Mama Kate » handmade

Apple Popcorn

Katie — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:56:24 +0000

Saturday will be the last craft show I will be at for awhile. It’s the Apple Popcorn Festival in Brookston. The event is HUGE, and I’m really excited to be apart of it. I’ve never made it to this festival, but have heard it is the place to be for crafters. So, I will be there with slings, bibs, and phone cases! Come and see me!

The Market!

Katie — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:33:46 +0000

Well, The Bloomington Handmade Market was great! I had a lot of fun and would definitely describe it as a success! The amount of people that showed up was amazing and fairly steady throughout the day. The sales were nice, the conversation was nice, the networking among other artists was nice, and the sincere compliments were also very nice. If they’ll have me, I’ll definitely vend at this market again. Loved it!

Thanks to all that came, I hope you enjoyed yourself!

The Bloomington Handmade Market!

Katie — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:24:23 +0000

Ok, so I’m going to post one last time about The Bloomington Handmade Market. It’s this Saturday April 3rd from 10am – 4pm. If you like contemporary artwork and/or unique and modern handmade goods, you really should go. Visit their website to get an idea of what you can find there. They’ve been holding interviews with each vendor, so you get a little of a background story on where the artist gets their inspiration and how they got started. My interview is here.

I’m glad I’ve had experience with craft shows, because I feel so much more prepared and relaxed about this one. Last year when I went to the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange (which, by the way, I will be at again this year!! I just got the approval to vend!!) I had no idea what I was getting into. I had most everything I needed, and the show went well, but I think this time things will be really smooth. I’ve been able to get all my sewing done, which is REALLY good because cramming to sew is not fun. I’ve got my tags on all the items, minus the slings. Friday while John is off of work he is going to take the boys out on a bike ride while I iron, tag, and nicely fold all my gorgeous slings! Other than that, everything is packed and ready to go. I don’t really have much to bring, so setting up should take no time at all. We did a practice run of setting up the table in our driveway last night. It looked really good. The neighbors were probably wondering what we were doing, though. Ha!

I hope see some of you there!

Buy Handmade

Katie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:29:37 +0000

I’m not sure if any of you are aware, but it’s already November! It seems like just last week all the leaves were green, we were thinking about mowing our yard, and plans for our weekends were to go swimming. Well now, the leaves are suddenly gone, the air is chilly, and Christmas is just around the corner.

With the holidays coming, this means most of us are doing more shopping. We, of course, haven’t started, but we are at least talking about it. So, while perusing the wonderful world of Etsy, I found quite a few things that would be great gifts. I put together a treasury of the highlights from my search to give you an idea of what really neat things you can find. My search was for Eco-Friendly items. Maybe this will get more people to consider buying green as well as handmade for the holidays.

And here we go!

www.thecraftpantry.etsy.com

www.MissMotleys.etsy.com

www.laurabucci.etsy.com

www.artandphilanthropy.etsy.com

www.dpholkdesigns.etsy.com

www.zJayne.etsy.com

Sling #4

Katie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:32:11 +0000

This is one of the core designs I plan to use for future slings. The stitching looks like a vine with leaves. I used this on the top of the pocket and on the sides and bottom of the sling. I placed the pocket off from the center on the tail. I stuck with the accordion fold for the shoulder. And, the length is around 75 inches; a medium size.

This sling is made from a Pistachio color pure softened linen with accenting thread in Sage. Yay!

The Ring Sling

Katie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:09:50 +0000

My new sewing project that I am now in love with and want to make 10,000 more of is the ring sling. I ~~needed~~ wanted a new one, and decided to try making one for myself. After all, I can sew. So, I gave it a shot, and it’s actually a pretty fast and easy process. After the first successful sling, I made another. This one I made a little differently. The first one I made (mine) I doubled up the linen. My idea was to make a thicker sling for winter, but it turns out I don’t prefer thick to thin. The fabric gets bunched in the rings and doesn’t easily slide through when tightening. So, the next sling I made, for a friend, was just one layer. It turned out very nicely. Tonight, I finished my third, and it is gorgeous. I used a fancy stitch and added a pocket on the tail that was an old cloth napkin given to me from John’s Aunt. I’m really happy with it. But, I did find out that using a more intricate stitch takes quite a bit more time. The consistency among all three is using the accordion fold for the shoulder. I have one made by another lady with this fold, and I love it. It looks nice and distributes the weight evenly across the shoulder. Through trial and error I hope to figure out 3 core styles for my slings. When I get that figured out, I will be posting them in my Etsy shop and my website. I’d also like to look into selling them locally. I’m not sure which retail store I would go to, but I know I could try selling at the local CHOICES meetings.

Here are a few photos:

Dress Up!

Katie — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Well, I am pulling things together at the last minute, once again. John’s cousin Danny and his lovely lady are due to have a new baby girl in August (I think), so I made a dress for the baby shower gift. The baby shower is Saturday, so this gift may be a bit late, but I’m not too worried about it. Here are the results from a “hard” day of work and not changing out of my pajama pants! (You might notice a certain someone we all know modeling this beautiful dress for me!)

Tag

Katie — Thu, 28 May 2009 02:18:00 +0000

I have decided to order tags for the stuff I’m sewing for the craft show. I received the proof to approve today, and I am in love with the results. The tags will be cream color satin with brown ink. Check these out!

Addicted

Katie — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Ever since my sister-in-law so graciously let me borrow her sewing machine, I have been using it daily. You could say I have become slightly addicted to sewing. It’s a safe and rewarding addiction to have, though. Here are a few of the things I have been working on. There are quite a few imperfections in these projects, but overall, I am totally excited about these pieces. Check them out! The first three are clutch purses, and the last is a simple tote. (I haven’t finished adding buttons to 2 of the purses.)

Craft Show Awesomeness

Katie — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:48:00 +0000