Hannah Kate Coming Soon! July 31, 2008

I’m starting to get lots of inquiries about when the next Hannah Kate Show will be. Here’s the dish.

August 21-22 at my home

Visit

www.hannahkateonline.com

to view the current collection and check out new fabrics and embellishments

I sent invites out this week, but if you think you are not likely on my list and would like to be, please contact me with your address. I hope to get photos of the clothing up on my site just before the show begins, so you’ll be able to call in an order if you are not in the Knoxville area. Looks like some really cute stuff! And new this season, you can actually go to the Hannah Kate site to order holiday wear in advance, to insure that you’ll receive it in time. Just tell them I  am your usual hostess please !

Creative Juice July 30, 2008

My customers have been drinking it. They come up with such nice ideas and it’s especially great, because then I HAVE to do new designs to fill the order…so no procrastination on the design front. Actually, my problem is time, not so much procrastination, but either way, they have good ideas and I love the challenge of helping them get what they are looking for. Here are the designs that “happened” just today:

Keep your requests coming folks. It’s what keeps my job interesting…I love it!

Ahhh. Sandy Beaches…(NOT!) July 29, 2008

When you think beach, you think sand, no? Well, not to be a debbie downer, I mean, a vacation is a vacation…but the beaches in Maine…well, they leave something to be desired; namely, SAND. We DROVE to Maine week before last…yep, 17 hours in a small box on wheels with two children and everything we own. Okay, so on the way up, we only had one kid (my son went ahead for soccer camp with his cousins in Vermont), and we split up the trip with a night in Virginia with my dad…BUT, on the way home, we drove straight through with both kids in tow and a super crabby mama. 17, count them, 17 hours.

I say it rained the whole week. Hubby says there was sun every day.

How is that for the whole cup-half-full and cup-half empty way of looking at life. What can I say? I have hundreds of orders to fill and I’m a little stressed. But beggars can’t be choosers…thank the good Lord for a growing business, and that I got to go to Maine and eat lobster for 10 days.

My life doesn’t suck (all that much).

Here are some pics (in no particular order). I took a ka-gillion, but folks, I aint got time to
upload ‘em all (go ahead, big sigh of relief..I won’t hear you).

Here’s one of my cutie-patooty nieces. She was ALLLLL about posing for the camera. I kept catching them off somewhere standing in some poetic pose, gazing off into the horizon…with the hopes that I would spot them and say AHA!! What a GORGEOUS PHOTO you would make!!

The four of them had a ball together. They all stayed in a loft with little nook type beds with trundles underneath…it was like being at camp. We had more fun eavesdropping on their conversations.

These two are little pistols. They are gonna be hell on wheels when they grow up.
Off to a really good start already.

We took a ferry over to Monhegan Island…really gorgeous. An artist colony; people all over the place painting the scenery. We hiked by the ocean…on big Rocky cliffs. Pretty doggone cool.

This is on one of the trails we hiked…a beautiful gate someone had fashioned from drift wood.

The flowers we encountered were just amazing.

This one looks like something out of Dr. Suess

Then there was the “fairy” forest. How cool is this? You find all of these little “houses” made out of bark, tiny pinecones, mosses and twigs, tucked into little nooks in trees, on the ground…all over. The kids were enchanted; thinking of course that fairies made them all. Then you suggest, “hey, why don’t we make one too?” and everybody sets to work on a magical creation. On the way out, Stinky Boy says “hey mom. I think I know how those fairy houses really get there. PEOPLE make them!” Bright boy.

This little sprite can run faster than me. 3 1/2 years old…she will be some sort of famous athlete,
mark my words.

More rocky beach pics…

Yep. You guessed it. This is one of those “poetic” poses I mentioned. Ha.

The kids were diggin’ the lobsters. That is, until…well…we cooked them alive.

Ouch. It actually made me sad. Until I dipped it in butter.

Queen Anne’s Lace grows like weeds in these here parts.

One particularly special thing about a rocky beach is the potential for skipping/skimming stones
(which is folks? anybody know?)

Here are the youngun’s pretending to be one big giant starfish.

and for the abrupt finish…that’s all folks!

I will leave you with what I thought was a laugh out loud “funny”.
Last night miss priss walks in, and as serious as a heart attack, says

“daddy?”

“did elvis die on the potty?”

We Love Kitzie. July 17, 2008

Miss Kitzie is one of Sassy Pants sweet, sweet teachers. She is also our “sometime’s” babysitter (except she is in high demand and usually booked solid) and she has become one of my YOUNGEST friends. Ha. That’s not hard to be. Well the youngest part anyway. I look forward to our visits each afternoon…and she is usually wearing Anthropologie, my fave of all time, so we have that to gab about. And South Beach. She is a pro and just dropped like 15 lbs. (she looks fab and got fussed at by her seamstress who has taken her dress in three times now). Ah, such sweet sorrow.

Kitzie is leaving us. Wedding bells are calling and she’s moving off to start anew. I had the honor of making tees for her bridal party which they sported at Coyote Ugly’s, atop the bar no less. Congratulations Kitzie and Ben.

I hate that we are missing your last two days…but you know we love you…and Sassy of course, will call me Kitzie for years to come I am sure (when I am being super extra fun and sweet).

That’s Miss Kitzie in the cowboy hat.

Thanks for everything! We’re gonna miss you. XoXo

Here I Am. Amazed Again. July 16, 2008

By the kindness of others. My customers are just so darn great:

Hi! We just opened the package tonight & my daughter loves them, but wanted to know why I didn’t order all the other ones she wanted so we will definitely have to order more soon!!! All 3 were so cute.
She wants to wear the pink and orange flower tee to school tomorrow. Thanks so much for getting them to us so quickly.
Talk to you soon!
Melanie Fowler
Arab, AL

Got my tee’s – what fast turn around and a few girls have emailed me telling me that they love their tee’s! They are super cute! Thanks again!

Marcy
Dallas, TX

I thought I emailed you but actually now I remember that I never did. I got the tees and absolutely LOVED every one!!! The girls loved both mermaid shirts and honestly the goldfish and sailboat designs have been my favorites ever!!! You are incredible!! I will put a check in the mail tomorrow…..thanks!

Anna
Birmingham, AL
Love your stuff – it is SO cute.
Thanks ~ Jeanne

Dallas, TX

The shirts look great!! I will be mailing you a check tomorrow. You are so incredibly talented!! Thanks.

xo,
Lisa

Charlotte, NC

Got my shirts, and they’re wonderful! My older boys are already wearing theirs. I’ve talked to several people, and they all love the shirts. Thanks again!

Brandi
Spring Hill, TN

OH HOW I LOVE my invitations, thank you’s and my shirt. They all turned out so precious and I can’t wait for everyone to see!!! Hopefully this will lead to more business for you too! Of course he is my child and I think he is the most precious thing ever but everytime I look at that drawing of him it makes me smile. I will have to send pictures after his party of his cake, him wearing his shirt, etc. Everyone has been asking when my show is and cannot wait! Thank you so so much for all of your help and creativity. You captured Wallace perfectly!!! Even my husband is impressed and he usually doesn’t have an opinion. Talk to you soon!

Jenny
Decatur, AL

Becky…is that stubborn baby here yet? Hope you are feeling well. Prayers are with you and that precious baby girl.

So Much to Do…So Little Time July 15, 2008

Story of my life. Crazy busy and no time to chat…but just did a new design (by request) and thought I’d post it so I have SOMETHING to blog about besides tales of busy-dom. My last round of posts were written in a single day and doled out over a few days…great technique but eventually you run out of material. So anyway..for the wacky kiddos out there who are completely obsessed with guitar hero:

Bubbles July 9, 2008

Kids love bubbles. But tell the truth. So do you. When they struggle to blow the sticky goo into the shape of a glossy round bubble it’s all you can do to resist snatching the wand away for your own try. It’s understandable, afterall, there is a little bit of magic in every one that floats away, or perches on a single blade of grass, and pops with a little mist of rainbow color.

Wee-wees July 7, 2008

Who?

Oh, Wheeler. Wheeler is a Porkinese Pigpull. Okay, she is pitbull-lab mix. I think. But she looks like pig, and she has a few lbs. to lose. And there’s something about the little hitch in her stride…she could pull a tractor…she’s a breed unto herself and that deserves a more interesting name than “mixed breed”.

Hubby started talking about a pair of puppies he saw in a ditch while on a dig (he’s an archaeologist). Lovely I said, bring them home and it was nice knowing you. Now, SIMMER DOWN animal activists. I was pregnant with my first child, already had a very needy little lap dog, and okay, I admit it…I am not, well, I don’t, geez…how do I say it? I’m not a huge animal person. It’s like a crime around here. So arrest me.

Anyway, I guess my threats don’t carry much weight because he kept seeing them, day after day, and whatdyaknow, home they came. One skinny and tall, one fat and short (hmmm. wonder which one that is.) We called them Ida and Yoda dog. Haha, funny, right? Not so much. I put an ad in the paper to find them…operative word…LOVING homes. But Porky really was kinda cute. Away Ida went (name changed to Maggie on the spot), and somehow, some way, Porky started working her way into my heart. So one day hubby and I are driving down the road and a pickup truck passed. In the back was a wheel barrel, the wheels turning in the wind. I had had a conversation earlier in the day with a girl at work named Kate Wheeler about our shared pregnancies and had tucked her name into my head as cute. I said, Hm, if we WERE to keep the dog, not that we are of course, we could name her Wheeler. Hubby’s reply…”I found her on Wheeler Reservoir.”

I’m not superstitious, but c’mon, how can this one be denied? It was fate, right? So Yoda became Wheeler, and then the monkeys shortened it to Wee-wees. Wee-wees is a sweet dog, but she has one very annoying habit. She RAMSSS her nose into people’s crotches. It is a little bit embarrassing. When Stinky was Christened, my brothers very gentile southern father-in-law was accosted. He calmly pushed her away and remained unruffled. But later on, as we sat sipping tea, and cooing over Stinky in his floor length vintage lace gown, Southern Gent pipes up. “I feel like I’ve been raaappped.” Nice.

As you can see, she isn’t a puppy anymore…she has more grey hair than I do (well, close). But we love her. And no, I’m still not an animal person. But Wheeler doesn’t count.

We All Scream for Icecream July 6, 2008

My kids LOVE icecream. I guess all kids do, but truly, there is nothing on this earth that makes them happier. Stinky Boy would give his right arm for a Ben & Jerry’s frappe, Sassy likes it pink–the flavor is secondary.

I think icecream tastes best in a cup…now they like it that way too. Stinky was born at 9 1/2 pounds…he was well-versed in ice cream delicacies (ala peanut butter and Breyers sugar-free vanilla…TRY THIS) before he even joined us on the outside. Another one YOU MUST TRY is vanilla ice cream (this Breyer’s sugar free vanilla takes away a LITTLE of the guilt), stiff peanut butter (too creamy doesn’t really do it–keep your pb in the fridge, and drain some of the oil), slivered almonds and banana–all mashed up. Heaven. I promise you. (Lord, who’d have thought I’d be dishing RECIPES. What is the world coming to?)

is it acceptable to eat icecream for lunch?

Suzanne July 5, 2008

My grandmother was a brilliant seamstress. I was dressed to the nines from the time I could walk, thanks to her talents. She made me special dresses and outfits for every occasion. I remember an adorable baby doll- style top that tied in the back with a big sash and matching flare bottom pants, in a tiny blue print, made especially for a day at Six Flags. I remember my ultra-hip, bell bottom “dark-blue/light-blue” jeans that made me feel oh-so-cool (they started out dark blue at the bottom and graduated to light blue at the top. Yes, tres chic). And somewhere along the way, she ventured into stuffed animals. A fat panda (Pandy), Paddington Bear (complete with little blue jacket and yellow rain hat)…but perhaps her most ambitious project….Suzanne.

She presented Suzanne to me one Christmas morning. I must have been five or so. I remember it like it was yesterday. She was sitting at the end of the formal living room, with Suzanne in her lap. I hugged them both so hard that my grandmother asked me to please loosen my grip. Susanne had on a darling dress with little red kitty’s all over it, trimmed in red rickrack, blond pigtails and beautiful embroidered blue eyes. She even had little black felt mary janes on. She was bigger than me. She was bigger than life.

Why I gave her the name Susanne, I have no idea, but I danced with Susanne, I told her my secrets, I did NOT practice kissing her soiled face like I’d seen on TV, but I suppose if I had, her face would be dirty sort of like it is today. Sometimes I got mad at Suzanne (or my brother, but she took the brunt of my anger), sometimes I felt sad, and Suzanne lovingly soaked up my tears. Over time, we played together less but she sat there happily–content to be my friend.

Alas, I grew up, lost interest in playing house, and along with my other dolls, Susanne was relegated to a dark closet. There she sat quietly for more than two decades–and never did the smile leave her sweet face. When I had children, she resurfaced at my moms house, but no one paid her much attention. She was very patient. Then she made the big move to Charleston and came out for visits. Still, no interest. (But she loved sitting in the midst of all of the excitement anyway.)

But this summer, my girl turned four, and maybe that’s around the age the magic hits, because she DISCOVERED SUSANNE. And asked if she could come to live with us. I have to admit, mom and I were a little teary eyed at Suzanne’s good fortune. Mom even brought out the little antique tea table and staged a tea party for Sassy and Susanne in the garden. We packed her up, she made the trip to Knoxville, got spiffed up with new hairbows and clothes (Oh my, I discovered eyelet bloomer panties that were MINE as a little girl, and the AAA training bra that I HAD TO HAVE even though I SO didn’t, in the 6th grade.) and once again, Susanne has a little friend. She knew if she waited patiently, somebody would ask her to play.

Welcome back Susanne, we love you.

And we look forward to creating many brand new adventures and memories with you.