Knitting Patterns Back In My Etsy Shop

I forgot to mention that I have finally added my knitting patterns back in my Etsy shop.

Even though Etsy informed us a while ago that they were going to deal with the European VAT issue, it was still unclear how: I didn't get any communications from Etsy to let me know if the VAT was going to be added to the price of items sold at the checkout or deducted from the total price and then paid by Etsy to the corresponding European tax organisations.

Luckily I was in contact with a designer who sells crochet patterns on Etsy and she told me Etsy takes the VAT share (as well as its own commission) out of the price that the designers list at.

I then decided to update the price of all my knitting patterns: you may find these are a teeny bit higher than the Ravelry price, but that's to account for my listing costs and commission of sales on Etsy (there are none on Ravelry, as long as you stay under a certain amount - which doesn't apply to my very small volume of sales).

The moral of this story is, if you wish to purchase any of my knitting patterns, it's cheaper to do so through my Ravelry store;-)

Long wristed chain cable mittens on Ravelry

Lace alpaca hoodie cowl on Ravelry

Oh, and I nearly forgot to add, if you make any of my designs, please add it to your Ravelry projects as I love seeing how you get on with my designs (and don't hesitate to send me a message if you need help with your projects).

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Little Happy Dance To Celebrate Ravelry Pattern Sale

I uploaded my Slouchy Hat pattern both on Etsy and Ravelry on Thursday before driving to Dublin on Friday for the Knitting and Stitching Show.

As I spent the whole week-end in Dublin, I didn't do much work but when checking my emails on Friday, I realised that one copy of my pattern sold on Ravelry:)

Then, last night one of my knitted phone cases was featured on a blog and in an Etsy Treasury, which may not convert into sales but it should help getting a few extra page views.

Apart from my online activity, I have started knitting some of the yarn I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show. I got a few bargains including a pack of 10 balls of Rowan Alpaca Cotton for €35.00 - This yarn is listed at €8.49 per ball on Deramore's website so I think I didn't do too bad.

Here's what I'm making with it:

At the moment it looks like a cowl, but the practical side in me wants to make 2 uses out of this one item, so I am adding a hood (it rains a lot in Ireland). I will post a picture of it when it's finished. This Hoodie Cowl (not sure of the name for it yet) should only take 2 balls, so I'll be looking for ideas of what to make with the rest (I'm sure there's a pair of long wrist-warmers waiting to be knit as well;-). If you have any other ideas, you're welcome to share in the comments.

My News: Knitting Pattern for Slouchy Beanie Hat In Progress

This has been a bit of a slow week for me, as it's midterm and my daughters are off school, meaning that my working routine has to be a bit different: instead of starting work after being back from the school run after 9am, I still wake up at 7am, but I try and put in an hour or 2 of quiet work at my laptop before we have our breakfast together, then it's another hour or 2 of work until lunch needs to be cooked.

I've ignored Bank Holiday Monday and treated it as a working day (as I do most of my week-ends, except that my alarm is on a 8am on week-ends: I need my sleep!), but I took yesterday afternoon off so we could go to the cinema. I thought going to the cinema on a Tuesday afternoon, we would avoid much of the traffic (Wrong! There are no words strong enough to describe how ridiculous Galway traffic is at the moment!) and have a quiet time watching Turbo (Wrong again! those 5 teen girls that sat behind us, kept kicking our seats, talking and laughing noisily a la De Niro in The Hand That Rocked The Cradle probably get too much pocket money if they waste it ruining movies for other people).

I was hoping to be able to add my first slouchy beanie knitting pattern for sale on Monday, but I realized that, since I had used yarn from the snood that I had ripped in order to knit the slouchy hat I made for myself, I'm not sure of the exact quantity of yarn needed for this pattern (I am hoping it is just one, as my regular beanie hats each took about 3 quarters of one 100g skein).

I guess I could try and weigh my own hat in my kitchen scales, but being a bit of a perfectionist, I've decided to start making a new one, but this time I am starting a new skein. I am using King Cole Riot Chunky yarn again (I love this yarn, it's so soft and beautiful), and since the color stripes vary slightly from one skein to another, this still means this new hat is going to be one of a kind:

I started typing the pattern in English on Monday morning (I will also do one in French) and I started knitting the new slouch beanie hat on Monday evening. The reason why I haven't finished doing all this already is that, as well as my kids being on midterm, I also need to put on my Marketing Manager hat on for about half my working day in order to promote my Etsy shop.

I have nearly finished making another 4 phone cases apart from 2 embellishments and the toggle buttons: I ordered some yesterday from another Etsy seller, and I have another day to finish making that hat (I might even push it and list this one too before the week-end) and putting the finishing touches to the pattern, then I'm off to the Knitting and Stitching show on Friday (Yippee!) and to spend the rest of the week-end in Dublin.

I will try and schedule a blog post for Saturday and I can't wait to tell you all about the Knitting and Stitching show next week (I hope I get some goodies within my limited budget). In the meantime: Happy Knitting!


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