New Needle Cases in a Pretty Blue Ikat Fabric

I have just listed this morning

a complete assortment of

knitting needle cases

in a fresh and pretty new Ikat fabric.

You'll also find a set of my

"Crochet Hooks for Knitters,"

in the same fabric.

This is a handy and pretty set

to add to your knitting bag.

Every knitter needs some crochet hooks!

(Drat those dropped stitches!!!)

Not a knitter?

I have also used the same new fabric

to make Accessory Bags.

These little zippered bags, with vinyl fronts

are handy for jewelry, make up, travel,

sewing and small knitting tools.

I'll bet you can find many more uses for them too!

Happy weekend everyone!

January Sale!

After a very hectic holiday season in 

my Etsy shop,

I've been busy doing a little "housekeeping" there.

Because I gave up the wholesale side of my

business this year to concentrate entirely

on the shop,

 I decided it was time to change  it's look 

FiFi Flowers designed the above artwork

for me sometime back and I'm excited to finally 

use it as my shop logo.

I've also gone through all my inventory and

marked down several things.

There are a variety of things to tempt you

ranging from some home decor items to

boutique bags and some knit wear.

So, if you haven't been to the shop,

ButtermilkCottage (SALE!) lately,

now is a particularly good time to visit! 

New Needle Cases!



Isn't this a fun fabric?

Recently while shopping for fabric to

recover a love seat in my living room,

I discovered it.

While not what I needed for my love seat,

I couldn't resist it.

Since then, I've been sewing Double Point Needle Cases,

Straight Needle Cases,

Circular Needle Cases, and

Crochet Hook Cases.

I've just listed them in my Etsy Shop.

As an aside, I also found just the fabric in which
I want to reupholster my love seat!

It got picked up on Saturday and I just

MIGHT have it back this Saturday!

I am SO happy to say goodbye to the...



...the brown love seat!

Little Insights on Having an Etsy Shop

I reached a milestone yesterday!

I opened my Etsy shop almost three years ago,

on January 14, 2010.

Yesterday I made my 500th sale!

Woo hoo!!!

Etsy brought me to blogging.

When I started my shop I was looking for

ways to drive traffic to it.

The general consensus was to start blogging.

Since then I realize how many other bloggers

also have Etsy shops.

I know there are many others

more successful than me and

I still have tons more to learn,

but, I'd  like to share a little of what

I've learned along the way.

FIND YOUR NICHE
My first intention for my shop
was to mainly sell my bags and
a few finished knitted items.
I had been wholesaling the bags as
knitting bags for many years prior to
starting my Etsy shop.
I wanted to take them in a whole new direction.
I planned to market them as travel bags
and all purpose totes.
So I set up my shop and waited for the
sales to start pouring in.
I waited, and waited and waited.
The first seven months I had my shop
I had two ($10 each) sales.
And they weren't bag sales.
Then I started listing needle cases,
another line I had also been wholesaling
for many years.
And I started promoting the bags
as what they really were, as knitting bags.
Eureka...I had found my niche!

PATIENCE IS ESSENTIAL
During that first seven months,
I wasn't only waiting for the sales,
I was also educating myself.
I started this blog,
I set up a Face book Fan Page for the business.
I spent hours in the Etsy Forums
absorbing everything I could.
I worked on improving my photos and listings.
I kept adding more product to my shop.
You must continue to work your shop
when your sales are slow.
Once you start selling,
there's never enough time
for all you'll want to do.

THE FORUMS -- USE THEM
The shop owners who frequent the Forums
on Etsy are a wealth of knowledge.
Many times questions of "how do I..." have risen,
in my shop and I've posted in the Forums for answers.
There has never been a time I didn't
have an answer within 5 or 10 minutes of posting.

BE ORGANIZED & DISCIPLINED
You must view your shop as your business
and work at it.
Making new product,
taking pictures,
writing listings,
tweaking existing photos and listings,
answering convos and emails,
shopping for supplies,
making orders, packing orders,
standing in line at the post office to ship orders,
are all part of my job as a shopkeeper
and it's what I spend my time doing.

TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED
Don't assume once you're established
and the sales are starting to roll in,
that it will always be that way.
I have periods when I'm exceeding my goals
(an early goal was one sale a day,
or -x amount of money into my
business account every month),
and really working to keep up.
Very easily the next week might
be unbearably slow or dead.
That doesn't mean I'm finished,
just in a lull and everyone has them.
(Use that time!)

BE FLEXIBLE
One of my earliest custom orders was for
a kind of needle organizer I did not do.
My customer had very good ideas of what she had in mind.
So, we worked together and I made her needle organizer.
She got what she wanted and I got a new item to
add to my inventory.
It has become one of my best selling items
and she has come back several times and
become one of my best repeat customers.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
If I can answer any questions about
getting started
or continuing with your Etsy store,
don't hesitate to email me.
I may not have the answers, but
I bet I can help point you in the right direction.

My Etsy Shop!

Introducing The Pillow Vest!



Have you ever added a vest to an outfit

for a whole new look?

Now you can do the same with your pillows!

I've just added my brand new

Pillow Vests

to my Etsy Shop.

I'm showing the pillow vest over

off white canvas pillows,

but they would work equally well on

patterned or colored pillows.

I've designed three collections

of Pillow Vests.

The first are fabrics and give you an option

of three different looks,

the front, the back and flipped to the inside

for the third fabric used to line it.

The second collection consists of

hand knitted cables and braids and is called

The Celtic Collection.

They carry the vest theme a little further

and all have buttons on one side!

And finally you'll find

the Fusion Collection,

knitted with my boutique yarn FUSION.

Pillow Vest are a fun and easy way

to change the look of your pillows!

Hope you'll visit my shop and take a look

at the other fabric choices, designs and colors.

New Bags!



How was your weekend?

I spent mine sewing.

I recently acquired some new fabrics

and was itching to make something.

This is The Katherine Tote.

(Can you guess who it's named for?)

The fabric is an abstract stripe named "Rishikesh."

It's a heavy poly/cotton upholstery in colors of

gold, yellow, brown, blue, green and a deep rose.

It's lined with an elegant print by

Lydia Irwin Designs for P/Kaufmann Fabrics,

which has a soil & stain repellent finish.

I also made a Small Tote.

This bag is favored by sock knitters.

It's a small bag, think fabric basket,

and is ideal for those small knitting projects.

I lined this bag with a pretty screen print fabric from

Mill Creek Fabrics.

Can you tell I have a serious fabric addiction?

You can see these and all my bags at

my Etsy shop, ButtermilkCottage.

Come visit!

French Script Fabric

Google Images

Yes, it's everywhere.

And it's been around for quite a while now.

But I'm still loving it.

Google Images

Pillows are probably one of the most predominate uses for it.

Google Images

Even the humble burlap with some French words stamped upon it

is elevated to a higher level.

On a recent fabric buying trip I finally acquired some for myself.

This is from Waverly, called "Pen Pal."

It's a fairly large scale print on a mottled beige background.

There's even a touch of gold metallic for some glam,
(as if anything French needed more glam).

Yardage for sale is available at my etsy shop.

I will be using it for needle cases,

in a variety of styles.

Here's one for double point needles.

This is a hanging organizer for circular needles.

I'll also be lining an occasional bag with it.

Do you like French Script fabric?

Have you found any unique uses for it?

Bon Jour!

New in My Etsy Shop

It seems as though

I've been keeping my sewing machine 

running non stop for the past several days!

I've just listed this pretty new

knitting bag at

my Etsy Shop.

It has a rich paisley lining.

I've also made needle cases to match!

Don't forget Etsy when doing your

Christmas shopping.

The possibililties are endless!

Spring Cleaning = Destashing

Spring is in the air!

To create a little more space,

(for the new fabrics I want to buy!!!)

I'm adding some fabrics from my stash to

my Etsy Shop!

Here's a pretty tapestry

that can be made into all sorts of pretty things!
Here it is in one of my new
"Tag-Along" Bags




Graphic Print Upholstery ...

made into one of my Katherine Bags.
You can find the fabrics by going to my shop at

www.ButtermilkCottage.etsy.com

On the left sidebar under "Shop Sections"

click "Fabrics"

I hope to be adding more fabrics, buttons, trims and

possibly FUSION YARNs in the future,

so be sure to come browse often!

Google Image

Don't forget, it's time to change the batteries...

Google Image

...and SPRING ahead tonight!

New in My Etsy Shop Today

I've added two new items to my Etsy Shop today.

This hand knitted, all wool hat has a

close fitting black crown with a

wide turn-back brim of off white.

You can read about it here.

The red wool knitted flower brooch (read more here) is

detachable and can be worn on your lapel...

...your hat, bag or wherever you need
a dash of panache!