Renaissance Mom: Kate Oates

We are happy to bring you the next interview in our Renaissance Moms series: Kate Oates of TotToppers. Kate is a prolific knitwear designer who specializes in children’s hats. We’ve been very fortunate to have Kate as one of our designers in previous issues.

Why don’t you start by telling us how you got into crafting, and knitting in particular?

I have an aunt who knits.  When we were little, during one of her visits she taught my sister how to knit and down the line I got jealous. I think I was around 12 when I told her I also wanted to learn.  She taught us on circulars, and we would make “hats” just by cutting the yarn after a certain number of inches and then threading it through ALL the live stitches.  No decreases.  I’m pretty sure that all the way through college this is what I did.  I did a few back & forth things as well, like an enormous blanket that we still have in our home!  Its colorful but um…not very soft.  But it was when I was pregnant with my first son that I *really* got into knitting.  My aunt gave me a knitting book and I started learning actual technique.  Amazing how much better things turn out once you have a little technique under your belt

How did your pattern lines, Tot Toppers and When I Grow Up come about?

Soon after my son was born, I got loads of compliments on knits he was wearing. I decided I was going to try and sell some knit baby hats.  I live down South and realistically, its not the best place to succeed at a knits business, but at that time I lived in Atlanta so at least I had a big city to help me out.  I came up with the name “Tot Toppers” for my etsy store. Hats I sold were of my own design and it wasn’t long before I started getting pattern requests.  My very first pattern was the Chunky Striped Stocking Cap!  At this time, I was actually totally unaware of Ravelry (gasp!) but I believe around the time I worked up my 3rd or 4th pattern, I signed up as a designer and things went from there for Tot Toppers. When I Grow Up is brand new, started this winter.  Though I love the name Tot Toppers, its a bit exclusive of an age range so I had to come up with something else if I wanted to design for not-tots. I have had a lot of fun designing things I can wear myself.

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 duties with your mom duties?

This is really really hard.  I would call myself a work-at-home mom.  I don’t have a great workspace set up because our house is very tiny.  I have my stash on the wall in one place, and then a few cabinets above a computer desk which is where I do all the pattern writing, and computer work.  I would really like to have a better workspace in the near future but we will see!  As for balance-some days I really feel I do a terrible job.  I can be quite a perfectionist so if I’m working under a deadline and something isn’t quite right, I think those days are tough on my little ones.  I don’t get a lot of sleep because I try to do the intensive stuff while my kids are either napping or down for the night.

What inspires your creativity?

Its totally different every time.  Sometimes its walking through the mall and seeing a garment that I think I can do better.  Sometimes its a particular element that I want to fit into something.  Othertimes it comes to me in a dream… (literally!)  Yet another reason why I don’t sleep well…I’m always needing to get up out of bed to write something down before its gone!  But what I am really really not good at is sitting down with a sketch pad and trying to come up with something out of nothing.

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

Probably balance.  Nothing can really be 100% because the job of being a mom comes first.  And no matter when I get work done, I always feel like its taking a bit away from my kids in some way.  Way too often of late I’ve been feeling that I just need to get through “one more day” and then I’ll have breathing room, but days have a tendency to stretch out.

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

I’d really like for more yarn stores to carry my patterns, and I definitely would like to do a book!

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

I love to read, but I’ve fallen behind in my reading for sure. I also consider knitting-for-fun as a hobby now, because its so totally separate from “business knitting” and there is so rarely time for it!  During the fall we go to a lot of Clemson football games, our alma mater! Earlier in life, I did show choir kinds of things.  I’ve always thought that *if time somehow magically appeared in my lap* maybe I could try some community theater.  [photo of King & I production in grad school, I was Assistant Director and a concubine ] And if my life weren’t random enough…I’ve also been a dog breeder & whelped a litter of puppies at 2AM while I was about 33 weeks pregnant. I’d like to do that again sometime too.  Relaxing? What is that?

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

Before you even get started, set out some “small win” scenarios.  It’ll take time to build your business and its nice to have things along the way that you can congratulate yourself for!  Also, resist the urge to think about your actual hourly wage.  Nothing good can come of this exercise.

What is your favorite game to play with your kids?

We love having dance parties.  Both the boys get so into it and its hilarious.  Jesse (3 years) is obsessed with the song “tik tok” but thank goodness she talks(sings?) too fast in the song for him to repeat the lyrics.  They also really love to help me make cookies!

Hi Kate. Thanks so much for being a part of our interview series, Renaissance Moms. Why don’t you start by telling us how you got into crafting, and knitting in particular?

I have an aunt who knits.  When we were little, during one of her visits she taught my sister how to knit and down the line I got jealous. I think I was around 12 when I told her I also wanted to learn.  She taught us on circulars, and we would make “hats” just by cutting the yarn after a certain number of inches and then threading it through ALL the live stitches.  No decreases.  I’m pretty sure that all the way through college this is what I did.  I did a few back & forth things as well, like an enormous blanket that we still have in our home!  Its colorful but um…not very soft.  But it was when I was pregnant with my first son that I *really* got into knitting.  My aunt gave me a knitting book and I started learning actual technique.  Amazing how much better things turn out once you have a little technique under your belt

How did your pattern lines, Tot Toppers and When I Grow Up come about?

Soon after my son was born, I got loads of compliments on knits he was wearing. I decided I was going to try and sell some knit baby hats.  I live down South and realistically, its not the best place to succeed at a knits business, but at that time I lived in Atlanta so at least I had a big city to help me out.  I came up with the name “Tot Toppers” for my etsy store. Hats I sold were of my own design and it wasn’t long before I started getting pattern requests.  My very first pattern was the Chunky Striped Stocking Cap!  At this time, I was actually totally unaware of Ravelry (gasp!) but I believe around the time I worked up my 3rd or 4th pattern, I signed up as a designer and things went from there for Tot Toppers. When I Grow Up is brand new, started this winter.  Though I love the name Tot Toppers, its a bit exclusive of an age range so I had to come up with something else if I wanted to design for not-tots. I have had a lot of fun designing things I can wear myself.

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 duties with your mom duties?

This is really really hard.  I would call myself a work-at-home mom.  I don’t have a great workspace set up because our house is very tiny.  I have my stash on the wall in one place, and then a few cabinets above a computer desk which is where I do all the pattern writing, and computer work.  I would really like to have a better workspace in the near future but we will see!  As for balance-some days I really feel I do a terrible job.  I can be quite a perfectionist so if I’m working under a deadline and something isn’t quite right, I think those days are tough on my little ones.  I don’t get a lot of sleep because I try to do the intensive stuff while my kids are either napping or down for the night.

What inspires your creativity?

Its totally different every time.  Sometimes its walking through the mall and seeing a garment that I think I can do better.  Sometimes its a particular element that I want to fit into something.  Othertimes it comes to me in a dream… (literally!)  Yet another reason why I don’t sleep well…I’m always needing to get up out of bed to write something down before its gone!  But what I am really really not good at is sitting down with a sketch pad and trying to come up with something out of nothing.

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

Probably balance.  Nothing can really be 100% because the job of being a mom comes first.  And no matter when I get work done, I always feel like its taking a bit away from my kids in some way.  Way too often of late I’ve been feeling that I just need to get through “one more day” and then I’ll have breathing room, but days have a tendency to stretch out.

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

I’d really like for more yarn stores to carry my patterns, and I definitely would like to do a book!

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

I love to read, but I’ve fallen behind in my reading for sure. I also consider knitting-for-fun as a hobby now, because its so totally separate from “business knitting” and there is so rarely time for it!  During the fall we go to a lot of Clemson football games, our alma mater! Earlier in life, I did show choir kinds of things.  I’ve always thought that *if time somehow magically appeared in my lap* maybe I could try some community theater. And if my life weren’t random enough…I’ve also been a dog breeder & whelped a litter of puppies at 2AM while I was about 33 weeks pregnant. I’d like to do that again sometime too.  Relaxing? What is that?

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

Before you even get started, set out some “small win” scenarios.  It’ll take time to build your business and its nice to have things along the way that you can congratulate yourself for!  Also, resist the urge to think about your actual hourly wage.  Nothing good can come of this exercise.

What is your favorite game to play with your kids?

We love having dance parties.  Both the boys get so into it and its hilarious.  Jesse (3 years) is obsessed with the song “tik tok” but thank goodness she talks(sings?) too fast in the song for him to repeat the lyrics.  They also really love to help me make cookies!

Thanks so much Kate!

Let’s Try Again!

We’ve been patiently waiting to hear from our lucky winners, but it looks like we have three new winners to choose for our Birthday Giveaway!

Carey will be receiving the amazing Spud and Chloe package, but here are the NEW winners for the rest of our amazing prizes:

Prize #1: Petite Purls Swag goes to……KAREN!

Prize #3: Designer Package goes to…… SARA T!

Prize #4: Indie Package goes to……. JACQUELINE!

There you have it! Please contact us to find out how you receive your goodies at infoATpetitepurlsDOTcom

We will be getting this blog up and running again with some great posts! Stay tuned…..

We Have Winners!

We are finally choosing our four very lucky winners for our Celebration Giveaway! We used the RNG and the lucky readers are….

drumroll please…….

Prize #1: Petite Purls Swag winner is: Laura!

Prize #2: Spud and Chloe package winner is: Carey!

Prize #3: Our Designer package winner is: Stephani!

Prize #4: The Indie Package winner is: Laurie!

Congratulations to the 4 winners! Winners, please contact us at infoATpetitepurlsDOT for more information about how to get your prizes!

If we don’t hear from a winner or winners after one week (July 12), we will randomly draw another name for that prize.

Thanks for all of the great comments. We will be writing a post soon about some of the suggestions  you gave us.

Advertiser Spotlight: Spud & Chloe

We love Spud and Chloe. We love everything about them: the yarns, the patterns,the logo, the swag. Not to mention that the staff is made up of some of the nicest, most kind people on the planet. We had the opportunity to meet Linda (owner), Val and Merri while at TNNA (check out their CUTE booth!) and it was like we were visiting our best friends.

Spud and Chloe is a division of Blue Sky Alpacas. They offer the quality yarns that you expect from Blue Sky Alpacas, in mod, fun colors and three different yarn weights: Fine, Sweater and Outer. And get this: they are ALL machine washable. Machine Washable. Every mother’s dream!

Petite Purls feels a kinship with Spud and Chloe because we share a birthday. Both Petite and Spud came on the scene in June 2009. Spud and Chloe were welcomed to the fiber world at last year’s Summer TNNA, with Petite Purls just a couple days later.

From the beginning, Spud and Chloe has been a wonderfully generous sponsor of Petite Purls, not only as an advertiser, but also when it comes to yarn support. Many of our designers have had the opportunity to use their yarns, and they are supporting our entire Back to Basics collection. Without their support in all of these ways, Petite Purls would hardly have a leg to stand on, so we thank Spud and Chloe from the bottom of our hearts.

But enough about us! What’s new for Spud? They have recently added some new, fun colors to their yarn palette, as well as some incredibly adorable patterns. Oh, have we mentioned that one of our faves, Susan B. Anderson, is the curator of the Spud Says! blog and their top designer? What a lucky lady, huh?

To celebrate Spud and Chloe’s first birthday, they are hosting a fabulous giveaway! Not to be missed, for sure! Check out the blog and make sure you leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. And don’t forget about their wonderful package on our Birthday Giveaway! You have two chances to win great Spud and Chloe swag!

Congratulations to Spud and Chloe on year one! We look forward to seeing what great and adorable things you come up with in year two!

Petite Purls Turns One, Celebration Give Away!

Petite Purls has turned One! As a thank you to all of our wonderful readers, we are giving you the opportunity to win one of four fantastic! amazing! prizes! We have been very lucky to work with such wonderful and talented designers and sponsors this year. Many have generously donated some wonderful items for our Celebration Giveaway.

Prize #1: Petite Purls

• One Petite Purls Sigg Water Bottle
• One Petite Purls project bag
• Knit Picks Land & Sea Playset
• Knit Green by Joanne Seiff
• Namaste Oh Snap! Bags (set of three)
• Debbie Bliss Eco-Baby (three balls in Moss colorway)
• One copy of Phoebe’s Sweater by Joanna Johnson

Prize #2: Spud and Chloe

Spud and Chloe is offering ten (10!) hanks of Fine and patterns to create the Dial Up Gloves and the striped Lulu Leggings, plus a Spud & Chloë zipper pencil bag and pattern box.

Prize #3: Our designers

• One copy of Kate Oates’ Master Charles Sweater pattern and coordinating Elbow Patches
• One copy of Craft Corps, by Vickie Howell
• One copy of Fairy Tale Knits, by Alison Stewart-Guinee
• Jennifer Casa: one pattern of winner’s choice
• One copy of Brandy Fortune’s Serendipity pattern

Prize #4: The Indie Package

• Kirsten Kapur: choose one of two bundles: A) Ulmus,Hamamelis, High Line OR B) Wood Hollow Hat, Wood Hollow Mittens, Wood Hollow Vest
• Carey Huffman: one bundle of three patterns (2 knit, 1 crochet)
• Talitha Kuomi: winner’s choice of either Loved or Shining Around
• Mandy Powers: a copy of I Heart You Sweater pattern
• Scout’s Swag: one skein of the sk8r chick colorway featured in this issue.

Summer 2010 is Live!

Our silly blog isn’t letting us upload pictures, so this is just a teaser.

Go check out the new issue! Happy Summer Solstice!

Advertiser Spotlight: Purlescence

We usually like to write our Advertiser Spotlight posts on Mondays, but seeing as our Summer 2010 issue will be going live that day, we thought we’d be ahead of schedule

Purlescence is a lovely online shop that focuses on luxury yarns, needles and other accessories. Robynn Weldon started the business back in 2006 wanting to be the first call for unusual, beautiful knitting and crochet supplies, supporting the finest craftspeople working in the knitting field, and to bring you exciting original patterns.

Purlescence brings you beautiful hand-dyed yarns, including Vinni’s Colors, which was featured in our Spring 2010 Crochet Corner pattern, Gecko. The shop also has beautiful wooden needles and hooks, top notch purses and storage bags, and among other things, a nice assortment of patterns.

Purlescence is definitely worth a look-see. Go check it out!

Renaissance Moms

Here at Petite Purls we love to honor all mothers. We all know that mothering is the most important (and hardest) job on earth. We are happy to announce our new series on the blog, Renaissance Moms. Renaissance Moms is an interview series celebrating some of the most beloved and talented working mothers in the craft community. We already have a beautiful list of women lined up to share their stories with us, but we thought we’d kick off the series with our very own Brandy Fortune.

Hi Brandy, thanks for being the first interview in our new series, Renaissance Moms. Why don’t you start by telling us how you got into crafting.

I grew up with a mother who always was very supportive of my creativity. In grade school I was active in Creative Writing, Photography and I also worked on our newspaper and literary magazine. I remember cutting and pasting page layouts in high-school. I was always active in art classes and loved working with my hands. I never had any exposure to true crafting until my adult life. I didn’t grow up exposed to any sewing, knitting or crochet. After I was married and moved into a house away from the city I wanted something to occupy my spare time. I thought I was taking a crochet class, but it was actually a knitting class so I went with it, just happy to be learning something new. A year after that I asked my husband to get me a sewing machine over the winter holidays. I’ve been experimenting in design and various crafts ever since!

How did your indie pattern line Pixie Purls come about?

After much encouragement from my knitting circle, and a lot of inspiration from my first daughter I designed my first pattern, and began selling it via my website, ravelry and etsy. I continued to design patterns slowly (while taking care of baby!). I then set a personal goal of making one thousand dollars in sales, and once I made that goal I went ahead and registered the business name, etc. properly within my state. I think goals are really great: setting a goal and then taking it to the next level. I like working towards accomplishing something specific. I already had my logo and business name via my blog, which I had originally created only with the intention of having it be a knitting blog, but it worked really well as a brand for my pattern designs so it all just came together.

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 duties with your mom duties?

For the past 3 years I have worked full time on and off and been a Stay At Home Mom on and off. I don’t think it would be fair to say I was a Work At Home Mom while home, I was just designing the patterns for fun initially, and not spending as much time on it as most working moms spend. I was on leave for one year with my first daughter, and spent some spare time designing. I returned to work for a little over a year, and continued to design in my spare time, and then after the birth of my second daughter, I went on leave again. So my life is a bit of back and forth. Now that I have been working on Petite Purls, that takes away a lot of the time I have for my personal pattern line, so I have even less time to design then before! It’s a lot to juggle, but I enjoy the outcome.

What inspires your creativity?

I love fashion, and nature. A lot of the time the children themselves inspire the pattern. My daughter loves apples, and that was the primary inspiration behind my “Them Apples” design in the Fall 2009 Petite Purls. Sometimes yarn inspires me, often times events and locations can inspire me (a trip to a large city, or the ocean which inspired my newest design “Bubble Frock“). Lately I’ve been experimenting with designing tiny patterns for dolls, and the inspiration will come from the doll itself, or an outfit or fabric used in the dolls clothing will give me fun ideas. I draw my ideas from anything and everything I see. Sometimes a well decorated/designed children’s room will inspire an idea for clothing design, and I think to myself “what would a child be wearing when sitting in this room reading a book, or playing with a tea set?”

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

I’ve experienced being at home with both of my children full time, and I’ve experienced working full time with a toddler. It’s really nice to have been able to fully experience both and have an opinion on the difficulties of both. I have found them to be equally hard but in different ways. If you work from home and don’t have anyone to help watch your children while you work, well, it is just extremely difficult to be able to focus on anything for an extended period of time and really get things done quickly. Anytime you are in your home, and your children are underfoot, it can be difficult to focus, even if you are good at multi-tasking. I always feel a bit frustrated that I can’t execute more of my ideas faster. I have about 30 sketches just waiting to be knit up, and I just need the time to knit them!

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

I always set goals for myself, many of which I set 6 months out, 1 year out or 2 years out. I can honestly say I am not 100% sure where I want to be in 10 years from now, it’s an awfully long time! Things have changed so much for me in the last 5 years. Marriage, two pregnancies, and now being a mother of two, I can’t even imagine all the amazing things that will have happened that many years from today.

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

I love sewing, and I enjoy crochet. Right now I think three core crafts is more then enough. I’ve always LOVED spinning but the wheel has been put away until the girls are a bit bigger. I like to relax by reading, or watching a movie.

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

Do what you love and are passionate about and the rest will follow.

What is your favorite game to play with your kids?

I love having a special moment. Just a few nights ago the baby had fallen asleep on a hotel bed with me, and it was bed time so my older daughter wanted to snuggle and wound up in the bed with us. Then I had my husband come join us. This had never happened before with all 4 of us snuggled up to sleep, and it was such a fun moment. Sometimes at night we have a “party in BG’s room!” and all of us sit in my Big Girl’s bed and look at books or have tickle wars.

How did the idea for Renaissance Moms come to fruition?

The whole concept of being multi-crafty has been floating around for quiet a while now, I would often say to my husband that I felt like a “renaissance man” in that I love to dabble in many different things. I love trying new things, learning and mastering crafts. When I first began knitting, I also tried spinning, quilting and scrap-booking. There are so many wonderful ways to “create” all kinds of different things that add value to your life. Add on top of that running two small businesses (pixiepurls.com & petitepurls.com), while also attempting to master photography; throw in a bit of web design, and taking care of two kids, and it’s easy to see how the concept came about. Allegra and I decided we wanted to celebrate Renaissance Moms everywhere, starting with some fun interviews to find out how these amazing women juggle all the many aspects of their lives.

Thank you Brandy for letting us peek into your world!

My pleasure!

Handmade Beginnings Winner

We are happy to announce that Amanda is the lucky (random) winner of our copy of Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner! Congratulations Amanda! Please contact us at infoATpetitepurlsDOTcom with your contact info so we can get the book sent off to you.

We wish you many hours of sewing wonderful projects from the book!

“Handmade Beginnings” by Anna Maria Horner

We are honored to be the last stop on the blog tour for Anna Maria Horner’s new book: Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby.  This is a lovely book, not just for the wee ones in your life, but Anna Maria has thoughtfully included the soon-to-be (and also the post-pregnant) mama, dad, family members and the family’s home.

Anna Maria has been there. She’s been there six times to be exact. She has six gorgeous children, all of which grace the photos of the book.  Throughout the book she gives little snippets of good mama advice, whether it’s the safety and care that should go into making garments for little ones, taking the time to put your swelling feet up if you are expecting, or my absolute favorite from the book: “The transformation that you and your body will experience during and after pregnancy is nothing short of a gorgeous wonder. Ignore any thought that has you feeling otherwise.” I love this advice. Reading this book is like having your best friend at your side who’s helping guide you on this beautiful journey of motherhood.

Anna Maria starts the book off with wonderful tips and tools for successful sewing. From typical sizes for mothers (pre-pregnancy), sizes for children, suggestions for the best fabrics to use as well as basic tools needed.  Anna Maria writes it all with such ease, it feels as though you’ve gone into your favorite fabric shop for advice.

Oh the patterns.  They are wonderful. At first I was a little sad to see the “Mama Sewing” section, feeling envy that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the maternity clothing that Anna Maria has designed. But, because she is awesome, Anna Maria has written the patterns for both the expecting and the not-expecting. I have to say that I am putting on my sewing “queue” the Lingering Layers Skirt, the Mariposa Dress and Tunic and the Flower Bed Slippers.  For those who are expecting or new mothers, I love the  Early  Empire Cinch and the Four Corners Blouse.  Anna Maria’s designs for women are feminine, flirty and sexy; some things that women sometimes forget when they are sleep deprived, running around in their “typical mom uniform” of black yoga pants and a tank top!

There is a very nice assortment of children’s patterns, including booties, a dress, great reversible pants and a hoodie jacket, all modeled by some of the cutest children on this planet.  There are many projects for the baby’s room like the Daydreams Mobile and Lampshade, and a few quilts including the amazing Sixth Time’s the Charm Crib Quilt, honoring Anna Maria’s youngest child, Roman.  And, showing Anna Maria’s thoughtfulness once again, she has created some cute projects to include those siblings that might be feeling a little lost when mama is busy tending to the new baby, like the Patchwork Welcome Notes. These mini patchwork quilts swaddle a sweet baby announcement, using bitty fabric scraps which can be worked by even the smallest of hands in the house.

This book is a must have for just about anyone who loves sewing.  Wiley Publishing has generously given us a copy of Handmade Beginnings to give away to one of  our lucky readers! Make sure you leave a comment at the end of this post if you would like to be in the drawing for the copy. We will be drawing the name of the lucky reader on June 1^st, which is just around the corner!

ALSO!!! Be sure to check out the amazing giveaway on Wiley’s Handmade Beginnings page! Run, don’t walk, right now and enter now!