hats

Here are a few photos I took of the newborn hats I've been working on.

Crochet cap with flower      Yarn: Organic Cotton/Wool blend

Crochet cap with Flower                 Yarn: Acrylic/Wool blend

Pom-top Hat                                    Yarn:  Acrylic/Wool blend

The two crochet hats are sort of a skullcap style newborn hat.  The large flower is really the focal point (besides whatever adorable baby gets to model it).  The off-white one is actually the one I made as I designed the hat--a prototype of sorts I guess!  The orange pom-top hat was just a quick knit for testing size and seeing what options I have for finishing a hat.  Other ideas I have (instead of the pom-pom) are an umbilical knot on top or a tassel at the end of a little tail.

plans and pictures

I've been talking with my business manager...i.e. my hubby.  I think somewhere in our discussion of the pros and cons of getting started now as opposed to waiting until after the year's end, I decided it will be best to wait until January 1, 2011 to open shop. That will give me a chance to get more items ready made (and ready to ship!) and time to consider possible options like whether I'm going to do custom work to start or wait until I have enough $ from sales to be able to purchase a bunch of the same yarn(s) in a variety of colors. And this way, it won't interfere with our holiday season {except for all the knitting I'll be doing}.

But to give a little preview of my work and what I'm making, I'm going to start posting photos of some of the items I've made.  

Elvish stripes hat

Baby Bomber hat

Thanks to Beyond Ordinary Photography by Sarah for the beautiful baby photos!

Did I mention that I'm still test knitting (and crocheting) and I haven't yet settled on what yarns I intend to use?  The hats in these two photos were made with Red Heart Super Saver yarn.  {The photographer, Sarah, whom I made these for had some of this yarn on hand herself and asked me to use it.}  I personally do not like Super Saver.  It's a very scratchy, plastic-y acrylic yarn.  But I must admit, despite my yarn snobbery, the hats turned out very cute and they look great in her photos.  The brown bomber hat was a tad miss-sized, so I've done a remake for her and am looking forward to seeing how it looks.

business plans

I never realized how much work it is to set up a new business.  Even just opening an Etsy shop can take more effort than you might think!  So, although I have my Etsy shop, I'm not quite ready to start selling yet.

First, I have to get a business ID so I can set up a business checking account.  I need to figure out what my shop policies will be and whether I allow returns, etc.  Then, I'll need to take some nice photos of the items I've got ready to sell (which means I should really get a bunch more of these things made).  

I guess my initial idea of starting Etsy sales by January 1, 2011 may end up closer to reality than not.  But I want to do this as professionally as I can.  So a little extra work now will mean fewer headaches later, right?

designing in crochet

Designing is fun--I love the creative process!--but it's really hard to make something new and original.  For example, I recently designed a newborn hat in crochet using super-bulky yarn.  It's a very girlie skullcap or beanie.  I even made a big crocheted flower for it.  I like the feel and look of the crochet stitch I chose to use.  It should look great in photos.  But I know that there are other, very similar hats available on Etsy.  So I ask myself questions like "What can I do to be original?" or "How can my designs be unique?"

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to answer those questions...at least not yet.

To help me in my designing endeavors, I purchased a crochet stitch dictionary this past weekend.  It has 200 stitches to choose from so I'm hoping for some inspiration. 

 

Next on my wish list is a similar book for knitting.  (I do have The Harmony Guides: 101 Stitches to Knit which is not a book, but rather cards with the stitch patterns, but 101 stitches aren't enough for me to choose from!)