My Very First Craft Show Is Coming Up Fast

September 3, 2011 is a day I am both anticipating and dreading. It is the day of the Summer's End Festival in Hagersville, Ontario. My mother, who is also a knitter, and I made the decision last week to sign up for our very first craft show. The table fee was very reasonable so we decided to finally do it. It is something we have talked of and dreamed about for many years but we never got around to making enough inventory to actually sign up and do one. Now that I run Stitches In Time I have some inventory on hand, even though a lot of what I sell is made to order. My mum has been making things in the hope of one day selling them so together we will *hopefully* have enough to run a successful table at the show. I have been knitting like a fiend, staying up late and working till my hands cramp attempting to have a large supply of quality, hand knit goods on hand for the show.

I have been focusing on making small things like slippers, hats and mittens, and a few toys as these are the things I think will sell the best. My mum is also making hats, scarves and some sweaters. I am really excited and I can't believe we are finally doing this. But I am scared too! What if we are there all day and no one buys anything? It would be so embarrassing and disheartening. It is a new festival, so I can't even begin to estimate how many people will even show up.

I have told my husband that he will have to bear with me, the house is a bit of a mess and the laundry isn't done as often, because I am really focused on being ready for this show. I hope that it turns out well and that it is the first of many successful shows Mum and I will do together.

Easy Banana Cream Pie Recipe

My mum baked stuff for us every week. We always had a fresh supply of homemade cookies, cakes, bread and pies. One of my favourite pies that my mum made was her Banana Cream Pie. I had a craving for it last night so I called her and got her recipe for it. It calls for only 3 ingredients so its as easy as,well.....pie!


All you need is a pie crust, either store bought or home made, 3 bananas and a box of Jello brand Vanilla pudding. Thaw or bake your pie shell and allow to cool. 
Prepare the pudding as per the box instructions and set aside to thicken
Thinly slice the banana into the pie shell and layer with the pudding. Smooth the top with the back of a wooden spoon.


Optionally, you can sprinkle the top with some sweetened shredded coconut, or cover with whipped cream. Place in fridge to chill for an hour and serve. Enjoy!!






For more handmade, homemade delights, check out my shop at http://stichesintime.etsy.com

Fingerless Mittens with Cat Paw Print

I am surprised at how fingerless mittens have caught on with people. They are quite the fashionable accessory now. When I first started seeing them, I didn't really understand the point. Mittens without fingers? Why? I have heard that people, women in particular, like them because they are easy to wear in air conditioned offices.You can be warm and work easily at the same time. People with arthritis in their hands like them as well.

These fingerless mittens are new from Stitches In Time.


On a side note, I will be attending my first craft show as a vendor on Sept 3 2011. It is the Hagersville Lions Summers End Festival in the Lions park in Hagersville, Ontario. Looking forward to it!

Stay "Green" While You Clean

One of the most popular cleaning tools on the market is the Swiffer Sweeper. These handy mops are useful in lots of ways, but their one downside to the earth aware person is that since the cloths are disposable and made of mostly plastic, they really aren't that good for the planet. Personally I have always felt guilty when throwing a used Swiffer cloth in the garbage. But now there is something different! Reusable Swiffer Sweeper Pads from Stitches In Time. They are the green alternative to disposable plastics. Each package comes with two reusable Swiffer cloths that can be used wet or dry, flipped inside out and used again and then washed with the rest of your laundry. They are made out of 100% natural cotton and can be used again and again and again, keeping lots of plastic out of the landfills. Available at Stitches In Time for $10.50.

I love Pedicures!

I had the afternoon to myself so I went uptown and got a pedicure. My feet were in rough shape from wearing flip flops all summer and having been bare foot since May. The nail salon is a nice place with massaging chairs and foot baths. I LOVE the massaging chairs! The technician trimmed, filed and massaged my feet and then I got a nice purple nail polish applied.
 Flip flops are really hard on your feet and leave them exposed so skin becomes dry and dead skin builds up. For added protection and comfort, try Pedicure Socks. Also known as Yoga  socks, they leave your heel and toes bare but cover your ankle and instep. They are great for exercise or dance and are a unique way to show off your beautiful pedicure.

For hand knit Pedicure socks and other hand knit goodies, check out my Etsy shop at Stitches In Time

Blast from the past: What is a handmade lifestyle?

I'm pulling this post from the vault, I wrote it in Sept 09 and it has some good points. I tweaked the SEO in it a bit from the original post.

 

While the meaning of living a handmade lifestyle can vary wildly from person to person there are generally a few tenets held in common. One is that effort should be applied to reduce the impact we as a modern society make on our environment. Reducing consumption of mass produced goods is a viable way of doing this. Mass produced goods consume vast amounts of resources that their handmade counterparts do not. Handmade items, especially those utilizing materials that are grown or made by hand, create less of an impact on our environment. Mentally compare the carbon footprint of a pair of store bought mass produced mittens against a pair of hand made ones. The commercial mittens are made from industrial grade yarns, produced and dyed with artificial chemicals. The mittens are knitted on machines, each pair exactly the same as the next. They are packaged and shipped out around the world, consuming fossil fuels and creating pollution. The handmade mittens are made out of locally produced wool, handspun and handpainted by independent artisans. The mittens are knitted by hand and each pair will have subtle differences and variations, as this is the nature of hand knitting. Each pair will be a unique creation. These mittens are mailed in small packages, or distributed by person. The cost of handmade mittens, while at times higher than commercial ones, goes to supporting families and small businesses rather than filling the coffers of large corporations. When you limit consumption of goods that are manufactured half a planet away, often times using labour practices that are bad for people and bad for the planet, you not only strike a tiny blow against major chain retailers and manufacturers but you take back your power and your individuality from the mass marketers that want to dictate to us what we must have.

 

 

Another common theme to the handmade lifestyle is the desire to support craftspeople and artisans, who make their living creating beautiful and utilitarian items. Not that long ago many people shunned handmade things in favour of the mass produced. There is a movement, identified as "Third Wave Feminism" that is seeking to reclaim the homely arts. Knitting, crochet, felting, spinning and weaving are some of the crafts that fell by the wayside when women began to embrace feminism. Those crafts were considered the realm of the dominated woman who hadn't yet been released from her prison of domesticity. In our age, women are flocking to classes and seminars teaching these crafts and providing modern women with an outlet for creativity and talent. Not to mention that there is now a market thirsting for unique, creative handmade goods. What was once considered passe and antiquated is now providing a living for hundreds of thousands of people, mainly women, all around the world. From the Native women reclaiming their hereditary motifs in hand knitting Cowichan sweaters on the west coast to the stay at home mum making diaper covers and reusable sanitary pads to the retired couple making and selling soaps and candles, people are rediscovering the benefits and satisfactions of living a handmade lifestyle.

 

Feel like supporting a hand made artisan? Check out my Etsy shop !

Cool new listing!

So last night I was having all of these crazy dreams and I woke up in the middle of the night with a new product idea. I thought everyone makes coffee cup cozies, but no one makes *sippy cup cozies*!. What a great idea, it would absorb drips and dribbles and condensation. Then I thought "what is the best selling fad on Etsy right now?" Mustaches!!!! So I made a Milk Mustache Sippy Cup Cozy! A crocheted black cozy to fit standard sippy cups with a white crocheted milk mustache attached to the edge and the words "Milk Mustache" embroidered on it. Tres cute!!