Knit long and prosper

First of all - I'm sorry! I know I've been neglecting my blog, but I hope you'll agree it's been worth it. I've been busily updating and restocking all my Trekkies, and adding a few new ones. Why? Well, because it's been Star Trek weekend on TV and I've watched ALL the old movies. I am officially all trekked-out...at least until the next time.

Without further ado then...here's the Next Generation!



Back row: Worf, Data, Geordi, Riker
front row: Deanna Troi, Dr Beverly Crusher, Wesley Crusher, Captain Picard

Data has had an upgrade, I found some yellow shiny beads which look much better as his unusual eyes. Geordi's visor has also been upgraded - and young Wes is just adorable!

Seven of Nine has also been upgraded - I think you'll be able to spot her new "attributes" in the Voyager team photo:



Chakotay is certainly showing increased interest in her new "staff profile" but Janeway and Tuvok look less than impressed.



Still just two Deep Space Nine Meerkats, Kira and Dax (so much yarn, so little time...where have I heard that before?)




I'm an old-school Trekkie at heart though...so I'll leave you with my Original Series Meerkats. Live long and prosper! All *20* Meerkat Trekkies available from my Zibbet store.

Sloe gin, anyone?

I bought Mr Nifty a book about Wild food for Christmas, but as is usually the way when I buy early, we've already started using it!

The book not only helps with identification, but also tells you what to do with your bounty once you've collected it. We couldn't decide when to stop foraging though, so we picked way more sloes than we needed. Hopefully the garden birds will polish off the remainder.


You'll notice some sloes are much bigger than others (in fact, at first we thought we'd found a plum tree) Apparently though, older trees produce bigger sloes, and allegedly it makes no difference to the final product. We found the bigger ones much easier to work with though, so we'll be more selective next year. First task is to wash them, and then to prick the skins. You can also do this by putting them in the freezer overnight, apparently.



Recipes vary - we followed the book, and used 400 gm sloes, 250 gm caster sugar and 1.5 litre gin. I was very pleased to read that using better quality gin makes no difference, so we bought the cheapest "own brand" we could find!





After just one day, the gin is a beautiful colour. The book says leave it for at least 3 months, other sources say much longer. Either way, we'll be trying it at Christmas!

Niftyknits Calculator

When I first started selling online I was quite naive. I didn't really think it through, but imagined that if I priced something at £10, and the listing fee was 20p, then I'd made £9.80.



Not so.

On Zibbet, premium sellers pay a monthly fee, basic sellers have free accounts. Even that isn't *really* free though, as of course Paypal take a cut, and there are supplies to buy (including packaging, business cards) and my time to consider.

On Etsy and Folksy there is an initial listing fee and a percentage commission when something sells - and of course the inevitable paypal fees. For a UK seller, there is also the currency exchange rate to keep in mind...but let's not go there today other than for me to say I use Dollars2Pounds.

I asked Mr Nifty to set up an Excel spreadsheet for me, which I'm now offering to you as a download. It's set up for me, of course, as a seller in the UK. If you are NOT in the UK, your paypal fees may vary depending on currency.



Enter your selling price and shipping charge in £. find the current exchage rate by clicking on the link and enter it. The calculator will then enter your $ price (rounded to the nearest $) and subtract the Etsy/Folksy/Paypal fees. You can then enter your costs - for me that is yarn, beads, wire, packaging, business cards - anything that I have to buy in order to maintain my business. You might also need to include costs for your blog or website. The final figure is then your profit, your "wage". I charge for my time and expertise - it's entirely up to you, the maker, whether you do this.

If you end up with too low a final figure, then you need to reconsider your pricing, maybe even reconsider what you're making! Good luck!

Go to my website to find the calculator and click on the link to automatically download a zipped excel spreadsheet. Any problems - please get in touch so we can fix it.

UK SILLY SALE!

Today's the official starting day for the UK Etsy sellers' silly sale. Lots of us have come together under the leadership (LOL, she'll like that!) of feltmeupdesigns

Search UK silly sale to find loads of fabulous bargains, handmade, supplies and vintage shops are all represented.


Christmas robin from feltmeupdesigns

My own shop has two silly sale sections (22 items so far!), more items may yet be added!


10% reductions here

half price section here

Guess what I've been knitting?

I'll give you a clue - all the time I've been working on this project, Mr Nifty has been quoting from Kung Fu:



I had to pause for a while as I was *stuck* on what to use for eyes - as usual, the wonderful Overspill came up with a bumper assortment of weird and wonderful bits and bobs for me to rummage through.



I'm very pleased with the result!



available in zibbet

Props...part three!

I blogged last month about the props that others use in their product photos: part one and part two here.

My mission, though, was to try to find something to use for my scarves and fiber necklaces.


This is the best of about a million photos poor Mr Nifty took of me before the batteries ran out. I think scarves look better modelled, but I don't like being the model. Mr Nifty drew the line and outright refused!

Then, in a charity shop, I thought I'd found the very thing!

I don't know what it is supposed to be used for, it's a semi-transparent alien head with a ridge around the base that makes me think it's a lid of something. I can't see through it from behind so I thought it would be ideal as a face mask....LOL not so!



I still like it as a prop, but I don't think I'll try wearing it again!



The scarf will be in the UK SILLY SALE on Friday - there are already lots of lovely bargains, but Friday is the day we'll all go quite silly. Yes, even sillier than now. My shop has a section with items reduced by 10% but I will have a half-price section on Friday which will include this scarf.

Morris Dancing at Tenterden Folk Festival

Morris dancing has a long history in the UK (some claim it's been around since the 14th or 15th Century) but there are now international sides too. Tenterden Folk Festival hosts teams or sides from all over, who perform along the High Street.

some dance with sticks:



some have blackened faces - there are various explanations for this. I quite like the idea that it was to camouflage the dancers at a time when the Established Church was trying to ban Morris Dancing because of its pagan origins.



some dance with hankies:



You may have noticed the chap in the pink frock? He's the team's "fool", who acts as if he's messing about, but is quite possibly the best dancer of the lot!



Sides have "beasts" who work the crowds and sometimes dance along too - can't be easy!




Of course musicians are crucial!



This is a hurdy gurdy or wheel fiddle - I'd never seen or heard such an instrument before.


This musician danced whilst playing - very impressive!






I'm not knitting Morris Dancers any more, but the last four will be in the UK Silly Sale in my Etsy shop on Friday - come and snap up a bargain!