wallets

Novelty bags with snap closure and texture

Beach bag

Travel tote

And we can't leave out the wine bags.

Which inspired the wine aprons

And then came towels.

 I even veered off into technology and whipped up a semi-successful iPad cover!

Maybe 2014 will bring new inspiration for entirely new sewing projects. I may actually try tackling clothing for me again although I really dislike thew results I have achieved in the past.

Craft Show Upgrade

Last year I wrote a post about my first craft show HERE. Yesterday was the new improved version of the same show. This time it was in a better location with better publicity and better all around organization. And I did better but it helped that my space was free due to participating in last year's debacle.

These things are fun to do and indoors is definitely less taxing on the back and the nerves due to weather concerns. I set up and took down the whole thing all by myself. Well, some nice high school boy who is required to do some community service to graduate was there in the AM to help me drag some of it in.
You can see Francine on the left wearing a recently finished item. Francine enjoyed all the attention and compliments she drew on her first venture out of the house, but unfortunately no one chose to buy her apparel and undress her so her apron will probably be showing up on Etsy real soon. I was in a hallway and couldn't get in the whole set up. I use a portable baby crib/play yard for all my loose pillows. It was on the lower right out of sight. 
I sold more of the wine gift bags here than at the last show I did at a winery. I only made them up because of that show. I cannot figure out what motivates people to part with their money...or not. Luckily, I am not dependent on them for my survival, just for feeding my creative habit.

 

I thought my location was good because every one entering the show had to pass by on there way in or out. However, on entering they seemed anxious to get into see it all and then on the way out they had spent all their cash.

This is one of two large
areas of displays.


One especially attractive display  was this jewelry table with little baby Francines. I am also attracted to the turquoise and chevron. Being on my own all day, I had no time to shop the show which probably helped my bottom line but not the economy of all assembled here.

Being a very talkative person who can't sit still for too long, I'm afraid I drove the nice "bow girls" next to me nuts. In return for their tolerance here is a blatant plug for their infinite variety of hair ribbons for every occasion and whim.

 

 As, I said, I am too antsy to sit  still at these things, therefore, I do

not sit behind a table. You can see that my space had the table pushed back to the wall so that I could use the front and sides for display. This  leaves me nowhere to stash the cash. My solution is an apron that displays my

work AND serves to hold the change and incoming money in the two pockets.

Images on apron courtesy of THE GRAPHICS FAIRY

Needless to say, by the end of a day I am a bit worn down but I count that as my weight-bearing exercise!



This Week in Sewing and Selling

The highlight of the week was THIS! The Graphics Fairy chose my little zippered bag I posted the week before as her featured hand made craft. This means gobs of people click to go to either this blog or my Etsy shop. But, even before it was featured it was SOLD!

That started off my most active selling week so far. Now, I am not making a killing here. As I stated previously, the selling is mainly in order to support the sewing habit. An interesting feature of Etsy selling is knowing all the places your items are going. I have already sold coast-to-coast and in the heartland.  My favorite town name is Waccabuc! Click on the link to see the Wikipedia entry for it and some of its interesting residents. I did not sell to any of them.

I also had a repeat customer. The lovely person that bought the pictured bag came back and bought two more similar ones before I had barely listed them. I owe EVERYTHING to my inspirational Graphics Fairy and she provided the sweet image on this apron that will be listed on Etsy today.

Another little project was the cup tree I bought and showed in pieces last week. I did get it painted and put back together.

Before  and unassembled

After painted the wood with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (old white with a dash of Duck Egg)

I already know next week's blog topic. The ORIGINAL SEWING AND QUILT EXPO will be at the Cleveland I-X Center and my sewing buddy, Susan and I will be attending for two whole days. I will have a report on our experiences. Hope you'll stop by again

 

Thanks for Sharing

I have been having a great time writing this blog approximately once a week since last August and I need to give credit where it  is so eminently due. When I stumbled onto Confessions of a Plate Addict while searching information on Quimper Pottery.  I was immediately enchanted and reading her blog and oohing and aahing over the great pictures and ideas led me to the great and wonderful and aptly named

The discovery of the treasure trove of fabulous images led me to resurrect an old love of working in fabrics. That in turn caused me to create a whole lot of stuff that I love but cannot actually use so I am now "sharing" those items on Etsy at CherylThimbleFingers.

Last week Karen at The Graphics Fairy posted another of the six young girl images I sent to her. She has shared three of them so far. They were found in an old sewing book acquired from friend who happens to be a blogger about rare and antiquarian books, Books, Art, Life and a Cat.

I finally used one of the little ladies myself this weekon a reversible apron. This is the girly side. To see the other more unisex side click HERE

























So, the point of all this rambling is that I want to return the favor and share some more. I have no idea how Karen at The Graphics Fairy technically does it but today I am posting an advertising card found at a New York City flea market. The colors are so pretty and rich that maybe the words won't make you think UNDERWEAR!

I hope you can copy and paste it and do what you will with it. I haven't done a thing with it yet. Maybe I'll see this on Brag Monday soon.

Footnote: While browsing on Etsy I found someone selling one of the "sewing book girls". Before you buy an image, check if it's free from Karen at THE GRAPHICS FAIRY!

      

Supporting the Habit

When I had the craft show fail, I said I was thinking about setting up an Etsy shop. Well, I did it this past week! I love the process. It is sooo easy to do and not a big expense to set up your own business (plug, plug). And as another plug HERE is the link to my Etsy shop.

 The business and moneymaking aspects were not what spurred me to do this, but rather a way to support my habit. Creating is my habit and fabric and thread is my drug of choice.  I am happiest messing around in this mess of a sewing/computer room and I need to be surrounded by fabric. I cannot resist the lure of textiles!

I went into Joann Fabrics the other day to get buttons or maybe even just one large button and left with those,  but also another 3 yards of fabric.

Great holiday basket found at THE GRAPHICS FAIRY

 

 I decided I needed to get into the season so I created 2 Christmas holiday aprons.  One uses an image a GRAPHICS FAIRY image and the other one employs the crazy red and green dot fabric I picked up.

Francine is wearing her Christmas choker!

This departs from my usual method. The fabric applique is machine sewn with a zig-zag stitch.
The large and small wreath use a wider looser stitch while the Christmas ornaments and their string are sewn with a narrower and tighter zig-zag.

Meet Francine

My hubby and the grandkids have all been models for me on this blog but I needed a really attractive woman to display my lady-like stuff. I found her last week on Amazon.com and she didn't demand a high price. As soon as she came out of her box I knew her name was Francine. Don't ask why. She just IS Francine.

I'm slowly transforming my kitchen into a somewhat Provencal style and that room has the best light and available picture taking spots, so I set her up there in an apron made of fabric from France. I have traveled there but didn't have the forethought in 2010 to bring back a lifetime supply of this hard to get fabric. I have found a great online  source in Cincinnati called French Rendez-vous .

 

 

 

The fabric picture here just arrived a few days ago and it is a coated fabric that wipes clean but is not nearly so heavy and glossy as an oil cloth. I plan to make placemats with it.

 

My weekly bow to the Graphics Fairy is the pillow shown sitting on my French farmhouse-like chair. It is made from an old damask tablecloth and Battenburg style lace adorned by the great hydrangea image. The back is made from a fat quarter of the perfect hydrangea print.

 

 





 

Craft Show Fail

This is the way it looked all day...no people!

Yesterday was my first real craft show and it was a bust. I got late notification and so I spent the whole month of October preparing. Not knowing what to expect, I tried to have something to please a variety of tastes so I would know the best way to go in the future. 

Little did I know that the late notification I got extended to the public who had no notification and a show that had previously drawn a large crowd had barely a trickle of attendance.  Others who have done this show before said booths were fewer and most of us bought from each other.  Luckily a table was only $30 so I made that back plus $10 but I  spent more than the $10 to help out others.  I am not in this to make a lot. I basically need to recoup some costs of materials but...

Maybe Etsy?

Well, here are a couple items for the guys. Hubby is modeling while pretending to cook. All of these sport images gleaned from the fabulous Graphics Fairy.