Classic Car Show and Craft Fair this Sunday in Flitwick

My goodness it's many years since I did a craft show, life got in the way.
When the kiddies were little I used to make salt dough pieces (anyone remember those???) and made some pin money selling them locally at craft shows, but my interests changed.

Now to pass the time I knit tiny little garments, dolls house 12th scale size, and my main selling platform is ebay.  I flirted a bit with etsy but it isn't a success, I think my customers know where to find me. 
Mostly I sell things like this:

 although recently I branched out for a change into bigger doll garments.  This one sold this week on ebay:

 

 

It's a long story, but this weekend beeptwo and I will be selling at a craft fair to be held in Flitwick, Bedfordshire. 

Anna (as beepbeepdesigns) will have loads of crafty items at bargain prices, including cardmaking stuff like stamps and card blanks, and also some lovely buttons and ribbon.  A selection of miniature knitting items for the dolls house like yarn, needles, patterns, kits and ready made items will also be there.

We are really looking forward to meeting everyone and just keeping everything crossed that the weather is kind to us!

If you are in the area please pop over and say hello.

 



I have opened an Etsy shop

As I am no longer running the bitstobuy business in the sense of selling kits and needles, yarn etc, I decided to concentrate on the knitting side.  I love making the tiny sweaters and accessories suitable for dolls house or tiny bjd but I also wanted more time for knitting for me!

My main selling is on ebay and I have several very loyal customers who snap up anything I list there.  But I wanted to do something different, and decided to dip my toes in the waters of Etsy to see what happened.

I am lucky enough to be the guardian of a couple of lovely antique dolls passed down through the family, so had a go at designing a dress pattern for the larger, 18" tall one.  I sweated blood a bit over the design but I got there eventually and this is the result.

It is a very fine lemon cotton-like yarn, and is trimmed with ribbon and flower buttons.  I really enjoyed the challenge of making it and was very pleased with the final result.  I have also knitted some lacy cotton socks for the same doll and depending on how popular this size is, have plans for lots of other designs.

These are currently for sale on Etsy in my bitstobuyknits shop.  I am not yet into all the ins-and-outs of Etsy but the dress has been favourited several times so someone has found it.

Meanwhile ever onwards and upwards with tiny sweaters.

bitstobuy miniature knitting patterns is changing

I have been running the bitstobuy business for about 10 years now.  It all started when I wanted to expand my knitting hobby in some way, but really didn't need any more garments for myself.  A book from the library about knitting tiny items for the dolls house really inspired me, and when I found some oddments of laceweight yarn in my stash I started knitting some tiny sweaters which were snapped up immediately on ebay. 
Eureka!  Something I loved doing and was of use to others. 
I have to admit that my interest has always been on the knitting side, and I do not own a dolls house or have any interest in doing so.
I searched the internet and books for patterns, but all the ones I found were very complicated and took a lot of knitting, in fact would be very difficult for someone who just wanted to produce something quickly and easily.  So I did the obvious thing and started designing my own.
My first pattern was for this bedspread and cushions

For some reason this really captured knitters' imaginations and this is probably my most popular pattern ever.  From there I quickly developed patterns for all kinds of tiny furnishings and garments, and miniature toys.

For a few years I just sold patterns, but developed into kits (so that the customer didn't have to deal with the difficulty of getting hold of small quantities of fine yarn), needles and haberdashery.  I have since written three pattern books, each of which have about 25 easy to knit designs.

I have sold through ebay and my own website, and have had patterns published in the dolls house press and online.
I am slowing down a bit now, and decided I just wanted to carry on with the knitting, and move on from the business.

So I am proud to announce that the bitstobuy webpage business has been passed on to another wonderful miniature knitter, my daughter Anna!

Anna has put in many hours over the years in setting up and running the webpage for me.  She is really into knitting, with designs published in the main knitting publications (two patterns out this very month in Issue 19 of Knit Now) and on Ravelry.  On the miniature side Anna has concentrated on patterns for 6" bjd but also has other crafty things going on such as selling beautiful buttons and ribbons.

The www.bitstobuy.co.uk webpage will continue as at present for the moment, selling all the same lovely things, but it will now be Anna who is managing it and despatching stock.  Eventually she will be redeveloping the site and moving it over to beepbeepminiatures .  We will make sure that the old webpage address still stands though and will transfer to the new one.

Thank you to all my previous customers and I hope you will support Anna in the new business.

I will continue to knit and sell the tiny garments (I still need to keep my fingers busy) on ebay and a new shop that I have opened on http://www.etsy.com/shop/bitstobuyknits.

Free gift for January!

With all orders made from the webpage in January I am including a FREE gift of the kit to make this lovely heirloom bedspread and cushions for the dolls house.  It is knitted in sections which are seamed together, and is not as difficult as it looks to complete.  The kit contains the pattern and all the yarn needed to make the set; you will need to supply a pair of 2mm knitting needles.
The finished blanket fits a double sized dolls house bed in 12th scale.
This kit is also for sale on ebay at the moment for £3.50, and a finished ready knitted set can be bought from the webpage for £20 if you don't want to make your own.

Tiny knitted patchwork blankets for the dolls house

I just love knitting the tiny blankets with colourful squares in 12th scale, dolls house sized.  I have lots of different coloured 2 ply yarns, and this is a great way of using up scraps left from knitting garments and other bits.  I like picking the colours as I go along and can confidently say that even though I have knitted dozens over the years, no two are the same.

Here is one all in pink colours:

This one is for sale on the webpage with the ready made items.  I have also done some in blue colourways, also in brights and pastels.  Any combination is possible really.  The trick is to divide colours up into light/medium and dark shades before starting, then to put them alternately, also to try and balance out brights with more subdued colours.  They are knitted in one piece using the intarsia method, so no seaming.

Here is a standard one just done with colours as they come:

This one is currently for sale on ebay.

I find this ideal for that 'mindless' knitting while watching the TV.  So will be working on more over Christmas!

Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all.

Christmas is coming TIME TO START MINIATURE KNITTING

Time to start setting the dolls house up for Christmas.  Lots of patterns in my Christmas book.

http://www.bitstobuy.co.uk/book/book3.php


and don't forget the free pattern for a tiny Christmas stocking (scroll down the blog for details).

Happy knitting everyone!

Lots more knitting to do

Had  a great day at the Knitting and Stitching Show.  As usual it was heaving with people but it was worth the effort to see all the lovely yarns, if only to touch and squeeze them.  I resisted the buffalo yarn at up to £65 a skein, but I did buy a beautiful wool and silk 2 ply to knit a very fine tie-front cardigan which I have been thinking about for a while.  There is so much on a skein that I only needed one, at £16, so that seemed a bargain.  I also bought some ssshhhhh acrylic to knit another Nanook, and a cotton mix for a stripy sweatshirt type pattern called Shellseeker by the same designer.  So probably got enough to keep me going until next year's show, which is already booked on the calendar for 10th to 13th October 2013. 

I had half a skein of wool/silk left over from my last Nanook, so found a pattern for a camisole and am squeezing the yarn out to hopefully have enough.  It is knitted top down and I am about half way there so should be able to get sufficient length and then stop when I run out of yarn.

Sorry no photos as him outdoors has taken the camera away for the weekend.

Meanwhile I am still knitting tiny things in between.  I try to do one a day to feed my ebay customers! Here is one I made earlier:

FREE yarn with all website orders

Gosh it's been busy lately.  Babysitting, holiday which produced enough washing to keep me busy for weeks, garden projects etc.  Time to batten down the hatches for autumn and think about yarn things again.  I finished one cardigan before we went on holiday and am just working through another.  I have enjoyed doing full size knitting again but of course still have miniature knitting on the go too, and need to build up my stocks of miniature knitted outfits for the Christmas market.

I have also just listed my Christmas pattern book on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/bitstobuy/m.html?item=130762870960&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562 as it will be that time of year again soon.

I am doing a bit of tightening up on the miniature knitting webpage www.bitstobuy.co.uk.  The bjd patterns are being passed on to my daughter who knows far more about this scale than I do http://www.etsy.com/shop/beepbeep?ref=em. 

As I haven't offered a FREE gift lately, with all website orders until the end of October I will be adding two skeins of low bulk 2/28 2ply yarn, ideal for all those tiny sweaters and other projects.  One skein is a bright sunshine yellow and the other is a caramel brown, slightly variagated.  Ideal for that fair isle project.

Happy knitting!

More sweet miniature knitted items listed on ebay today

I have listed more ready knitted 12th scale items for the dolls house on ebay today, including my favourite blanket.  I just love knitting this one; I choose the colours as I go along so no two are the same.  It is knitted in very fine yarn, as one piece with no joins so it drapes beautifully.  See my listings at http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/bitstobuy/m.html?item=130643437145&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562
Each one takes me 2-3 days to knit, but hey ho, it keeps me busy.

Knitted blanket in 1:12 scale for a dolls house double bed

I have also listed all my knitting books, now with free P&P.  Or all available, together with lots more patterns, for instant download from www.ravelry.com under my designers name bitstobuy http://www.ravelry.com/designers/helen-cox
Thank goodness for cold winter evenings in front of the telly with the knitting needles.
www.bitstobuy.co.uk

Is it worth listing low value craft items on Ebay? What do you think?



I have a tiny miniature knitting business selling yarn, patterns etc.  I love knitting, especially the tiny jumpers in 1:12 scale for the dolls house, as it is very satisfying producing something so tiny and neat.  It gives me something to do in the evening in front of the TV.   I sell my little sweaters on Ebay and they go quite well, and I have built up a loyal customer base.  I have tried selling on Folksy and Etsy but it doesn't seem to work for me, Ebay is the way to go.  Incidently, selling has been harder this year, and I think the prices they go for are lower than a year or so ago, but that is a different story.
I have been reading the Ebay discussion boards lately, and it seems that Ebay is pushing sellers towards offering free P&P.  OK I thought, that seems a reasonable idea for buyers and with the start of a new year perhaps I should give it a try, but I decided to sit down and do something I haven't really done before, which is completely cost out the item and profit.
First decision is whether to go for auction or buy-it-now.  Customers probably prefer the latter as they don't have to wait to buy. 
At buy-it-now my price is £4.99, as this seems to be what the market will bear.  So listing fees (for one item) are 40p + 30p US visibility (a lot of my customers are in the US), final value fee 49p, and Paypal commission 38p.  A (large size) stamp is 75p, and the envelope and plastic bag come to about 3p.  Materials are not a lot, say 10p (unless it is a cardigan, as buttons cost me 9p each, so that is an extra 45p, but leave that aside for the moment).  I print most of my postage at home and put items in the post box, but have not included printer ink, cost of sticky labels, shoe leather etc.  So my expenses are £2.72, and my profit is £2.27.  Each sweater takes me about one and a half to two hours to make, so you can work out the hourly rate yourself. 
If I list more than one buy-it-now item the same, the costs go down slightly (if they sell!) as the listing fee is the same, and there are other factors which are impossible to work out, such as Ebay giving higher listing priorities to buy-it-nows which are selling more than one item.  I don't get any free listings as I am registered as a business.
So what about listing as an auction?  I start at £2.99, and sometimes they only go for this amount, although anything higher is a bonus of course.  So at this price listing fees are 15p, final value fee 29p, and Paypal commission 30p.  Stamp is 75p, envelope and plastic bag 3p, materials 10p.  Total costs £1.62, profit £1.37.
I must be mad.
Postage rates will go up in April, so these profits will fall.
Can I really absorb postage costs, or do I carry on doing what everyone else does and try to pull back some fees?  At the moment I charge actual postage plus packing materials, plus 50p 'handling charge'.  But then I risk poor star ratings from customers who expect actual postage only, and too many poor star ratings and Ebay firstly put your listing at the bottom, then stop you selling.
If I increase the item cost I probably won't sell anything.
I really don't know what the answer is.
I carry on because I love doing the knitting, and I keep saying I am not in it for the money, it is just a hobby.  But I am well aware that some crafters do not like this attitude, and by devaluing my own work and undercutting prices I am devaluing everyone elses work too.
What do you think?

www.bitstobuy.co.uk