Dallas, Part 3: White Rock Weaving Center

On Sunday I popped over to White Rock Weaving Center with a friend who had commissioned a black and red ruffle scarf. She wanted to find just the perfect shade of red, so we thought we'd check out their yarn stash and learn more about the looms and everything else they offer. If you're in Dallas and you're interested in weaving, it's definitely worth stopping by. They offer lots of classes in weaving, spinning, and basket weaving, and have looms of all shapes and sizes for sale.

One thing they do that I think is so cool is let you keep your loom there after you buy it. All the looms are on wheels and they fold up so you can move it around wherever you need to when you're taking a class, then park it in the loom garage when you're done. Seriously - the loom garage. How awesome is that? Here's a snap of the loom garage, about half full since there were so many people taking classes when we were there.

And of course they had tons and tons of yarn too. We did manage to find just the perfect shade of red in just the perfect thickness and feel, which they kindly measured and wound up for us. They took so much time with us, calculating and measuring the yarn, and in the end it only cost two dollars.

Here's just a tiny sampling of their yarn (and of course some more parked looms).

I got to chat with a very nice lady working on a blanket while the yarn was being calculated, and I learned a few neat little tips and tricks from her. With the exception of the very first beginner class that I took to learn how to weave on a small loom, I haven't been around weavers or weaving very much. I bought a little book with handy weaving tips which I'm looking forward to incorporating. I also got a new book for Christmas with all kinds of new patterns and processes, so it may be time for me to stretch my wings a little and try some more experimentation. Hooray for weaving!

Scarf 56: The Dye Job

Adventures in dyeing - first in Kool-Aid . . .

. . . then, when that didn't work out, in chemical dye (along with some balls of yarn, for company). . .

Etsy On Sale

I'm trying a new tool called Etsy On Sale. It's a separate website that facilitates store-wide sales. I'm using it to host a holiday sale of 20% off everything. In addition to listing my scarves at Etsy On Sale, it also updates the prices in my Etsy shop, adjusting the main image to show the original price. You can see this new look in my mini Etsy shop at the top right of this blog - see how all the listings have tiny red writing at the top? That's the sale info and original pricing.

Yes, I'll admit - it hurts a bit to see all the prices drop so much. I had them all priced to try to pay myself a fair wage of $10 per hour, but I'm afraid that just wasn't realistic for the craft market. I'm thinking about new techniques to explore, but in the meantime I'm mostly just happy to connect people with scarves they love, regardless of profit.

Styling

Styling scarves for their photographs can be a slippery enterprise. Scarves don't always like to lie flat against the background, they don't usually agree to stay in the shape I carefully arrange them in, and they generally enjoy flipping and flopping and sliding out of place.

After taking about a dozen photos of each scarf (sometimes more if they're being especially truculent) I come back to the computer, where I quickly sift through them and toss out the duds. I was just flipping through my recent shoot and noticed these two, below. I immediately deleted the photo on the left, then thought you might enjoy seeing the comparison.

Can't you just picture me cajoling Scarf 49? "Now be a good little scarf and stay put!" If only scarves liked lollipops.

30! New! Scarves!

Here's how I'd planned it - I'd wait to list any new scarves until after the craft fair so that I'd be sure to have a full booth. Then after the show I'd list everything that was left to kick off the holiday shopping season. Even this morning when I got up I thought I'd be parked on the couch with my laptop for about three hours of uploading new listings.

The reality was a little different. It took 10 hours (yes, for real) minus two 15 minute breaks for breakfast and lunch to post the 30 remaining unlisted, unsold scarves. Whew! Many thanks go to Henry for regularly bringing me coffee (which I don't even normally drink!). And nope, that's not even all of them pictured above. Click on the picture or the link on the right to go to the shop and browse them all.

As I went along I kept tabs on how many of my scarves were being seen. Etsy has a handy Shop Stats page, where you can see your number of Views (how many times someone looks at your page), Favorites, and Sales in any given day, week, month. I could even see how many views I had per hour throughout the day.

I snapped this screenshot when I hit 100 Views from just today - certainly the highest number I've ever had!

Views don't necessarily translate to sales, but when you're sitting at the computer for eight straight hours it's nice to know someone is noticing. :)

I promise to be back soon with more updates from the San Antonio Craft Show - I only sold three scarves, but I learned a lot, made new friends, and got to pet a reindeer. Hope you're having a great holiday weekend!

Countdown

Today is my last day to prepare for my first fair. Tomorrow my partner and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday!) with our families, and on Friday we'll be at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort's Holiday Craft Show, hopefully selling some scarves.

Today I have to reluctantly put down the loom - with Scarf 56 half warped on it - and pick up the camera, the circle cutter, the gift wrap, the credit card program, the sales tax info, the suitcases, and the almighty to do list.

Already this week I've made banners, designed a catalog/order forms/coupons/receipts, picked up all my scarves from Flock Gifts and Mind Body Yoga, cut and stamped gift tags and fair signs, and - oh yes - made four more scarves.

If my to do list is telling the truth, it will all come together in time. I'd ask you to wish me luck but I'm beginning to realize I ask that of you quite often. Maybe it's time to set luck aside, roll up my sleeves, and get to work, eh?

I have the last 10 or so scarves to photograph this morning, and fortunately the sun is cooperating. I may be back with updates if I have time to edit the photos today. If not, here are a few snaps from the studio this week.

Long Time No Scarf

Greetings, dear readers! One of you sent me a message the other day that said, "I miss seeing new scarves! Any coming down the pipeline soon?"

Thanks for asking! As a matter of fact, I'm swimming in new scarves! With my first craft show coming up next week (gulp!) I have been busy making scarves and not so busy sharing them. So here's a little peek into my life in the last few weeks.

First, there's been a whole lotta warpin' goin' on. Yes, this is my new studio. I promise before & afters and more details later, but you'll see little peeks of it here and there. As you can probably tell, things are still crammed everywhichway and there are a lot of things left over from its previous incarnation as a guest/storage room (for instance, that bed in the corner).

That green line is yarn stretching from the loom to the warping peg on the opposite side of the room.

Newlin, having given up on any hope of a snuggle from his busy mama, decided to settle for proximity and curled up smack dab in the middle of my work.

My jar of waste yarn is filling up! Since around Scarf 18 or 20, I've been adding trimmings and cuttings to this jar. It's a nice little collection of threads from all the scarves. This was taken a week ago, so it's even higher now.

And this is what my table looked like this morning, in the middle of tagging, trimming, and measuring some of my latest.

And here they are - all the scarves you haven't seen, minus three in various phases of washing & drying. As you can see, I've run out of tags! I'm up to 46 now, so it's time to make some more!

I will be back with proper profiles and pictures, but possibly not until after Thanksgiving. Wish me luck!

Making Tags

What? You expected this post to be about weaving? Who has time for that?

Actually, in addition to doing my fair share of weaving (and washing and tying and twisting and cutting and shooting) this week, I also got to spend an evening plunked down in front of one of my favorite British mysteries making tags. Two tags go on each scarf - one with the logo and contact info, one with the number, fiber content, care instructions, and price.

Since I love cutting and stamping, this is a fun project. I could make all one hundred tags at once, but it's sort of fun sitting down and making a batch of twelve and imagining what each scarf might be.

The antique stamps are such a joy to use. My mother inherited them from a friend in 1971 and happily used them for years before I came along to steal them away for my projects.

What will Scarf 37 be like? Upcycled denim with a jaunty angled fringe? We'll just have to wait and see!

Transparency of Scarves

I'm elbow-deep in soapy water today, trying to coax a ruffle out of a stubborn woolen stripe, but I thought I'd share a glimpse of what I woke up to this morning. Here we have two scarves in repose, dried out after a night of heavy drinking and ready for a shave.

Finessing the Fringe

When I first started making scarves, I cut the fringe by hand with scissors. I would carefully line the knots up along the edge of a table, then sit on the floor next to it and - with the fringe hanging down - try to cut a straight line. This method was time consuming and impossibly flawed. Yarn - especially wool and acrylic - is notoriously springy and tangly, and it is almost impossible to keep each strand hanging straight at the same tension while you cut the other strands. Ugh.

Fortunately, around the time I committed to One Hundred Scarves, I devised a much better method involving a straight edge and a rotary cutter. I thought I'd share some photos of how nicely this works.

Step 1: Lay the scarf on the cutting mat. Align the knots to a line. Comb the fringe out with fingers to make it lay flat.

Step 2: Place the ruler over the fringe, aligning the edge with a cutting line where you want the fringe to end. Pull the fringe taut underneath. Cut with rotary cutter. Clear away the excess. Done!

Seriously, I'm making it sound harder than it is. It's so easy and creates such a nice, straight line. I'm very grateful for this method (and to my mother-in-law, who gave me these tools).

Check out this nice clean cut.

There are so many little details like this that go into the making of a great scarf - weaving is just one small part in the end.

9 Weeks and Counting

Apparently there are nine weeks until Thanksgiving. I know this because two important notices landed in my inbox today. The first was the kickoff of Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp - a nine week series designed to help you get your shop ready for the holidays, step by step. The second was an email from Mint.com with the subject line: "You have nine weeks to save for the holidays."

Of course, when I see "you have nine weeks to save for the holidays," what actually registers in my brain is "you have nine weeks to make scarves for the holidays."

I've agreed to participate in a Black Friday Holiday Fair at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. I'd like to have at least 50 scarves to sell that day, and nine weeks does not sound like a lot of time to accomplish that. Let the games begin!

This just in!

Look what arrived in the mail - my tax permit! That's right, folks - it's not all yarns and looms over here at One Hundred Things to Do - we've got some business going on!

But something else was delivered to my door that I'm equally excited about. Can you guess what it is?

It's a fringe twister! It's been taking me an hour or more to hand twist the fringes of my scarves, so I decided to invest in this little doodad. It cuts the fringe twisting time approximately in half, which means I can charge less for the scarf. Win win.

That there's the fringe on Scarf 13, looking all pretty in in brown and green. I don't think you've officially met, so here's a closer look.

Scarf 13 was a custom order - an ultra-skinny, ultra-long scarf in wool and cotton - and was sold on Etsy.

Sea Scarves in Captivity

Ah, remember back when Scarf 12 and 13 were little and used to take baths together? Those were the days. Not as cute as the one of you and your cousin in the bathtub with popsicles? You're right. They do look a little more like sea creatures than toddlers.

I'm not torturing them - just washing them for softness and to fluff up their fibers, allowing them to reach their full coziness potential.