I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Monday, January 7, 2013

To Sell or Not To Sell.........

this is the question that has been going through my mind...........and heart for awhile.
Recently, I have found a couple of new antique stores. Among their many wonderful items, I was able to find boxes of beautiful linens............all worked in cut work.............
from the 1920's to the 1930's.
 

Each piece is so intricately embroidered and has never been used. The labels are still attached. If you cannot read this......it says 100% linen real hand embroidery made in Portugal.
 
I found place mats in the settings of 8 and some to 12. Each with a matching table runner.
All corners and sides wonderfully stitched with beautiful designs.
 
 
 
Many of the sets are duplicate in design, which led me to the idea that I could keep a few and sell the rest. I am planning on doing this. I know that Etsy will allow me to sell vintage items as this.........but I am not sure that I want to sell through there are make my own site for these. I know Etsy would probably be the easiest for myself and for my customers. I still have much research to do on the pieces and pricing.............
What do you think? Would you be able to part with such treasures?
How would you sell them if you decided to do so?
I will let you know what I have decided to do and where to locate these linens once I have it all figured out.
 
Also, I finally did it!! I taught myself to knit and
after purling, knitting, pulling it all out and all over again...............
I finished knitting a dish cloth!!
It's the red one above. The blue dish cloth is one I crocheted.
I love the difference in the look that knitted items have..........don't you?
How about you?
Do you love crochet over knit..........or the other way around?
I would love to hear.

14 comments:

Martha said...

Hi, this is Martha. I joined your site today. I love all your work, and always look at these hand finished items when I go to the antique store or flea markets. I have had a web site for years, but have really sold very little on it. Right now, I am kept busy with work for people asking for certain things, but I did get a Etsy store. I haven't had time to put anything on it though. I think a Etsy store would be better than a web site. It's cheaper and looks easier to handle. It's hard to let certain things go, but also prompts us to make more things for people. My email is down now, so I can't respond for a few days. Hope this helps you.

Cindy said...

Very pretty linens! It would be hard to sell some, but if you have duplicates... I agree that you should use Etsy. You'll have a much bigger audience. Have you ever tried Ebay? I haven't, but that could be an option.
Your knitted dishcloth is great! I'm trying to get back into knitting, I miss it:)

Nicola said...

Have you though of Ebay, it is such a popular way of selling.

Jane Smith said...

All are pretty. I'd have trouble parting with any of it.

Great job on the dish cloths.

Sandra said...

I do both knit and crochet depending on what the item is. I find that knitting is softer and not as thick as crochet. I prefer knitted baby items but prefer crocheted afghans.

Laurie said...

The linens are so beautiful. Etsy would be my choice though, I've sold through Ebay, and have seen things re-listed by the new owners! I'd rather sell to someone I know would appreciate as much as I do, which seems to be more of the clientele of Etsy, in my opinion anyway. I used to crochet alot, really need to get back into it, I do miss working with yarn!

Preeti said...

I guess there should not be any problem selling on etsy after all it is a handicraft item. Since you are familiar with etsy, that should be your first choice. You may go for other options in case you don't find any takers on etsy.
Your knitted dishcloth is more nice than the crocheted one:)
I like crocheting because there is only one loop to manage and can be done in variety of yarns from silky thin to bulkier ones. In knitting, you have limited range of yarns.

Zova couture said...

omg!those linen are super classy!hats off to that person who created it..I dont have any idea of selling through ebay or etsy..but I am sure u will get more customers from ur blog ..I like ur knitted dish cloth..I always like to do crochet rather than knitting..

Celestina Marie said...

The linens are gorgeous and yes, it is a hard call, but if I was to sell them, I guess they would go in my etsy shoppe because you can ask what the linens are really worth.
I am sure you will figure it out for the best purpose.
Love your knitted dishcloth. My grandma taught me to do a simply knit design when I was a little girl, but I prefer to crochet.

Have a creative day.
Hugs, CM

lil red hen said...

Wow! I just can't imagine someone being able to do cutwork by hand!
I agree with Cindy - if you have duplicates it would be nice to make them available to others.

Hindustanka said...

those linen cloth are very delicate. beautifully worked. i don't know if you have to sell them or not. you can also keep one set for yourself anyways.
well, at present i'm more into crochet. i know only basic knitting stitches, but would also like to start knitting "seriously". right now I'm learning Tunisian crochet.
Have a nice day!

A Colorful World said...

I love crochet and have never wanted to learn to knit, though I can understand the draw. My Mom has done both in the past. I have considered buying some small vintage items and reselling them on etsy... along with some handmade things. Can you mix the two on the same site?

Gina E. said...

Belated happy new year, Kathleen! I try to restrict my collection of vintage linens to coloured embroidery, but I do have quite a lot of this grey on white kind of embroidery as well, because when it is given to me I just can't bear to part with it! I don't need to buy it at thrift shops because I get so much given to me by people who know about my collection.

seanymph said...

I love to crochet more. I find knit stretches and I have no patience for measurements and such to keep it the right size. However I will knit a few things, and I have knitted those dishcloths. I got so carried away making them, I made a bagful. I have found they actually make a nice quick lil gift for people.