knitting, nature and living with autism in the family
Time is ticking on. The shops are heaving with baubles and tinsel. Little children everywhere are already on page 3 of their christmas lists. Turkeys and crates of wine are being ordered. And I am running out of time to finish this lot!
It doesn’t matter how far in advance I start, it always feels like a rush to get the christmas batch of animals ready. They’re almost there, now I must fly and get those needles clicking again. Happy weekend all!
I’ve been keen on doing a calendar since last year but the thought of being stuck with boxes full of printed calendars that hadn’t sold put me off a bit. Then I came across Lulu. They make it easy for you to create your own calendar – you just upload
your images and completely customise the design from the templates provided (even down to
memorable personal dates). It’s a very nifty bit of software and well worth a
look, as making a calendar with your own pictures could make great
christmas pressies for relatives and you can make any number that you like – even just one. You could even do as I have and make
them available for anyone to buy with your own little store front (though Lulu take a 20% commission on top of their manufacturing cost). With their set-up I’m able to offer a calendar for sale without the hassle and expense of large print runs so if only 3 people buy a copy it doesn’t matter!
I’ve published 2 versions of the same calendar design, a standard version or a premium version (they both have the same images but are just different sizes and paper stock – the premium one is larger with thicker paper). I’ve also done a standard pink version with the same images. You can preview all three here in my Lulu shop (please be patient as the previews take a while to load) and if you like what you see you can click to buy and pay via credit card or paypal. Lulu then print off a copy and send it out to you. They’re based in the USA so if you’re in the UK allow around 10 days for postage. Mine arrived yesterday very well protected in stong packaging and I’m really pleased with the quality. Mum, I hope you’re not reading this as you’ll be getting one for christmas!!
Edited on November 7th to add quick note about Lulu.
Hmm, maybe Lulu wasn’t such a good idea? My order has come through fine and so did a couple of others that I’ve heard from but some people have experienced problems with postage. Also a week after I listed the calendars I noticed that the original price I had set was increased by around £4 each as Lulu had almost doubled their production costs overnight (my cut on the calendars is around £2.80 each). I wasn’t sure whether to keep them in print but I will keep them live for now as I don’t have any other available options at the moment. I will however scout around before doing something like this again.
Further edited, November 8th: I’ve decided to take my calendars off the market, the postage costs are now around £50 per item to the UK!! Lulu has really messed this up and I won’t be using them again! It’s a shame as I was really pleased with my copies and I’m sorry to everyone for the inconvenience!
I often think about how incredibly lucky I am to be able to knit and to make a little money from it too, which means that I can do it each and every day. It’s really not exagerating to say that making the toys helps keep me sane. If you live with a special needs child you’ll know how little time you get to yourself and how hard it can be at times to keep positive. That’s why I was so pleased to be involved in Yours magazine’s article about the positive benefits of knitting. It talks a little about me and how knitting helps me cope with Toby and about another lady who has found that knitting helps alieviate her fibromyalgia pain. It also talks of Betsan Corkill and her wonderful work in promoting knitting as therapy – she has a website full of information. If you get a chance, pick up a copy – Yours magazine, issue 48 (oct 21st-Nov 3rd) page 36.
I’m chuffed to have been featured and it would be nice to think that my story might encourage someone else with stressful circumstances to take up knitting and find a bit of peace and relaxation. It’s also nice to lay claim to being between the sheets with 007 Daniel Craig, though admittedly they’re sheets of paper as opposed to the slippery satin kind and he is 16 pages away from me, but let’s face it – that’s the closest I’m going to get!
little cotton rabbits 