This morning I was pleasantly surprised (well, not really “surprised” – anyone who has an Etsy shop will admit to the  fact that the “Hearts” section of their shop is perhaps one of their most viewed pages) to find that three hundred people have declared their love for my shop. Crazy huh?

So much has happened since I opened the shop – I am so thankful to each and every person who took a chance on me!

Oh, you may be wondering what handpainted fiber has to do with Kathy Griffin? Your not alone, I too wondered. Well, the featured fiber shares the name “Chance” with one of Kathy’s dogs! Now if you will excuse me, I need to go fetch this screen shot from the printer and hang it on my refrigerator.

Yes, it is that big of a deal…

Well, they are right.

So, obviously I am starting my own indie fiber arts business – what may be obvious to some, and not others is all that actually goes into getting the word out. The internet is HUGE. There are blogs to write in, twitters to tweet upon, flickr’s to post pictures to. The list is almost endless – and to top it off, logo’s do not design themselves.

Well, guess what I learned yesterday: It is the little milestones (or to keep with the theme – ‘little things’) along the way that remind us as to why we take on such responsibilities.

Last night, I returned home to find that for the very first time – someone other then myself not only used my company name, but took a picture of fiber that I created in their home and went so far as to post in on Ravelry with links to my under construction Etsy shop! Wait, it does not stop there – remember how I mentioned that whole “flikr’s to post pictures to” thing – well, they posted that picture on their flickr account!

[Oh and if your wondering - yes, I did take a screen shot]

I embraced that excitement and, well, maybe got greedy for more. Off to Etsy I clicked. And yes, there was love. Three to be exact. Three people heart my little work in progress!!

[And yes, I took a screen shot of that too]

… it is after all the little things that make it all worth while.

It started when I neglected to actually decorate with the decorations I purchased from a local farmers market. I picked up some beautiful dried indian corn to hang on our front door – needless to say it never made it off the rocker on the front porch. Instead, as the days grew shorter, and the nights grew colder, critters found their way to the corn and helped themselves.

With spring upon us, it was gifting time again. Thanks to a wonderful idea I read here, I found my gift! With all the dyeing and spinning and carding that takes place in my studio, my scrap fiber collection has started to grow significantly. It’s so simple: all it takes is some scrap yarn, some fruit netting, and some colourful fiber scraps – bundle it all up, hang it from a branch. Look forward to having the prettiest nests in town!