Spring Celebration -- Tracey Knits

The great thing about hosting my Spring Celebration is that I've gotten to know some of my old blog friends better. But in addition to that I've made a few new friends like Tracey Knits. I thought it was appropriate to showcase her on this glorious day when my husband and so many others are out enjoying the day with a round of golf. As part of the Spring Celebration Tracey is giving away a Yoda Star Wars Golf Club Cover valued at $25.

"It is sized to fit any club from the biggest driver to your tiny putter. Made out of acrylic fiber to prevent damage. Should you find yourself in a swamp on a distant planet, it is machine washable!" I think it is the ideal gift for your golfer/Star Wars nerd, I'm sure I'm not the only wife of one of those!

I enjoy her quirky style and fun designs, including the braided belts below. They are the perfect spring accessory when a full scarf is too heavy.

When doing some research on her I discovered that in addition to her knitting skills she also is a talented artist and photographer. She sells her artwork on Etsy as Red Linc Art. I love how she describes her work here:

"Generally, my paintings, drawings and photography are realistic and figurative with a pop art quality. I like to take the everyday and put a new spin on it. Inspiration, for me, can be found everywhere. My children’s faces, a conversation with a friend, or a view I have seen a thousand times before but only appreciated that day."

I have a feeling that Tracey and I would be fast friends if we were ever to meet in real life. I have a tattoo on my left shoulder remarkably similar to her drawing of the Eye of Horis.

I asked Tracey a few questions about her work and inspirations.

How long have you been knitting and selling your work?

I have been knitting for 4 years. I started selling my knitting about a year ago. The patterns have only been available for a few months.

Where do you sell it and what are your bestsellers?

I sell original knit designed sports merchandise on my online store, http://traceyknits.etsy.com at local retail locations in New Jersey, and craft fairs as well. In the spring, people love my golf club covers. The number one design is the NY Yankees baseball player. This past winter I introduced the Football Helmet Winter Hat and did almost entirely custom orders for college teams. I recently made the patterns for these items available for sale as well which has been a big hit with my fellow knitters.

Tell us a little about yourself and your creative process.

I am a morning person so get right to work as soon as I am out of bed. The boring technical aspects of running an online business get taken care of first, then I have the rest of the day to create and gather ideas. i have to fit taking care of my young children and husband in there as well.

What inspires you and do you have ways you keep the inspiration coming?

Inspiration is definitely the hardest part of running a creative business. I tend to think about an event or a customer and what I can make to satisfy their needs. Very often I will be driving in the car hanging with my kids when the brain-blast happens.

http://www.traceyknits.com
http://www.facebook.com/TraceyKnits
http://traceyknits.etsy.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/redlinc
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TraceyKnits


See the contest rules here to find out how you could win your own Knitted Yoda Star Wars Golf Club Cover!

What's New for Spring

Well, it appears that Spring has finally sprung. I was actually able to get some pictures taken this weekend and have some new items to post for the first time in awhile. I've listed a few of the Spring scarves and I'll be adding more every day this week. I also have some pouches that I will be adding as well. I think I will keep it consistent and price each of them at $12. They are the perfect size for a cell phone and lipstick or whatever little items you want to keep safe. They each have a drawstring close and are decorated with little shells or beads to add some pizazz.

The Rainbow scarf above is a cool cotton blend yarn from Noro. I really like how the bamboo lace scarf came out. I took the picture on an old wood bamboo chair which I thought was a cool effect. The pink scarf is a raw silk and is beaded with shiny seed beads.

I was contacted by the Green with Indie show that a spot had opened up for me if I could be ready to go. This was the show that had originally turned me down. It is 2 weeks away and I just haven't built up the Spring inventory that I had anticipated having for a show. I have been working on whatever has caught my attention for the past few months with no real direction. If I had known that I had a show for the Spring I would have been totally focused on my agenda. I also made plans to take my niece to the family farm that weekend and play with my other nieces. I don't think I could break those plans without a lot of guilt even if I wanted to, so I regretfully turned them down. I really want to keep good lines of communication going with the Craft Mafia so that I can hopefully get into the indie shows I'm really wanting to do next Fall but I don't think they will be too surprised.

Productivity at an All time Low

So I've gotten absolutely nothing productive done since joining Facebook. But it has been really fascinating to reconnect with people from all the different eras of my life. It makes the world feel like a much smaller and friendlier place. Thanks to the poster who suggested putting a separate page for shop promotion. I haven't figured out how to do it yet but that is the next plan. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

I did have a chance to think about the results of my latest poll. I'm so glad that I did it since the results really made me rethink some things. Obviously the majority of you think I should be focusing more on the bags and pouches and not the jewelry. I have made 3 pouches and they were a lot of fun. I did a basic design and decorated them with sea shells and puca shells. Mike said they would be perfect for carrying your stash or hackey sack. I think his point was that they were a bit sixties inspired which is fine by me. I will be working on some other designs and will try my hand at some bags with straps as well. I am still going to do some hemp jewelry but I'm not going to focus on it as much as I was planning. And of course I will also be doing headbands which I love to make. They are quick and use up the scraps that I have left from other things. Skinny scarves will be my bigger ticket items and so I will make up a bunch of them in different lacey patterns and such. It's weird to be planning my spring inventory now while we are in the coldest weather of the year but I guess it's how you have to operate. Thanks to all who voted! Above is a long skinny scarf/belt still available from last year. It is in the shop now if you click on the picture it will take you to the listing.

What should be the focus of my Spring Lenox Knits line?

Spring Knitting

I know that we are in the dead of winter but my mind is turning to the Spring and what I want to do about Spring inventory. I got an e-mail about a craft mafia show in March called Green with Indie. My first thought was no way, I'm not doing any Spring shows. Then I read about it and it actually sounds really cool. It is going to be at Webster University and the focus will be on using sustainable supplies and green crafting. The booth fee is reasonable and it will give me something to work towards and look forward to through Jan. and Feb. I tend to go into a pretty deep funk this time of year and it's crucial for me to have things that I'm looking forward to and excited about. So I think I'm going to apply and see what happens. It's juried and they are very concerned about what materials you'll be using. I've got some bamboo and hemp yarn that I can make some skinny scarves/belts with. I'm also thinking about using hemp cord to knit some jewelry with different fun beads. I've done headbands and barrettes in the past and I think they would go over better at Spring shows than in the Fall.

I'm starting a new poll about what I should focus on for the Spring. Please take a second to let me know what you think will be my biggest Spring seller. If you have other suggestions for Spring merchandise please let me know.

The results of my fringe poll clarified a few things for me. I now know that most people don't give much thought to fringe on a regular basis, imagine that. And the others are pretty evenly split between liking fringe and not liking it. So I'm going to continue to mix it up and continue to add options for everyone. Thanks to all who replied!