~What the heck?

~10,239 is today's number. Yes...10,239 aprons listed on Etsy. How on earth do I manage to sell anything with that kind of competition? I'll never understand. When I began this venture, in June of 2008, there were 4,000+ aprons listed. I thought that number was insurmountable. What? 4000 aprons? Get out! But...somehow, folks found mine and ordered them. Goes to show that www.etsy.com reaches far and wide. And that there's a market out there ready and willing to open their wallets.
~I listed a blouse this morning. 5,490 other listings for women's blouses! 5,490! Guess if you think of how many female shoppers there are in the world with access to the Internet and a credit card, it doesn’t seem that impossible. But...I still find it amazing. 10, 239 aprons? 5000+ blouses? What the heck?

Check us out at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com

I Thought It Was Spring?

Isn't spring supposed to be warm and sunny? Did Cape Cod forget how to have spring? After a straight week of dreary cloudy skies and constant threat of rain (and then some actual rain) we finally had a gorgeous day yesterday. We put it to use and worked so hard outside that our bodies were sobbing by dinner time. Woke up this morning and thought we were in for another beautiful day. Hubby and I sat out on the back deck in our new zero gravity chairs and soaked up some rays while having our morning coffee. Nice. Got started on taking out the summer furniture for the deck, washing everything in nice hot water in the nearby outdoor shower. But, by noon, the clouds rolled in and the day ended up threatening rain and very chilly, indeed. As I sit here writing, the sky is gray and foreboding. I don't like it.
I decided instead of complaining about the weather earlier in the week that I would put my indoors time to good use and sew. It's a bit hard right now to throw myself into a sewing project because the kids will be here soon, and for the time that my sewing room turns into a guest room, I put everything away and out of sight. Soooo, I don't feel like making a huge mess as I usually do when I sew, only to have to clean it up. I had a yard and a half of a pretty white on white fabric that told me it wanted to be a pretty peasant blouse. Voila! Here it is.
Check out the details in my etsy shop at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com
I wonder what tomorrow will bring? I hate the uncertainty about the weather. We're getting down to the wire now with daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren arriving soon. The air conditioners need to be put back into the windows, beds need to be made up, quilts aired out, bathrooms cleaned, windows washed...you know the drill. I need sunshine to do all this! I'm getting depressed! Isn't it supposed to be spring?

Feedback....
I love feedback. On my etsy online shop, feedback from buyers lets me know if my designs are being well received. On my apronsgonewild blog, feedback in the form of comments, or the traffic feed lets me know if anyone is reading what I write. Feedback is good. It's like a paycheck. When it's complimentary, the check is big. When it's not...well...you can guess. So far, the feedback on my etsy online shop has been all good. But, I still worry, each and every time I ship out an order. People can be very particular sometimes. What one person might love, another might not even like. Clothing of any kind is usually quite specific to the user. Even an apron can be a fashion statement for some folks. And there's an even bigger chance that the peasant tops and halter tops I make might not fit right or be what the buyer had imagined. So, I always worry whenever I ship an order. I nervously wait for the feedback.

So far, my etsy shop feedback has been 100% positive. Last week, I shipped out an adorable lady's apron and a hunky men's apron to the same buyer. It was a big purchase and I wondered how the buyer would feel when she saw the items in person....not just on the computer screen. Turns out, I needn't have worried at all. The buyer's feedback comments were above and beyond what I could have hoped. Matter of fact, she wrote that the lady's "Love Me Tender" apron would be passed down as a family heirloom! Imagine that? And she added that her husband was newly inspired and exceptionally handsome in his "Hot Chocolate For Men" apron. Ah...I love feedback.

Spent this past weekend working on two new blouses for my etsy shop. One is a semi-sheer peasant top I've named "Espresso Latte" because it's a beautiful, rich dark brown with silvery white flowers that just have a hint of color. There's a matching fabric rosette on one side of the neckline. The other is a halter top in Michael Miller's carnival print...a fabric that was suggested by a customer. The latter is not a fabric I would have chosen myself, but now that the top is finished, I rather like it. I wonder what the feedback will be on these two?

Check them out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/