Featured Artists IKnitQuiltSew

So many of the arts are being lost in favor of speed and lower cost, however, there are still a few out there that insist on keeping handmade alive for all to treasure and enjoy. One such talent is a wonderful woman who learned to knit and sew from her grandmother and great grandmother! I love to think of such wonderful fine arts being passed down from generation to generation so that they are not lost forever.

Sandi took these lessons to heart and has spent many happy years knitting and sewing for her children, grandchildren, extended family, friends, coworkers and any other lucky soul who happens to cross her path!  She says that each of her wonderful teachers tended to be perfectionists, and she holds herself to those same standards.  Each child and grandchild is the recipient of a handmade teddy bear which is a rough interpretation of her grandmother’s bear!  These bears have become a family tradition with the oldest surviving bear being at least 30 years old!  Sandi is in her creative element when she is surrounded by fabric in every imaginable color or skeins and skeins of vibrant yarn!

When Sandi is not creating, she holds a regular job at a local university where she is known as the “answer lady.”  She is surrounded by those with questions regarding various college disciplines to which she tracks down the answers.  When she is not working, Sandi can be found with her husband fishing!  They track down the most remote locations possible and finds the sounds of squirrels, breezes through pines, meandering brooks and rocky crags absolutely heavenly.

Sandi’s grandmothers had many talents, but one that they did not possess was quilting.  Sandi was obsessed with beautiful handmade quilts and many years ago took the plunge, grabbed some books and set out to teach herself the art of quilting.  Her education continues as she collects books and creates patterns for her quilting passion.

 Sandi was encouraged to start selling her creations, but was concerned that making products to sell would take the personal touch out of her work.  She says that it is one thing to knit a blanket with a certain person in mind and quite another to knit thinking of a massive market of unknown tastes.  Understandable, but she jumped in anyways and IKnitQuiltSew was born!  She now offers everything from handmade rag dolls, teddy bears, baby booties, headbands, housewares, and quilts!  Mind blowing to think that one woman could create this all and stay sane!

She is encouraging to other crafters but warns that handmade sales are not for everyone.  Many don’t have the patience and perseverance to sell an art, especially in a rough economy.  Sandi is honest when she says that this business is not filled with “hills and valleys-more like mountains and ravines!”   This is not to say you shouldn’t sell your work…not at all…just be sure to look around a lot before taking the plunge and answer a few questions for yourself such as what makes your work different and do you love what you do enough to do it for a living?  Can you afford to create when the income isn’t there?  Who would want your art and how are you going to find them?

 Sandi did take the plunge, and we are so glad that she did, and now can be found on the web and has recently started doing craft fairs!  She loves to have one on one interaction with live customers and see a child cuddle a bear or show off a pretty new headband.  She is encouraged by customer’s positive response to her hard work and uses that to keep her working through the leaner times.

As said, IKnitQuiltSew (doesn’t that name just sum it up so nicely?!?) can be found online on the HandmadeArtistsShop , Facebook, and her Blog which features such things as the step by step process of hand-making a quilt from concept to completion! Check her work out and just see if you aren’t captivated by this talented lady!

Tags: buy handmade, childrens clothes, hand knit, Handmade, Handmade Artists, handmade teddy bear, quilt, sewing

Posted in Featured Vendor