Hobbycraft show and Christmas Jumper part 3

Hello all,

It is again a busy week for the merry land of Knit's Not Perfect. I have spent the first part of the week creating more Christmas decorations in preparation for the craft fairs. I have now designed three different decorations. The first being mini stocking, the second was a snowman and the final was a snowflake. For these projects I used Patron 100% wool which just added a more festive feel. 

I then had the opportunity to begin my Christmas jumper :) The new batch of yarn arrived. It is Drops, which is a blend of alpaca and wool so is nice and thick. I did my tension square and found that I need to use a 5mm needle as opposed to a 4.5mm or my jumper would have been tiny. I decided to start with the sleeve as I have two of them to make and I can get bored if I do two one after the other. I found the pattern to be simple and it worked well. I have adapted it by adding an extra row after each increase row to ensure that it is long enough. I would recommend Sue Stratford's book to anyone looking to make their first jumper. 

I did a craft fair in Bedworth on Saturday and it went very well. I took along some of my older projects and books that I wanted to get rid of. I found that this town did appreciate the products made out of natural fibres. Key rings, phone cases and the Christmas decorations went down well so I will have to make more up to replenish my next fair (which is on Sunday 17th)

On Sunday I went to the Hobbycraft show at the NEC. This was the first time that I attended a show like this. I was prepared slightly as I remembered to pack a bag to put my goodies in. Just as a warning the car park was £10 (ouch). There was a great range of stalls on the day including many papercraft and beading ones. However, I had to make sure that I stayed focused or I could have spent all of my money, very quickly. All the usual magazine publishers were there so I picked up a great number of older Knitting and Crochet magazines and the current ones at a reduced cost. I had three favourite stalls there. The one begin good old TOFT, the second Bulldog Krafts and the final Hobzy

TOFT's stall was beautiful, they had all of the amigurumi animals suspended from the ceiling which made the stall stand out from other. There was a great range of products and I was able to check out their new wool. TOFT is a company that sells luxury yarns that are made from natural fibres and are not dyed. They firstly began with Alpaca yarn (As they are an Alpaca farm, well worth a visit if there is a tour). They have now broadened the range by selling yarn made with 100% blue face Leicester wool, which is very yummy. For more details look at their website www.toftalpacashop.co.uk

Bulldog Krafts was a company that I had not heard of until I went the show. They sell bamboo needles, hooks and Tunisian crochet hooks at a reasonable price. I was able to buy 9 Tunisian crochet hooks for only £10 which I thought was a bargain. they also sell lovely 100% cotton yarn in beautiful colours. The yarn is a good quality and you get a great length out of each skein. John was the man I spoke to there and he seemed very friendly and genuine. His partner (who is the keen knitter) is also lovely and approachable. You are able to buy nice kits from their website. I am tempted with the baby blanket kit as I have a family member who will be in need of it soon. Please check out their Facebook page and website www.bulldogkrafts.co.uk

The final find of the day is a website called Hobzy (www.hobzy.com) This is a website where you can sell your own products online. Unlike other sites, they do not charge you to upload your items but will only take payment once you sell it. I was informed on the day that this is 15%. It is a website intended to help smaller business sell their products so I may give it a go. 

I have three orders to work on this week. This Friday is Knit Night at Esquire's Coffee Shop in Coventry. Here is great as you can watch great acts such as comedians, singers and poets for free whilst knitting :) The group runs 7pm - 9pm and any skill level is welcome. Please remeber to bring your own yarn and needles as these are not provided on the day. On Sunday I will be at Ashby St Ledger's Village Hall for a craft fair. It runs from 2pm-5pm and it should be great. I will be there with my friend from Kazam jewellery so come on down if your free. check out my Facebook page for more details. 

That's all for now

Happy crafting

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Craft stalls and the Knitting Thief

Hello all,

I did my 2 craft stalls and it seemed to go OK. The first was in the town of Nuneaton. Here I found people seemed to like smaller items such as key rings. I was nervous when I first arrived as this was my first actual craft fair.  I managed to forget my table cloth (despair) As I looked sadly at my naked table all was not lost as I lucky had a friend there to help me out. I have learnt that Rule 1 of a craft stall never forget your table cloth or you will have a naked table of shame! Rule number 2, make sure your items clearly show what they are. I had some headbands but people seemed unsure what they were....I even had one person tell me that the necklaces I had made were lovely. I have since decided to order some mannequin heads to display them clearly on :). Rule 3 take your knitting. This was great as people came over to chat to me about my craft and also laugh as I managed to tangle myself in the wool again and again. 

The second craft fair I did was in Rugby. I came more prepared as I had my table cloth! However, to my surprise the tables were already beautifully dressed. Rule 4 do  not assume you will need to use the table cloth you bring. In this area I found that my mobile phone covers did well :) So I have come to realise that location can affect what you sell. I guess this means that rule 5 is that location is key. 

I tried to make my tension square for my Christmas jumper but alas it was an epic fail. I realised that I knit extremely tightly. So tight I have to use needles that are 1/2mm bigger than intended for the wool. This means if I continued with the current yarn...It would be holey and look odd. I have since consoled myself by yarn shopping on www.woolwarehouse.co.uk Of course I did not buy anything extra....that I will need to hide from the husband....:s 

I am up to date with my knitting orders :) I have made 2 minions, 2 cowls, 1 West Brom scarf and a Super Mario. I found a great pattern on http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mario-plushie by Linda Potts. The pattern is free and it is a great pattern. It is easy to follow and the end products look like what they are meant to.  I have since become a massive fan of Linda and follow her blog :) Please respect that the pattern or end product is not to be sold. 

I have realised that my knitting is no longer safe in my house. There is a creature that lives in my home that steals yarn and needles. I thought I was misplacing things until I caught the villain red handed, or pawed rather! To my horror, the criminal was none other than my pet rabbit Caramel. I was there, casually sewing my project together and she jumps on my table, steals my knitting needle, runs away with and and then gnawed it. I am in need of a new place to stash my work.....and a new 3.5mm bamboo needle.

I have brought the latest Inside Crochet magazine and again delighted with the projects. I particularly love the crochet Christmas Stocking and the Festive Wreath. This has been added to my long list of things I would love to make myself.

I have now got the festive spirit so currently working on Christmas decorations for future stall. I have finally got an original pattern that I am happy with for a mini stocking and I hope to made a mini snowman soon too (as red and white are the only colours I have :s)

I will be selling on a crafty stall again on Saturday. It is at Bedworth Methodist Church, Mill Street, CV12 8JZ. The event begins at 10 am and I will be there.......with a dressed table. 

Well I am going to return to my festive makes

Happy crafting :)