New Pyjamas at Last!

In amongst my new orders waiting for me following the Easter break, was an order for a little pair of pyjamas. Several weeks ago, I wrote on here about how I could no longer find the butterfly fabric that I’d made the pyjamas in for the last four years, and how I’d finally found a decent replacement. I took a photo of the fabric, and added it to the website along with the new description, but had so far not had time to make up a pair for photographing.

In situations like this, it poses a bit of an issue- without a decent photo, outfits don’t tend to sell as well as customers prefer to see the finished result rather than use imagination. If a new outfit is one the same as an existing one, just in a new fabric, I do always try to add some of the older photos as well as a clear picture of the new material, but I know that this can sometimes lead to confusion- is the outfit going to arrive in the fabric on the main photo, or like the photo of the actual outfit? 

Of course, most people read the description and understand, and some do buy the new outfits on this basis. However, it still can’t look as appealing when looking to buy a nice outfit for a much loved dolly, when all you’re faced with is a close up view of some patterned fabric. I'm sure I must lose customers this way, so I do always try to keep the time that any item is on the site like this as short as possible! Sometimes though, if it’s a matter of add the new item without any actual photos of it, or don’t add it at all, well… there’s not really much choice to be made! It’s still better to get the item up and running on the site, after all- it’s definitely not going to sell if no one even knows of its existence is it?!

The pyjamas were one such item. Over the years my dolly pyjamas have proved to be one of the most popular outfits I sell- occasionally I sell a pair on their own, but more often than not they sell along with a dress or other daytime outfit, or else along with a set of bedding. Because of this, when the butterfly print ones finally sold out completely I knew I couldn't leave my shop with none in stock, but I just simply didn’t have the time to make up a pair of the new design just for showing. So a few weeks ago I had added the new design, accompanied simply by the fabric photo and the old photos to show a sample pair.

As expected, it took a while for there to be any interest in them. I still had no spare time as I was too busy with holiday preparations and getting ahead with my orders, so just had to accept that I may be losing potential sales for this one item. Eventually someone viewed them on the website, and once one person has done that it pushes them up on the ‘popular items’ list on the store. As a result they show up easier to anyone who is browsing, if they then look at them it pushes them further up and so on.

Once they’d been viewed once it was only a matter of time before someone took the plunge and bought a pair- which they did just after Easter. As a result I now had to find the time to make the first pair of them, as they were part of a customer’s order, which is a far easier task than finding ‘spare’ time! Of course, then there’s always the possibility that I wouldn't like the finished result…

Fortunately I was really pleased with how the new little pyjamas turned out- they’re pink and pretty and girly and sure to appeal to any little girl wanting to tuck her dolly up for the night. Or at least, they’ll appeal to all the mummies and grannies and aunties etc. who’ll be buying them, which is actually more important initially for me!!

Once made, I just had to find a few minutes to photograph them- a much easier feat than finding spare time to make them, and actually much more important, as they can then be shown in all their loveliness on the website. Even better, I've since sold another pair, and they are now high up on the popular items list where they've always been. I think Pink Ladybird Pyjamas may be the dolly fashion item of the year… at least in Little Dolly Clothes Shop world!

Back to Business

By the time the next Monday morning arrived, I was fired up and ready to get on with some proper work. I still had some ongoing things on eBay- one or two new things I’d found the time to add over the weekend, and some which I’d relisted due to them not selling first time around. As anyone who’s ever been serious about selling on the site will know, you do have to keep on top of how the items are doing, and check regularly throughout the day for any questions from potential bidders- an added task to my ever growing list which I could perhaps have done without!

Then of course there’s the usual start-of-the-week job. Not only the early morning routines of the school run, washing up, washing etc. but clearing up and finding the house after a weekend of having everyone home. Why the house needs so much attention I don’t know! My family aren't a particularly messy bunch; they can sometimes be a bit prone to not clearing up after themselves in the kitchen for example, but nothing major. However, the extra washing up and vacuuming that follows the weekend always seems to be much more time consuming than at any other time! Perhaps it’s just a case of Monday morning blues, and I'm just that much more tired after the busy-ness of a weekend…

Anyway, it wasn't until Tuesday afternoon that I finally got a chance to sit down and do some proper sewing. Not that I actually got any sewing done- just a load of cutting out. One of the disadvantages of having been so up to date of course, was a lack of fabric pieces sitting cut out and ready to be sewn, and so this task became the first step towards getting back down to business!!

The first couple of orders were very straight forward- both to cut out, and then on the Wednesday to get sewn, as they were simple bedding orders of only one quilt and pillow each. At least these were both easy in terms of making, and satisfying as it meant a couple of orders ticked off the list! Having managed to get them both made up and sent out by the Thursday, I instantly caught up to a fairly respectable level, leaving only one more order that was in danger of being delivered late if I didn't manage to find the time to make it up!

This was an order for two dresses, and two little pairs of pants, which meant it was a little bit trickier, and more time consuming than the previous two! I’d cut out the fabric ready along with the bedding sets, so everything was set for me to get down to making them, however by mid-week I was not only battling my family and ever growing jobs list, but a raging cold! It’s difficult to manage sewing when you have to stop every ten minutes or so to wash your hands, so for a couple of days the poor order once again had to take a back seat.

Fortunately my cold only lasted at its worst for only a couple of days, and by early the next week I was feeling much better and able to tackle the order once again. I was looking forward to making this one- I really enjoy sewing the little outfits which make for much more interesting work than my bedding sets. The bedding is great- it seems to be very popular and sells well, and whenever an order comes in for some, I know I've got a simpler task waiting which is nice when pushed for time! But the real satisfaction still comes from sewing the little dresses and outfits that my whole business started out from.

I’d already had one order in asking for the Velcro fastening option, which came in earlier in the year, almost as soon as I’d introduced it onto the store. At the time I wasn't very busy, and it followed my time ill with flu so I didn't really take much notice of how much quicker, or not, it made the outfit to complete. Both the two little dresses I now had to make up had this fastening choice, so I was also interested to see how much easier it was going to prove to be when time was more of an issue- is Velcro going to be part of the answer to speeding up my timescales?

We’ll still have to see, but it certainly helped with this particular order, as once the sewing was finished that was it- no hand sewing on of poppers to be done during the evening. The parcel was able to be packaged up and sent out that same afternoon- leaving my evening free… for folding the washing… and doing the ironing…

Back to School

By the time the first Monday morning of the new term dawned, and everyone was getting ready to return to their normal term time routines, I too was ready to get back to normal. Feeling refreshed from our holiday, and buoyed up by the good feelings from my clear out I walked my youngest to school in the spring sun, which was still shining, and let my mind wander over the day ahead. With the house suddenly empty of people, the first day of term can sometimes feel long and lonely, but at least I would be able to have a good clean around- without having to vacuum around my family!

I still had several things to list on eBay, so after my usual morning routines of washing up and washing, I began with those and continued the good feelings I had from all my de-cluttering. With the lovely unseasonably warm weather we were blessed with, that first day far from dragging by, went by far too fast! By the time everyone was arriving home from work and school, I hadn't even begun the cleaning that the house was desperately crying out for!!

The gorgeous weather continued for the rest of that first week back, which was a real bonus for getting the ever growing mountain of washing dried. It may have taken a long time to arrive this year, but once it did, spring certainly arrived in style! Everything seemed easier to manage- from the mundane chores such as the vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms etc. to the more enjoyable task of being able to enjoy the sunshine while hanging the washing out or walking my daughter to school.

The one thing that seemed to take a back seat that week was my sewing. I think, having got my orders so up to date before we went away on holiday actually worked against me on this. Because I knew that there was no urgency to get any sewing done while everyone was home for the holidays, I relaxed about the business and was able to just enjoy having my family around me for once. However, this feeling then carried through to the next week as I worked hard to catch up on all the housework, and my poor sewing got pushed back ever nearer to the bottom of the priority pile.

All of which is OK for a short while, but by the end of the week I was becoming very aware of the fact that where I had been so far ahead of myself, I was now in danger of delivering orders late. Not a good start to finally being able to shorten my turnaround times and push my business forward…!

Easter Clear-Out

Easter Day was quieter than normal for us this year. Having only arrived back home the evening before, everyone was suffering a bit from the post-holiday blues, our son was out all day at a friend’s birthday celebration, and both sets of grandparents had seen us for Easter visits only a week or so before. With our eldest daughter setting off the next morning for a week of volunteering with the ‘under-fives’ at a Christian holiday event, we weren’t planning on venturing too far either!

The church service in the morning was wonderful. The worship, which can at times seem rather tired, was uplifting and joyful and it was lovely to see the church full- not just with seasonal visitors but with our whole congregation, all gathered together at one service, which these days is unfortunately all too rare. With a body refreshed by the sea air, and a soul refreshed by the lovely Easter Day service, I at last felt properly well and able to tackle whatever life has in store for us next- having finally managed to shake off the illness that had plagued us all since the beginning of the year.

The second week of the holidays went by far too fast as well- I always enjoy having all my family around me, and it’s nice to have a break from the constant ‘clock watching’ that dictates term time weekdays. The weather had finally decided to have a go at doing spring properly, and we had clear blue skies and warm sunshine nearly every day- for the first time in many months! It certainly made catching up with all the holiday washing a bit easier as it was drying quickly outside, and as the children were able to spend long hours out in the garden, they were less inclined towards missing their elder sister and the previous week’s holiday!

Although I didn’t manage to get back to my sewing during that week, I did manage to have a good clear out and declutter of the things I’d already managed to sort through from our many boxes of old possessions. Some unwanted things had turned up that had been well hidden away and protected from the house, and which had been originally destined for selling on eBay. It was nice to find the chance at last to get them listed on there- they may not actually take a lot of time to describe, photograph and put onto the site’s templates, but in my normal day to day life I’m always aware of how quickly time seems to go. Every day seems to be a race between me with all my tasks, and the clock- which always wins!

It’s a well-documented fact that having a good clear out is good for the soul- ‘tidy house, tidy mind’ and all that, and I was finding that with each item I was able to list and potentially get out of the house, and out of our way, I was feeling more and more satisfied. As the bids started to come in I was feeling more encouraged, and I was only sorry that my ‘free’ week was coming to an end as I was ready to move on to the next load of unsorted boxes- in the hope of finding more things to either throw away, give away or sell.

I know that within the boxes there is also going to be a lot of heartache, as sorting through them all has shown already- possessions that would have normally been kept for sentimentality, or the children’s toys that are beyond keeping. But having got Christmas, and then all the winter illnesses out of the way at last, and having been rejuvenated by my holiday by the sea, I’m now just looking forward to any free time over the next few weekends so I can start to move further forward with the sorting, and finally move away from the past holding us back.

Easter Holiday by the Sea

At last the holidays arrived… and in seemingly no time at all they finished again. With one week away, and the other at home the two weeks may have whizzed past, but they leave behind a trail of happy memories, and all too rare quality family time, to be stored up and treasured.

Ok, we don’t have exotic, exciting or ambitious family holidays. We couldn’t afford to if we wanted them anyway, but fortunately we’re not that sort of family. I’m sure that one day at least some of the children will disagree with this, and will be forever jetting off to some out of the way corner of the earth, just to get away from work and normality for a few days, but for Mike and I (and the children for now) heaven on earth is a British caravan holiday at the seaside.

We’re very fortunate living where we do, in our little corner of England, in that there are numerous beautiful beaches within fairly easy reach, and we can travel a relatively short distance and end up feeling like we’re millions of miles away from home. Our particular favourite place is a holiday park, only an hour and a quarter’s drive away- far enough to feel we’ve got away, but not so far that the journey becomes tedious, boring or even very congested! We travel mainly cross country, and over the moors- taking main roads only where towing our small trailer of luggage dictates we should, and end up at one of the most beautiful coastal bays in southern Devon. The on-site static caravans provide far roomier and sturdier accommodation than a towed caravan would, and with children’s clubs and the beach for daytime entertainment, and a full programme of evening entertainment in the clubroom, our holiday choice suits us perfectly.

The weather could have been kinder to us during our week away, we’ve never before experienced such a cold or windy Easter there! One night we were even kept awake by the caravan shaking in the gales- we thought we were going to look out in the morning and find we’d been blown into the sea! Fortunately the caravans are well anchored down, and so it seems are the trees- by the morning the worst of the storm had passed, fortunately with very little damage to show for it. The weather also could have been much worse- the only rain we had tended to be either overnight or while we were in the clubroom in the evenings, so we weren’t really affected by it much.

Even the cold wind couldn’t stop us enjoying our week away and every day, well wrapped up against the weather, we went down onto the beach or walked along the coastal path to the next bay. Paddling was done in wellies rather than bare feet, and there was no sitting down on the picnic rug reading for hours- instead games of boules were made more interesting by watching to see in which direction the ball was going to be sent by the wind!!

The week flew by far too fast, and with a lot of tears from the younger (and not so young!) members of the family, we had to say ‘goodbye for now’ to all the wonderful staff there, and try to imprint the image of the beautiful sea views on our brains enough to keep us going for the next few months… until we’re able to return again…

A Mundane Couple of Weeks

Tidying up… cooking… cleaning… washing… working… 

All essential tasks for everyday living, but not exactly exciting stuff for writing about, are they? During the couple of weeks following my last published blog post, that’s what my life mainly consisted of with hardly any let up in between. Why? Firstly, it was just because I’m a wife and mother, and that’s what we do. Secondly, it was due to our holiday that I was so desperately saving up for and working towards.

Tightening the budget didn’t seem to have any major impact on anyone. Most of us were desperate for the break the holiday would give us- Mike works too hard in a job that pays the bills, but gives little satisfaction; the children work hard in school with little free time in the evenings; I never get to spend any quality time with any of them; and of course we had all had the flu bug going around for so long that it was easy to forget what ‘normal’ felt like any more.

It probably helped that we tend to live carefully anyway- even if we had the money spare I couldn’t imagine going out to the shops and buying anything ‘just because’. I don’t particularly enjoy shopping in any form anyway, and that includes the weekly grocery shop- by doing it online I can dip in and out of over the course of a day or two and not get too bogged down by the mundane everyday items needed. Tightening the shopping list further therefore made little difference to anyone- only the price I had to pay at the checkout!

With spring still a fair way around the corner for the majority of those couple of weeks, I could concentrate on getting Little Dolly Clothes Shop up to date before going away- my aim was to make up and send out all but the very latest orders, so that I could relax while on holiday, instead of keeping thinking about the work I had outstanding at home! Over two weeks I managed to complete about eight orders- some of which consisted of several items, and it was with a very satisfied feeling that I unplugged the sewing machine on the Friday before we went away. The oldest order left outstanding had only come in six days before, so perfectly reasonable to leave for another week before sewing.

I also wanted to end my Winter Sale before we left, and add my summer items to the store. Somehow though, the weather just didn’t put me in the mood for it- I couldn’t imagine anyone going online just to buy a summer dress for a doll, if they were unlikely to be buying one for themselves for several weeks! I made the decision therefore to end the sale over Easter weekend, once we were back home, thereby giving me plenty of free time to add the new items gradually before the children were back in school.

Once the weather began looking a little more cheerful, I found that old feeling of needing to spring clean kicking in again! I think the fact that I was trying to get up to date with the business before relaxing probably had a bit of a knock on effect here too- I felt like I just wanted life and housework sorted and organised so that I was free for the week away, without imagining the cleaning calling to me while I was there!

So other than a day off for Mother’s Day (lovely dinner cooked by my eldest daughter, flowers, home-made cards, family time etc.) the final two weeks in March went by in a blur of cleaning, tidying worktops and table tops that always seem to collect clutter, frantically sewing orders, and spending long evenings working my way down the ironing mountain! All very mundane- but all very essential tasks, and very satisfying once finished. 

And all tasks which helped towards the goal of me managing to have a relaxing holiday by the sea…

Offcuts and EBay

I was right- my littlest girl was so taken by everything she saw at the zoo yesterday, that she described in very minute detail just about everything she saw and did there yesterday! This morning she continued the tale, as there were some bits she’d missed out!! It’s lovely to hear her- she’s a very chatty and cheerful little girl anyway, and usually fills me in on how her day has been without my needing to ask her, but even by her own standards she’s talking a lot about this trip!

Having just about managed to silence her long enough to get her through the school gate this morning, I walk back home and feel strangely alone. Most of the other parents I see on a daily basis were missing from the playground this morning as their children are away on the residential, and for the first time in a couple of weeks I’m actually returning to an empty house as everybody else is out at work and school. In theory this means I should have a good day and be able to get a lot done, but yet again it’s dull and bitterly cold with an icy wind blowing through the tiniest cracks, so it’s going to be difficult to get motivated.

I managed to get the recycling sorted first thing this morning, in time for Mike to take the boxes down the drive, and the washing up has been in soak since before school, so my day is going well so far. I put some music on for company, and accompanied by Take That I begin my day with the usual round of washing, washing up and breakfast. With absolutely no sign of the promise of spring we had the other day, I turn the heating up to thaw my cold hands, and then turn my attention to everything else I have left to occupy my time today.

Three or four years ago, while despairing over the amount of fabric scraps I was throwing away, I discovered that people sell similar things on eBay. I tried collecting all my offcuts for a few weeks until I had a reasonably sized bag full of scraps, and then advertised them for sale. I wasn’t too hopeful, but I advertised them as being for crafters or patchwork, explained in detail how small some of the pieces were, and showed as much detail of them as I could in the photos- however, I couldn’t see the attraction in buying them, or who they’d appeal to. However, I was proved wrong, and received lovely feedback about the variety of fabrics in the bag. Since then I have taken to collecting all my leftover scraps, keeping each bag to around 500g in weight, and when I have three or four bags ready I put them up for sale.

I currently have four and a half of these, so one of the jobs I really want to get done today is to get the complete bags onto eBay. I need to take good photos of them, so I begin by tipping out the contents of one onto the dining table. It takes a while to arrange the ‘heap’- it’s amazing how many fabrics curl round so all you can see is the wrong side when you want the brighter right side on show! Half an hour or so later and I have a good selection of photos showing each pile from different angles, to show as many of the fabrics as possible. Each bag is also now carefully tied and labelled, to correspond with the order the photos are in on the camera.

Loading the photos onto the description template I already have set up on my business eBay account won’t take very long to do, so I think I’ll do that over lunch rather that waste time sitting doing nothing while they upload. I’ve just decided to get on and have an early lunch when the phone rings, and to my pleasant surprise it’s our son from Canada. We don’t hear much from him, keeping in touch mainly through Facebook instead, which is both easier and cheaper! 

He’s currently in the very early stages of applying for permanent residency status over there, his two year working visa having recently expired. He fills me in on his current situation, what should happen next, and how long everything should take. And he also gets our little Grandson to come to the phone and talk to me- which nearly sets me off crying. At two and a half he’s now chatting non-stop and is a lively small child- when we saw him last he was only ten months old and still a young baby. 

The twenty minutes my son has allowed himself to phone for is soon up, and I come away from the phone feeling both happy that I’ve spoken to him, and sad that he’s so far away.

Having turned Take That down to answer the phone, it seems wrong to put the music straight back on again- it doesn’t seem to go with my mixed mood just at the moment, so I get on with making lunch instead. Not that I really feel like doing that either, so delay by sorting some of the rubbish out that always seems to collect on the kitchen worktops. It’s been driving me mad for weeks, but in my efforts to reclaim the house since being ill, it’s one thing that has had to take a back seat.

I don’t get far with it, but I clear enough to make a difference, and give me the motivation to carry on with it another time. Over a much later than planned lunch I finish the job of getting my offcuts bags onto eBay. I hope they sell well as normal, it really does seem like such a waste to throw all the scraps away, and there’s very little else I can do with them. They’re not exactly huge money spinners- I usually only make about £1 on them after all the fees, but at least they’re not going to landfill. At least, they’re not going there from my bin anyway! I finish the afternoon with a bit more cutting out, as I need to get my Easter dress made up and photographed for the website, and St. George’s Day is coming up soon too. Hopefully tomorrow there’ll be a chance for me to actually make them, but for now I’m back off down to the school for the next instalment of yesterday’s zoo adventure!

Time Flies...

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. Spring, that is, which seems to have disappeared just as quickly as it began. This morning, although dry out, is overcast and threatening, and there’s a very icy wind blowing. Such a shame- the ‘African Animal’ children are off to the zoo today and it would have been nice for them not to have to be out in the freezing cold for once. I know they’ll all have a brilliant time, as all children seem to whatever the trip- just simply because they’re not in school. But after the promise of warmer weather to come that we had yesterday, it just seems a bit of a shame.

It’s chaos down outside the classroom when I drop my little girl off at school- there are over excited children and anxious looking parents milling about everywhere in the corridor- for some of the youngest children this is their first ever trip out with school. But the teacher in charge is calm, and obviously on top of the situation as she quietly organises the children into sitting down in the middle of the room. My daughter smiles and waves to me as I leave her, and I’m pleased to see she looks happy and relaxed She’s not usually very keen on coach journeys as although she rarely suffers from travel sickness, she very occasionally does feel ill. I think today though the prospect of maybe seeing a real live elephant has taken over from her usual worries!

I make the walk home with a heavy heart. I don’t like school trip days, never have and never will. Yes, I know that nowhere is one hundred percent safe, accidents can happen anywhere, as can fires etc. etc., but at least when the children are in school for the day I know exactly where they are- and how to get to them if they need me to! Fortunately, with a house full of things needing my attention, my mind is soon elsewhere and before I know it I glance at the clock and realise they’ll already have arrived at the zoo!

By eleven o’clock I give in and turn the heating back up. Yesterday there was no need to do so until after school time, so it’s quite disappointing to be feeling the cold again today- it’s amazing how much of a ‘feel good factor’ there is attached to one day of sunshine! My hands are cold through, so there’s little point in any early sewing today, but I have a fair bit of admin to get through so decide that’s the best place to start.

I really don’t know where time goes to. With my new stricter budgeting campaign, I’ve some work to add to the workings out I did last week- just a few extras like milk that needed buying by the end of the week, and Mike’s latest petrol fill up, so I start with that as its going round in my head too much to concentrate on anything else. 

Our second youngest daughter has a school concert next week, and I need to get the tickets bought. I look for the order form on the latest school newsletter and, having breathed a sigh of relief that the deadline for ordering is tomorrow, I print the form and write out the cheque. That then leads me to notice that there are a few newsletters I haven’t downloaded, so I head to the school website to find them. While on the website I take a look at the gallery of photos from the Christmas concert as I’ve been told by my daughter that she’s in some of them…

And so it goes on- before I know it it’s time for (an already late!) lunch, and I’ve only achieved a fraction of the things I wanted to this morning. I wouldn’t mind if like my dear husband, I ever got distracted by playing a game, or reading a book, or even by browsing the news. At least then I’d know where the day had disappeared to, but all I ever have to show from the six or so hours I have to myself is- nothing much! Only if I actually sew solidly from the time I get back from dropping off at school until afternoon pick up, or if the house is so dirty that my cleaning makes a noticeable difference, is there anything to actually say ‘that’s what I did today’!

Having grabbed a quick lunch, I decide that today obviously is one of those days when admin and washing are determined to take over, so I abandon my ideas of getting any sewing done. By concentrating on changing over the washing on the airers, and getting all the little computer jobs done today, I’ll be freed up then for spending longer on the practical side of my little business. And anyway, I’m now back to feeling anxious as its nearly time for the children to be travelling back to school, I’m concerned in case my littlest didn’t travel well, but I’m looking forward to hearing all about the animals they saw today. I rather suspect I’ll get to spend the rest of the evening being followed around by a very chatty little girl- giving me a minute by minute account of her day!