Tag Archive | handmade

A Handmade Market and Cool Makers

One of the best things about living near Kansas City is the wide variety of businesses you can find. If you go downtown to the West Bottoms Historical District, you’ll find warehouses converted into great stores selling antiques, vintage clothes and accessories, upcycled and recycled items, and handmade items. They do big events the first weekend of every month, and it’s always packed. It’s hard to find a parking spot, and you have to maneuver through huge crowds, but all the food trucks come out, and there’s a vibrant energy in the whole area.

My favorite shop is Ugly Glass and Company, located on the fourth floor of Le Fou Flea. It’s a handmade market comprised of lots of different vendors, with the store manned by the Ugly Glass people. I just love all the different things you can find: soaps, candles, bags, t-shirts, screenprinted kitchen towels, jewelry, baby blankets, diaper pads, Kansas City-related photos and prints and quotes, scarves, and so much more. The vendors refresh their inventory regularly, and there are always new vendors coming in, so it’s different every time I go.

Saturday night they hosted a Meet the Makers event with refreshments and door prizes, so I dragged Alex out there with me. My initial reason for going was to support Cocoon, an upcycling business run by a friend of mine. She makes birdhouses from cowboy boots, wind chimes from teapots, birdfeeders from tea cups and saucers, necklace holders and bowls out of records, and earrings made from aluminum cans. Everyone who came got to design a pair of earrings, so I got Coke can ladybugs! Aren’t they cute? Very simple, and lightweight too. She’s got a ton of colors, and you can do ladybugs, butterflies, or owls. Fun stuff.

Other than that, I was there to check out the space and get ideas for display fixtures. I’m pondering renting a space there, but just don’t know what to use. Bookcase? Metal shelving? Pegboard? I’m still pondering, and I’m not convinced it’s the right time for me to rent a space. With knit/crochet items, maybe I’d do better in the cooler months? But traffic will be higher in warmer months. I just don’t know. Any advice?

While wandering, I found a booth of handmade dog collars made by SLik Hound Pet Collars. Well, I have dogs. Two of them, in fact, and I love spoiling them. But they have collars, didn’t need new ones, I could walk on by…Hey! They had Wonder Woman! I do love me some Wonder Woman. This fabric also had Supergirl and Batgirl and it’s just fabulous. They were running a special that night of buy one, get one 30% off, so we picked out a KC Royals collar for the boy pup. LOVE them!They make them in tons of colors, patterns, and pop culture themes, and each one has a coordinating fabric sewn inside. These collars are available in a variety of sizes, they’re well-made, strong and sturdy, and they’re machine washable. Check out their website here.

We spent a while chatting with the makers, Nick and Amy. (I know what you’re thinking: Gone Girl. But I assure you, this Amy was SO much nicer than the Amy from that book!) I mentioned that I’m a crafter too, scoping out the place, and they were both so helpful and encouraging. It was a great reminder of why I love the handmade movement: people are so passionate about their craft, and they want others to succeed too. It’s not all about ME. It’s not all about the money. Sure, it’s a business and they’re trying to make a living. But they’re not trying to get rich. They’re trying lead a rich life doing something they love, and that’s definitely something I aspire to. It’s also something I want to support, so my pups will be wearing their collars whenever they go out.

When I grow up, I want to be…

Jul5

I’m so jealous of my husband. Alex actually knows what he wants to be when he grows up. He’s worked for a local software company for over 15 years, but in his heart, he wants to focus on his woodworking and build custom furniture. He’s thinking ahead, trying to plan it out so that it will actually be feasible in the future. But me? It depends on the day, and to be honest, I don’t know what my future will hold, or even what I want it to hold.

I quit my full-time job about two years ago to be a stay-at-home mom. I’d been in retail management for six years and I was beyond burnt out. Add in some family crises, and the job became even less important. We revised our budget, cut back a lot of expenses, and let loose of a lot of stress. It was wonderful–it’s been wonderful–in so many ways. I am beyond grateful that my husband has been willing to let me take this time to focus on family. I’m grateful that my kids have accepted the sacrifices I ask them to make so we can live within our means.

For the first few months, I worked on a book. I’d started a memoir about my retail adventures while I was still working, and I was inspired to finish it while the memories were still fresh. Once (I thought) it was done, my time opened up in front of me. Most people would see it as a huge blessing, and part of me did. But part of me saw it as huge pressure too. Alex and I had talked about my writing, and how this was the best opportunity for me to focus on it. And it was. It is. So why didn’t I revise my book, edit and polish it, and start querying agents?

Fear. Plain and simple.

Rejection is part of writing, every writer knows that. I try to brace myself for it, but it always knocks me down a little. And at that time, I think I knew I wasn’t emotionally strong enough to push through that process.

Now it’s two years later, and I’ve worked on the book a lot more. I’m venturing into the world of writers and agents in social media, and maybe it’s time to take that leap. I could finish this book, maybe find an agent and get it published, or self-publish. I’ve been writing for years, so maybe I could pull out the two completed manuscripts I’ve got in my closet and see if they’re worth revising. I could be a writer when I grow up.

But. Wait. In those two years, I’ve also started doing some freelance proofreading, and I love it. I was a copy editor in both high school and college, and English has always been my strong suit. I read widely and voraciously, and correcting spelling, grammar and punctuation is second nature to me. I love taking another writer’s work and polishing it so it shines. I’ve worked on four books so far and would love to do more. There are a lot of freelance websites out there, and if I put forth the effort to bid on jobs, I could probably make a bit of money from it. And when the kids are a bit older and I don’t need to be home so much, I could find a permanent proofreading position.

Hold on, though. I have a passion for yarn, for crochet and knitting. I have visions of a sunny, friendly yarn store where I could spend my days helping people with their own crafting. Alex and I have talked about a joint venture, a storefront where we have both yarn and furniture displayed for sale. We even have a potential name and we’ve scouted out buildings that would work well.

Picture an end table with a lacy runner decorating it, or a coffee table holding bowls of yarn and vases of handmade wood knitting needles. Picture a mannequin wearing a scarf decorated with a wood scarf pin. It’s a relaxing vision, a happy vision. It would allow Alex and I to spend time together, sharing our love for making beautiful pieces. It would keep me from having to answer to a boss, like I would with a “real” job. The kids could work there too, after school and summers. Maybe the dog would be mellow enough to come to work with me sometimes.

I think of doing this and smile. It would be a hard choice, though, with unreliable income, less time off, not much freedom to be spontaneous. I’d have to learn how to run a business, which isn’t why I would do it. I’d do it to be with yarn and other yarn-lovers, to create a space that’s lacking in my neighborhood.

So what do I do? How do I decide what to focus on? I know I can have all these things in my life to some extent, but I feel like I’m supposed to have a goal. What should I be working toward? How do I figure out which one is my true passion?

Felting for Father’s Day

Jun24

Before Mother’s Day, I told my husband I didn’t want him or the kids to go out and buy me presents. Instead I wanted gifts of their time: something handmade and thoughtful. He went above and beyond, gifting me with gorgeous knitting needles and a yarn swift. In return, he mentioned that for Father’s Day, he’d like a new pencil case to replace the crocheted one eaten by the dog. Since I’ve been on a felting kick lately, I decided he needed a felted case.

The design itself would be simple, but I wasn’t brave enough to try to wing it without a pattern, mostly because I don’t have a good sense of how much things shrink when felted. There weren’t a lot of free options on Ravelry but I did find one I liked the look of: the Felted Acorn Pencil Case. Shortly after that, I was at Joann and found some variegated gray Patons wool that looked nicely masculine. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy enough, and sitting there waiting to cast on, I was too lazy to drive out to Joann. Instead I drove the two minutes to my LYS and bought a solid black Galway to mix with the Patons.

The knitting went quickly, as did my realization that this case would be much bigger than I expected. I finished it, though, and felted it. The Patons didn’t seem to want to felt, and I did have to do some handfelting after two rounds in the washer. But it finally felted enough and I added a nice button and called it done. It was about 5″x8″.

So I had a case that was too big, and plenty of yarn left over. I went back to Ravelry and did more pattern hunting until I found this Felted Pen Case. I decided to just do one strand of the Patons variegated, cast on 30 and knit until I thought it looked long enough, which was tricky since I didn’t know how much it would shrink. And, well, it didn’t shrink as much as I anticipated. It’s a good width but a bit longer than I wanted. It will work well for newer (i.e. longer) pencils but it’s too long for his pens. Plus the Patons really didn’t want to felt this time; I had to fight with it in the kitchen sink for quite a while. I do like the pattern, and I’m pleased with how it came out.

Here’s a better shot of the button. Buttons are one of my favorite things to add to my knits.

Overall, I think he was pleased with his gifts. I enjoyed making them, but I won’t choose Patons for felting in the future. I think I’ll use the rest of the black Galway to knit up another pen case, in a pen-appropriate length this time.

Where’d my mojo go?

Apr17

I seem to have lost some of my knitting motivation. I’ve been so caught up in training the new dog that my focus has shifted. Maybe the fact that I can’t leave current projects out where I can see them prevents them from staying on my mind. Or maybe it’s the fact that I have two bigger projects going, and I really like immediate gratification. The only project I’ve finished recently is this scarf:

I have several single skeins of mercerized cotton in my stash and couldn’t figure out what to do with them. But with warmer weather supposedly coming, I’ve been wanting to make all kinds of lighter knitwear, and a Spring scarf seemed perfect for this color. It’s a bit shorter than I anticipated but I love the openness of the pattern.

I have re-started the shawl that Max ate, and it’s almost back where it was before. I did switch to the bigger needles and like it a lot better. So I guess he kind of did me a favor. Except that he killed my momentum and now I’m slower to get back into it.

The other project on my needles is a cardigan, my first knitted garment. I chose the Lilas Cardigan on Ravelry partly because it looked simple enough for a newbie and partly because I love the big, floppy collar. I’ve had six skeins of Cotton Supreme Splash in my stash for ages, waiting for the right pattern, and I think this is it. I’ve already used up one skein just making the collar.

But here’s the problem: this is boring. It’s a LOT of stockinette. I make it through one row and reward myself with an email or Twitter check. I know I’ll love it when it’s done, I just have to get there. And I think if I can push through to the point where it actually starts looking like a cardigan, I’ll get excited enough to finish.

So today, I have some knitting time. Hmm, what to work on? I think I’ll make another one of those lacy scarves in this CEY Imagine yarn…