Another sale this month

November is definitely turning into a profitable month for me.  I received my 3rd online sales order today plus my local yarn shop Wild Yarns sold a skein of my hand spun yarn this month.  Sales definitely keep the creative juices flowing and boost ones confidence.

It was a fairly crappy week for me but I stayed focus on finishing the headbands and actually spin up 3 different fibers this week.  Yesterday didn't see any sales for me at the ranch but word is getting out in the neighborhood so hopefully December will see sales for many of us.  I do love seeing the baby alpacas and llamas on the ranch every week.  We have been lucky to have nice weather (no snow) but sometimes windy thus far.  I definitely use my time wisely while there.   Be it taking product photos, completing projects or cataloging merchandise.



CVM Headband



BFL Shades of Brown



Working on more yarn to sell locally at Wild Yarns - thinking the BFL in shades of Brown, Alpaca/Milk protein and Shetland Gray yarn.  I left the alpaca and CVM headbands at the shop on the ranch and will be listing the purple wool one on Etsy today. 

I just discovered there is a yarn for ruffle scarfs made out of Mohair and Wool for sale which is similar to the Flounce yarn.  Need to find a local source for purchasing and listing in the shop.  The purple Flounce scarf I made for my sister she loves and actually wore for her birthday outings.  We both love purple!

I have ordered some unique gift tags that I want to include with sales so I am hoping they arrive by Tuesday so I can include a couple in today's sale.  The skeins have been sorted as to which ones need yarn labels and which ones I need to wash/finish/measure.  Still need to research patterns for fingerless mittens with a flap cover.  I am thinking of making them with the Llama/Soy Silk yarn or Merino wool red.  Need to find patterns and send them to my friend for final approval though.  Well I am off to clean yarn and post items on Etsy/EBay!

Busy Saturday

Eventhough I am not feeling 100% it has been a productive day.  I went to the store at the ranch to work my shift and we had our first sale using the "square" tool.  Very cool to take a credit card, capture a photo of the purchase items and email a receipt to the customer.

The lilac scarf is finished and being cleaned/blocked.  I actually listed it in the shop at Herie7 Natural Fiber Treasures and it was posted on FB and Twitter today.  I think I am starting to get the hang of this multi media advertising process. 

The head band made from CVM wool is coming along and I like the heart design of the pattern.  Headbands are the perfect projects for my handspun yarns.

After taking product photos, I posted a couple of yarns on the Ebay site and within Herie7 Natural Fiber Treasures on Etsy tonight too.

I did enjoy watching the male llamas and alpacas this afternoon.  They are such peaceful creatures.  We had good conversations with customers and have some ideas on what to stock the shop with to draw in the young customers (kids).

Definately will be creating small woven bags and headbands for the Renaissance Festival the summer of 2012.  Tomorrow I will be relaxing and hanging out with friends before another busy week in the office.

Newspaper article

One of my favorite alpaca ranches was written up in one of our local newspapers.  Ancient Treasures Alpaca Ranch article - most of my alpaca fleeces come from the ranch and I am now selling hand spun yarn and knitted items at their shop.  Cheryl introduced me to the world of alpacas and I have participated in shearing day there over the past few years.  They have several  new babies (crias) and a couple of llamas on the property too.

We have had our first sales of November.  Hand knit wool beret and Wool headband were sold at Herie7 Natural Fiber Treasures on Etsy.  This weekend we set up the shop at the ranch and had a few visitors looking to see what we carry and inquire on hours to come back and shop later.  I do believe that they may have sold an alpaca this weekend too.

My goal was to measure and label my hand spun yarns this weekend which I have accomplished.  I realized that I actually made a bulky weight yarn which was the merino/silk blend in shades of blue, white and red.  My second batch is looking to be more of DK/sports weight yarn.  It is nice to know that I can spin thickly if I don't concentrate very much on going thin.

ZigZag design on headband made from dyed wool yarn

ZigZag design on headband made from dyed wool yarn, a photo by Herie7 on Flickr.

New design for a headband. Motivated to create more using the stash of small yardage yarns. Should I have a button closure or just bind it together?

Starting to sell on Ebay

So tonight I took the plunge and listed items on EBay.  They are running a special which allows one to list up to 500 items auction style a month without an insertion fee.  They charge a 9% fee but I must admit it was quite easy to list items on their site since I had the pictures.  You can find items under "Herie7" as I am trying to keep things consistent from one outlet to another.

The green ruffled scarf has been finished - yeah!  I am going to sell it in the store on the ranch.  Need to block the alpaca neck warmer and redo the wooden buttons.  I put them on the wrong side of the neck warmer and didn't notice until a friend was modeling it for me.   I do have really supportive friends who provide encouragement and occasionally modeling photos for me.  Still need to find a male to model the hats so I can post them on sites.

The merino silk roving is 3/4 spun simply because it is on the thin side.  It looks beautiful and I will post pictures soon.  Off to bed and relaxation.