I've done a software update recently, and there's some technical issues with the blog since then - which I hope will be solved soon. Technical issues of the kind where sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and the search for the reason is still going on (which was, by the way, the reason for the spam posts yesterday).

So if there's sudden blog silence, you know what is behind it!

Yesterday was a day for taking photos - because, well, the Newsletter for January was still to go out, and I actually had an exciting new thing for that one, which unfortunately had to be put into the shop before I was able to link to it...

so there I was, having to take product photos. I'm sure I have complained in the past about how hard it is to take good product photos. Usually, I try to go for a nice, bright day and set up the photo equipment in the wintergarden, but yesterday, I missed the time of bright sunshine... so I was very, very glad that the photo tent thingie came with suitable lamps:



So... who knows what this is, and what it can be used for?

As usual, the month is running out and I am assembling my monthly (German) newsletter with news from the shop (plus some additional info I find interesting) juuust on the edge of it... somehow, every month, there is something happening to delay things.

This time around, it was the Textile Forum first, then I caught a cold (again! I am of the firm opinion that one instance of winter-related sniffle-containing illness is more than enough per year or cold season), and now... now I still need to take the last photos.

Because, you see, I finally have embroidery frames back in stock. Nice, large, wooden ones - slate frames, like they were used before the small round ones came up in the 18th century. And while you do not need a frame for many kinds of embroidery, including counted stitch work, when you do need a frame, this kind will provide you with very nice, very long-lasting tension and a large area to work in.

So after being out of stock for a while (it took longer than expected for the woodworker and me to get together on some changes to make the frame even nicer), I now have the frame not only in beech, but also in birch wood and maple wood. Even more important than this mostly visual thing: The top and bottom slates are formed a bit differently now, which means they can accommodate a wider fabric.

Well. If I want to link to this lovely new thing in the newsletter, obviously, this has to go into the shop first. Which means I have to update the description... and the photos. The frames are too large to photograph with my usual setup, though, and when I whipped out an alternative background fabric and placed it on the couch, then set the frame on it, guess what happened?

Yes.



I got cat-bombed.

Thank you so much, little cat, for making my work easier. Not.



Though maybe I could use this picture with the remark "cat-approved" and "cat not included with purchase"?

Things going on here? Not much in terms of new stuff - I am caught in maintenance, but it's long overdue, much needed, and very good to finally tackle this.

Basically, I am still sorting out the post-Forum chaos, with papers to read and file, photos to sort and documentation to finish.

Otherwise, it's all much-needed maintenance works - on the website, behind the scenes where you can't see it; in my storage spaces, which includes the basement; in my email backlog; and last but not least in my main workspace, where somehow things had accumulated and sort of piled up.

When I was packing for the Forum, I took a part of these piles with me, and the other part remained behind - so now, with half the things neatly stacked into boxes for transport, it was a really good opportunity to first sort out the remaining rest. Floor space! Desk space! Wonders of getting things sorted! There's still a good bit left to do, but it's a good beginning at least. Soon there will also be a new shelf in the basement for storage of stuff - as one of the Forum participants very rightly stated, I have a lot of stuff. A huge lot - and since this is only becoming more over the years, with the assortment in the shop growing and my stock for workshops etcetera growing too, there's need for some more shelf space. So this, at least, is progressing nicely.

Other things, meanwhile, are not quite as nicely going as hoped for. One is a new spinning tool project that is stuck because the workshop I've talked to had some problems to deal with in the past few weeks - though I am hoping it will sort itself out soon. The other is medium software troubles with my video editing software, which will either be solvable very quickly next time I sit down for this, or the software is out and I will have to look for a new one. Sigh. There's a learning curve, and it feels rather steep. But hey - learning something once in a while, that is supposed to be good, right?

 

I've been working on the new things, and they are successfully finished and in the shop - you can now get a sample package of the carded wools as well as a sample package of the washed wool to prep yourself.

To celebrate all this newness, there's even more new things - I can now make coupons for the shop. Such as a coupon to get 10% off all the spinning fibres, for example. And though it's not May anymore (there's a German saying that goes "Alles neu macht der Mai", May makes everything anew), in the spirit of all new things I have done exactly that.

So if you order spinning fibres (including the sample packages, of course) before July 7, you can get 10% off their price if you use the coupon code ichglaubichspinn (which is German, obviously, as it allows this delightful double-entendre. It both means "I think I am spinning" and "I think I am crazy"). The end date for the coupon is just before the start of my summer break, which will run from July 9 to August 12, by the way - consider yourselves forewarned, as there will also be no blogging during this time.

Even more other newness is coming up behind the scenes, where I am working on getting new info leaflets for my shop, with the very kind help of one of my friends. It will take a bit, though, before they are done completely.

I also have some progress on the wood stuff research going on low-key (but still going on) behind the scenes, too. There were gorgeously helpful finds in Schleswig, dated to the 11th century, which should make for good models for yarnwinder reproductions.

Still more, but smaller newness: I have found a way to tweak the blog's typography a little bit, and hopefully the text now is a tad easier to read than before, when the letters were running just a little bit too densely. Let me know what you think of it in the comments, please!

 

Ah, the EU. As much as I love it (the Euro! free choice of where you want to live and work! no border controls when travelling! easy buying and selling of stuff!), sometimes the rules and regulations and bureaucratic bullshitty shenanigans really drive me crazy.

Most recent in this line: the new data protection laws. If you have subscribed to any newsletters, are registered in any forum or something similar, chances are you've already received at least a few emails telling you that privacy guidelines have been updated, or that you will need to confirm again that you want to receive the newsletter. That is due to the regulation coming into force on May 25.

So I, too, have been working on updating my privacy statement on the website (the German one is done, but I still need to do the English one) and making sure that everything is okay according to the new rules. Fortunately, there's very little that needs changing or updating on my site.

It's still a pain in the neck, and it still ate up a good chunk of time. Time that I'd rather have spent on some of my other ongoing projects, but oh, well, Saint Bureaucratius needs his worshipping time, right?

My bitching about this aside - I actually do think that the new rules are a good thing. They do require everyone handling personal data to make very clear what is handled, why, and for what purpose(s). I'm not sure it will actually help against unsolicited mails and newsletters (I have quite a few of those turn up, and I'm pretty sure I never handed them my mail address), but ah, one can hope. And if I've made you curious, you can read more about them here. Or have a youtube explainer video here.

Sometimes, things tend to cascade into other tings to do. Today is a prime example of that happening. Things I did today?

Restocking my spinning kits was one of the tasks due. The wool bits were already stacked on the table (I did that when taking stock of my fibre supply a few days ago), so all that remained was... well. Printing out instructions, for one, which cascaded into going over the text and tweaking it a bit, and then having to tweak some more, and then the actual printing, which half-way done required me to change toner cartridge. Thank godness we had one on hand, ordered ahead of time, or I'd have gotten stopped dead right then and there. Then it was getting the proper weight-range whorls out of the unsorted supply, which meant getting out the scales, weighing them, and putting them onto spindle sticks. I also found that I'd run out of the sealable bags I use upstairs, so that meant a trip into the basement for some more, and I also brought back some more boxes which then had to get stamped with my address to make them ready for use.

Then it's the assembly line: Fold instructions (2 sheets of paper each), stick them into a bag, add three samples of wool, add a spindle, add a business card, press out air, seal the bag. Repeat until you run out of one of the ingredients, and then either get more of that one, or put the rest away and stop altogether.

Restocking something also means adjusting numbers in the shop system, which means I usually take a look at other stuff in there and check if everything is still correct... and that usually leads to litle tweaks and checks here and there.

Which, as we all know, tends to eat up time... so here I am, with still plenty of things on the to-do list for today, and the afternoon almost gone. But at least things are printed, new tweaks are made, some other things have made it onto the ever-growing to-do list, and I'm a little closer to being ready for the start of wool fair season.

There's still so much niddy-noddy stuff right in front of my nose, tantalizing, but, alas, other things have to happen before this. Soon, though. Soon.