keeping cozy

i've been cranking out new draft stoppers for my etsy shop since it's getting to be that time of year when you don't want to feel that cold air seeping through the cracks. these ones have velcro on them and come empty so shipping is cheaper and it's easy to pull off the outer bag for cleaning. really though, i just vaccume mine off every once in a while and it works like a charm.

i can't tell you how useful these have been whether we've been living in a small city apartment and want to block the neighbor's noise and cooking smells (or, ahem, my own overuse of garlic...), or now that we are in an apartment within a big old house that comes complete with cold drafts and creaking steps. sometimes i even use them to block off rooms that we don't want to air condition in the summer...because you know, i'm thrifty like that.

i'll be posting them later in the week and of course i always take custom orders if you need a specific length. o i almost forgot to mention: i'm clearing out the shop completely to make way for new items so check out the 30% OFF SECTION! i'm beginning to look for a part-time job in hopes of starting some grad school classes after christmas so now's the time to clean house..err, shop i mean.

i'm a busy little bee

just one of the projects that's been keeping me busy: i recently finished work on this custom draft stopper for a couple who's apartment is right next to the elevator, so it will be doing double duty as an energy saver and a noise-blocker! most things in my shop are pretty colorful so this was kind of a nice change to work on with the neutral stripes on each end.

now that that's taken care of i can finish up work on two more embroidered wall hangings which will be simplified versions of the first one i did but for other couples of course. they're going to be with white linen this time, pale blue and grey floss, and some pretty buttons from my collection in creams and pale blues. very antique and elegant i think.

i also tried working with those linoblocks today but the finished towel did not meet up with the expectations i had for it in my head....don't you hate when that happens?! i got frustrated and am not sure if i can save what i made so far but the best thing in such a situation seems to be to just step away from the project for a bit of perspective. i'm bound determined to have them look great...just may take a bit more patience and time than i was originally planning on. c'est la vive, eh?

Blog Carnival: on the matter of materials

my fellow blogger dirksen dabbles invited me to be a part of the blog carnival that she is hosting and i'm excited

to be a part of it! the chosen topic is: the quality of artistic materials. how it works is that each participant makes
a post on their own blog with their individual insights on the chosen topic. the host then gathers
together the best of each as an overview and introduction to everyone participating.
dirksen dabble's main post can be found here—ENJOY and
please feel free to explore and comment on as many of the different posts as you like!

i use a lot of old materials. it's true, i can't lie. i like old stuff better because it already has its own built in history, a story if you will. we also call these materials "vintage" of course and i'd like to take a moment to tell you a story about why i prefer that old stuff:

my grandmother made wedding ring quilts for each of her four children when they were married. the quilts were useful because they kept us warm when we needed to bundle up, safe when our parents were out on a date, and comforted when we needed to cry and snuggle. but they were also beautiful because of the wide variety of colors and textures she used. granny never went out and just bought material for quilts—each child's blanket included scraps of up-cycled fabric from pants, dresses, housecoats, shirts, and coats that she had made for them as they grew up. they were quite poor but she was a talented seamstress and saved all the garments as the kids grew out of them to use in these amazing blankets.
because of this, each quilt is much like a historic record of the life of the individual that they were made for. i loved having my mom's blanket on my bed because it meant a very special kind of bedtime story. i would point to a particular piece of fabric and she would tell me all about her memories of granny making it for her and all the places she remembered going to in that outfit. every quilt piece was a new story, another fragment of their lives and therefore my own too.

as i got older i came back to sewing because it relaxed me, it was better therapy than i could ever pay for! the problem was that i didn't always have the money to go out and buy pretty and new fabric so i needed to be thrifty just like my granny and all the women who came before her in our family...pioneering immigrants from denmark and germany, mid-century housewives, victorian seamstresses taking in darning work to help their families get by. they used what they had to make beautiful and useful objects because that was survival and i am able to honor them and their talent by creating items of similar practicality with materials that would otherwise go to waste in our all too fast-paced world. choosing these fabrics allows me to tell my own story in a much more personal and rich way and then share that valuable story with you, the customer. that is the heritage of handmade items and i cherish it and try to incorporate it into all my pieces. i have cut up everything from sheets and curtains to prom dresses to make the items for my shop but perhaps the gvk draft stopper best exemplifies my method:

(for example: that striped black fabric on the end is actually up-cycled from a skirt i wore in high school and is paired with quilting scraps that would otherwise go to waste.)

the fabrics i use for the draft stoppers are ever-changing since you can only cut up an old shirt so many times! this makes them unique unto themselves though and you just can't find that in stores...something special that is so practical and old-fashioned for survival, but also beautiful in a way that cannot be replicated in large numbers. and that folks, is the story of kat!

goings on

just a quiet day here full of lots of sewing and embroidery for the shop as well as wedding research (will share some photos of the sites we found tomorrow!).

i spent part of my morning sending out a couple draft stopper orders; one a custom order that i've gotten a few of lately with a double velcro closure and then sent empty to save on shipping. it definitely makes a lot of sense to do it this way and i'm currently preparing a few in other colorways to put in the shop for direct purchase.

must put the kettle on to boil and then back to work it is i go!

cheese and crackers vern!

just wanted to share a sneak peek from my day. what is that saying? some days you are the windshield and other days the bug...

i had a few orders to send out this morning so i got right to work. i was so on target...still pajama clad (a most wonderful benefit of working at home), had my mint tea with brown sugar just the way i like it, some gillian welch cranking out of itunes, sunshine pouring in my window, and i just needed to fill up this custom draft stopper and slip stitch the inner bag closed before posting it. well, i had it just about filled up when i leaned over to get one last cup full ever so gracefully...yeah, that was when all of the rice in it went all over the floor of my workroom, about 48x2 inches worth of rice. "CHEESE AND CRACKERS VERN!," as my great grandmother, gert, often said to keep from swearing. ok, well maybe i did let a few swears drop that gert would not approve of..or several..just maybe, haha. i did indeed pick up every last piece, ever the thrifty crafter! it's just been one of those days...

my work day is about done though now. i know, it's what about 11pm? time for some coco with a shot of baileys..i think i deserve it today!

insert sewing binge here

i admit, i've been a terrible blogger in the last few days, but i must say that it's quite amazing how much work i can get done when i am not feeding my computer addiction! here are about half of the potholders i've gotten started...material is cut, stuffing stuffed, and the linoblock prints have turned out really nice for the opposite sides. i've used the colander and utensil stamps that i made previously and also tried them out on some linen dishtowels which i think turned out pretty nicely if i do say so myself!

now i just need to do the hand stitching inside and out, add the fun details of the twill loop and tag and then they're set (goodness, that sounds so much quicker than it will actually be)! i'll be taking a batch of them to my first trunk show(!!) which is coming up next week and hopefully they'll all come out as nice as these which are currently for sale in my shop.












i've also gotten the chance to make those draft snakes i mentioned before, my favorite is this one which is almost set to take with me to the show as well. don't fret though, there are doubles of almost everything and those i will be posting to the shop!


and yes, i have just a very small affection for LOTS of COLOR! :)