Busy Busy September 1, 2008

Lordy lordy. Life is BUSY. The Hannah Kate show  has come and gone, the “factory” is crankin’ away, hubby is traveling for work more than I care to talk about (ergh), kids are in the school schwing and there’s no slowing down in site. Sassy started ballet (cutest thing EVER) and Stinky will be playing Fall ball soon…hubby has another house project going (as always) and I will be doing some traveling with Kat in the Hat in the coming months. It’s pretty much go-go-go, 24/7…and I have to ask myself, is this how is should be? Sometimes I think I may need stay in bed all day and read a great book, eat icecream and pretend that all this busy-ness isn’t really happening…or forget work and spend a week dreaming up fun things to do with the kids. Alas, as good as that looks on paper the reality of it is, we will continue to be crazy busy and will just sneak little moments of rest and fun here and there. I’m not alone, I know this. I don’t know another person who doesn’t feel this way most of the time! Cup half full. Cup half full…I continue the mantra

Here are the Patchwork Collegiate designs I said I was going to post a million years ago:

Georgia Bulldog

Auburn War Eagle

The Bama elephant

and a girly version of my skull and crossbones design

Happy Labor Day!

Seeing Daylight (And a Cup Half….er, FULL!) August 12, 2008

At last…I am digging out of the hole that vacation put me in. I can actually see the bottom of the stack now…for now. Somewhere in the midst of the madness some new designs happened. Some by request, others purely by accident. These bunnies were happy accidents, because tell me, WHO is thinking bunnies (Easter) in August? But when an idea comes, SIEZE it, no? Of course, you substitute your own kiddos name:

And because we only offer our Patchwork designs to some of our retailers, new Patchwork bunnies too (in any pattern you choose).

A brand spankin’ new patchwork butterfly:

Patchwork his and hers holiday stars:

Patchwork Halloween pumpkin:

his and her trees:

Santa Hat:

and shoot, I had some more that now I can’t put my hands on…I’ll post them tomorrow. Anyway, enough of that. Let’s talk SCHOOL…

Yes, school. Back to school in AUGUST (this is wrong). Whoa. Really, Truly, NEVER has summer disappeared so quickly (maybe because technically it IS STILL SUMMER, so WHY ARE WE BACK AT SCHOOL instead of frolicking poolside?) I really feel like it never even started! And I am a summertime girl. I used to love winter because of the clothes (boot, jackets, LOVE) but I get bored now with winter clothes…they seem drab, and let’s be real here, cold HURTS. Kids in their bulky jackets are super hard to buckle into car seats, and all those layers take extra TIME to put on…plus, don’t get me started on LOSING jackets (and gloves and hats). For that matter, don’t get my MOM started. She’s still talking about jackets that were lost before she even paid the credit card bill. Endless trips to lost and found, that GIGANTIC pile of jackets in MY OFFICE that no one seems to see the OBVIOUS need to EVER hang up IN THE CLOSET (the one called–ironically–the COAT CLOSET), runny noses, freezing cold houses, dank, damp ugly brown yards, sickly looking trees, and wet, moldy leaves…..I know, I know, call me NEGATIVE (I am). Frosty car windows that need scraping when you are already LATE, book bags crammed with work sheets and requests for MORE MONEY and homework. Ugh. Homework. Pants that turn into floods midway through the winter. Static in the hair that makes for really bad hair days. Pill-y sweaters (yuck). Don’t I have such an extra special way of looking at the cup half empty? Geez. You want a better attitude? Okay then. Maybe I’ll just go out and buy tons of BRAND new jackets and super cool boots for the days when I decide to brave the cold, a sun lamp to keep my sunny disposition, and a ticket to Bermuda (for one, thank you) for the days when I can take no more.

Now how’s that for a dose of positive thinking. A cup more than halfway full.

I can make that frown turn upside down, like NO OTHER.

(BTW, I’m not sure how I ended up crawling out of bed on the wrong side today, but I’m going to get more coffee now, so I can enjoy this beautiful sunny August day

SHOOT ME NOW June 21, 2008

The college-aged intern just asked me if the pictures on my wall of MY CHILDREN were my GRAND children.

I guess it’s time to sign up for my spot at the old folks home. I can do some tees that say “I lost my last tooth today!” and make a killing. My co-workers assured me that she needed to have her eyes checked, but of course they did.

Oh and here’s my July 4th mailer…we still have time, order now!

Ho Hum April 17, 2008

I know, I know. I’m a slacker. On the blog front anyway. I wrote THE longest run-on missive in bloggin’ history the other day and somehow lost it before it was published. I couldn’t bring myself to start over. So here I am, freshly rested, with coffee in hand to tell you…that happily, life has been rocking along as usual.

The new job is GREAT. I’m getting used to a bit of an unpredictable schedule (and calls on the weekend about a story, or clothing for a shoot) but when I’m out collecting props or straightening a models hemline, I’m in hog heaven–doing what I love and feel I’m best at. Plus, now I have more time to devote to Kat in the Hat and we’re growing here too. I’m in the process of deciding “where to next”…meaning, what is the next level and how best to get there. A little daunting to be sure but exciting too.

In the midst of all this change, I’m at home more…which, for those of you who know me well, means I’m looking around for projects CONSTANTLY. Like the worst form of OCD. Sooo, I have redecorated the living room (new chair on order), rearranged, moved, taken out, added to…and it’s looking pretty good if I do say so. Moved Monkey’s twig bed out onto the screened in porch, among other things (now a “sleeping porch”) Ha. For the dog. Moved the antique bed I slept in as a child into his room (it’s official…he’s a big boy…in a full-sized haystack), and reconfigured the bowels of the basement to accomodate my ever-growing t-shirt factory and stock. That means ripping out all of the gnarly old shelving (in what we call the underneath- part- of- the- basement–not the finished- part–not that you care) and getting the handyman, aka hubby, to build nice little wall-to-wall cubbys. That also means that half the junk that was in there is now on the “sleeping porch” waiting for a yard sale next weekend. Yes, I have lost my mind.

A bit of a bummer, The Beautiful Room, the shop that carrried my things, has closed its doors. Libby, the shops owner, will still be doing flowers and event planning from her home though, so don’t count her out! Just contact me directly if you are a local and want to swing by and pick up a gift. I am not far from the shops location.

Oh…and I have updated the sample sale category on the site, AND finally photographed the knit apparel line which is slowing making it’s way online too AND I am about to stick some stuff on ebay…some Hannah Kate stuff…so check that out in a few days, under kgage.

OOOO. Best of all…when I was cleaning out the basement, I uncovered all 34 journals, each representing a year of my oh-so-exciting life, since the third grade, plus a few diaries, a gigantic bag of notes from highschool friends and other misc. and sundry (and most certainly incriminating) tomes about moi. So, guess what folks? I am therefore obligated to add to my list of to-dos, a memoir. Except I will be forced to use an assumed name as I do have a reputation to protect. Ha.

Kiddos are fine…Sassy Pants getting sassier (and SILLIER) by the day. She has some form of standup comedy in her future, I’m afraid. And Monkey had THREE games in ONE day on Saturday. NEVER again will we double up on the sports…soccer and baseball simultaneously.

And, I DO have to go into work today, after I cart a ka-zillion dollars worth of FABULOUS clothing back to Lola B (I covet), so I best be getting my hitch upstairs and dressed. Later folks, and I promise (don’t hold me to it) more interesting chatter next time.

Definitely. January 10, 2008

This is so bizarre. NO ONE can spell this word. I get at least one email a day with this word spelled wrong. definately. definatly. Gosh, a million variations. I pointed it out to a co-worker over a year ago, and she forwards her emails to me ALLLLL the time with this word misspelled. Of course now she’s obsessed, as am I. It’s become a pet peeve, as ridiculous as it may be. If it weren’t for spell-check, I’d be murdering the King’s English left and right too, but apparently there are folks who don’t take advantage of this fine feature. Anyway, just thought you might like to join in the inane fun of sleuthing out challenged spellers. (And as I ran spell-check on this, I realized that I’ve been misspelling  ridiculous my WHOLE LIFE. Rediculous. Geez. How humiliating.

Tiny Pieces December 12, 2007

If you have small children you know what I’m talking about. It’s a mothers bad, bad dream…being overtaken by little plastic parts, tiny wooden bits, the lone puzzle piece, the solitary leggo, the lincoln log, the wheel from the firetruck…I could go on and on, but that would be unkind to the moms who are starting to sweat, get dizzy, feel the stress that only the ponderance of tiny pieces can bring.

I used to worry myself sick with wrangling missing parts…putting each and every one in it’s place…rescuing the stray and stopping everything to help it find it’s way back to the mother ship. No more. 

If you hear that the company Play Mobil has been bombed, I did NOT do it. Whoever started that company hated his mother and his life’s mission is to get back at all moms…to make them PAY. We just recieved a gift from a so-called friend…it came in a Play Mobil box, so first I’m thinking, what did I do to her to make her do this to me, and second I’m wondering how to distract my kids long enough to throw it in the fireplace. Little tiny plastic bags filled with microscopic plastic pieces, and boxes to assemble, and cardboard thingy’s to put together, and me muttering under my breath all the while wishing I could somehow escape.

But a glass of wine (or two) later the whole debaucle turned into a pleasant family activity and now we have a clever little advent calendar with all sorts of bells and whistles…er, pieces. Thanks Elizabeth. I mean it, really!

So what happens to the pieces and parts at my house? The ones in the lint trap, under the cushions, the one I just stepped on (OW), those in pockets or traveling around the house in dust bunny caravans?  They’ve gone on to meet their maker. They’ll spend eternity in a landfill and yes,  I’ll rest a little easier knowing they’re in a better place.

Stuck, Part II September 24, 2007

As promised…the other meaning of the word “stuck”.

I think I needed to write this from my desk at work, as it takes me back to the morning when the word gained a whole new meaning for me. As I do every other weekday morning, I get my things situated at my desk and head off for the break room to make a pot of piping hot bullet-proof rocket fuel–this day was no exception. So, just as I’m about to pour a steaming cup of joe, two co-workers come in. We begin to chat but moments later I notice that one of them has gone silent and she’s staring. I follow the lasers from her eyes down to the place where she is so fixated. That would be my arm. And on my arm there is a foreign object. STUCK to the sleeve of my white blouse. Instantly her face turns twelve shades of red (this girl is dark-skinned friends, but I swear she turned white before she went red). In the next instant, my face has the same amazing transformation (only I skipped over the dark-skinned part). I shove the offending arm behind me, and both ladies back out of the room, giggling nervously, making excuses about “meetings” they have to get to (at 7:30 am when we are the only three employees in the bulding.)

I do lots of laundry. I am married to an archaeologist and have a seven year old rock collector living under my roof so I’m quite proficient at pocket-emptying. Sadly, it never occurred to me, that I might leave something behind in MY clothes. All I can say is, thank the good Lord the laundry was CLEAN…and kudos to the folks at the Light Days company: you make a darn sturdy product and that adhesive you use ain’t no joke.

Stuck September 23, 2007

As far as I’m concerned this word has only two meanings. The first one is this and it relates to fashion. Have you ever seen a woman who is feeling pretty good about herself in her high-waisted jeans with the tiny pockets, lost on her big sea of a rump? A wedgy like no tomorrow? Black eyeliner–the liquid kind you paint on with the tiny brush, to the rim part of your eye, behind her eyelashes, eyebrows plucked to oblivion and then penciled back in. A little sprout of hair, like feathers, pluming upward and shi-lacked (no clue how you spell this one). Skin tanned to perfection–in the dead of winter. This girl is…yep, you guessed it… stuck. Stuck back in “the day”. The day when she was hot…in this case, downright “foxy”. At some point, she no longer noticed the trends. She knew she looked good, she was a head-turner. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? It happens to everyone, some sooner than others. Look around you. You’ll see it…the topsiders, the acid-wash…the mullet.

Take stock folks. You’re not immune…is today your day?

The second meaning? I’ve decided to make you wait (because I know you care. ha.) In the meantime, where is that scrunchy?