When you have a day or two off...

Christmas is over. New Years Eve is tomorrow. So what am I doing....oh yeah working on things for Valentines day of course! This year for V-day I am featuring some slightly subversive pin cushions. Sperm and Human Hearts. Yep, you read that right. Here it is again. Sperm and Human Hearts. If there is one thing I have learned on etsy it's that the things I think are silly and make on a whim- those items will sell. The carefully researched and thought out items will bomb, big time (can you say yarn!).

So it's a warm last Saturday in December morning. I decide I should go to Joann fabrics and buy some felt. I'm waiting in the cutting table line and start chatting with all the 60ish year old quilty women. I feel a certain camaraderie with them. My mom is a quilter, I can talk calico, batik and batting with the best of them. We start chatting. They politely ask what I am making and I respond "Oh, just some pin cushions" thinking that will give them an answer and they won't want anymore than that. Oops. One chirps in "Oh! what kind of pincushions?" I should have told them butterflies. It was a very silent wait to have my fabric cut.

On a whim I also bought a mess of denim and corduroy to make messenger bags out of. Hopefully these won't fall into the carefully researched and well thought out item category.

Drum roll Please!

I'm still working on the shapes a little, but in the overall I think they are pretty funny.

It's not just heartfelt...it's a felt heart.

Give him the gift he has been giving you all these years.

On a slightly less disturbing note. I have also been teaching myself to spin. It's a lot harder than it looks, but it totally appeals to my nerdy-crafty self. I cant wait for the day when I have dyed, spun, designed and knitted something all by my little lonesome. Here is the twisted mess of yarn I call my first attempt at spinning. I guess it's a pretty good first attempt?

To Be Resolute

I was in Orlando for a full 4 days last week. It was a nice trip. I visited my family, I had a few drinks with my brothers, we acted like jerks and re-arranged the lawn ornaments at the neighbor's houses. I hung out with my Sis-in-law, her cute dogs, my parents, and friends. It was awesome.
Sometimes when you haven't seen someone for years it only seems like a day or two. I had that feeling this trip and it was great. One close friend always makes me take a really good deep look at myself, my life, my goals, my wants, my everything. He has this ability to bring out the best in almost everyone he knows. He is kind of Clark Kent. He is the most likely person to have an alter superhero identity, and he has a super cute kid.
Which brings me to the new year, and all the new year means It is amazing how fast a year can pass. This time last year I was trying to settle down into a life in Hartford, and this year I am looking towards my exit from Connecticut. For me new year is a time for contemplation of life, goals, and your happiness. I have been thinking about it all and I have some goals for myself in the new year, and here they are.

My goals (that I'm willing to share with all of the Internet) for 2008 are:

1. Vote and encourage (read: harass) others to as well- I always do.

2. Figure out where I want to live for the next couple of years. Connecticut isn't it, but I don't know where I really want to be.

3. Blog at least 2x a week. I started this thing, and now it is time to effing use it.

4. Figure out a way to promote my etsy site into becoming a profitable business.

5. Make my bed everyday. I'm a grown-up, now I need to act like it.


Happy New Year to you. Be safe, designate a driver.

Merry Christmas to all!

Twas the night before Christmas, and all thru the house the Stack kids were drinking and getting quite soused. With I in my hoodie and Sam in his cap we finished a bottle and really should nap. When all of a sudden what should appear but Sam, Kate and Gray re-arranging some deer.





and the lights that did glisten like white fallen snow lit Frosty and Rudolph giving the neighbors a show.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a fun night!

Why oh why?

Hello friends!

Today was the 2nd annual mink dressing. The mink dressing is when we take all the nasty old dead minks people have given the theatre when aunt Mildred dies and dress them up in little costumes for the season. This year it was Filbert (the crafty mink) dressed as Rudolph and all the other minks as reindeer with a puffer fish Santa. Before you ask- yes this is at my job. We work hard, and we play hard. Also- NO MINKS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS TABLEAU they are all at least 70 years dead and were going to end up as landfill if we didn't find a good (or bad) use for them.

In attendance of the party were my two favorite contract employees. One of them has several teenage daughters and I had directed her to my posting about fused plastic. She always has something thought provoking to say and asked me about posting directions on how to make something I am also selling. Here are my thoughts on that. I have a belief that it isn't helpful to keep a good idea trapped in your mind. The more people who aren't tossing bags into landfill- the better. I wasn't the first person to fuse together some shopping bags and re-use them. Therefore- share the idea.

This speaks to my ideas about good things and good people. I believe the more good you send out into the world, the better things will happen for you. Call it Karma, The Secret, The Gift, Paying it Forward, Religion, whatever. I call it common sense. If you are working hard at being a good person- good things can happen. That is not to say that bad things don't happen to good people, because they do-all the time-they are just a little less terrifying.

I had a wonderful weekend, full of deeply insightful conversations, great crafts and even a few etsy sales. This weekend I am headed to Chicago to see some of the most wonderful people in the world, be a vendor at an artisan market, and hopefully find a little insight into the next adventure in my life. Before the year is up go do something good. It is the reason for the season-that and minky reindeer.

-Katie

I know everyone is getting sick of me talking about nothing but the market in Chicago and my etsy site.....This posting has very little to do with either.

Yesterday I made a quick little trip to NYC to see a friend from college and visit the BUST magazine Craftacualr. I wanted to go because I would like to be a vendor at the Craftacular next year and wanted to see if it was worth the several hundred dollar table fee. My sense is- yes, it's worth it. There were so many people you couldn't freely walk, turn or chat with a vendor. It was packed.
As my friend said- you could have robbed Brooklyn blind, everyone in Williamsburg was at the Craftacular. It was a sea of thick rimmed glasses, indie t-shirts, young Dad's wearing a baby in a pouch, and short brimmed military caps. I have never really considered myself hip or a hipster, but apparently I am a little. I got a bunch of compliments on my re-purposed plastic bag, my homemade skirt and I even knew a few of the vendors from chatting on the etsy forums and chat rooms (yes there are chat rooms for the crafty). It was nice to put a face to a name and product.
The show seemed to have a fairly even split of screen printed t-shirts, jewelry, handbags, and crochet hats. It was also like many other shows in that there was a handful of really beautiful products, some moderately nice things and some stuff that wasn't well executed or displayed. Even in the craft world there is always a Walmart.
After the Craftacular, with a BUST magazine, some remnants from Repro-Depot and a couple of indie printed tshirts in hand we headed to Katz's Deli. I had half a pastrami sandwich as big as my head. We talked about the finer points of When Harry Met Sally and the pregnant Cliff Huxtable dreams greasy meat might induce. I even had my first egg-cream soda. As Martha might say: It's a good thing.

Soon it was time for me to head back to CT, and finish my craftiness for the Chicago Show. T-minus 5 days and counting!

Cupcakes for your head

Hello friends. As I'm gearing up for the Side Project Artisan Market and loading my Etsy shop with handmade goods I also work as a theatrical Milliner and costume craftsperson. Here are some images of my work from theatre. Sure, there are no fat little crafty beavers, but there are some pretty hats.

What's a diorama?

Well kids, a diorama is what girls named Katie make when they need to photograph their woodland critter pincushions and it's snowing outside. brrrrrr. This week has been incredibly productive. The Secret may work for some poeple, but for me it's some good old fashioned hauling butt. I have finished a lot of crafty projects, published the side project market blog, fancy email advertisement, postcard layout, and opened a show at work. All this and I sold more items on etsy this week than any other week so far. I even found time to have a pedicure, dinner out and a little poke the baby time with Maizie (my favorite dumpling). I didn't sleep much, my apartment looks like a cross between a recycling center and a craft store, and my refrigerator is basically something a college student would be ashamed of, but I did make some great stuff and I feel good about my products this season.


Drumroll please.

>>>>> Here are some of the Woodland Creature Pin Cushions<<<<<<<<

This is Stinky the Skunk.
























This is the Crafty Beaver.

There are more listed on etsy.com, but these are my favorite. I may have to make a beaver to keep for myself.

In other news- the sushi ornaments are selling much better than I thought, so I made some fortune cookies this week, and hopefully they will find their way into the hearts of Asian food lovers as quickly as my merry maki Christmas ornaments.

I hope to keep the momentum up for the next week so I can go to the BUST magazine Craftacular this coming weekend and see some friends in NYC.

Fused Plastic Tutorial

It's 20 days and counting till I leave for the craft fair in Chicago. I keep adding things to my list of things to do, and frankly it isn't getting smaller because of it.

Here is the finished project today:

It is a re-purposed plastic messenger bag made of Stew Lenards produce bags. The learning curve on sewing plastic bags is a little steeper than I thought, and this one didn't turn out as *perfectly* as I had hoped. The next 4 should go a little smoother. Here is how I made it in case you are feeling super crafty yourself.

Things you'll need

-Plastic bags- about 20 should do for a 10x14 inch messenger bag.

-Iron set to medium (you will need to adjust the temp depending on your iron)

-Kitchen Parchment Paper

-Your Ironing board or an ironing surface

-An open window-burning plastic is INCREDIBLY TOXIC.

-A simple pattern and notions for a messenger bag (I made mine myself, but if you are new to sewing-buy a simple one)

HERE WE GO!

1. cut apart approx. 20 plastic bags into flat sheets of plastic. Cut off the handles, the fused bottom seam and slice the bag open.

2. layer the bags between 2 sheets of cooking parchment paper so you have at least 8 layers of plastic in all places. -The parchment is important- be sure your iron does not touch the plastic directly- wax paper will leave a waxy residue and the plastic bags may stick to regular paper.

3. Start ironing! It is important to start in the middle, keep the iron moving at all times and not to let the plastic scorch. If you accidentally burn the plastic you will release VERY TOXIC FUMES that are big time bad for you, your pets and especially kids.

It takes about 20 minutes of ironing to get the sheet flat, smooth and even. If you see a lot of air bubbles, you may need to poke a pin hole in the plastic and iron over the area again.

****Note*** the ink used to print on plastic bags releases with heat. Turn bags inside out, or sandwich between clear bags to keep the ink from releasing all over the place and making a huge mess.

4. Once you have one side nice a flat, flip the whole piece (including the parchment) over and iron the other side till the entire piece is flat, smooth and feels like it is one piece of plastic.

5. Allow the piece to cool, peel off the parchment and start cutting. I flat lined (sewed each piece to it's lining individually) and serged my pieces because I want the bags to be nice and strong, you should test it out and decide how you want yours. Turning pieces inside out smoothly is difficult, so you may want to alter your pattern so you don't have to 'flip' any pieces.

6. Sew and finish your bag following the pattern instructions - remember you CAN'T iron the plastic directly- you must sandwich it in parchment paper.


Additional Notes:

- practice with different plastic bag types to find one you like. Do a practice piece to get your pieces fused smoothly and completely and your iron temp correct.

-Make sure you have enough plastic to cut your pattern pieces without having to overlap them and that you have 8 layers of plastic in the areas you are cutting. Less layers and you will have a weak spot in your bag.

-Plastic has NO grain, so you don't have to worry about grain lines on the plastic, but you should follow them on your fabric lining.

-Pencils don't mark on plastic so use a ball point pen for your markings.

-Send me a picture of your bag.

Stuff Done

After a weekend full of crafting and working I have finished a few of the items on my to-do list. Taaaa Daaaaa


Introducing Sushi Ornaments (8 of 15 done)



















Re-Purposed Sweater Clutch Bags

















and last but not least Re-Purposed Sweater Hand warmers!

















It has been a busy 48 hours. I fought the good fight with my serger, attended a full day of dress rehearsal for A Christmas Carol and even a did little grocery shopping for good measure. I also managed to have a couple of sales on my etsy site. It was a very full and pretty satisfying two days. Hopefully I will be able to keep the momentum going.

Holidays

I have been kicking into crafty overdrive lately. Between getting ready for dress rehearsals of A Christmas Carol (at work) and prepping for the holiday artisan market in Chicago as well as getting stuff loaded onto my etsy site I am exhausted. I always allow myself to get in a little over my head between September and December, but I think this year may be the most I have ever produced.

Of the crafty items I wanted to get done for the holiday market I have these done

- 15 repurposed plastic wallets ( I already sold a couple)

- at least 12 skeins of variegated yarn and a few self striping

- 10 silk scarves and shawls

- 8 crafty roll-ups

- 5 sets of fancy stitch markers

- Ear warmer knitting patterns

Things to still be done

- 3 repurposed plastic messenger bags

- Sushi Christmas Tree Ornaments ** they just need their hangers**

- 5 repurposed wool wallets

- 3 repurposed wool clutch bags

- 2 knitting patterns for hats

- knitting pattern for self striping yarn hand warmers

- More Fancy stitch markers

- A couple more crafty roll-ups

- Button collage bracelets

-Clutch Bag knitting pattern

-5 hemp scrubby shower pads

-knitting pattern for 2 skein shrug

I think I will be able to get everything done before I leave on the 14th... Oh, and I still haven't started on Christmas gifts......Yet. The good news- I am getting closer everyday to total world crafty domination.

I took the handmade pledge. The handmade pledge is a promise to make or buy handmade and fairly traded items for holiday gifts and ask that others do the same for you. Seems simple enough. So go take the handmade pledge, feel good about yourself and support indie artists and designers in your in your community (including your global community). The link is on the left of my page header. Go do it, I'll wait for you.......

Speaking of. Here is a quick preview of one item I am working on for the craft fair in Chicago and etsy.com. This season I am trying to take my focus away from silk scarves ( although I'll still have some) and move it more towards re-purposed and recycled found objects. The wallets are made from plastic grocery bags fused together and made into something other than landfill. As Martha might say- It's a good thing.

HOLY MOLEY

I've been stupid busy the last couple of weeks. I promise some great pics of stuff I am working on for the holidays will be posted on Saturday. Until Then- Enjoy this commercial break featuring silk scarves I painted using the serti painting technique. I think they look a little like stained glass.

Dead or Dying

It's fall in New England.

It is a beautiful time of year. The trees are full with their last blast of color before they go peacefully into their winter sleep. It is one of the most beautiful times of year.

When I was in high school I was lucky enough to be a part of a group of students who made a trip from Orlando to Salem, Concord and a few other points of Transcendentalist interest. The trip changed my life. I realized there was so much more to this country than Orlando had to offer, and by changing my location I could change my view. I made the trip at the beginning of my senior year and I remember it as one of the pivotal points in my life.

Flash forward 10 years, and on a whim I decided to get in touch with the teachers who made the trip possible. They were making their 10th trip this year with a whole new round of seniors, and a former classmate and I made the drive. It was a fantastic weekend. A weekend full of old friends and mentors, fall foliage, wonderful old graves, Walden Pond, and a little clarity about my life.

As Henry David Said:

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what they had to teach; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Walden.

As I was walking around Walden Pond I found myself asking 'what would Henry think about Walden now?' I don't know, but I think he would be happy he was able to provide a little clarity to a chick who has visited his pond a couple of times.

The Grave of a 99 year old woman. Appropriately, it was one of the most well preserved markers in the whole cemetery.

This is one of my favorite grave markers. No name, no story. Simply put- At Rest. Speaking of- the little bird did die. Bummer.

The Audobon Society

I work at a theatre. In this particular theatre there are many windows. Generally I like windows. Sometimes I hate them. This week I hate them.

Our new costume apprentice bounded out of my crafty shop the other day with a rather surprised look on her face. She wanted to know if I have a pet bird. I should at this moment known it wouldn't end well. No. No pet bird. Long story short, the day ended with a teeny tiny little bird flying into a window looking for freedom and ending up in a shoe box being driven to a wild bird rescue.

It seems a bit ironic. I am a professional milliner. I dig through boxes looking for colorful dead vinage birds to put on hats. I was totally distraught. I drove a half-dead bird halfway across Connecticut to get it to a wild bird rescue. I'm now waiting to get a letter from the nice bird lady to tell me if he made it or not. Based on the look on her face I'm guessing the little bird didn't make it.

Is it totally wrong to ask for the carcass to put on a hat?

Busy Crafty Katie

Like I said, I've been dyeing a lot of yarn lately.
















Just add dye, steam set,
















And knit, knit, knit!









It's not done yet. It still needs it's ribbing on the sleeves.









I was dyeing yarn for my etsy site, and I fell in love with this colorway. I was just so thrilled with how the colors all worked together to create an almost heathered knit. I'd also been wanting a shrug to keep off the fall chill, so I decided it was time to put my crafty where my mouth is and knit up a shrug with some of my own yarn.
I had considered the glampyre knits one skein wonder, and although I like it, I wanted something with a little more coverage. Also, I dye my yarns in a two skein dye lot (right now), so I created my two skein wonder. It takes about 400 yards of worsted weight yarn. I knit it in about 12 hours of knitting, so it is an awesome project for a long weekend, or a fall vacation.

I'll be writing up and publishing a pattern in the coming weeks. Squeeee.

Calling all knitters

Like I mentioned in an earlier blog. Tis the season for planning for winter. I'm working hard on writing some knitting patterns, and now it's time to find a test knitter. I'm looking for someone who is an experienced knitter, has a reasonable stash, and wants to get some free knitting patterns.
Here is the scoop- I have 3 patterns I am working on- a pair of cable knit handwarmers, an earwarmer/headband and a clutch purse. I understand what I mean when I say k1, m1, p6 but I want to make sure they make sense to someone other than the little knitting voices in my head.
I will provide you with the pattern, you use your yarn, send me corrections and a photo of the finished project, and I send you a corrected pattern! Simple, fun, and a great way for me to have people test my patterns and you to get a free knitting pattern.

If you are interested -email me at krstack@hotmail.com and we'll chat.

12 Hours, 26 Minutes between Brooklyn and Home

On a midnight train from Brooklyn

I did it. I successfully worked 41 hours by 3pm on Friday afternoon. I even managed to leave work on time and without leaving my cellphone, keys, or Tupperware. However, when I found myself sitting on a broken train 2.5 hours into my journey and only halfway between crafting bliss in Brooklyn and the New Haven train station it didn't seem to matter. Luckily the train guys fixed the problem, pissed off some snobby Nutmeggers by skipping Greenwich station and managed to get me to the church on time...or at least to Grand Central at 6:43 (only 23 minutes late).

At Grand Central I met my recently-moved-to-NYC-friend, and we were off to Brooklyn. We arrived in Brooklyn at 7:40 (twenty minutes late), sans dinner and discovered Brooklyn is a bit like the rest of New England in that just because there should be a ton of restaurants doesn't actually mean there are, and you should have packed the power bar.

At the bARTer there were tons of great crafts. Heavy duty shopping bags made of many 'disposable' shopping bags pressed together into sheets of plastic and stitched into a re-usable bag. Beautiful photos taken by creative souls, a couple of crazy stuffed animals, a sculpey monkey and some generally crafty crafts with great stories behind them. I brought a pair of hand-knit-hand-warmers (say that ten times fast) I had knitted last season with the intention of publishing a pattern. I'll have to work on the actual writing down of the pattern before I can publish it, but that's another post for another day.

I have never seen so many wonderfully crafty folks in one place at one time. It was how I imagine a Star wars convention, only with people talking about aperture speeds and knitting patterns instead of the imperial army and wookies. Except-the women out numbered the men, and everyone was generally attractive, and no one was wearing anything they had hot glued together, so really it was nothing like a Star wars Convention-but you get the picture.

It was a bit hot, and we hadn't really eaten dinner, and it was rather crowded. When my partner in crafting crime had to step into the hallway and breathe into a baggie (I *luckily* had in my handbag). I knew it was getting close to time to leave. The bARTer ended , my friend scored my handwarmers and we headed up-town to try to find something to eat and get me on a train to make it back to Manchester by a semi-reasonable time.... I missed the 11:24 train.
Time for plan B. Food and the 12:22.

A bit of walking and a $14 sandwich later I was on the 12:22 headed for home. I had time to reflect on the evening among the snoring train passengers, and I realized it had been months since I had any adventure in my life. Although Brooklyn is not terribly adventuresome it is great to remember a mini adventure in NYC is only a train ride away.

This is what tired feet look like

I arrived in my Manchester parking spot at 3:20 am 12 hours and 2o minutes after my adventure had begun, and suddenly realised I couldn't find my house keys. It's funny just how willing you are to steal a chair off your neighbors porch and climb through your window at 3:24am when faced with sleeping in your car. As I was about to commit a couple of misdemeanor crimes I suddenly remembered where my keys where, put the chair down, and at 3:26am went to bed.

I LOVE A CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

A Bracelet knit on the teeniest knitting

needles I've ever seen.....Art???

I've made goals for myself. I've achieved many of these goals. I achieved the college degree (with honors-thank you very much). The getting out of a job that was making me crazy. The not staying in any relationship that sucked (that one has been hard). The don't be in more debt for college and credit cards than you make in a year (also very difficult).

I've achieved many of my goals, some still elude me. Of the the goals I have set for myself this year- these are some of the ones that I've not really taken care of.

A Flower Hat...Art???

1. Getting some friends on the east coast I don't work with.

2. Finding good reasons to go to NYC (not work related)

3. Going to (or hosting) a rockin' swap meet

4. Becoming more involved in the indie craft world

Looks like I have finally found a way to satisfy these goals I have been neglecting (not that I've listed all my goals here on the Internet for your prying eyes)! I've been invited to bARTer via my membership on Etsy. I've never heard of bARTer before, but is sounds like a rockin good time. The idea is- you make some art, you bring it to the meet, you get points, at the end of the night there is an auction for the art payed for with the points. Think of it as eBay-cum-swap meet and no one looses money or finds out that the Velvet Elvis was paint by numbers. Oh, and the bARTer meet is in the Etsy labs in Brooklyn which puts me in New York, not on work, visiting my friend who just moved there and hanging with a rockin collection of indie crafters. I think this may be my geeky-crafty heaven.

Now the question.....what the heck do I bring? It goes back to- What is art? Do I make a hat? Do I knit some hand warmers with the soft-as-a-baby-kitten yarn I just bought this weekend?

This is the most sublime challenge I have faced since I was in my freshman Principles Of Design class in college assigned to make "an idea container" for my midterm .--- What-the-F is an idea container??? I love this stuff! Now I just have to decide what is art and make some. At least I have something to think about for the next couple of days.....

A Pig Cake.....Not Art......

What is a good gift?

Crafty Roll-Up Anyone???





It's that time of year again...the time of year when crafty folks start thinking about what they should make for friends and family for Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Mid-Winter gifts. I am also in the middle of a friend nesting/baby boom, and it makes for a whole world of gifts that need to be made with love and speed.



This poses the question-What is a good gift? Is a good gift something someone needs? Something someone wants? Something you made with love and humor? Is it inappropriate to knit and felt a uterus for your mom to use as a pin-cushion? In a word-maybe. I dunno, but I do think it's funny and useful.



On top of the making for others....I have an incredible itch to start making winter wear for my http://www.catherinette.etsy.com/ site. All these things together lead me down the dangerous path of --What makes a good gift?

The Oh Canada Bag I made for Maloo

I think for me the best gifts fit into these categories

1. They are unexpected.
2. Are not something you really need.
3. Are made with love or humor or both.

This is where I get into trouble...what is funny, and what is just lame? Who knows...

Currently planned projects are:

--Sublime stitching embroidered towels for: my friends wedding, my brother and sister-in-law and several friends in Chicago.

--A felted womb pin cushion for my Mom

--A sweater for myself

--A TON OF STUFF for my etsy site

Project currently in the works:

--A scarf for a friend who has recently moved to New England--and is in for a nasty surprise this winter.

Can a sweater be art?

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I'm listening to This American Life. The subject is Art and Artists (capital letter 'A' Art and Artists). This poses the question- What is art? This is a question that has popped up in my life several times in the last few weeks. Am I an artist, or a crafter? I would suggest I am a craftsperson, maybe even in the journeyman portion of my career. I am not a master-crafter, and not an apprentice anymore (thank god).

Recently a friend with whom I had lost touch -for almost a decade- and I reunited. She came to stay with me for a few days on her way to a new life in NYC. She has proclaimed me an artist, living an artistic lifestyle. So now I find I am questioning what is art and what is craft?

When is knitting and dyeing yarn an art? Can sweater be art? At what point is the practical artistic? Maybe the answer is -if Gap can't or won't reproduce it next season-it's art. Maybe not.

That was a little too deep. Let's offset it with some yarn I've been dyeing. It's a dyeing art.