Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

Embroidery

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It’s Getting Real: Kaminski Handicraft @ the Mini Crafty Fair

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Remember how I said I had something up my sleeve in my small goals post from November? Well, it’s true! On December 16, I’ll be participating in the Mini Crafty Fair in Madison!

I’m so so thrilled to be a part of this holiday market. My mom and I have visited this pre-Christmas fair for a few years now and we always discover the best artists and makers (and we come home with lots of goodies).

But I’m also thrilled because this is my first time taking Kaminski Handicraft out into the wild! As my first fair, I’m banking on it being a major learning experience, but you gotta start somewhere! I’ve recruited my mom to be my helper for the day, my husband to help me build a display or two and pretty much all of my friends to come check me out.

With only a few weeks until the fair, I’m kicking my stitching into overdrive. New fabrics, new designs, new new new. I’ll admit that my stress levels are a little high, but I’ve got a few dedicated stitching days planned to help me get some hoops completed. I’m thinking 50 is the magic number, but we’ll see!

I’ll probably write about this more here and on Instagram before the event, but here are the details anyways: The Mini Crafty Fair, Saturday, December 16, 10AM-4PM at the Goodman Community Center in Madison, WI. Or to make it really easy, check out the event on Facebook.

I hope to see you local folks there!

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New Tools of the Trade

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When it comes to embroidery, I have to say I find it pretty relaxing. I love brainstorming ideas, shopping for fabrics and plopping down on the couch to stitch.

The exception to this ultra-mellow process is the whole tracing the designs onto fabric bit. Well, the tracing is easy enough, it’s just my equipment that would get me me bogged down. For the past few years I’d been using this 1970s-era light table that I snagged out of the Boston Store garbage. I mean who was I, someone that would trace designs by taping fabric to the window on bright days, to turn down a free light table? It was the solution to my main stitching problem!

And then it became the problem itself. This old table was huge – easily 18×24″ – and heavy. Lugging the thing up from the basement became such a hassle that I’d leave it on the floor of our den for weeks at a time, which wasn’t a great look. But I tried not to get down on it too much, because it’s not like new tables were that different.

Until I found out they were.

After making a dozen trips down to my basement to trace in a day (because I didn’t fee like moving the monster from its home), I was all that’s it – I’m looking for a new one (but only if it’s cheap)! I searched for light tables on Amazon, and I found this.

Holy crap, folks. It was like I flashed 50 years into the future (well, I had considering how old my light table was). Light tables are the size of iPads now. And they only cost about $25. I’ve never clicked “buy now” so fast.

Working with this table – well, it’s obviously not a table anymore – is a real dream. I love the adjustable brightness, the slim profile, how easy it is to store (even though this one is laying out in the den more often than not, too). This one small change is making my stitching process way easier. A good investment at last!

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Spooky Hoops // What’s New in Kaminski Handicraft

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It’s no secret that I’m all about spooky things here on this blog – or embroidery for that matter. So it’s not really a surprise that I’ve combined the two for a few scary shop updates at Kaminski Handicraft.

My first hoop is a real pride and joy piece for me. I dabbled with a new text style and new colors to make this Beetlejuice hoop. As a kid I loved Lydia Deetz, so this one is close to my heart. Plus, I feel like the red rose fabric (major heart eye emojis) and metallic black hoop scream Lydia.

For those looking for a more obvious Halloween-theme, I obviously had to tap into my 90s childhood for a Hocus Pocus hoop. It’s really a shame that this one doesn’t photograph that well, but I think it’s bewitching nonetheless. Bonus: the fabric glows in dark. Super cool.

And of course, Halloween would not be complete for me without some X-Files references. For those of you keeping track, Michael and I won a costume contest last year dressing up as Mulder and Scully. We’re way into it. And I’m way into these hoops! You can find them here and here.

For those interested parties, get these hoops now! I ship them out pretty quickly (within three days), but who doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween sooner than later?

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A Great British Baking Show Shop Update

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In case you missed it, The Great British Baking Show is back on PBS! I’ve been biding my time watching Master Class on Netflix, but we all know that’s not the same as the real deal (though Mary Berry is a delight AS ALWAYS).

To capitalize on my own GBBS frenzy, I decided to whip up some hoops inspired by Mel, Sue and my girl Mary. I think they turned out really fun, and I am hoping that there are some folk out there that are living for crafties like these. Also, this fits along with my small goals for June – I wanted to get a handful of non-wedding hoops up in the shop, and I did it!

The most obvious option is, of course, the ready, get set, bake! I think it’s super charming, and I hope it finds a home in someone’s adorable kitchen.

My goal is to capture that cute English garden feel with the fabric choices. I pretty much thought to myself could this be a grandma’s handkerchief or tea towel? as I picked out the fabric. I think that guided me to some pretty good options.

So far these are the only hoops in my GBBO series, but I’m always open to more! If you have any Mary Berry-sims you’d like to see stitched, leave them in the comments! I’d love to expand on this idea!

P.S. I also have other new hoops in the shop (just not baking-related). Check them out!

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Wedding Season Wedding Hoops

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It’s that time of year, folks: wedding season! That means I’ve been busy stitching up a few custom hoops for lucky couples near and far.

The first wedding of the season was for a family friend’s daughter, and I love this charming little design. It comes together relatively quick and I think it has a bit of fairy tale flourish – perfect for this Disney-loving pair.

I also have a set of twin hoops! Two couples chose this design and color scheme, and I think they look really lovely. Sometimes a design just works, and this is one of them! The second hoop pushed me to my limits – I stitched it up in about three days – but I really wanted these newlyweds to get their wedding gift on time. The USPS pulled through for me, and it was dropped off the day before. Talk about timing!

The pièce de résistance, however, is this completely custom design that I worked on all the way back in April and May. I love working on the designs I have in my shop, but I was really crossing my fingers for a 100% custom request at some point. Lucky for me, this bride’s style harmonized with my own. The invitation she sent me was fun and packed with color – a super fun design to riff off for my sketch. And the style of the lettering and illustration translated easily into embroidery. It was a dream project, and I’m so happy with how it turned out!

Congratulations to all these amazing couples! And feel free to visit my Etsy shop to check out more wedding/anniversary designs (and a few just-for-fun hoops too!).

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The Stars Align: Tarot Art Show

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Once in a while, the universe does me some wonderful and mysterious favors. And more rarely, the universe does me some wonderful, mysterious and coordinated favors.

Proof? A few months back, I wanted to get a little more serious about my interest in tarot. I had been envisioning embroidering tarot cards for some time – as a for fun, witchy woman sort of thing – but didn’t really want to go at it until I knew more about tarot readings and what the cards symbolize. I expressed some interest in this to some friends one day – less than a week later I got an email from my local yoga studio advertising an upcoming tarot workshop. That’s some great timing.

But then just a few days after the class, I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and I saw that an artist I follow, Lesley Numbers, posted a final call for artists for her art show. Her tarot-themed art show. HOLY SHIT.

Talk about the stars aligning, right?

Lucky for me, Lesley still had cards available to assign. Through the powers of divination and random assignment, I was given the Knight of Cups. I obviously took this as a sign and immediately googled its meaning. Just like drawing the Fool, it turns out the Knight of Cups had some relevant messages for me. The Knight of Cups can symbolize energy and drive (but in a controlled and peaceful way) as well as creativity. Ummmm… is it just me that sees that card as the perfect parallel for this project? Tarot is real, everyone.

With this assignment and metaphysical encouragement, I got to work embroidering my most complex project yet: the traditional Smith-Waite Knight of Cups. It took about 40 hours to complete (and some really sore fingers), and I think it turned out really well! I’m pretty proud of this one.

Some of the really lovely cards on display in the Bubbler inside Madison’s Central Library.

For all you locals, you can see my work in-person, along with cards from 150+ artists, at The Bubbler inside Madison’s Central Library now through the end of April. And if you’re really into this idea, you can attend the opening on Friday, April 14 – there will be other works on view, including some from Lesley Numbers herself, the library’s artist in residence. You can find all the details about the event here.

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Introducing… Kaminski Handicraft

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In my last post I made mention of new and exciting embroidery projects and how they were keeping me pretty busy. Well, it’s true! I do have some fun embroidery news to share!

After literal years of saying I would, I opened my Etsy shop! Say hello to Kaminski Handicraft!

Kaminski Handicraft sells custom embroidery pieces to celebrate life’s special occasions: weddings, anniversaries, new babies and more! I have a handful of standard designs that are ready to customize, and I’m also open to all sorts of design-to-order work to match invitations, websites and whatever else comes my way.

It’s a bit embarrassing to admit that I first wrote about this idea here all the way back in 2015, but that’s OK! I’ve got a few more hoops under my belt and a few more designs to pop into the shop!

Thanks for checking Kaminski Handicraft out. I’ll be adding more styles in the future, and – who knows – maybe a few non-special occasion hoops (looking at you, Golden Girls quotes). 😉

P.S. You can follow this new venture on Instagram: @kaminskihandicraft.

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Busting Creative Ruts

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Ever been in a creative rut? I’ve been there lately, and it is no fun at all. But being stuck is all a part of the cycle, so you may as well try to work through it.

Not sure if you’re there? Well, let me know if any of these scenarios sound like you. Projects that typically go quickly or are easy-breezy and ultra-fun seem to take for-ev-er. Starting a new project sounds about as appealing as deep cleaning the basement. Works in progress are going super wrong and you’re getting frustrated rethreading that bobbin for the tenth time. Or, quite simply, you just feel like you’re all out of ideas (and Netflix isn’t helping the case). It’s totally OK. We’ve all been there. Here are my tips to get the ball moving again.

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1. Start fresh

I find that when I’m in a rut, it’s sometimes best to scrap (or just put aside) all those WIPs. Maybe you’ve found yourself stuck because you’ve been looking at the same pattern for too long or trying to perfect the same recipe. Start new. That might just give you the clean slate you need.

2. Go easy

I recently tried to start fresh with a new project and I found that pressuring myself to create an original embroidery design was sinking me further into a rut. Instead of forcing myself to sketch out a handful of new designs, I decided to go for something simpler: a counted cross stitch that I didn’t have to create myself. Trying a simpler and smaller version of your favorite craft sometimes gives you that satisfaction of completing a project and the confidence to move onto something new.

3. Try something totally different

Maybe your go-to craft isn’t doing it for you right now. That’s totally normal! Set aside whatever it is you do for a while and pick up a new project. Take a stroll through your favorite craft store and see what peaks your interest. This new project just might get your creative juices flowing again or become a new favorite hobby. Win-win!

4. Pick up something old

Similarly, you could pick up an old project. Whether it’s an old WIP that’s this close to done  or a long-forgotten DIY, these old loves might inspire you to get working. I recently picked up an old dress pattern to get me moving again. It’s a simple one – which is perfect for getting me out of a slump – and just the right piece to push me into spring.

5. Take a break

Sometimes the solution is just time. Maybe what you love is putting you in a sticky spot because you overdid it. Don’t force it. Give yourself permission to take a break. Sometimes after a marathon sew or days of baking the solution is just catching up on a favorite show or a walk outside. No shame in that game. You’re still a maker and you’re still awesome!

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I hope these tips are helpful to all you makers out there that might be struggling. I’m working my way out of a rut right now with a few patterns from Plastic Little Covers and regular Malcolm in the Middle marathons. It’s definitely helping!

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Palm Springs Sampler

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Remember when I went on and on about how hard it was to make that Rowdy Roddy sampler? Well, some projects are just more difficult than others. Not this one, though. This one was a total breeze.

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My friend Kat, who you’ve seen on the blog before, eloped to Palm Springs last year. Since then, I knew I had to make her and her husband Jeff a little commemorative hoop – because that’s what I do now. Once I got their invitation to their belated reception, I knew it was on.

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Unlike some projects I’ve worked on, I knew exactly where I was going. No second-guessing color schemes or fonts or design. Kat and Jeff have such a clear and cool mid-century meets tiki meets sleek style about them, that there was no guessing involved. This one just poured out of me like a nice cool Hawaiian Eyes (which is Jeff’s best top secret cocktail).

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I won’t lie, this is my favorite wedding hoop so far.

 

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WIP Meltdown + Why It’s OK

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Have you ever gone into full-on meltdown mode over the most insignificant thing? Of course you have. We all do, especially us sensitive spirits.

This winter, I remember having an unnecessary and incredibly stupid pity party over a bottle of grape juice. After marathon shoveling, all I wanted was some leftover sparking grape juice from the holidays. I grabbed the bottle and twisted – nothing. My cold, weak hands could not grip that bottle tight enough and could not twist that foil cap. I sat on the floor of my kitchen and just let out a big gahhhhhh whyyyyyyyyy like adults do.

The culprit.
The culprit.

This happens.

And it happened this past weekend as I looked at an embroidery project. The project was an odd one from the get-go: a coworker asked if I could stitch a quote from the 1988 thriller They Live for him. Definitely uncharted territory for me. It started out fine – solid fonts, a decent layout, punchy color scheme – and then, after a few days of puttering, I hated it. I’ll admit it – I cried. I sat in the ugly recliner and cried over a satin-stitched quote from They Live. I lost my shit and said to Michael something akin to the following: “It’s boring and lame and the orange is too red and the green looks like boogers and all of it looks like Christmas.” Because he’s sweet and admittedly doesn’t know about colors or embroidery, he assured me it looked nice.

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Still working on this one. Stitches to rip out, cat hair to lint roll, the works.

I’m not sure if that’s true, but sometimes you got to work through it.

I strive for perfection. But in this case, I had to take a step back and ask Is there such thing as perfection for this for me? And I had to think about it, and the answer is no. No, there’s not a world in which “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass and I’m all out of bubble gum” is embroidered perfectly. There’s not because this sort of thing would never dawn on me. But, to the person that dreamed it up, the person that commissioned this project, someone that asked for this to be made because he could not do it himself nor would want to, a green and red-orange stitched quote about ass kicking might be just right.

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P.S. By happenstance, this post published the day Rowdy Roddy Piper passed away. So rest in peace, Roddy. You were a righteous dude whose memory lives on through this tiny project.