Niche

My dad and I had a conversation yesterday in his backyard (ohhh, I should show you photos, it is lovely) about what my niche was. He asked if I was talking about my product niche or my target market niche. Originally, I thought just my product, but before he finished his sentence (which actually was some time, my Dad LOVES to talk) I changed my answer to 'both'.

I joined Twitter a couple days ago and installed SiteMeter on this blog. I thought, since I haven't had a sale in 28 days, what the heck. Nothing to lose, Twitter is free and is the fastest, easiest site to set up. I now have 148 people following me. That means, 148 people are able to see what I post - limit of 140 characters. I post updates on my blog, I post new items I list on Etsy, but try not to overwhelm folks with constant "buy from me" posts, as I am noticing on Twitter. And since joining Twitter, I believe my blog hits have multiplied immensely. (Join me @washmycloth on Twitter - Twitter is fun to say, isn't it? Close second to crotch-eting).

I need to focus, let's call the above paragraph my 'Ode to Dan', my Dad. It is nice to have a little background and out loud brainstorming, right?

So, onto my product niche. I have no idea what it is. I can do a bunch of things, but not sure what I do the best, or what I like to do the best. I love making the felted purses, but they take a lot of time. Love weaving, but that takes much much longer than any little purse. I love the blanquilts and embroidering on them, but piecing the top together doesn't bring out the best 'Carrie'. I get a little frustrated. Could it be that I am working on the floor on a pink rug with only a pair of scissors, swatting tiny cars away and my arm or hand or torso as my measuring tool and it is 11 pm when I get the urge to work on something other than watching tv?

I digress, Ode to Dan. When considering a niche, I am also thinking "what can I make and sell low to get high volume of sales?" There are folks on Etsy that list new items daily. Product that you set yourself up to make multiples at one project time. I just can't do that. Some would say (not me, for sure) that makes my work more unique or valuable - but the sales aren't supporting that theory.

I spoke a couple posts about my orders from Yummy Goods, if you haven't seen this blog where Melissa shows photos of her shop, you should. Anyway, the colors I am working with now, are great. Lime green, bright sea blue, hot pink, happy colors. But now, I have little hanks* of cotton yarn that aren't big enough for much...except for little flowers.

Niche? Probably not, but they make me happy for now.

* I am laughing out loud because prior to the letter H, I had SK...I knew something wasn't quite right. Maybe my niche is renaming things and changing their pronunciations.

Appling in October

"Fall Recess".

It is a little break for three days, including tomorrow's Columbus Day, that successfully makes the new student never want to go back to school. He has been in classes for a month, and he gets five straight days off. Today, Sam said he "never want to go back. They make me listen and follow directions."

Oh, if he only knew.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

With such a great weekend, it is hard not to think back to this day two years ago...oh the pain. Seven days with out electric, a three and a half month old, and a sump pump without any power.
Devastated our mature tree population, the damaged trees are still struggling to beat the odds and thrive once again.

Shaken World

When people come to visit us, we usually end up in the family room with the glass doors open. Through the glass doors, you see my tiny neighbor lady doing needlepoint in her back room. Sitting in 'her' chair, curtains wide open, always. Oh, she really isn't too tiny, it is just that she is so far away and I think it sounds cute.

Friends joke about what she is doing or why her light looks like a lighthouse beacon. Our first couple weeks here I was a little uncomfortable about it. I could see so clearly into her house, that for sure she could see me lounging on the sofa doing nothing but watch television (that is all pre-blog).

Not so much anymore. In fact, what I usually say to our friends is that seeing Kay do her needlework from 7:30 to about 10:00 pm every single night of the week, means that things are okay in this world.

But, things aren't quite right in this world. Our country is at war. Our people are divided. Our economy is empty. And Kay isn't in her chair. Doing her needlepoint.

It has been several days that I have noticed. She was outside cleaning up the yard and inspecting my yard (maybe someday I'll share those stories), so I know she is okay. But, I don't like that change.

Shake up my country, throw 37% of my 401K away for the past three months, let India make a 4x6 foot car called the Nano by a company called Tata...but put Kay back in her chair.

With her light.

And her needlepoint.

Right where she belongs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations Judy and Dave on your wedding today. I am sure it was beautiful. Wish we could have shared your joy today. Best Wishes for a lifetime of happiness.

Happy Friday - Blogtoberfest Continued

Meet Chinchi.

She is warm and oh so pretty. Do you like, or is she just another same ol' same ol'?

And she is available right here in the shop...let her be your friend!


Good News: Yummy Goods has ordered another couple dozen wash towels and mitts. This is great news. A repeat order! However, 24 is a lot. My fingers are showing some fatigue with the constant twisting motion. Typing is actually good for them, stretches them in a different way. They did pick a couple new colors, a bright blue, slightly turquoise and a lime green. Love them.

** Had to save this post as draft and wash the boys and I did something to my hand while wet wrestling Little Man like a fisherman trying to get the hook out of a fish. All to put on a diaper. Not such a good result.

I would love to stay and chat, but I have stories to read, songs to sing and yarn to crotch-et.

Yes, crotch it. It makes it less granny if you say it that way!

Pay It Forward: KZ Originals

Available from KZOriginals.Etsy.com: Stop wasting your money on, napkins, paper towels, etc...Instead join the "green" force and help save our Mother Earth. 4 double sided quality Flanny Naps. Blue, Gray, White Stripes. Great for: Dinner time; Pack one in your child's lunch; Keep one in the car for those emergency spills; Take it with you to the gym, to wipe your face while working out; Keep one handy by your favorite chair where you rock your little one. You never know when you may need a burp cloth.-Also great for cleaning use.

I think it is time to tell you about my new friend.

Her name is Karen.

Karen didn't win the Giveaway we had a couple weeks ago.

Since Karen's story of Betsy is now in my shop, I wanted to share with her, something from me. My kind of thank you - stuff. In fact, I tried to send her something and she said, "no thank you".

I believe in the idea that if you do something good for someone, and you will get something good in return. Big Boy actually said that to Little Man a couple days ago - I couldn't have been more proud.

Please, take a couple minutes to check out Karen's shop here and her blog right here. You won't be disappointed.

Although I talk about ETSY.COM in almost every single post, I want to remind you all that even if you don't buy from me or Karen, please support Etsy. As you look at your gift lists, take 20 minutes to browse through Etsy. The items are unique and affordable. They will often come wrapped for free, sellers will send directly to your recipient if you ask, artists will do about anything to get your business. You will even get a hand written note of thanks...and you won't waste a drop of gasoline.

Sports Illustrated Kids: Derek Andrews

Vote for Derek Here, you can vote once per day.

Despite a condition that weakens his muscles, Derek still made his baseball league's All-Star team, a hockey select team, and was the leading scorer on his soccer team. After winning a local bank's essay contest, Derek used his prize money to put on a magic show at the children's hospital, help organize a book drive for a Buffalo school, and buy supplies for elephants at The Buffalo Zoo.

"My best sports moment came this summer while I was playing soccer. I played on the Sponge Bobs in the Clarence Division 4 House League. I played in this division last year and scored only four goals all season. The leading goal scorer on my team last year (my best friend, Joey) had 12 goals. This season, I got off to a great start and scored 19 goals in the first nine games. I really wanted to score 20 goals, but had no luck in the next two games. I still had 19 goals going into the last game of the season. In the last game, I didn’t score in the first or second quarter. Near the end of the third quarter, the ball came free around the mid-line. I started dribbling, went through the defenders, and shot the ball into the corner of the net just as the referee blew the whistle to end the quarter. I jumped in the air because I was so happy to have scored my 20th goal. I ran over to my coach, who’s also my dad, and he gave me a big hug and told me how awesome my goal was. I felt great because I had done something I didn’t think I would be able to do."

Vote for Derek Here, you can vote once per day.

I don't know Derek, and don't work for Derek, I just think he is a good kid. And good kids should get good things.

Banana Nuffins

We have had some old bananas around here lately. And they aren't all fruits.
Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix is quickly becoming my favorite replacement flour mix. This batch only made six muffins, but unlike my last batch of the same, these had the muffin top. Last time they sunk.
Tonight is another Presidential Debate. The last Presidential one was quite boring, I am hoping this one will be better.
These posts are boring. Sorry. Maybe this blogtoberfest wasn't the best use of my time.
Happy Tuesday.

Foot, Pliers and Lost Tooth

It started with a foot. Heel, specifically.

Then a little blood. A pair of pliers as assistance (just someone joking around...)

A lot of wiggling, refusing to eat until it fell out, even if it took 3 days. And then the spittle of a little white tooth falling.

At first I was concerned, but then our dentist (Sunday afternoon, good to have a friend as a dentist) said that it was time. I know kids loose teeth, but my kids are still babies. Well, I guess not anymore. We just didn't prepare for it. No little toothy pillow or box or fairy bell. Just a baggie. And not even a great baggie, no name WalMart baggie.

The tooth fairy takes any vessel.

Today, still in a bit of shock, Sam asked if bread is a good thing for a kid with one tooth to eat.

Romeo & Juliet, Sinking of the Titanic and the Chicago Cubs

The greatest tragedy of the above list...Bartman, black cats and a billy goat.

The Cubs Losing, again.

At least they are consistent.

On to year 101.

To Wish List or Not to Wish List

WISH LIST - GET THE BUTTON HERE!!!

Some cool cats in Etsy just posted about the new feature available through Amazon.com.

I know there are haters of the wish list out there, but here is why I love the wish list.
1. I can feel like I am buying just by adding to a list.
2. I don't tell anyone I have a list, so it isn't like I am soliciting gifts
3. For the boys, they enjoy thinking about things and seeing the pictures of them all together.
4. Again, for the boys, family members ask me what they want anyway...why not just use the wish list...
5. It is totally fun!

and 6. Now you can use it for things you want from my shop at Wash My Cloth!

Happy Blogtoberfest, y'all, darn right, Joe six pack (I don't know why I added that - just sounds so funny to me.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Not sure what to say about the Cubs. So much promise. So much hope. So much disappointment.

I am going to try not to watch tomorrow. I don't think I can bear to see another error.

They couldn't possibly be cursed for real.

I want this success for the team, not for me or for Tom or for Frank, but for the Cubs and for my beloved city.

Go Cubbies! Let's get some runs!

Old Pic, New Thought

Last year, I took Sam to the Pumpkin Fest, he was 4 (this pic is age 3) he went up this jungle gym/slide thing. There were a million kids and two million parents looking for said kids. Well, I didn't technically lose Sam. He went up the stairs through a tunnel and didn't come down. The major design flaw of this play thing was that there were four enclosed tube slides. That came out in different sides of the play thing (I really don't have a word for it, totally hand made). Good for traffic flow, but not so great for a single parent trying to locate their child amongst a million. As soon as he came down the slide, I saw him. So technically he never was lost, just slower than all the others coming down. If you know Sam, this comes as no surprise.

Technically Wash My Cloth isn't lost in etsy world, but it seems as if it isn't being seen. I definitely need to work on my marketing, but without any sales lately, I am having a hard time justifying the expense to advertise. Other than advertising on blogs, websites, etc., there is the free marketing I like to call...wasting time. This includes blogging, reading and commenting on other blogs (not the highly read, because then you are that one kid in a million), and making comments in the forums of etsy. I made a comment in a forum last week and went to a couple blogs through that forum, posted some comments on blogs. The next day, I looked at my views, nothing really increased. I looked at people that marked my shop as a favorite, no new additions. I was quite depressed.

This morning, ready for another lack luster day in etsy world...I got this notification from Sydnei. Please check it out, she also has links to free giveaways...Christmas is coming and if you don't like the giveaway, I bet someone on your list will.

I guess wasting time does pay off.

Blogtoberfest

Although I missed day one, I'll post twice today to make up for it. A bunch of bloggers are challenging themselves to blog every day in October and I think I will try as well. The shop has been oh so slow and a tad depressing, maybe this will get my engines revving.

The well dressed gentleman above has been added to the shop. Taking pictures of this gem is very difficult. Tom tried to help, but those photo's didn't make the cut. I tried indoors, I tried outdoors, I tried holding it myself and photographing. I think I need to enlist a friend with steady arms and not so manly hands to help me out.

This bird is a Weaver bird, specifically a Speke's Weaver. They are fine looking birds, but the most exciting part of them is the nests that they weave and knot. It is truly amazing. I had a great video to share with you from YouTube.com, but can no longer find it. What I did find was this frame to frame video of a nest in progress. Another video available is a patronizing man in the sing songy voice telling me that the bird 'weeeaaavvveees'. A little too irritating to suggest it, but if you want to see the nest from first knot, try this video at your own risk.

I had started this blanquilt at the time I did the Hearts Blanquilt, but left it sitting for some time. I kept running out of material, then the colors didn't match (which turns out okay - and I actually like how they are placed), then I just didn't know how to finish it off. I thought about circles and trees and flowers and owls. But they all seemed too cliche to me. In a twist of irony, when I went to list the blanquilt, there was a treasury of cute little owls on the front page...ugh. So, I found the weaver bird and fell in love with him and his adorable little homes.

The price is high because it took a lot of energy, planning, measuring (not with a tape measure, but lengths of my hands), cutting, ripping out and starting over and the embroidery took quite some time.

And the real reason, I am not sure I can give it up. Maybe when I tire of it, I could drop the price, but right now, I need to touch it and look at it and be amazed how embroidery can really be used to paint a picture and to make an ordinary blanket a blanquilt.