When the Martha Stewart Show called...!

"I'm calling from the Martha Stewart Show.  We are looking for a group of local knitters to join us in the audience for a taping.  Shall I go on?"


Um, YES!

So, eleven of my knitters and I were invited for the taping on February 21st.  When we arrived, we learned that the show was not about knitting or even crafting, but skincare instead.  Pretty puzzling, but still great fun nonetheless!  Everything was even more beautiful in person - the studio kitchen, the greenhouse and Martha too.  We left with gift bags of fancy skin products.  Nice!

In the two weeks leading up to the taping, I decided I wanted to knit a special gift for Martha.  Well, really for her granddaughter, Jude Stewart, who will turn one year this month.  So I chose the Bella Baby Shrug.  It is one that I love and have knitted three times prior, and of all my samples, it receives the most compliments. (See more about the Bella Shrug here.)  The producers accepted the gift on Martha's behalf and promised to get it to her.  The next morning, I received an email asking for my address because Martha has a note for me.  Wow!  It has yet to arrive.  Keeping my fingers crossed...

$90,000??!!

Bloomberg Businessweek, August 15-28, 2011


HANDICRAFT WEBSITE ETSY
Etsy.com, the online market for all things handmade, has 10 million items for sale.  Among them: a hand-knit coffee mug cozy ($13); a vintage Underwood typewriter modified to work as a computer keyboard ($799); a set of pickle forks ($60).  The oddball mix spawned Regretsy, a blog that commnets on eccentric Etsy finds.  The tagline: "Where DIY meets WTF," Regretsy may be an indicator of Etsy's success.  Since its founding in 2005, the site has helped turn the artisanal, locally source, bespoke-authentic movement into a viable business, at least for itself and a handful of its 800,000 vendors.  Sales hit $314 million in 2010, the first year Etsy was profitable.  Etsy freely acknowledges most of its vendors won't make a living on the site.  Yokoo Gibraan, who knits scarves for Etsy ($50-$150) in her Atlanta living room, is one who does.  "I work around the clock" to make about $90,000 in annual sales, she says, "but knitting isn't stressful - it's the best job I ever had." 
-Susan Berfield, Bloomberg Businessweek


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