Now I am a photographer too

Well, at least I bought the equipment: DSLR camera, book, bag, memory card, remote trigger, extra batteries. 

Spending money is so much fun! 

Some of my new Etsy product photos:

I'm sure there's lots to learn and improve. To be honest, I'm still using it on auto mostly. The blurry background doesn't seem so difficult, I'll work on this some more. 

I've also been photographing my triplets, the feral cats that show up at my kitchen window, wanting food:

Christmas stocking with Raccoon

I recently knitted a Christmas stocking to match this fox with Santa Hat Christmas stocking:

It has green and red reversed, so it starts off in red:

The raccoon is quite large, but so is the fox with hat. 

This is the pure wool version, around 25" long.

Now available as a made to order Christmas stocking on my Etsy website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasSockCentral

5 years on Etsy

February, 21st marks my Etsyversary! My shop has changed a lot through the years! 

First item sold: kntited pillowcase with cable pattern

First 3 Stockings

Year 1: Within 5 minutes of hearing about Etsy, I opened my shop. I had one (badly-photographed) aran cardigan, beautiful and way too cheap! Later on I listed baby booties, leg warmers, socks and pillow cases that I knitted. I sold nothing for 4 months. Finally got some orders for pillow cases (with aran patterns, all kinds of colours and sizes), most were custom orders. Got into personalized Christmas stockings and sold a few around my first Etsy Christmas, way too cheap, although they weren't as good as they are now.









Year 2: Custom pillow cases took off! Had to go yarn shopping every week (yeah, such a chore), because everyone wanted a different colour and lots of yarn goes into them. I realized I wasn't charging enough but kept going. Around Christmas time again Christmas stockings were popular. I raised my prices. I offered more choices on colours and patterns. Sold more than I could make, ran out of time, customers had to wait a long time.

More colours, more patterns

Year 3: Found my niche: Personalized knitted Christmas stockings. I wasn't giving any discounts before Christmas. I stopped doing the pillow cases. I offered more choices for Christmas stockings: More patterns, more sizes, more colours, pure wool and acrylic yarn.

Popular Christmas Stockings

Year 4: My out of season discount was still quite high and I had a waiting list I was working on well into the time new orders started rolling in. I started creating knitting patterns. I changed my shop name to SantasSockCentral.

Lots of large stockings

Year 5: Last year. Out of season discount went down to 10% and I finished the waiting list by August. Success! I created more knitting patterns. Promoted on Instagram and Twitter. Started an email list of customers.










https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasSockCentral

Christmas Stockings - Creating Memories

Christmas conjures up soothing memories - the scent of pine and cinnamon, the crackle and warmth of a fire, and time-honored traditions that thrill hearts young and old in equal measure. One of the most delightful of these traditions is the Christmas stocking. Whether your family dives into stockings bursting with treats the night before Christmas or early in the morning before the main event, the hanging of empty stockings always elicits a tiny thrill of expectation. 

Wool Christmas Stockings

Stockings are the perfect place for the most personal of gifts: little trinkets that remind our beloved ones of the best things in life often find themselves tucked neatly in the toe of a knit sock. Capture the spirit of this tradition with a traditional Christmas stocking personalized for your family.

Personalized Christmas Stockings

Now accepting orders for 2016, out of season discount available until May 2016 (or a small stocking for cat or dog as my gift): Santa's Sock Central on Etsy

Set of 6 Knitted Christmas stockings

I got a great order for 6 personalized knitted Christmas stockings last month, I like everything about them:

Personalized Knitted Christmas stockings by Santa's Sock Central

These 6 stockings are extra large: 29" long and 8.5" wide. Each stocking repeats 3x a smaller pattern (hearts, snowflakes and trees). I was also able to include the diamond pattern at the foot.

I enjoyed knitting these

I made a mistake as well, but caught it in time to be fixed: The Santa heads were supposed to be blue on white, the first time I made them white on blue. 

Mistake fixed! 

They are really quite big, here held by a fully grown person (me):

Big Christmas stocking

I got the official order on 10th August, finished them on 7th September. There were a few smaller orders I was working on at the same time, but this was my main project. In September till November a set of 6 would take me longer (I would have more orders at the same time). I exchanged about 75 messages with the buyer. 

Very happy with the result

To order a set of (or just one) personalized knitted Christmas stockings, please contact me via my Etsy shop: Santa's Sock Central

February - and swamped with orders...

Well, it's not so bad. Nobody is in a big rush to get their Christmas stockings at the moment. But I'm still knitting 3 orders at the same time, all for 4 or 5 stockings. I have finished 2 orders in the new year, these four:

These are pure wool (Donegal Tweed), a few new colour combinations, each one is different, but they are still clearly a set. 

And for these two I had to make up a fox and an owl pattern, which took ages again. I test knitted each pattern in a smaller stocking, originally the fox hat a long tail as well, but the customer preferred the foxes matching the owls, two each side, both so cute. 










10 % out of season discount is still available (for orders received by May 2015), my shop on Etsy: Santa's Sock Central

1 month until Christmas

I'm making good progress on my Etsy orders. Every promised stocking for 2014 has been shipped. Like every year I got a few more orders of people who I can't promise a delivery in time for Christmas. If I get them shipped in the next two weeks or so they might still arrive in time. 7 more Christmas stockings to go, 2 of which are small ones, 2 almost finished and 3 might be cancelled because the customer has disappeared. 

set of 3 all different main colors

Christmas stocking with hearts and polka dots

On instagram I'm hosting a giveaway: Simply follow me and comment on one of my photos which Christmas stocking you would like to win. Winner will be drawn on Dec 9th, 2014. So far there are 18 entries, so the chances are good. http://instagram.com/santas_sock_central


Find me on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasSockCentral

Finished Christmas Stockings and a new crochet project

Last weekend I finished 4 orders. 

Reindeer and Snowflake in pure wool

Purple with grey with cute little ones

Each one a different colour heel

Set of 5, took about 3 months. 

As a reward I also continued on my crochet blanket. It will have stripes of different patterns. I see a lot of them on the internet, but I'm not following a pattern (just patterns for the different squares). I also want to do stripes and some sort of horizontal stripes. And maybe something really simple, like squares in one colour. I don't want airy patterns, these are pretty solid so far.

Christmas stockings & patterns are for sale in my Etsy shop (but no more custom orders for 2014): Santa's Sock Central

Knitting Week 42

Last week I've been busy again, finished 2 orders (basically finished). 

From left to right:
- set of 5 stockings (4 done)
- Emily stocking with snowflakes, now finished
- new colours stocking just started in the middle
- Purple stocking with smaller stocking
- 2 wool stockings finished (the turtle!)

Here's a better shot of this week's finished stockings:

Turtle! Christmas stocking, because I can! 

Snowflake Christmas stocking

Orders are now for 2015 in my Etsy shop: Santa's Sock Central

Christmas stockings in progress Week 41 2015

This week I've been working on the following Christmas stocking projects:

From left to right:
- A set of 5 stockings, 3 are mostly finished
- Two Wool stockings in the middle, need to finish Sara
- Carli stocking with reindeer to match previously ordered stocking
- Emily to match previously ordered set
- Set of 4 small yellow/ red stockings, finally finished the turtle one, these will be listed in my Etsy shop soon.


This set is now finished too, very happy with these:

There are 17 more stockings to finish, plus 4 if at all possible. 2 of the above are basically finished, so I made good progress this weekend.

Etsy shop: Santa's Sock Central

Currently Working on: Lots of Christmas Stockings

So much to do, so little time! I got all the personalized stocking orders I can handle for this Christmas, which is great! Now I just have to knit 19 stockings in the next 6 weeks. Fingers crossed there are no more do-overs. 

I'm going to take photos only on weekends and send photos on Mondays. The light will be bad soon when I get home from work in the evenings. So I will have lots of works in progress. Currently 6 orders I'm working on. One isn't in the photo yet, I started it yesterday afternoon. The set of 5 in the top right corner is basically finished, "just" sewing in of a million threads and the loops at the top. Then I have another set of 5 that is halfway done, then a wool stocking (1 of 2) with turtles, how cool! That's a new pattern. Then the yellow ones in the bottom left corner, I tried the turtle on a small stocking first. Finishing it is not a priority. Then 2 stockings that I wanted to make sure the customers liked the colours.

This is the set that is basically finished:

Aren't they pretty?! This is going to be my new main photo for the set of 5 on Etsy. But not this year, it's sold out and not getting renewed. Maybe I'll write the pattern for the snowmen and snowflake stockings.

Find me on Etsy: Santa's sock central

Now Taking Orders for 2015

I've had lots of interest in my Christmas stockings in the last few days, so from now on orders cannot be guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas this year. Such a shame having to turn away customers, I do enjoy the popularity... The other stocking hand knitters on Etsy seem to have the same problem though.

Who can spot the copyright infringement?

This set turned out lovely, the stockings have very similar patterns but the main patterns are all completely different which makes them very striking I think. I'm a bit afraid the third stocking could get me into trouble with the trademark holders, so I'm not going to mention what the symbol is, so I wouldn't be accidentally found on google. A customer gave me a challenge. 

Christmas is coming

This is a set of pure wool stockings, the customer wanted the bear's nose slightly shorter, I agree that this looks better, so I changed the pattern for future projects. This colour way for a set of 2 and in pure wool is extremely popular, I already knitted a few and I have another one on the needles. 

So pretty

This set could well be my favourite new design of 2014, looks great with the colours like this. I like how I'm moving away from the black and white (+ colour) I used to only do. 

I'm also pleased with the elephants, this is the first large stocking I have knitted with elephants. 

There's a third stocking to be knitted, with reindeer. 

Madly grinning gingerbread men

And finally I got an order for a gingerbread man, I've been dying to knit this again. Classic design, very popular this year again. 












My current count is 20 stockings to knit, but there are up to 4 prospective customers who I'm saving time for as well. 

This weekend I should be able to finish 2 orders, and start 3 new ones, I hope anyway. I want to only take photos on Sundays, it's getting quite dark in the evening now. 

So no more orders for Christmas 2014 please. But I have started the waiting list for 2015. 

Santa's Sock Central

Santa's Sock Central

I'm proud to announce I am now: 

I changed my shop name from Gigi82knits to SantasSockCentral on Etsy. Many considerations went into this name. I wanted something with "sock" or "stockings" in the shop name, I wanted something catchy, something unique and something that reflects what I'm doing in my Etsy shop. There were other choices of names (any competitors reading this looking for inspiration? Send me a private message and I'll give you a few good names). I would have gone for Sock Central only, but someone is using that user name in one of the social media platforms. So now I'm Gigi @ Santa's Sock Central, isn't that cool! 

 

 Find me on Etsy: Santa's Sock Central
 

Christmas Stockings of 2014

These are some of the Christmas stockings I have knitted in the last 6 months for the early shoppers:

Set of 4 Christmas Stockings, 4 colours each. 

Same colours Christmas Stockings, different main patterns

Christmas stockings without names, two colours per stocking.

Brown instead of Black for the red stocking, makes them feel warmer.

Set of 4 Christmas stockings, 3 colours per stocking

Pure Wool (Donegal Tweed) Christmas stockings

Pure Wool stockings, set of 2

Now taking orders for Christmas 2014 in my Etsy shop: Gigi82Knits
Patterns available in my Etsy shop or on Ravelry: Gigi82