Why I Love Yarn

It’s night and I’m sitting here at my desk looking at these two skeins of yarn I wound earlier today.

I had the intention to at least cast on one of them, but didn’t get to it today. Usually I would be a bit disappointed in myself, and frustrated that I didn’t make my “goals” for the day. But today, I don’t feel that way.

I’m just sitting here, and enjoying them. As I was writing in my journal, overlooked by this yarn, I realized one of the reasons I love yarn (and fabric) is that it has potential. It’s a material that has infinite potential. These balls of yarn could become absolutely anything. There’s no telling what they may turn out to be.

And I love that. I really love that.

I will cast on tomorrow, or maybe the day after. I’m not sure yet, but until them I’m just going to enjoy this yarn on my desk and the potential that it holds.

Missionary Work is not Exclusionary

The other night I had some people over. It was an interesting group and part way through the night I noticed something that made me uncomfortable as a hostess.

You see, I have different groups of friends: work, school, church, and folks I met socially. This night I had folks over from all of those groups. It was still a small gathering, though.

What I noticed is that the church people were dominating the discussion with very church centric conversation. What was going on with who at church, mostly. In a word, gossip.

Not only that, but every neutral topic I tried to steer the conversation towards got turned back to religion. I mentioned something about the lack of some books at the library and was immediately told,

“Oh, that’s a Mormon author.”

To which I responded that something like that doesn’t matter, and if that is the basis of the exclusion of those books why were other authors, who happened to be Mormon, represented at the library? (And yes, I named names and book titles.) Not only could the person who brought the religious leaning of the author into the conversation not explain this discrepancy, they couldn’t adequately explain why they brought it up in the first place. I mean, a fiction book is a fiction book, right? None of those authors are considered to be in the “Christian Literature” genre of writing.

As I thought this over, I think they weren’t doing it on purpose, and if they were perhaps they thought it was a missionary opportunity.

But it wasn’t. It was exclusionary.

And as a hostess I felt horrible that half of the guests had no idea what was being talked about, and had no way to contribute to the conversation. As sad as it is, I will not be inviting some of these people over again unless it is a church exclusive group. And it doesn’t look like that will be happening any time soon. I have friends outside of church who I value and treasure and want to be a part of my life, thank you very much.

I can’t help but conclude that it is behavior like this that can give the church a bad reputation. Not only were these people gossiping, and they tried really hard to get me to participate which really bothered me, but they were excluding a large part of the room. In other words, they were alienating people because they do not attend church with us. This is the same as excluding people based on things like gender, ethnicity, and even political leanings or education level.

And that’s NOT what the church is about. At. All.

So, I would like to ask you all to take a moment and reflect on your interactions in group settings. Are you perhaps excluding others in a way like this, purposefully or not? What can you do to change that?

Then go out and do it!

How to Sell Your Stuff on Facebook: A Buyer's Perspective

 I’ve been a member of a Facebook Yard Sale group for about a year now, and in that year I have both bought and sold items in this group. (Mostly bought.) If you are like me, you may be on Pinterest a lot… and you may have run into pins that lead to blog posts on how to sell your stuff on these Facebook type groups, as well as Craigslist and Ebay.

What bothers me about these posts, is they all seem to have some type of “learn from a seasoned seller” or “learn from my mistakes as a seller” aspect to them. Which isn’t necessarily bad, but in my experience and education I’ve learned that it is more important to know what the buyer thinks. Great you know how to sell because you are a seller. But do you know how to sell because you are a buyer?

Here’s one buyer’s advice on how to sell me you stuff!

              

  Pricing

I hate it when a post for an item that I may want says “Message for prices”.  I don’t even click on these ones.

Just as bad are the ones that are listed as “Free” or “$1” in the header, then in the post there is a price listed that is not “free” or “$1”

Finally, don’t tell me how much you paid, that you’re just ‘trying to get your money back’, or how much it’s “worth”. I don’t care. I care about getting a good deal. Just give me the price.

             

   Pictures

If the picture is blurry…

If it has bad lighting…

If the item is not clearly shown/only partially shown…

If the room it is in is cluttered…

I WILL not click for more info.

                Sizes

While the others are also pet peeves, this one is by far the most annoying. Why? If I get to the point where I want to see the info on the item, such as what the size is, this means I have already seen the price and pictures and am willing to seriously consider buying.

If there isn’t a size on the items (clothes and shoes are the items that need sizes stated) then I will pass. You honestly could have had a sale, if you had just said “Boots Size 6” instead of “Women’s Boots”

                Grammar and Spelling

I am averse to doing business with someone who cannot correctly spell what it is that they are trying to sell. Or someone who uses bad grammar. For example they "Want 2 sale baby cloths". (Want to sell baby clothes.)

To me this is a red flag that the person either doesn’t know the worth of what they are selling and will not negotiate down on their prices, or they are trying to scam me.

Yes. One group I belong to has notorious scammers. As in, posted an item, took payment, never delivered. Most recently it was posted and item, sold, delivered, then cut off communication with the buyer when they discover cockroaches in the item. Even blocked the buyer from contacting them claiming harassment.

                Not Negotiating

If you are selling on Facebook, it is the same as selling on Craigslist, or even doing a yard sale. People are looking for a deal and will haggle over the price. You have to be willing to work with them if you want to sell. Remember, you are selling to make more room in your house or to get some quick cash. If you want a specific price on an item, price higher so the buyer can negotiate down and still feel like they got a good deal. Or find another avenue to sell on where negotiation is not as common.

Writing in the post that the “price is firm” or “non-negotiable” will lead me to pass.

                Bonus Tip: First to Contact

In groups like this, it sells on a First Comment, First Serve basis. Then a queue is formed and if the first person passes or flakes out it moves to the next person. Last week I was first to comment on an item that we really need. I was ready to buy on the spot. I commented less than 10 minutes after the post went up.

I was told it was sold already. And I. Was. Mad. If you sell an item, or it’s PPU (pending pick up), put that on the posting the SECOND IT HAPPENS. I actually complained to the moderator of the group, yet again because this has happened several times to me from several different sellers, at least one of them is now blocked from the group.

If the item is cross-posted, say so. This item was not listed as cross posted but for it have already sold it HAD to have been. I wouldn’t have been so angry if the seller had stated it was cross posted, or had put in the listing that it was PPU. Here, over a week later and that post still does not say it was sold, and when I followed up to buy, the seller did not return my inquiry. A simple, “It’s sold.” Would suffice.

Happy Selling! 

And there you have it. 5 tips to sell on Facebook from someone who actually buys! While these may be the same as someone who sells wrote, I hopefully gave you a different perspective on the why behind these tips.

Happy Selling! 

Off to a Good Start!

Well, my lovelies. It's September.

I didn't realize that August had ended and that the Finished Object post had posted. With only one little sweater on it. I had high hopes for August.

Of course, trying to wrangle unpacking in a new, smaller apartment threw me for a loop. Add to that the whole not working a 9-5 anymore and being in charge of my own schedule. Which turned super ridiculously crazy for more than one reason the last two weeks or so of August.

But now, it's September. The official start of Fall is coming up and as well all know, Fall is (or should be) the beginning of Sweater Season and Hot Chocolate. I've got a sweater on the needles and will be casting on for another one shortly. If the weather ever decides to cool off here, I'll pull out my winter clothes, which mostly consists of sweaters and a few long sleeve tees, and pack away all the shorts and sandals.

However, the majority of my time in the next few weeks will be spent trying to finish as much of a custom order as I possibly can. 11 Christmas stockings. I've got three done now, with the fourth on the needles.

In fact, September got off to a great start, you see, because on September 1st I finished one of the stockings and used up a ball of yarn. That's two accomplishments on the first day of the month, which is good luck! It means the rest of the month will be (should be) productive and exciting. Here's to hoping that the September Finished Object post if chock full of good things.