Knitting and Crocheting Like Mad

Yesterday I received an order in my Etsy shop for an alpaca throw and a pair of cotton crocheted pot holders. I always feel excited when I get an Etsy order. July is a hot month, so the last thing I expected was to sell an alpaca blanket! It's been over one hundred degrees here! I am thrilled, though. Years ago, I made each of my parents one of these, and they were very well received. They are so soft and warm. I wish every person over fifty could have one. They are so cozy in the cold weather. I even took mine with me on the train and used it in the sleeper car when I traveled from Los Angeles to Oregon. They are light weight and easy to pack.


Once I saw the order, I went on line to see if I could find a good price on the yarn. Alpaca is normally very expensive. Retail price is usually $20.00 a skein. I did some research, and found what I needed on clearance at Webs. They had four skeins left of the dark green. I needed three. Perfect! I emailed the customer to check on the shade of the color, and she was happy with it. It's amazing what we can do on line these days. I went ahead and placed my order.

I didn't have any more of the kitchen cotton yarn that she chose. I had used up the last bits. So, I drove down to Beverly's and tried to find it there. Our store is going out of business, and they only had one lone skein remaining on the shelves. I needed two. I drove a bit further to Walmart, and bought a large cone of it for $7.97. Every dollar counts when you are selling hand knits. I also make the pot holders in pastels and other colors, but my customers seem to like the oatmeal with the little flecks of color. That's something I didn't expect. Now I have plenty.

I'm excited to get started on the throw. I knit this pattern on very large needles, and the work goes quickly. It's a joy to knit with alpaca yarn. It's so luxurious. I am almost finished with the pot holders, and will work on my cotton cardigan later this afternoon.  I'm doing the first sleeve now, and am a little concerned that I may run out of yarn. There is a little over one skein left, and one and a half sleeves still to do. I'm crossing my fingers. I know you are supposed to buy and extra skein for good measure when you make a sweater, but I didn't.Fortunately our local yarn shop still has the yarn if I need it.

As my dad has told me, "It's always a good feeling to make a sale." It's true. I was flying high when I clicked over to my Etsy shop, and saw that little flag up on Shop Manager. This was almost a $200.00 order, so it's an exciting day here at Pink Cottage Soaps! How is your day going?