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 :)

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!

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

Update

So for the last x amount of weeks i feel like i have been running around crazy, doing a little of this, a little of that.

My husband and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary, he sent these beautiful flowers (6 red roses and white orchids) to me at work:(pictures of Gino on the cube wall, and the creepying looking girl in the bottom corner is considered art work by the people who made my page a day calendar)

I have made a ton of baby blankets for showers that i've been attending and for people who attended ones i didn't. I made more jewelry roles for a bride:I'll be back with more pictures soon!

Pot meet Kettle... who is also black

So after I ask for people to read my blog I apparently vanish off the face of the blogosphere. My apologies. I have been traveling for work like a fiend (unfun) and getting a ton of orders (fun!) that i've been working like a bee to complete.

i made 2 libby bags for Etsy clients. here is one:
i was contacted by a bride who wanted jewelry rolls for her bridesmaids:And I sold the laptop cozy that was on my site too. I was also (finally) able to post some new (more of the jewelry rolls from the above order) stuff.

Besides the stuff i have sold on Etsy, i have made a total of 5 purses and 2 baby blankets
I have a lot of other stuff to do too. I can't wait to get started on it! I'll keep you posted :)

Tree Hugger to Bag Lover

My friend Christine is getting married. Christine breaks everything. Christine loves trees. Present from me? A tree patterned bag that is unbreakable! it's hard to break fabric unless you shred it or cut it or burn it... so as long as she doesn't go off the deep end from planning a wedding, this bag should last her a long time.

She loves monkeys, so the pockets are bananas - since that's all i had :)

Stella's Overnight Bag

Stella is the daughter of a friend of mine, and she needed a weekender bag that her mom could use and still look fashionable, enter me. I whipped this bad (and BIG) boy up over the last couple of weeks, what do you think?

finished dimensions are approximately 24" wide, 5" deep, and 20" tall - it's big
close up of the front pocket
i should mention that this is my very first sipper on top closure, i'm shocked i was able to do it!
the inside, there are 6 deep pockets on the inside for Stella's bottles and diapers
the zipper is a separating one for easy loading and unloading. the strap also adjusts from 24" to 42"

Heather Bailey

As some of you have already figured out i heart Heather Bailey - everything she does just amazes me. Well, she has launched her new store - and i couldn't be more excited. I've been chomping at the bit waiting for Pop Garden and Bijoux to arrive in a fabric store, and now she's letting her fans pre order her stuff with a 10% discount. I love all of them, and want to do amazing things - I can't wait to get my fabric in! If I was a scrapbooker i would also be in love - her paper line is oozing with inspiration. This also allows me to get those trash ties i've always wanted to try too...

image from http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/

threadalicious

i went to the twin cities this weekend to visit my friend Jessica. we took an adventure on one of the hundreds of highways/interstates within the conglomerate to find a fabric gem. this was recommended to me by my friend Kali, and she is a great friend for directing me there. it's called S.R. Harris, and it is a warehouse, not much to look at from the outside, but nothing but theadalicious eye candy on the inside. zippers for 50 cents, wool for $5/yd, twill, tweed, leather, home dec as far as you could see. i was in heaven. and just like heaven you are so stunned for the first minute or two, you just stare. so we were the awkward girls blocking the doorway for 5 minutes. but that's okay, i got some great prints, solids, zippers (i might as well start collecting them for all the ones i buy) and it was still cheaper than i thought it was going to be!

and then, after Jessica saw how big my eyes could get with some fabric in front of them, she took me to her favorite place in northwest minneapolis - Crafty Planet - which has the best selection of hip prints that i've ever seen. (please keep in mind that i live in iowa. iowa is generally 3-5 years behind most industry trends.) i have never seen an entire line of amy butler lined up together until Crafty Planet - and they had 3! cherry lotus is usually sold out everywhere - i bought a lot just to ensure it was there when i needed it. she had joel dewberry, heather bailey (not Pop Garden yet), heather ross, a great alexander henry collection, and some great ones that i haven't seen before. i would love to open up something like this shop in central iowa - perhaps i will call the owner about a chain... :)
i was thoroughly impressed by the fabric resources in minnesota - and will be going back on a fairly regular basis.

i try to travel frequently, so please share what your favorite stores are in your area - i would love to add them to an itinerary!


Correction: top print is Echino and the bottom is Joel Dewberry - thanks Amanda :)

spark!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun forth of july - i know i did. i was able to have a couple of very relaxing days off of work and got to spend time with the hubby, friends and other family. this year was the best as far as weather is concerned that i have experienced in iowa for a very long time. it was very refreshing considering the crap storms and winter we just got through. thanks MN (mother nature) for cutting us a break. i didn't even get a mosquito bite.

in other news, we bought a Wii and that has been consuming most of my husbands time and i have been outside for every nice day we've had - sorry for being MIA :).

i have been asked to create an overnight bag for an infant and a smaller purse for going out. i have the designs layed out and so now i just need to do a muslin of each to see how it goes - but i'm excited to show you the results!

fork?

does anyone know a way to get more hours out of the day? props to anyone out there working more than one job or working full time with family or doing what you love on the side of working... basically i'm in awe of the amount of things people get done in their lifetimes, and i feel as though i'm not keeping up fast enough. I have more ideas than i have time and i have more ambition than i have patience.

it felt a little different when i was at a job where i had nothing to do all day to my current job where i can barely find time to leave my cube get get more caffeine. sigh. don't get me wrong, i love my new job and i love sewing, creating, etc, but when i read the stories of Heather Bailey and such I feel like i almost need to choose, like she did. but i don't know if i can yet...

P.S. I'm totally stoked for Heather Bailey's new fabric line - it's hitting stores in July!

Nappy for Jaxson

i completed the nappy bag by Amy Butler for my expecting friend Carli. Carli is having a little boy this next Monday so it was a rush to get it done in time. Here are some pictures of it (more can be found on my flickr photo stream)

when i got it done, my husband (we don't have kids) looks at me and says "so is Carli going to put the baby in there? i don't think that's very safe". i love him.

this is a whopper of a bag measuring in at 24" wide and 29" long

pictured with the rolled up changing pad - i didn't have enough time to make the cover for i

close up of the topstitching

close up of the changing pad pattern

rainy sunday

fun things to do when it's raining:

• embroider
• play a board game (i recommend settlers of catan)
• read (i'm reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert right now, 2 thumbs up)
• go to a movie (just saw Kung Fu Panda and LOVED it - great for all ages)
• or my ever favorite - sew.

happy dryness everyone!

to: wrist... from: elsie

Awhile ago (several months in fact) i made mention that I was asked to create wristlets for 7 bridesmaids. That wedding is coming up soon, and after several trials I have created the finished product. Here are 3 of them. I am very proud of myself and intend to make some to sell on etsy.

and break

i know i'm not the best at posting every day, but with my in-between jobs section of time happening tomorrow through the 27th, i should be able to devote some heavy hitting time to my blog and to elsie...

on my plate:
- nappy bag by Amy Butler
- clutches for my friend's wedding party
- purse for lindsey
- jewelry roll for mom
- sofia carry all by Amy Butler
- new skirts for me for summer
- examples of all my stuff for my etsy page!