Final Market for the Year

Last Sunday little cloud factory participated in it's last market for the year, phew!! I had tunnel vision for the last two weeks in preparing for the Perth Upmarket, every spare minute I was cutting, stitching and stuffing. And of course with every market lead up comes a certain amount of stress. Was I making enough? Too much of one design? I tried to tell myself to 'just do what you can' but there were quite a few late nights and needless to say I passed out on the couch Sunday evening at 7.30.

I set out to participate in a market or  two this year and I have ended up doing four in four months! I would definitely stagger them better in the future to eliminate the last minute rush and not feel like my children had a part time mother. This last market certainly surpassed my expectations in terms of sales and all the hours I spent making were totally worth it. I received lots of lovely compliments about my fabrics, stitching details and stall presentation which was really heart warming. I also loved meeting fellow crafty people, seeing their wares, creative stalls and hearing about their market experiences.

I did suffer a major glitch in my preparations for the market with my sewing machine refusing to work last Wednesday. I had given the machine a clean and 'service' myself after it was running rough for a couple of days before it decided to jam completely. I love my Bernina matic, it's almost as old as me and it can sew through layers of fabric without missing a beat. So she is with the repairman at the moment and I am hoping to have her back in a few days. I was very fortunate to be lent another machine which allowed me to complete my softies and not dissolve into a complete stressed out mess.

I made a few new items for this last market, the pear pin cushions (pattern courtesy of Retro Mama), the Christmas Elves (original design by myself), Reindeer (adapted from a pattern by Melly & Me) and a small version of my babushka doll design. The reindeer was certainly a very popular addition and I (reluctantly!) sold her a couple of hours into the market, and have received orders for two more.
So with my final market over I'm starting to think about 2013:
* Definitely continue participating in markets. It's great to meet other crafty people as well as interact with the public and allow them to hold my creations in their hands.
* Design and release some new design softies. I always have a few ideas rattling around my brain so dedicating some time to put them on paper and then into reality will be a focus.