Seed Swap 2014

I promised some back-logged posts.  Unfortunately this one doesn't have pictures :-\  But there is a great link about sustainability!  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.  More posts on the way!

3/10/14:
I'm so ready for the snow to melt and spring to get here so I can start planting my seeds!

I love the annual Seed Swap that The Toledo Botanical Gardens hosts every year.  It is such a great way to get new, FREE seeds for the garden plus discover other local organizations that share and support similar interests.  This year I discovered Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission and I'm so excited to see what great improvements they bring to this area.  One of my long-time desires is actually on the THIS YEAR list!: Complete Streets!  (aka, safe road sharing between bicyclists, cars, & pedestrians!)

This year I picked up a lot of flower seeds for growing a variety in front of the white picket fence we will be putting in at the back of our yard, separating us from the alley, to replace the rotten one we took down our second summer here.

I also picked up a few veggie seeds for kolhrabi, beets, yellow squash & zucchini.   But my favorite finds this year were definitely the Sustainability Commission.

5/3/14
I also swung by the Plant Swap and picked up some lemon balm, white violets, gerber daisies, and citronella.  So far I planted the lemon balm in a planter, the citronella in a self-watering container, and the daisies & violets in a flower bed border.  The lemon balm is doing well, the citronella needs weeding and I haven't checked on the flowers in a little while.  They are interplanted with poppies.  :)

Review of Merchant's Landing Show

Well, our little adorable bundle of joy, little miss EJ, came into the world just days before the weekend show so I was not personally able to attend to my table, but my wonderful sister and amazing husband were willing to step in and represent Knitted Home.  My review stems from what they have told me and my interpretations of those observations.

Photo courtesy of my sister & her iPhone

According to sources, there were plenty of vendors (around 90 was the estimation) in attendance but the overall customer crowd was definitely lacking.  The show ran from 11-6pm (set up starting at 8am; my husband & sister were able to set up the table in 30-60 minutes) and the last hour or more was only vendors shopping other vendors.

The coordinators did a great job spreading like-crafters across the venue (this is something I've seen lacking at other shows) as well as spreading promotion across different media outlets (fb, radio stations, word of mouth, newspaper, etc).

Photo courtesy of my sister & her iPhone

Overall, it seems April is not a month for Knitted Home to do physical shows because the weather will always attract people outside and away from craft shows (though that didn't seem to be the case with the Maker's Mart I attended the weekend after - one of EJ's first outings).  Or maybe it is the nature of my products that is out of season by April (surely not baby accessories, though?)  At least we made our table fee so I wouldn't judge this show a "failure" but I can't say it will be one to do in the future.

Is there a favorite show you are in every year?  What makes it your favorite?

Banana Oat Cookie Sandwichs

Photo courtesy of Jessica Murnane

Lately I've been experimenting with my diet to omit milk and dairy as I believe they might be upsetting little EJ's stomach.  And I remembered these cookie sandwiches that my sister (a newly transitioned vegan from vegetarian) shared with me at her last visit.  Being vegan, they naturally don't contain any dairy and since I've been running out of foods to eat (or at least, ideas), I gave this recipe a try.  -- and doubled it straight off the bat.  Luckily it doubles easily which made 15 sandwiches.

At first I thought they would take so much time and effort to put together, but after reading the recipe, they are just like Vegan Muffins, with one extra step: assembling the sandwiches.  The frosting is thick, so I recommend using a knife to scoop and spread it (instead of a spoon, like I first tried).

I had a tablespoon or two of filling left over so I would say be generous when frosting the first cookie.  They taste so much better with lots of that cocoa flavor, too :)

Here's the recipe.  Let me know if you try it and how you like them!

Hello!

Just popping in quick to say hello!  This is what I look like most days now:

She is 3 weeks (+5 days) old & loves sleeping on my chest!

So you can see how I don't get as much done as I'm used to.  When these precious moments are had, they are savored and spent catching up on my magazine, book and blog reading.  I've only just started attempting blog writing like this and so far it seems to be working like a charm!  Until she wakes up suddenly ravishing!  :)

Bear with me; I have plenty of more meaty posts in the works but I have a feeling it is going to take much longer to get them fully composed and ready to publish.  I hope you are all doing well.  Keep up the lovely posts and I promise to stop in again soon :)

Discovering Cloth Diapers

This Saturday was a total blast!  I went up to Ann Arbor, Michigan with a new cloth diaper convert friend to visit my also-pregnant cousin (she is 15 weeks behind me, due at the end of July) and we shopped two rummage sales (aptly named Moms 2 Moms), a local natural baby store called The Little Seedling where we all received a wonderful education on cloth diapering & baby wearing; and stopped at both Cherry Republic & Trader Joe's before calling it a Very Productive day.  :]

Cloth diapering has been a long-time research "project" for me and after many years I feel like I can finally say with some confidence that "I think I get it!" after having visited and talked with the ladies at The Little Seedling.  For the longest time I couldn't tell the real difference between All-in-Ones and Hybrids and Pockets and Fitteds and then I recently discovered "Flats" which are considered another version(?) of Prefolds.  Too many different styles and terms, I'm sure you're thinking.  Anyway, the exciting part is now that I feel confident to cloth diaper my little babe when he or she finally arrives in the next 2 or 3 weeks, I'll be plenty confident to make and use my own longies on my little one come this Autumn which means more adorable baby models for the Etsy shop! :)  yay :)

And I can't wait to tell you my even MORE exciting news (that has to do with my Etsy shop and all things knitted baby) once I have confirmation that it is all a go.  Stay tuned! :)

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Friday Finds

Whoops!  Looks like I almost forgot about my pledge to post once a week!  Luckily I already had this one started so I could add some lovely finds that I thought you might enjoy as well.

I came across a lot of green living, bicycle transportation, and living intentionally small this week.  I posted a lot of my favorites on twitter.

On top of that, I finally responded to an email from Bicycle City which was in response to my request for more info.  First time I actually heard from someone (I've been following them since 2007) and I was tickled to death!!

My husband taught me how to use Pocket to save articles for later reading instead of leaving 15 tabs open on my browser (and thus slowing my browsing to a CRAWL....).

After "meeting" Sarah through Liesl's 3 Question interview series, I proceeded to pin about a dozen recipes from her blog: The Vanilla Bean Blog.  One of which I have already tried my hand at.

This board has some great eye candy for contemplating yarn storage as we continue to plan our addition (and my little etsy corner).

This might be a great way to use up my wool scraps & also allow us to stop buying dryer sheets.

And I've been doing a lot of swagbucks these last two weeks to reach my daily goal for the whole month to get a bonus 300 points.  Does anyone else use swagbucks?  Once I got the hang of it, it has been a great background addition to my daily computer use to earn a few giftcards toward fun things :)  We are currently saving for Home Depot giftcards for home improvement projects.

What did you find worthwhile this week?

Apps I Use for Selling on Etsy

Along the same lines as Blogging Tools, I found myself getting into tools/sites that I use for sales so I broke that off into this post:

Etsy

Even as I am starting to branch out into physical booth for sales (and possibly consignment??) I still like to have Etsy as a landing page & sample of work available by me.

Pinterest

Along the same lines, I like to keep a dedicated Pinterest board to my previous work, especially when it comes to one-of-a-kind pieces to be referenced by customers or used as inspiration for future work.  This has also been handy in knowing what needs to be duplicated for popularity's sake.  I also use Pinterest to brainstorm my craft show set up, new patterns to try, and any marketing or advice I might come across that I find worth referencing.

Square Up

Square has been a great tool for accepting credit payments in person plus generating a neat, digital sales receipt for anyone requesting one.  So far the only draw back has been that my particular smartphone (LG Spectrum 1st gen.) is not fully supported so I always have to type in the card numbers which results in a higher fee.   I still did fairly well at the Make It Indie fair in November but it sure has me thinking about that next phone upgrade this spring....
*Edit: Now that I have a Samsung Galaxy S5, the Square card reader works like a charm!*

Facebook

To promote art/craft shows I am participating in, to send customers for product + experience feedback as well as interaction, share new items listed in the shop, latest blog post link, and anything I find interesting that I think my followers may also enjoy.  I like to keep my Facebook light-hearted but centered around the knitting/crocheting/crafting theme.

Maybe not so surprisingly, I have noticed that some have even used my Facebook page as a way to contact me via message instead of my email.  This is how I was invited to join the Merchant's Landing Arts & Craft Show!

Free "scrap" bracelets

Freebies

Speaking of physical shows, I've also found that a little freebie is a great draw to your table.  I like to crochet long leftover scraps of cotton yarn into bracelets which I offer for free to whomever.  I find it is a great way to strike up a conversation with anyone "brave enough" to pick out a free bracelet.  :)

PDF Compressor

Once I started selling PDF patterns, I needed a compressor for the large image-heavy files that are my pattern's signature.  And not only do I want to make friends wait hours to download a large file, but Etsy does not allow pattern files greater than 20mb.  So needing a solution, I found Chrome's free PDF compressor + was instantly impressed with not only it's ability to crunch the size of my recent pattern from 38mb to 1.35!  But it even preserved the quality of the crisp images!  Sold!

Wholesale

So far I haven't branched out into wholesaling (purchasing or selling) but it has crossed my mind several times.  Does anyone have any wholesale experience?

Spread the Word

And as always, word of mouth through supportive friends and family members has helped generate a fair handful of sales this past holiday season.  Plus a few times when asked what do I do for a living (a question that always makes me cringe), I mention that I am a knit/crochet instructor as well as an Etsy shop owner.  I like to show pictures of what I make via my smartphone (images taken directly with my phone as well as pulling up my Etsy shop on my phone) and hand them a business card, encouraging them to explore my shop more when they are home.  I don't know how well it works, but I figure it can't hurt, right?


I'd love to hear what tools you use for "pedaling your wares" :)  If you already have a post about it, would you mind pasting a link to it in the comments section?  I'd love to read it!

Referral + Affiliate links help me bring you valuable content without ads.  I recommend products + services that I use myself or that come highly recommended by peers.  
Any sponsorships that you see in my sidebar are handpicked by me because I believe in their products + services and think they could benefit you.

Merchants Landing Arts & Craft Show

I'm so excited that I have another show on the calendar!

These ladies participated with me at the Make It Indie fair back in November and reached out to me to join them in their first annual show this April.  I have to say I was definitely honored that they reached out to me and were patient as I searched my mind for an answer.  Of course I wanted to scream yes right away, but knowing that the show weekend (April 12 & 13) is the weekend after my due date, I had to consider newborn care first.  After talking with my midwife, husband (who was supportively pushing me in this direction), and a few other friends with kids, I decided to go with the "ambitious" decision to commit.  And now I'm so excited & ecstatic that I did!

So if everyone will just send positive, slightly early-labor thoughts my way, I'd really appreciate it! hehe.  :)

Soap Savers

You may have seen me mention these little things in passing (I believe the first time I even mentioned them was Flower Weekend back in May & then again in July at my first Art Walk) but it doesn't look like I've ever really talked much about my Soap Savers on the blog.

If you follow me on Facebook you may have seen their debut at the Toledo Farmer's Market:

Facebook Post

This handy bath item is the perfect size to collect those little shards of soap in to get every last bit of use out of your soap, or you can even store a whole bar of soap in it!  I describe them as self-refilling loofas/washcloths because once you have added soap to the inside of the pouch and started working a lather through its walls, it will continue to lather every time it is massaged.

Here is one of my friends who has used hers since last summer (about 6 months at this point).  She loves how well it lathers:

I've even found that it makes a nice scrubbie and would probably work to scrub dishes or the bathtub walls!  Does anyone else use a soap saver?

More Granola: Maple Cinnamon

While in search of the perfect granola recipe for us, I discovered Sarah's blog through Liesl's 3 Question series.

Yesterday I tried her recipe for Maple Cinnamon Granola with only slight hesitation at the inclusion of cinnamon.  I've been looking for a healthy, tasty granola to pair nicely with my homemade yogurt & a drizzle of honey (my favorite snack ever!) and the idea of cinnamon just didn't seem to fit the bill - at least in my mind.  I've always thought of cinnamon as more a holiday flavor and pairing with sugar & sweets.  But I decided to try it anyway since my last two batches have been quite dull in flavor.  I also omitted the water she called for and added an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.  :)

Fresh out of the oven & cooling.

So far the flavor is smokey & delicious (I licked the spoon after pouring it into the baking sheet) and the sweet maple aroma is just starting to waft from the oven.  I'm so excited to try this latest batch with my yogurt.  The only downside is I'm almost out of dried cherries!

Recipe:
5 cups rolled thick oats
2 Tbs whole flax seed
2 Tbs wheat bran
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted almonds (I would have added a whole cup but this is all I had today)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup applesauce, homemade so it has a few chunks in it
3 tsp vanilla extract

Mix oats, flax, wheat bran, cinnamon, salt & almonds together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix syrup, applesauce and vanilla together.  Pour wet over dry ingredients, being sure the oats are fully coated.  Pour onto a greased baking sheet in an even layer.  Bake at 325*F for about 30 minutes (until oats are golden brown & no longer wet), stirring about every 10 minutes.

While cooling, add in 1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts and 1 cup dried cherries.  Stir occasionally while cooling.  Store in an airtight container.