Holy Batman

So many things going on in Stitch Silly right now.  I just finished my knitted gloves I've been talking about.  I may have a buyer for them already so they haven't been posted yet.

I also just finished a custom toddler blanket with the airplane fleece I showed you last week.  Silly me I sent it off without photographing it!

I also just made my largest single order sale in history!  Wahoo for me.  Of course it is my first shipment order and paypal shipping is down so I'll have to go to the post office to ship it off today.

I'm also working with two different customers on other custom orders.  I'm so excited about these products, but boy it's keeping me from increasing my inventory!  If I can get to it, the picture to the left is my next toddler blanket that I would like to create and post soon.

Talk to Me Tuesdays! - Miss Betty's Attic

Being the child of educators, my heart always goes out to those who choose that as a profession.  Today's interview is no different.  A retired school teacher, Miss Betty is a wonderful person who makes some beautiful items.

Stitch Silly: Tell me a little about yourself.

Miss Betty’s Attic: I live in the wonderful state if Iowa. I am a country girl at heart, prefer old, and loved over new. I love vintage clothing and vintage sewing patterns. Instead of the mall, I hit the thrift and antique stores to see what I can find. My hobbies are thrift shopping, wool applique, traditional colonial rug hooking, stained glass, and reading. I am married with four grown children and four brittanys.

I hold a master’s degree in Education and recently quit teaching after 16 years. I now run an in-home daycare, my Etsy store, and teach stained glass workshops on weekends.

I love vintage patterns. When I open them to count to see if all pieces are there, I wonder whom the item was made for and how they liked it. I wonder what that person's life was like and what was going on in the world when they made it. I feel like I am somewhat of a voyeur into another person's life.


SS: How did you get started with Etsy?

MBA: I have always been a lurker on Etsy, and then one day I had the chance to buy a large group of vintage patterns. Not being able to use all of them, I decided to take a chance and sell them on Etsy. I was amazing how fast sales started and continued to grow and chose to quit my day job to have more time to work on my Etsy store.

SS: What is your favorite part of being your own boss?

MBA:I was and educator for 16 years. I enjoy not having people who know nothing about what I do make decisions about my job. 

SS: What are your 2 favorite products in your shop?

MBA: I am very fond of the glamorous styles of Hollywood during the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Doris Day seemed to look marvelous no matter what she was doing.  Picking 2 favorites was difficult, but here they are:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76530268/stufnning-1950s-misses-cocktail-or?ref=v1_other_1

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74441969/head-turning-1960s-cocktail-wiggle-dress?ref=v1_other_1

SS: What is your greatest success since joining Etsy?

MBA:I think making it to 1000 sales in a short time was my greatest success. I have worked really hard to make it what it is and it paid off.

SS: What do you most want to improve?

MBA: I want to get into blogging and post patterns more frequently.  There just do not seem to be enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do. 

SS: What is your ultimate goal for your Etsy shop?

MBA: I took a $15,000 pay cut by quitting my job as a teacher.  Doing in home daycare is so much fun and far less stressful.  My Etsy shop will help make up for the income I gave up.  I want to keep my store going strong and continue to build relationships with the people that I meet through Etsy.  Working on my Etsy store really does not feel like work and thrift shopping and antiquing are obsessions of mine, so I will be on Etsy as long as Etsy is around.

SS: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

MBA:I love tootsie pops, so just 2 licks and I eat it to get to the center.

So you want to see more of Miss Betty’s Attic?  Check her out with the links below:

Website? http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissBettysAttic?ref=si_shop

Blog? http://missbettysattic.blogspot.com/

Email: missbettysattic@gmail.com

Wahoo for fabric!

As you may recall, I reviewed Fabric.com a while ago when I first purchased from them.  I decided to go with them again when purchasing my airplane fabric.  I must say that this time is a much better experience.  The fabric shipped smoothly this time and will be arriving today.  Wahoo!

Enough about me today, let's see what's going on around the creative world:

Louise Knits showed off a great pattern for a cable scarf.  Super cute in my humble opinion.  Personally I think it will go great with my current cable knit gloves I'm just about finished with.

Personally I'm super jealous of Release Me Create because she has some adorable necklaces going into gift backs for the 2012 Academy Awards.  Kudos to her!

My Art Blog managed to combine two of my favorite things in today's blog.  Crafts and Money!  She's is illustrating a children's book about money.  Very impressive artwork if I do say so myself.  I can't wait for this one to hit the shelves. 

Toddler Blankets

Airplane Toddler Blanket Custom Order Front

Toddler blankets are quickly taking off for me.  I have received another custom order for a toddler blanket, which prompted another online fabric purchase.  Fingers crossed this one will be quicker.  While searching around for airplane fabric, I found some other great ones for toddler blankets and a receiving blanket and burp cloth gift set. I'll post some pictures of that fabric in subsequent posts. 

The fabric should be shipped out tomorrow so new sewn projects should be coming off the lines in the coming weeks.  Up first will be the new gloves I am almost finished with, only a few more inches to go then I just need to tie in the ends and call it a day. 

For those of you tracking project Elmo.  The body is now complete, I just need to figure out how I want to do the hood for Elmo's eyes and nose.  I can't decide if I want to sew the hood onto the body or to just leave it as more of a hat.  Any thoughts?  It might be a conversation I have with my mom when we go visit her in a few weeks.  Yes, even owning my own company based around sewing. knitting, and crocheting, I still call mom for advice!  I really want to try it on my son to make sure it fits, but I know the ramifications for that will mean that Elmo won't come off for a long time.  I fear it must happen, it's just a matter of when. 

I find it interesting that my custom orders are really what's driving Stitch Silly of late.  When we opened our doors in May I thought that custom orders would be rare and most of my sales would come from my product inventory.  I'm curious, what is your break out of custom to inventory sales?

Talk to Me Tuesdays! - Sew Shaw

Today we have a great interview from one of our friends across the pond.  Sew Shaw makes some amazing textile toys.  I love sewing and knitting, but I think Sew Shaw takes them to a whole new level.  These things are pretty intricate and are very impressive.  I invite you to check her out to see some great toys for your little ones.  Therefore without further ado...

Stitch Silly: Tell me a little about yourself.

Sew Shaw: I live in Hertfordshire, England with my husband and baby son. I have been sewing since I was 5, and have been making stuff ever since.
 
SS: How did you get started with Etsy?

SeW: I was trying to think of ways to make an income while I am at home with my son, and friends had often said I should sell my creations. Etsy seemed the perfect way to start out.
 
SS: What is your favorite part of being your own boss?

SeW: I love being able to fit in my sewing round my son, working for myself I can be flexible to fit in with the needs of my family.
 
SS: What are your 2 favorite products in your shop?

SeW: I love Sean the shark, because he is quite realistic, but still cuddly.
www.etsy.com/listing/75388883/shark-plushie-toy-in-mottled-greygray

I also am very fond of my mini teds, I enjoy making them in all different colours.

www.etsy.com/listing/70959431/mini-teddy-bear-in-lilac
SS: What is your greatest success since joining Etsy?

SeW: Making sales of course! I also have made loads of lovely friends.
 
SS:What do you most want to improve?

SeW: I want to learn to take fabulous photos! I am getting better, but some of my earlier attempts need a bit of work!
 
SS: What is your ultimate goal for your Etsy shop?

SeW: I would like to make enough sales to keep me busy all year round.
 
SS: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

SeW: Interesting...I have no idea, as we do not have tootsie pops here. I think it would take several, though.

Catch up with the happenings at Sew Shaw Towers:
www.sewshaw.co.uk
www.sewshaw.etsy.com
or search sewshaw-handmade toys and textile gifts on Facebook
Or just email sewshaw@gmail.com

Another Busy Weekend

Wow what a whirl wind this weekend!  Our busy fall has officially started and I couldn't be happier.  There was lots of family fun, but there was also lots going on at Stitch Silly.  We posted some new products that can be seen here: Patch work Boppy Cover and Heart and Circle Crib Sheet.  As you may recall, the patchwork boppy cover came about as a result of small issue I had with another product I created.  This was the first time I had done anything of that style.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  Now I just have to hope that someone else shares the labor of love.  Any takers yet?

We are also close to unveiling our latest product line for adults.  Are you ready for it?  I'm hoping that we will be able to unveil it this weekend, but we'll see how this week goes with production.  Currently I have in my head a series of a few different products in our newest product line, but we'll see how quickly the first posting runs off the shelf.

Do you have suggestions for products for Stitch Silly?  We are also looking for new great ideas from our readers.  Some of my favorite products are those that others have either requested or ones that people have sent me.  Like the toddler blanket we just made and sold this month.  (Pictures are on Facebook.  Not a Facebook friend.  Don't forget to like us for private deals!)

Speaking of input from our readers.  I was hoping to continue our photography guest writer series.  Was the first post helpful to anyone other than me?  Bring on the feedback!

Elmo

As I mentioned in previous posts, my son is going to be Elmo for Halloween this year.  Well I started to work on his costume this week.  I'm really curious how it turns out.  I didn't buy a pattern, but instead created one myself from another costume I had laying around that was the general idea of what I wanted to do.  So far so good.  I think it is going to be a little big for him, but we will be trick or treating in cold weather this year so layering may be imperative.  I'm taking pictures a long the way and plan to do a post about it once it's done. 

For those of you interested I am available to do a custom costume for your little one(s) on request.  Please contact Stitch Silly directly. 

Talk to Me Tuesdays! - Robots are Awesome

Who doesn't love a good robot?  I grew up watching the Jetson's so robots are definitely my cup of tea.  I think it's save to say that today's interviewee is crazy about robots as well.  Otherwise she wouldn't be creating these spectacular polymer clay robots.  Let's learn what her inspiration is and where it comes from.

Stitch Silly: How did you get started with Etsy?

Robots are Awesome: I actually began with three shops, mini canvas artwork, supplies and robot sculptures. After a few months, I found myself pulled towards the robots. I began working with polymer clay as a child and going back to it simply felt right.
 
SS: What is your favorite part of being your own boss?

RaA: My own hours, able to work late into the night on a robot and the wonderful randomness of it all.

SS: What are your 2 favorite products in your shop?

RaA: Rustic Blue Bo Dog Robot Sculpture Storage Bot Keepsake Vessel
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74871620/rustic-blue-bo-dog-robot-sculpture


Pink Pansy Easter Grungy Bot Miniature Robot Sculpture
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71865125/pink-pansy-easter-grungy-bot-miniature

SS: What is your greatest success since joining Etsy?

RaA: So, hard to choose one. Every sale is its' own success. Someone I'll probably never met, wandered the wild web, found my handmade robots in the world focused on gadgets and was awesome enough to claim one (or more) as their own. Also creating various robot series has been awesome. Garden Robots, Storage Bots and my favorite Grungy Bots: 'wee little robots that are up to no good'. My take on the rustic folk art sculpture, grungy bot with a touch of geeky cute.




Side Note: You can read about the little movie stars here: http://flic.kr/p/9oFRAo 
 

SS: What do you most want to improve? 

RaA: Create more robots, currently I only offer two new robots a week, so make more robots!

SS: What is your ultimate goal for your Etsy shop?

RaA: To sell a robot everyday or 'adoption' as I call it, at least one robot wee little grungy bots or big custom sculptures, at least one everyday would simply be awesome.

SS: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

RaA: Well, since the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42. Clearly 42. But brush your teeth afterwards.


Interested in seeing more about the Robots are Awesome collection?  We hope over to their shop.New robots arrive in the shop Tuesdays and Thursday, sneak peeks via Flickr Wednesdays and Friday.
Robots Are Awesome Collection on Flickr, all 100 plus robots:
http://flickr.com/photos/mheld/collections/72157622949345979/

Shop: http://RobotsAreAwesome.etsy.com
Blog: http://robotsareawesomeshop.blogspot.com
FB: http://fb.com/robotsareawesome
Tw: http://twitter.com/HerArtSheLoves
Tw: http://twitter.com/RobotsAwesome
G+: http://gplus.to/HerArtSheLoves

Let's Roll...

Those of you who follow on Facebook may already have seen these, but for the rest of you I wanted to share our latest product that we have posted to Etsy.  Over the weekend we posted some adorable, in my humble opinion anyways, Polka Dotted Bibs  they are a perfect complement to my Polka Dotted Burp Cloths for those of you shopping for baby gifts.

In other product updates, one of the gloves I have been working on is almost over, then it's off to the second glove.  I'm really enjoying this pattern, so there may be more in the coming weeks!  I hope my potential buyers will enjoy them as much as I have in making them.

Since I don't typically blog on the weekends I also wanted to take a moment to thank all the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for my freedom here in the U.S.  As you are probably aware, yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of the terrorists attacks on our blessed country.  Each day I am thankful for my freedom.  To honor the lives lost, I am announcing that a portion of all proceeds from sales between now any the end of the month will be sent to the honorflight93 fund.  This fund is raising money for the memorial in Shanksville, PA.  The sight of the first battle against these terrorist.  Let's Roll!

Latest Product

This is the latest product to come off the presses here at Stitch Silly.  The bad news...it already sold!  The good news...there could be more!  This was super fun to make and will probably add it to the Stitch Silly product line!

Flannel Front

Minky Back

Measures approximately 40x45in.

Busy Weekend

Is it really Wednesday already?  The three day weekend really threw me off this week.  No complaints here though, any time I get to spend extra time with the family is a good thing.  As I mentioned on Friday I got a request for a toddler blanket last week.  I wanted to take advantage of the Labor Day sales so I took a drive over to our local Jo Ann Fabrics to see what was available.  I also needed to pick up the fabric for my son's Halloween costume.  He's going to be Elmo this year so red fleece was in order!

For the toddler blanket I found a fabulous green flannel print with pink flowers everywhere for one side and the other side is a bright pink minky fabric.  No matter which side you use, she'll have something soft and cozy to snuggle up with.  I started work on it this morning and plan to work on it as well tonight, so it should be done in the next day or so.  I'm not sure what the exact measurements are going to be yet, right now I'm just looking to line everything up before I finally cut.

As you may have seen on our Facebook page I've mentioned at knitting a pair of gloves at the request of one of our fans.  I also started them over the weekend.  Then realized that the weight of yarn I had wasn't the right weight and therefore wasn't going to work.  While I was at Jo Ann's I picked up what I thought was the correct yarn, nope still too think.  Thankfully I had pattern for a different set of gloves (fingerless this time) that would work with the yarn I bought.  They are going to be a beautiful royal blue glove with a interesting cable stitch pattern throughout.  This is surprisingly a quick knit compared to my baby blankets that I make so I will hopefully have them done shortly.  Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks! 

We've been getting a lot of rain recently so photographing my current products has been a bit of a challenge.  I'm trying to get the products in some good light, but have not been successful yet.  Until I'm happy with the pictures no new products will be coming up.  It can't rain forever so soon!

Talk to Me Tuesdays! - Diane Costanza

I hope everyone had a fabulous Labor Day weekend in the U.S.  I thoroughly enjoyed my extra day off work and had lots of family time.  Stop by tomorrow for more details on what I did over the long weekend.  in the mean time, let's check out my latest interview with Diane Costanza.  She does some fabulous
paintings, even on bags that is quite impressive.

Stitch Silly: Tell me a little about yourself.

Diane Costanza: I consider myself a figurative artist because I find myself attracted to the human figure and all its variations. Every face is different, how could I ever get bored? My artwork runs the gamut from Custom Pastel Portraits and Colored Pencil Fantasy Illustration to Hand Painted Handbags and Shoes. I never know what I will be creating next. I just wait patiently for my muse to show me the way.  

SS: How did you get started with Etsy?  

DC: I sold my work on Ebay for several years. At that time my focus was on watercolor aceos and mixed media work. Some time in 2009 I discovered Etsy and signed up to open a shop that very same day. Within 24 hours I had my first sale. I loved the great sense of community that Etsy had to offer that I dropped selling on Ebay to concentrate all my energy on building a Handmade Etsy shop. It was the first time I began to believe that I could actually make a living with my art.

SS: What is your favorite part of being your own boss?

DC: The knowledge that, win or lose, it is all up to me. I create exactly what I want, when I want.

SS: What are your 2 favorite products in your shop?

DC: My hand painted handbags! I carry one myself and enjoy the positive comments I get from complete strangers. It encourages me to continue to move forward and build my brand. I also enjoy creating my fantasy illustrations. I love to create bold and colorful drawings that have a bohemian edge to them.

SS: What is your greatest success since joining Etsy?

DC: I think allowing myself to develop my own individual style. I struggled with this at first, trying to fit my work into what was currently hot on Etsy. Eventually, I came to realize that I might as well keep my day job if that was what my shop was going to be about. Once I made the decision to just be myself and ignore the trends that were selling, I was much happier with the direction my shop was taking. Success to me now means loving what I do.  

SS: What do you most want to improve?

DC: My photos, descriptions and tags need a lot of work, but truthfully, it is the art itself that I am constantly striving to improve and to grow as an artist.  

SS: What is your ultimate goal for your Etsy shop?

DC: That’s easy… quite my day job! I want to ultimately build my business up to a point where I can make my living solely through my art.

SS: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

DC: I think it is sooo funny that you asked that, because my son just did his science fair project on that subject this past spring! I enjoyed being one of his test subjects, LOL!
The answer: The world will never really know! No two people or lollipops are the same. Way too many variables, sort of like how no two handmade items can ever be exactly the same!
 
Interested in seeing more from Diane.  Check her out on the following sites:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DianeCostanzaStudio1
Website: www.dianecostanza.com
Blog: dianecostanza.blogspot.com
Etsy Handmade: www.etsy.com/shop/dianecostanza
Etsy Vintage: www.etsy.com/shop/costanzavintagecraft

Are you interested in being featured on Stitch Silly?  If so, please contact us.  We will be happy to conduct an interview with you.

Strange Feeling

Well this is a strange feeling that I've never had before.  I actually have a back log of products I need to photograph and post.  This morning I finished my bibs (they turned out so cute!) so they are now waiting in line to be photographed a long with my latest boppy cover. 

I also just got a request in for some toddler blankets from one of my repeat customers so it will be a busy couple weeks here at Stitch Silly.  What are your coming projects?  Share some links, I would love to see some pictures. 

New Crib Sheet Available

I finally posted my new crib sheet the other day.  Wahoo!  Have you seen it?  If not, check it out. 

I also finished my patchwork boppy cover the other day and am going to be photographing it in the next day or so.  Keep your eyes peeled for that.  For my first attempt at doing patchwork, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. 

Also, coming down the pipe are some bibs that I finally have my thread for.  Those should be finished and posted shortly as well.

Finally, I am all ready to start my fall knitting project.  I have been researching the pattern some because it used some terminology that I didn't recognize.  I think I have it down now and anticipate starting the gloves this weekend.  I'll keep you posted on how this project goes.