Fall 2010 “Back to School” issue is now up! Enjoy!

Hi Kirsten, thanks for joining us. How about you start by telling us how you got into crafting?

Crafting was always a part of my family life when I was growing up. My mother sewed most of our clothes, knit, quilted, did needle point & embroidery – she never sat down without a project. The materials were always available to me and she let me freely explore and play with them. When I was a teenager and became interested in clothes & fashion I figured out that if I made my own clothes my mom would buy all the fabric and patterns I wanted. She’d never have spent that same money on ready made clothes. During college I worked in a store that sold ready to wear and fabric. At that point I started making most of my clothes. Through my college years and well into my twenties I continued to sew my own clothing, usually making my own patterns.

How did you get into designing? You mainly self-publish your patterns. How did that come about and why did you choose that avenue?

Before my kids were born I worked as an apparel designer and later as a textile designer in NYC. I’d sewn for years and in the garment industry I further developed my knowledge of pattern making and garment construction. Years later I discovered the online knitting community. I was doing a lot of knitting at the time and I loved the idea of connecting with others who shared my interest. I started a blog and started to write about and photograph my projects. With my background in apparel design and garment construction designing knitting patterns seemed the natural way to go. I like the idea of self-publishing because it allows me to have direct contact with the people who knit my patterns. I also enjoy the immediacy of the process. I don’t need to work seasons ahead the way I did in the apparel industry.  I have an idea I can make it, write up the pattern and publish it pretty quickly. I’ve also done work for online publications like Petite Purls and Knitty as well as books and print magazines. I enjoy having a balance of both self publishing and designing for others.

Are you a work-at-home mom or do you have a work space out of the home? If you are a work-at-home mom, how do you juggle your work with your mom duties?

I work from home. It’s not always easy but my kids are all teenagers, so I get them to help out with cooking, laundry, and other household tasks. Before my son broke his leg at the beginning of July he and his sister did most of the grocery shopping.
About a year ago I finally admitted to myself – and my family, “Ok, this is my job now. I am a knitting designer”.  That was a turning point for me. I started to put less pressure on myself about having a perfectly clean house (I was never that successful at that anyway) and allowed myself to put more of my energy into design. In two years I’ll have three kids in college, so it was either go out and get a full time job, or put more time into designing and see if I could make my own business grow. It was an easy decision since I’m working at something I love and I get to be at home with my kids, who’s company I really enjoy.
Two of my kids are musicians. I’ve been taking them into NYC several times a week for music rehearsals, lessons and shows for 5 or 6 years. Since knitting is so portable I’m able to bring my job with me pretty much anywhere I go – a good thing since we’re on the go so much.

What inspires your creativity?

I can’t say there’s any one thing that inspires my creativity. Sometimes it’s just a skein of yarn that leads me to a design idea. Other times I see someone walking down the street with a certain sense of style and suddenly I’m brimming with ideas. Several times my kids have requested that I make them something pretty specific – a few designs have been born out of those requests. My Staccato Hoodie pattern was one of those. I love color and working with combining colors so there are times that I’ll take a few skeins of yarn that I like together and knit swatches until I find something that works. The Ulmus shawl came about that way. I ripped that one out several times before I got what I wanted. I have more ideas than hours in a day to knit them.

Your kids are older now, but at one point you had three toddlers at home, your son and twin girls! What do you think has been your biggest struggle as a working mom?

I didn’t have a job when my kids were young. My career up to that point had been working in the garment industry and the hours were so insane it just wasn’t practical to try to raise kids and continue at that pace. I did a bit of freelance work here and there painting needlepoint canvases, furniture and pretty much anything else that came my way. I’d put up a safety gate and work in the adjoining room where I could still supervise my kids but keep them out of my paints and supplies. I can remember times that one of the kids would be crying and I’d have a deadline to meet. Those were definitely the toughest days. The freelance work was far from full time though, so I think I had it easier than most.

What are your goals for yourself or your business for your future?

Right now most of my designs are sort of independent of one another. I get an inspiration, make the item, write up the pattern and then move on to the next idea. At some point I’d like to put together a cohesive line and release it all at one time. That’s more the way I used to work in the garment industry and its a very satisfying way to work. A number of designers have been self publishing books of pattern collections and I’d like to do that eventually. Mostly it’s a matter of finding the time to pull a collection together.

What other hobbies do you like to dabble in? What is your favorite way to relax?

My husband and I play golf together when we get the chance. I’m a pretty mediocre golfer, but I enjoy it and the one on one time it allows us. I love to garden but don’t get much time for that these days. Hopefully once my kids are all in college I’ll have more free time and get back to it. Several years ago I learned to spin and bought a wheel. I really love spinning. From time to time I give myself a few days off from knitting and go on a spinning binge.

Do you have any advice to give other women that are interested in starting their own small business?

For me the biggest hurdle I had to overcome was admitting to myself that Through the Loops was actually a business. I love the work I do so most of the time it doesn’t feel like a job. But it is, and in order to have a business that is going to grow it has to be a priority.

What is your favorite game to play with your kids?

My kids are older so we don’t often have time to play games together anymore, but Apples to Apples was a favorite when they were younger. These days there’s always creativity happening in my house, whether it’s music, or an art, knitting or sewing project. We’re usually all in one room each working on our own thing, talking about them and sharing them.
We also spend a lot of time together with Anders and Sofie’s band. Other families have their soccer & baseball games, we have our music gigs.

If there is anything else you’d like to add…

I would just like to thank all of the people who have stepped up to test knit for me, or taken the time to write when they’ve enjoyed making one of my patterns, shared their own talents as designers and yarn dyers or inspired me with gorgeous photographs. This is a very generous community and it is a rare day that I am not reminded of this fact.

Isn’t our new model adorably dreamy? Go check out our new Back to Basics pattern, the Sleeveless Top, designed by Terri Kruse.

Right now through August 31, take advantage of their Summer Sale. You can save even more on their discounted closeouts!

Things to look forward to for Fall: many great new yarns coming in, Webs’ Fall Catalog should be finding it’s way to your mailbox very soon and new Valley Yarns patterns should be available online shortly!

Real Simple Magazine – A special family edition! Some truly wonderful and in-expensive up-cycle type art projects, fun recipes and wonderful articles. I had never seen the family edition of the magazine before and it is done really well.

Simplicity Vintage Stuffed Animal Toys Retro Collection 2763 – These are just adorable. I saw one of these sewn up on flickr or a blog, and quickly ran out and got the pattern! It’s a retro pattern that Simplicity has re-released and it is adorable. I have never actually hand sewn anything before and I have big plans to make a horse by hand. Wouldn’t one be cute using some Heather Ross Far Far Away fabric? I have a scant amount in my stash that I was saving for something special!

Custom Playboxes from Etsy – I special ordered an adorable play box to give to my 3 year old on her birthday (2 weeks from now!) and it’s been sitting in my closet for a while now waiting for her! They are adorable but better for slightly older children. I may have to wait another year to give it to her, but I know she is going to adore it when she gets it. They also sell more affordable doll house accessories.

As we mentioned last month, the best way you can support Petite Purls is by visiting our advertisers and shopping with them, they are the life blood of Petite Purls, aside from of course the other important half, the designers. One of the best way you can support designers is by purchasing their patterns. I wanted to share with you the most recent acquisitions I have made within the baby/kid pattern realm! All I have to do is go visit my Ravelry PDF library to see the latest patterns I have purchased;

Marnie MacLean’s Alsace Le Monstre Doll & Hat Combo

Bekah Knits Baby Merry-Jane’s

Ysolda Teague’s Elijah

Jared Flood’s Tweed Baby Blanket

Here is one last one for the women out there who need a fun but basic sweater to wear this winter;
Jane Richmond’s Oatmeal Pullover

As for what I’ve been knitting most recently, I’ve gone on a hat knitting binge using my own Serendipity Hat, my little monkey is so chunky!

Know anyone who would like to advertise their crafty shop or handmade kids products on the cheap? Petite Purls is now offering very affordable marketplace ads that will debut in our upcoming Fall 2010 issue!

Email us at adsATpetitepurlsDOTcom for more info!

We are happy to have Stefanie Japel with us today, our next Renaissance Mom. Stefanie is a well known knitwear designer and author of two books, Fitted Knits and Glam Knits. Check out her online classes and her Petite Purls design and feature from Spring 2010.

Hi Stefanie, thanks for joining us! Why don’t you start by telling us how you got into crafting.

I was born crafting. Growing up we spent a lot of time just working on projects around the house. My dad always had a woodshop and made doll beds for us and my mom stitched all of our doll clothes and blankies. My dad also made our bunkbeds and other little kid furniture. My mom was a professional seamstress and worked as a tailor when I was a baby. She sewed lots of our clothing and always made our curtains and other home textiles.  And I know that the art / craft gene goes back ad infinitum.  My dad’s dad was a handyman and so had lots of crafty talents, and my mom’s mom was a knitter.  She also did some embroidery and sewed lots of her own dresses and home goods (curtains, bedspreads, etc.)  I think a lot of it has to do with being kind of country folk.  My mom’s ancestors were settlers in Kansas, and so we really lived that Little House on the Prairie lifestyle…making everything, growing their own food, baking, canning, everything. Because of their backgrounds, my parents were of the mindset that if you can figure out how to make it yourself, you shouldn’t spend your money on it.  SO…that part of our family life led me to look at things in the store and try to figure out how they were made, then look around the house and see if we had the stuff to do it.  Usually, we did!

My grandma taught me to knit when I was 8, and by the time I was 10, I was using our home sewing machine.  I was totally the Molly Ringwald character in 16 Candles in High School, altering my thrift shop finds and sewing my own clothing too.

How did you get into designing? How did your books and online teaching come about?

Because I learned to knit at such a young age, I’ve always been designing.  I didn’t learn to read patterns until I was probably 24 years old, so there were a good number of years that I just figured out how to create the things that I wanted. I learned the basic flat stitch patterns and then how to increase and decrease to shape the fabric around my dolls and around myself. So when I started blogging in 1999, I already knew a lot of the basics and was just experimenting.  I think that’s what brought readers to my blog…this fearless experimentation with yarns and colors and shapes.  I’ve mellowed since then, and my knits (for the most part) have a direction from the outset.

As I was blogging my sweaters, people would request patterns and that’s really how my design career started.  I submitted patterns to Knitty.com, who were my first publishers, and the rest is history.  Amy Singer and Jillian Moreno have always been big supporters and have really been a source of encouragement to me.  Eventually, I had several patterns in early knitting books (Stitch N Bitch Nation, Knit Wit, Knitgrrl 1 & 2.) Shannon Okey (knitgrrl.com) was the person who first suggested that I write a book, and even hooked me up with my first publisher (F+W Media.)  Until she suggested it, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that I might move in that arena.

I started teaching online classes after my daughter Mazie was born and I was pregnant with Olive.  I was missing the real live interaction with the knitting community and just really wondering what I could do to participate more.  I wasn’t able to travel often with the two little girls at home, and so teaching online was just a natural solution.

So since you are a Work-at-Home Mom, how do you juggle your work duties with your mom duties?

I am incredibly fortunate in that my mother lives here in town. I’m able to send one or more kid to her house for the day when I’m really swamped.  This is the only way that I’m able to accomplish as much as I do.  I also work a lot at naptime (that’s a good 2 hours every day) and after the kids are in bed.  I’ve got my own office at home, so I’m able to just leave things set up (my computer open to what I’m writing, photo “station” video setups), everything is out and ready to just pick up where I left off.  I LOVE my office.

What inspires your Creativity?

I’ve never had trouble with inspiration.  I always have 100 more things in my head than I’ll ever have time to complete. I’m inspired mostly, though, by the things that I covet for myself.  Like if I see a shirt or jacket that I want, thanks to my upbringing, my first instinct is to dissect it and see how to make it…and then how to make it into a KNIT. I’m blessed with excellent spatial skills, so it’s easy for me to play with proportion and size and fit. So once my brain starts working on something, it keeps at it until I have time to sit at the computer or sketch pad and work out all of the details.

What do you think has been your biggest struggle as a working mom?

I think that for me the hardest part has been coming to terms with the fact that I’m no longer a careerist. I’m not out there climbing the ladder and getting promotions and working on the Big World Issues like I always imagined that I would be. I love being a mom and I love being at home with my kids and being their main caregiver. But for some reason it’s been really hard to convince myself that it’s OK that I’m not out there solving the world’s problems. It’s just been a big shift of focus.

What are your goals for yourself or your business for your future?

Because my kids are so little and need so much attention, I haven’t been working from a long-range set of goals.  At this point, my goals are to complete everything that I’ve signed up to do.  Just to get my short-term to- do list done every day is enough.  I need to think, though, about some 5-and-10 year goals.

What other hobbies do you like to dabble in? What is your favorite way to relax?

My other major hobby is quilting.  I love just sitting down with a pile of fabrics and putting then together.  Quilting goes so quickly compared to knitting that for me it’s a real instant gratification project.

I also love working in the yard.  I’m trying to figure out what plants will grow in our soil, which is very sandy and ashy, so it’s been a challenge.  I’ve also got a food garden going and have been learning about compost and organic methods. This is a great project for my older daughter to help with! She helped me plant the seeds and helps me weed and look for ripe fruits and veggies.  It’s been so fun for all of us.

Do you have any advice to give other women that are interested in
starting their own small business?

Hmm. I don’t know.  I think setting realistic goals is important, and NEVER putting the business before the family.  People always come first.  Also, remember that you need to set your time frames extra far out.  It now takes me 2 weeks to knit a sweater where it used to take me 2 days.

Don’t use your family as an excuse for not getting things done on time, but do tell your clients that you have a family and can’t be online ALL the time, or that you would like to have an extended deadline if it’s possible.  Lay that out there in advance, rather than bringing it up when the project’s already late.

Set hours between which you answer emails and specific days on which you go to the post office.

What is your favorite game to play with your kids?

Mazie loves to play hide and seek and still loves Peek a Boo!  Olive is into the Baker Man (bake me a cake as fast as you can!)

This has been great, Stefanie. Is there anything else you would like to add?

For all of the adjustments that I’ve made in starting my family and working on my home business (rather than a career outside the home) it’s been so worth it.  I honestly wouldn’t change a thing except my salary! (And that should go up as the kids get older and I’m able to devote more time to my business.) All in all, it’s a great life and I’m so lucky to be living it!

Petite Purls Shop

If there are products that you’d like to see in our shop, please let us know!

sorry for the lack of posts lately. we are back with many things to share with you!

Today we are focusing on Cheezombie, one of our Summer 2010 advertisers. Cheezombie owns an Etsy shop that shows all of her adorable funky little knitted creatures. She started her Etsy shop almost two years ago and has had great success in sales.

From what she has available today, Cheezombie focuses on cute alien type toys with big eyes, amigurumi, cute seahorses and some garden toys. Many of her designs are offered as “flat knit” versions as well.

You can also find Cheezombie designs on KnitPicks, through their Independent Designers Program.

Prize #1: Petite Purls Swag goes to…….. SARAH DAWSON! who left the comment:

6/23/2010  Just keep doing what you are doing! Though I am partial to toddler girl knits.

Prize #3:  Designer Package goes to……… FELICIA K! who left the comment:

6/23/2010  i would love to see more pattern for everything for babies and toddlers. i have 5 grand babies that i love making things for. also some more bags i never can get enough of those. you guys r awesome in the things you do keep it up!!!!!

Prize #4: Indie Package goes to……. ABRIL! who left the comment:

6/23/2010  I just recently found you and I’m already in love with you guys. I live in MN and woudl love to see more warm hats that stay on and look cute.

Congratulations Ladies! Please, PLEASE email us at infoATpetitepurlsDOTcom to get your wonderful prizes!