After my recent successes at the Rylstone Artisan Markets, I have stocked up heavily (which has also meant lots of knitting). My big sellers to date have been the lacy mohair and silk scarves as well as the fingerless mitts, with beanie sales increasing now the weather is chilly.

This is the first “Winter” market and I’m hoping to continue my fortunate streak. This time I’ve added a stack of Noro beanies – spiral and plain, as well as a bumper load of mitts in gorgeous yarns. The markets let me indulge, with my main yarns so far being Rowan Silk Haze, Noro – Kureyon and Silk Garden, and for the linen stitch scarves a bit of a mix with alpaca, merino and mohair blends. Peartree is wonderful to work with and provides a great finished item. This month I’ve experimented with Madelinetosh Sock yarn and I’m also using some of the wonderful vintage Lush hand dyed yarns I bought a few years ago. It’s rewarding to be playing with a stash that I’ve been building up.

Nippy weather usually means cold fingers and ears – making the mitts in particular popular items, with mitts and beanies usually donned on the spot.

I now have a much better sense of how to set up for the markets and what people like and I’m also very pleased with how my stall looks. I’ll let you know how I go this round.