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My new website & Shop…

Hello everyone, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been truly active here at rensfibreart… so what have I been up to, you ask? Well, over the past few months, my mojo has been rather sluggish. It happens to us all at sometime & getting it back can be tough. Letting things coast along as they are is easy. However, stepping out of your comfort zone can be daunting & requires a degree of bravery.

First things first: I’ve had this wordpress website for over 10 years & it’s always served me well but the theme has become old, unsupported & not mobile friendly. It definitely needed a change. This had to be my 1st challenge so I took the plunge. There was a bit of a muck around getting photos back in line on all the information pages for better reading & to keep the page attractive. All in all, not too difficult, just time consuming; hopefully I’ve succeeded.

Secondly: My Etsy shop; again, it’s been open since 2009 &, I have to say, Etsy has been good to me. It’s given me lots of exposure & the fabulous opportunity to sell my creations to a worldwide audience. I’ve made some wonderful friendships & loyal customers who have given me the confidence to keep going. However, Etsy has become so big that small handmade sellers like myself are getting lost in the crowd. My sales are still OK but nowhere near what they used to be. Of course there are many of reasons for this: the slow economy, saturated markets, more competition,  perhaps handmade is losing its appeal. Whatever the reason, a rethink was definitely on the cards.

So my next step: was to upgrade my site to business & open my own WooCommerce shop. This was the biggest gamble of all. A huge learning curve that I’m sure will be ongoing for some time. The support team here at wordpress have been fabulous & an enormous help with my bumbling efforts.

The outcome: I now have a mobile friendly website with a ecommerce shop. I will keep my Etsy shop open for the time being selling all my crochet patterns &, as items expire, I’ll transfer them into my rensfibreart shop. The biggest obstacle & my main concern is getting traffic. That’s something I’m going to have to work hard at & learn more about as I go.

The whole experience has certainly taxed my brain, energy &, at times, my patience, but at the same time it’s given me new drive.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, I hope this will be a fresh, new beginning. I’d love to hear your thoughts & comments & welcome any suggestions.

Season’s Greeting from the Land of Down Under…

Hi everyone, as another year nears its end, & I reflect back, I realise the many goals I had set for myself have gone by-the-way… One being updating my blog with new helpful crochet information & another, completing new crochet patterns…All are in the pipeline, just waiting for me to get on with it…

2018 will be remembered by me as the year of technical malfunctions… from personal household stuff to Government introduced NBN… Everything is now purring away as it should & I’m hopeful it will stay that way for a long time to come so I can get back to the things I enjoy: creating, inspiring, learning & not to mention, my over-grown, neglected garden.

Firstly, I’d like to thank all the lovely ladies who have participated in Crochet Classes this year; your support & friendship has been wonderful & most appreciated… I’d also like to send a special mention & Congratulations to the new beginners who have been coming along to class… it’s very gratifying for me to see you gaining confidence as your skills grow… I look forward to another year with you all.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has contacted me throughout the year. I really value your lovely compliments & feedback &, the requests for advise with those tricky stitches that we come across from time to time, I hope I’ve been helpful…

Another gracious, ‘Thank You’ must go to all my Etsy, Ravelry, Craftsy & Zibbet customers, most of which are international &, I really appreciate your trust & taking the time to leave great feedback.

2018 ~ Alice Springs Beanie Festival comp was fun. I received a ‘Special Mention’ for my ‘Blue Planet T-Cosy,’ which the judges mistook as a beanie, Whaaa! Ha! What a hoot! Goes to show how freeform can confuse the best of us.

~ Maleny Knitfest seems to be growing bigger each year, much to the delight of the organisers. Thanks again to Robyn Bailey who looked after my trade stall & helped customers after while I workshopped. Competition entries were very low this year, nevertheless, the standard was high. I won the Best Scarf award & 2nd prize for Best Beanie. 

~ The Landsborough Tea Cosy/Beanie Challenge’ had a large increase in entries & I was lucky to win the Best Tea Cosy…

~ &, for the computer nerds, I’m now on Instagram… bit of self promotion doesn’t hurt… or, so I’m told.

Here’s hoping 2019 brings new inspirations & more interesting crochet challenges. I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas & all the very best for the New Year ahead… cheers, Renate

Maleny Knitfest 2018 – Fabulous Fibre Indulgence…

Hi everyone…The Maleny Knitfest 2018 is on again & just around the corner; 2 fabulous days of fibre indulgence. Sat, 30th June & Sun, 1st July.

The theme this year is Outer Space/Sci Fi. As in previous years, The Maleny Knitfest promises to be a fabulous weekend of gorgeous fibre fun, with workshops, exhibits, trade stalls, competitions & much more… so there’ll be something for everyone.

Maleny Knitfest 2018 is offering 30 workshops, which you can check out & book here, I’m sure you’ll find one to interest you; I’m told workshops are filling fast so don’t leave it too long & avoid disappointment. If you’d like to know more about this year’s presenters, you can see them here.

For those of you with a competitive spirit, why not give the competitions a go; individuals, groups & businesses can all enter… check out the categories here, It’s only $5 per entry & you can enter as many times as you like…

This year I will have a trade stall selling my freeform pieces, my books & patterns & presenting the following 2 workshops:

(1)  Title: 13 Novel Stitch Sampler workshop. Saturday 30 June 2018, full day session (10am to 12 noon,- 2 hr break, – 2pm 4pm?)

About the Workshop: This is one of my most popular workshops, covering the basics through to those interesting stitches you’ve always wanted to try: Clusters, Puff sts, Popcorns, Crab st, Bullions, Bent Bullions, Coil st. Off-set Clusters, & a Clone st Tassel – 13 different stitches in all, not counting chains & slip knots… Samplers are a fabulous way to learn new stitches & increase your crochet repertoire… Stitches are worked over a short 21 stitch row allowing you to move on to the next row quickly. However, I do encourage everyone to work at their own pace.

~ The worksop includes 4 pages of written patterns with 1 page crochet chart (graph), & 6 pages of stitch drawings & stitch instruction. Those of you who don’t know how to read crochet graphs (charts), here is the perfect opportunity to learn.

Requirements: it’s essential that participants have good basic crochet skills

~ bring along your own collection of hooks, (I prefer you to use the hook you’re most comfortable with)

~ I will supply pattern sheets (11 pages)

~ I will supply 8ply yarn,

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(2) Title: Crochet Flowers with a Difference. Sunday 1st July 2018, morning session (10am to 12 noon)

About the Workshop: An introduction to crochet flowers worked a little differently. Fun & practical motifs to enhance & decorate your projects: beanies, hats, scarves, thongs & shoes, headbands : turn them into brooches, garlands & lanyards: or anything your imagination can conjure up. This worksop includes 6 patterns, each a little different from the other. Patterns are in both written & graph (chart) form. You can make as many flowers as time allows

Requirements: 

~ it’s essential that participants have good basic crochet skills

~ bring along your own collection of hooks & a large-eyed darning needle

~ I will supply 6 patterns to choose from

~ I will supply some basic, plain coloured 8ply yarn, however, please feel free to bring along your own favourite colours & yarn

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For more information go to the Maleny Knitfest website & you can like Maleny Knitfest on Facebook 

I’m looking forward to a great weekend & hope to meet & greet you there…. cheers, Renate

Handmade Paper – Natural fibre & Recycled – My First Creative Love…

Long before I found the creative joy of freeform crochet, with all its colour & texture, I was papermaking; I guess you could say it was my first creative love. I became obsessed with Handmade Paper, both natural fibre and recycled & by 1984 my papermaking was in full swing, retailing unique paper products across Australia & conducting regular workshops. In 1994, I even participated in a group exhibition at the Queensland Museum with the Papermakers of Queensland.

In today’s world we tend to take paper for granted. However, papermaking has a long history &, paper itself, was revered in ancient times as a sacred item, which is understandable when you consider the laborious process that handmade paper requires.

My days were spent, harvesting the natural fibres from wherever I could find them: my own garden, neighbours’ gardens, the bush. These fibres had to be cooked & reduced to cellulose, which then had to be masticated into pulp, to be sheeted (couched), pressed & glazed (I did this on glass). I’d start with a backyard of fibre, only to end up with a handful of sheets. It didn’t take long before I began mixing recycled paper & fibre pulp together to increase volume, keeping recipes so I could reproduce these lovely papers.

It’s a wonderful tactile craft, one I throughly enjoyed & often hanker back to. However, due to unforeseen circumstances at the time I had to give up my workshop & move on to other things.

Should there be any interested papermakers or, would-be papermakers, reading this, I have posted my ‘Papermaking Workshop Summary Notes’ here

So… why am I, a Freeform Crocheter, going on about paper? Well… it just so happens, I just couldn’t (or unwilling to) let go of the many gorgeous papers I had made over the years, selling a few sheets here & there, but keeping my favourites stashed in air-tight containers in the corner of my present workshop… The time came to de-stash & I sold it all to a lovely lady in the USA.

 

Although a little sad to see the paper go, I know it will bring much pleasure to lovers of handmade paper; not to mention, creative opportunities for scrapbookers, collage & mixed media Artists, book binders, card makers…