Time for a blog post, perhaps? And fundraising for Haiti!
Well, I survived TNNA. I tried to go into it with a really positive attitude, and even though it's the worst show we've had (although it's always hard to tell what will happen after the fact), I had fun and came out of it feeling good. I'm still not 100% sure we'll go to Columbus, but I'm leaning strongly in that direction.
It helped to go over my accounting for last year and realize that wholesale pattern sales were by far the biggest chunk of GYW's income. Sure I'd only have to sell 1/3 of the patterns at retail download to equal my wholesale sales, but at this point in time I'm nowhere near that. My download sales would have to grow by like 5,000% to match my wholesale revenue. That's a bit of a wake-up call, as is the fact that the little experiment I did with posting a pattern for sale on Ravely in early January has resulted in exactly 1 download - my whole marketing strategy would have to change dramatically to focus on downloads, and I'm not ready to do that. I'd rather be knitting!
I also can't help but think that if I keep on soldiering through this recession, I'll be in a good position to ride the crest of the wave once the next boom period hits. GYW is now self-sustaining (of course, that's with both Donna and I working basically for free, but at least it's not eating through cash like it was a few years ago), so for the moment, we're good to go for as long as we can stand it. I'm feeling refreshed and re-inspired, so we should be set to carry on for 2010.
Now I'm ready to move on with fun stuff, like the blog book tour which is finally getting off the ground! I'll post the schedule as soon as I have it, but we've got some great bloggers (and a couple podcasts) lined up! If any of you want to participate and have a good readership, please let me know - we've got a few slots left. There will be drawings and other fun stuff happening in conjunction with the tour, starting the last week in January.
We've also got the new designs unveiled, finally! You can go to the GYW website to see them all, but here are a few highlights.
This first one is Valencia, and I think it's the best sweater I've designed in ages, if not ever (Cannon Beach and Knotty Wrap are contenders also - why is it that all my favorites are summer tops?).
It's all in the round, and the cap sleeves don't require any special grafting or picking up of stitches - you just bind off the underarms and cast on for the sleeve right on top. So easy! I also put one of my favorite cables up the back.
I'm still working on getting it all graded (it will have regular (XS-XL) and plus (2X-6X) versions), so it won't be available until March 15.
Next we have the Cuddly Baby Cardi, which was designed by our friend Yvonne from Lavender Sheep. It's an easy top-down raglan, and Donna found the world's cutest baby to model it for us. Yvonne will have her own little model in a few months, but fortunately that little bun is still firmly in its oven!
Finally, we have Birch, which got loads of attention at TNNA. We had it on our dress form over a dark top, held in place by a copper Plover shawl pin.
We are going to rephotograph this weekend since it's really hard to see the detail. It's an entrelac pattern with a lace panel in the center of each rectangle. It comes in three different widths from scarf to wrap. Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern:
We've also got a long-sleeved sweater, a vest, fingerless gloves and a new earflap hat, so look for them at your LYS very soon!
Finally, we've all heard about the disaster in Haiti, right? Well, I'm trying to do my very small part to help. All proceeds from downloads of my Hurricane Socks via Ravelry will be going to disaster relief for Haiti. $3 will go to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and $3 to Heifer International. Click below the photo to buy the pattern and help the cause.
Since many of you probably bought this pattern after its initial release when proceeds were going to help victims of the hurricanes in the Gulf in 2008, I've got another way to help. Join the brand new Toe-Up! flickr pool and post a photo of a finished or in-progress sock from the book. For each sock posted, I'll donate $1 to Doctors Without Borders. Since I can't track sales of books directly, I figure this is a good way to do it indirectly.
Happy MLK birthday weekend, everyone!
It helped to go over my accounting for last year and realize that wholesale pattern sales were by far the biggest chunk of GYW's income. Sure I'd only have to sell 1/3 of the patterns at retail download to equal my wholesale sales, but at this point in time I'm nowhere near that. My download sales would have to grow by like 5,000% to match my wholesale revenue. That's a bit of a wake-up call, as is the fact that the little experiment I did with posting a pattern for sale on Ravely in early January has resulted in exactly 1 download - my whole marketing strategy would have to change dramatically to focus on downloads, and I'm not ready to do that. I'd rather be knitting!
I also can't help but think that if I keep on soldiering through this recession, I'll be in a good position to ride the crest of the wave once the next boom period hits. GYW is now self-sustaining (of course, that's with both Donna and I working basically for free, but at least it's not eating through cash like it was a few years ago), so for the moment, we're good to go for as long as we can stand it. I'm feeling refreshed and re-inspired, so we should be set to carry on for 2010.
Now I'm ready to move on with fun stuff, like the blog book tour which is finally getting off the ground! I'll post the schedule as soon as I have it, but we've got some great bloggers (and a couple podcasts) lined up! If any of you want to participate and have a good readership, please let me know - we've got a few slots left. There will be drawings and other fun stuff happening in conjunction with the tour, starting the last week in January.
We've also got the new designs unveiled, finally! You can go to the GYW website to see them all, but here are a few highlights.
This first one is Valencia, and I think it's the best sweater I've designed in ages, if not ever (Cannon Beach and Knotty Wrap are contenders also - why is it that all my favorites are summer tops?).
It's all in the round, and the cap sleeves don't require any special grafting or picking up of stitches - you just bind off the underarms and cast on for the sleeve right on top. So easy! I also put one of my favorite cables up the back.
I'm still working on getting it all graded (it will have regular (XS-XL) and plus (2X-6X) versions), so it won't be available until March 15.
Next we have the Cuddly Baby Cardi, which was designed by our friend Yvonne from Lavender Sheep. It's an easy top-down raglan, and Donna found the world's cutest baby to model it for us. Yvonne will have her own little model in a few months, but fortunately that little bun is still firmly in its oven!
Finally, we have Birch, which got loads of attention at TNNA. We had it on our dress form over a dark top, held in place by a copper Plover shawl pin.
We are going to rephotograph this weekend since it's really hard to see the detail. It's an entrelac pattern with a lace panel in the center of each rectangle. It comes in three different widths from scarf to wrap. Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern:
We've also got a long-sleeved sweater, a vest, fingerless gloves and a new earflap hat, so look for them at your LYS very soon!
Finally, we've all heard about the disaster in Haiti, right? Well, I'm trying to do my very small part to help. All proceeds from downloads of my Hurricane Socks via Ravelry will be going to disaster relief for Haiti. $3 will go to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and $3 to Heifer International. Click below the photo to buy the pattern and help the cause.
Since many of you probably bought this pattern after its initial release when proceeds were going to help victims of the hurricanes in the Gulf in 2008, I've got another way to help. Join the brand new Toe-Up! flickr pool and post a photo of a finished or in-progress sock from the book. For each sock posted, I'll donate $1 to Doctors Without Borders. Since I can't track sales of books directly, I figure this is a good way to do it indirectly.
Happy MLK birthday weekend, everyone!
posted by knittinmom at 12:07 PM
7 Comments:
Oh wow, the top and wrap are gorgeous! I see that wrap starting a new fad - entrelac with patterns. Why didn't anyone think of this before?
Well...I can't take total credit for entrelac with patterns (remember the Forest Path Stole?), but it's a totally diggable technique! A fad would not be bad! ;)
I love that Valencia top. What weight yarn is it? I love summer tops...no sleeves to knit!
Oh oh!! Entrelac and lace!? I can't wait to try that.
If you need a test knitter for the cap sleeve top I'd LOVE to help you out!
Your new patterns are just lovely! I can't wait to get them.
I love your summer top. The back is gorgeous!
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