Sproost Design Flavor

So, I love taking quizzes (and filling out surveys and questionnaires, but one thing at a time, shall we?) Jessica Jones at How About Orange Blog always has great links to quizzes - and I really liked both my results and the process in which they got them for this one from Sproost

Wow, I suck

So I wanted to be better at posting in 2009 - I am not off to a very good start. I have been very busy and productive but not in regards to blogging.

I'm sure i've lost whatever readers i had - and for that I'm sorry - but I will try to be better going forward.

Some things that have been happening:
- I'm selling some goods at a local Yoga studio
- I'm selling other goods at a local art gallery with retail space
- I've had several custom orders recently
... And I just applied to the next installment of Craft Saturday

A Bright New Year

So 2009 is off to a kickin' start for Kate I Design.

I made some phenomenal contacts through my first Craft Saturday, and they are keeping very busy during this cold month. I am working on new products to help me move farther into the wholesale realm, which I'm thrilled about.

Some of the ideas I'm throwing around right now are here... what do you think?
Matching combos/sets of things
- Apron with matching oven mitt
- Jewelry roll with coordinating toiletry bag
- Eye mask with matching medium rice therapy bag
- Wallet with coordinating purse

New purse designs
- rounder hobo design
- bigger/more versatile clutch

New individual items
- knitting/crochet hook organizers

Any new ideas you guys have? We're going to Europe this fall for our honeymoon and anything i can make for that to make our lives easier i will... I was thinking about doing passport covers, various types of organizers. I was in Europe in 2005 and loved every second of it, but this trip is for our honeymoon and I doubt we will be shacking up in multi-person hostel rooms so any advice you can give me about what to bring/how to prepare will be much appreciated!

Craft Saturday!

Sorry it's taken me so long to get these up... pictures of my booth from craft saturday - I had a blast and sold a lot of my left over inventory after the show :)!

Recovering... for about a minute.

The craft fair went really well and i do have pictures of my booth... just not with me right now. I will post some later this week.

I got distracted by all the great contacts and custom orders I got from the whole thing and forgot to bring my camera with me. Overall it was a great experience and am planning on applying to be in the next one too. Yay!

Hope everyone is doing a good job at staying warm... seems like it's going to be a nasty winter.

Preview for Craft Saturday!

so I have been busily working my bum off trying to get things made for this Saturday (if you haven't stopped by in a while, I am going to have a booth at my first ever craft fair on the 6th - check it out here)

So I the following stuff made to take with me - let me know what you think!

4 New Bag Designs!! The first 3 don't have names yet though... :)
Bag 1:


Bag 2:
Bag 3:
The Mary Carry:

Jewelry Rolls
Toiletry BagsBaby Blankets
Wristlets

Craft Saturday Graphic

I got the promos for the craft saturday I'm in - I think they are perfect! Now I just need to work my way around the city hanging the post cards. I hope we have a good turnout :)

Separation of Bitch and Stitch

Thank you to all of you that have read (and put up with) my political rantings over the last couple of months on this blog. The purpose of this blog was originally meant to showcase my design work, and not act as a medium for me to express my agitation at life. However, I have discovered that I really like writing about things like that. Hence the creation of my new blog Observation and Agitation. If you like my rantings better than my creative crafty stuff please add that blog to your list of reads, if you prefer my design updates better you no longer have to worry about me mixing other things into it.

I hope you enjoy both of them.

Handmade Holidays!

If you are even somewhat involved in sewing I'm sure you've been to Sew Mama Sew's store and blog. Last year they posted a series called "Handmade Holidays", where each day in Novemeber had ideas for gifts to make. I got SO many good ideas from it that I didn't need to actually buy anything.

They brought it back for a 2nd year with new tutorials! Already they are off to a great start. They added some new sections to each post (Make It, Buy It, Mix It (recipes))

If you have a minute I would recommend browsing through some of the days - today is my favorite so far -Gifts for Pet Lovers - it has my name written all over it!

Victory!!

Do Your Part

Vote for the candidate you believe in, vote for the issues that you are concerned with, and vote because you can.

Picture from http://fufusnax.wordpress.com/feed/

Etsy Favorite

I love Etsy. It's not only a great tool to post my own creations but a wonderful place to see other people's work. I have a few favorite sellers on Etsy, so I'm going to try to post some of their work on Fridays. Today is K. Garner Designs. I bought an initial pendant necklace from her and I love it, LOVE it. I wear it all the time and get amazing compliments on it. If you have someone that is hard to buy for this holiday season, please consider her as a source. She even offers gift certificates!

1 Week from Today!

I'm so excited for the election to be over! I wish they could start counting the absentee ballots earlier too... but that's just me being impatient.

Here are a couple of interesting articles to read if your are interested.
Charles Barkley talks about the Bradly Effect
my favorite part of this article is when he's talking about running for office (which I think he would do really well as the governor of Alabama)

Brown: So are you going to run for governor?

Barkley: I plan on it in 2014.

Brown: You are serious.

Barkley: I am, I can't screw up Alabama.

Brown: There is no place to go but up in your view?

Barkley: We are number 48 in everything and Arkansas and Mississippi aren't going anywhere.

McCain vs. Pennsylvania

Craft Saturday!

I was chosen to participate in a hip craft fair in Des Moines, Iowa! YAY! It's put on by a local couple 4 times a year. The one in Sept. had a good turn out, and I hope the same goes for the holiday one. Here is the website, but the details are below too.

I better get busy!

December 6, 2008
Noon - 7 p.m.
4th St. Theater, 216 4th St.
Next to Java Joes
Downtown Des Moines

Funny for a Friday

Oh this does make me laugh. What would we do without Photoshop?
The McCain family portrait.

McPain in my Ass.

I'm approximately 3/5 Italian and most of my personality can be linked to that strand of heritage in my blood; I'm somewhat hot headed and have a nasty temper (not to mention my love for pasta, wine and over dramatic reactions to most things that affect me). Due to my lack of self control for some of those characteristics (and complete lack of qualifications - Palin I'm looking at you!) I know I will never run for political office. McCain apparently hasn't gotten the memo that getting mad and snipping at people who are criticizing him isn't the best thing to do when running for public office - especially the Presidency.

I was completely turned off by how McCain handled the tough questions during the final debate last night. There's no reason to visibly lose your cool while on TV answering questions about policies you want to implement. I admire Obama for his ability to remain calm and collected while getting asked tough questions. I also admire him for answering the questions that were asked of him. (Honestly, I was expecting McCain to quote Palin "I may not answer your questions...")

It was so frustrating to watch because instead of allowing them to speak about their policies, Obama was forced to fact correct most of McCain's allegations he was jabbing at Obama. There's no reason for that pettiness... unless you realize how wrong you are and have nothing else to go on but trying to make the other guy look bad.

I'm so excited for Nov. 4th. More excited than I can ever remember being for a presidential election (even though this is only my 2nd since being able to vote)...

I will get back to the point.

So I do love sewing, and making things for clients, and designing the perfect handbag, but right now i can't get over the politic essence in the air, so forgive me through another post on politics.


I saw the funniest SNL clip of all time yesterday. I'm not an avid SNL watcher, but I do appreciate a good skit now and then, and this one beats "more cowbell". I know these are old news to some of you, but please refer to them as a "I need to laugh today" remedy. This one mocking the VP debate had me in stitches (see? i can throw in some sewing through politics ;).
"Can I call you Joe? Good, because I practiced some real zingers where I call you Joe" - Tina Fey
Brilliant.

And a silver lining through these political media rants is that Katie Couric has found her nich on the CBS Evening News. Some have said that her contract wasn't going to be resigned without some serious thought, but i really think she's been doing a great job covering the debates and all the other stuff they have been presenting. I digress, the other clip from SNL features a follow up with Gov. Palin (played by the fabulous Tina Fey) interviewed by Katie Couric (played by the ever talented Amy Poehler). This one was very funny, yet showcased how the real interviews have gone, but with an SNL Twist, which most people can appreciate.

As a follow up to the VP debate, an opinion was printed in the New York Times yesterday that I thought had a great insight to one of the comments that Palin said while talking about taxes (as opposed to energy) titled "Palin's Kind of Patriotism" by op-ed columnist Thomas L. Friedman. The comment by Gov. Palin referenced in the article was this:"“You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives, that’s not patriotic.”

Here are some of my favorite sections:

"I only wish she had been asked: 'Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?' That is not putting America first. That is selling America first."

"And please also don’t tell me she is an 'energy expert.' She is an energy expert exactly the same way the king of Saudi Arabia is an energy expert — by accident of residence. Palin happens to be governor of the Saudi Arabia of America — Alaska — and the only energy expertise she has is the same as the king of Saudi Arabia’s. It’s about how the windfall profits from the oil in their respective kingdoms should be divided between the oil companies and the people."

While I know the more public appearances McCain/Palin make, the better off the Obama supports are, but it's still infuriating that they would let someone as contrite and niave as Palin run for VP with an otherwise decent Presidental candidate.

photo from NBC.com

Pointless.

When Gov. Palin trips over herself and can't answer a question about what publications she reads to stay up to date with local and foreign affairs - but then blames "video editing" as the culprit is ridiculous. Gov. Palin cannot handle the truth of her own lack of speaking skills if she needs to blame video producers for making her look like an idiot.

While she didn't do as badly last night as i had hoped she would, i was nowhere near as impressed with her performance as I was with Sen. Biden's. She even came out and said "I may not answer your questions, but I want to talk about my track record" - yeah, if she's going to just talk about whatever in the hell she wants to when she wants to, then what's the point of even having a moderator? It should have been the Palin Debates with Herself Debate. Pfft. I doubt the 40 something % that thought Sen. Biden won the debate wouldn't side with her in that debate either. I can imagine it would go something like this:

Palin 1:"I'm a hockey mom, and the hockey mom's behind the penalty box think the economy is in bad shape"
Palin 2:"Yeah, but as a soccer mom, on the sidelines i think the economy is in horrible shape"
P1: "let's talk about what i did for energy."
P2: "I like your lipstick"
P1: "did you know that Alaska has abundant natural resources?"
P2: "I read every magazine that gets put on my desk"
P1: "Thanks, but no thanks"

and then i would run screaming from the room to commit myself.

Opinionated.

So, I've always been opinionated. I am not closed minded (or i try not to be) and i love to debate with intelligent people. Lately i've been encountering people that say things that sound to me like they want to fight, because they are saying such stupid things, they can't be serious. But when i attempt to find the basis of their opinion, i come up empty with them blowing me off with yet another stupid argument. Here's an example:

stupid person(SP): "I think I'm going to vote for Sarah Pahlin"
me: "why's that?"
SP: "because she's pretty"
me: "why would that make her a good VP? I have a lot of pretty friends, that aren't trying to be VP, and I wouldn't vote for them if they were - because they don't have the experience or qualifications to be in that position. Being a VP means more than just being attractive... and being attractive isn't usually one of them in the first place. Dick Cheney is not attractive, Al Gore is not attractive."
SP: "well, she's pretty, so i'm going to vote for her"
me: "but why? do you agree with her stance on important issues?"
SP: "i don't know her issues, but she's pretty"
me: "that doesn't make any sense. people like you shouldn't be allowed to vote"

(i said i wasn't close minded, i never said i wasn't snotty)

Creative?

At my new job, i work with a lot of very crafty women. A couple of them quilt, one works with fleece and another one also makes cards/stationary. The group of us have been trying to get together for an official Stitch and Bitch session. Crafty Planet has these at their shop in Minneapolis, and i loved the concept. I'm really hoping this session brings out a new wave of creativity for me. I have a TON of projects that i would love to get started on, but with work being so tiring lately, i've had trouble finding the motivation for it. I have a Sublime Stitching embroidery pattern calling my name in particular that i can't wait to get started on. We were supposed to meet tomorrow but due to one of the girls moving, we're postponing until maybe the first week in October. [sigh] I can't believe it's already going to be October soon... Seems like time flies when you're not having fun too...

Hope all is well with you!