Lately I have had quite a few inquiries about patterns and kits for sale. Newbies to my website say they see designs of mine that they wish to buy but they can't find where to pay for them. Lately a note of frustration has crept into their emails. I thought it best if I wrote a post to answer questions about my admittedly idiosyncratic business practices.
Why don't I sell designs all the time?
Because I'd be in Mail Jail forever and have no time to stitch. I like to stitch as much as you do, maybe even more!
So when do I sell designs?
I sell designs three times a year: in February, in May and in mid-October.
(Apologies that I missed May this year -- I'll have a sale sometime between mid-July and early August to make up for it).
How can someone find out about my upcoming sales?
Sign up for my Newsletter.
To sign up, email me: GayAnnRogers@me.com.
Will I flood your email inbox with Newsletters?
No, that I promise. Essentially I send a Newsletter right before a sale starts and again right after the sale starts. That's it.
What about old patterns, how can you get the one you want?
I receive requests almost daily for designs I've sold in the past.
I try to bring back a couple of patterns from the past at each sale. Usually I ask followers for suggestions and I bring back the most frequently requested.
If there is one you have your heart set on, email me: GayAnnRogers@me.com
I won't promise it, but if I receive other requests for it, I will try and bring it back.
Which old patterns am I considering bringing back in the next sales?
Right now my most-often requested designs are these:
Elizabeth 1 portrait. Since the day I first sold her, this has been my most frequently requested design.
Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick miniatures
Downton Abbey designs
Flowers, Hearts and a Peacock Sampler
Hollyhock House Sampler.
Will I sell the above designs soon?
I plan to sell my Elizabeth 1 portrait kit in October.
I plan to sell Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick sometime this summer.
I'll sell Downton Abbey designs again this summer and I'll try to bring back Flowers, Hearts and a Peacock Sampler and Hollyhock House Sampler either in October or next February.
Where can you see photos of the above designs?
My website: www.GayAnnRogers.com
Click on 'Portraits' and on 'Samplers' on the yellow navigation bar.
Sometime soon I'll start a gallery of sewing cases too.
What is the status of Echoes of Elizabeth Sampler?
I sold Echoes of Elizabeth Sampler last February and immediately afterward received a bunch of emails asking for it again.
Right now, because I am out of several beads for it, I have retired Echoes of Elizabeth Sampler.
If I can find appropriate beads, I will try and bring it back sometime in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.
Read on and you may be happy.
What about new designs? What am I planning for the future?
Up till my eye surgery, I had been stitching up a storm. Now I have new glasses and lots of new plans.
This may make Echoes of Elizabeth Sampler fans happy:
Echoes of Elizabeth Sampler #2, the pair for Echoes.
Here's what else I've been working on:
More Russian designs to go with Catherine the Great.
More Tudor designs to go with Elizabeth 1.
Three new geometrics, two ornaments, two sewing sets and...
A big surprise for 2017.
There are two more questions I am asked all the time:
What is my most popular design?
What is my favorite piece of my own work?
I'll save the answers to those questions in a future post.
For now I hope I've answered your questions about my sales.
Thanks for your interest.
Gay Ann