Purple Hippo Stitches

To say the least, I’m pissed about the current contraceptive debate and why it even IS a debate. Use it, don’t use it…it’s a personal choice, possibly fueled by religion.

So, the Catholic Church is having a fit over birth control being mandatory coverage in insurance programs. The thought being that money they pay in will fund other people getting birth control and, as they like to add, abortion and Plan B. And that having insurance companies mandatorily fund it is somehow a breach to religion.

First, let’s clarify a few things. Birth control is NOT abortion. Plan B is NOT abortion. Birth control is useful for many medical reasons besides just having crazy sex any time you want. Plan B is strictly for birth control. Abortion is a whole other deal and can be termed a strictly elective procedure. Therefore, abortion and Plan B are the only two with any sensible argument to not be covered.

Second, this is strictly an insurance issue. It has nothing at all to do with Catholic medical institutions. They still have the right to refuse to prescribe birth control or any sort of contraceptives. It is within their rights though I would argue it is blatant irresponsibility on the part of doctors and nurses to not supply all options and unbiased education. The lack of free information is extremely detrimental in areas served primarily by such institutions. It doesn’t matter what religion you are, people of any age are subject to poor decisions. Refusing to educate about safe sex is, yet again, something anyone in the medical community should be ashamed to support. After all, you are helping the spread of STDs and unplanned pregnancies.

Third, on an insurance/profit level, it’s really stupid to not offer birth control or Plan B coverage. After all, birth control is a million times cheaper than pregnancy. Plan B is cheaper than pregnancy. As for abortion, while I do believe it should be covered, is truly an elective procedure with many other alternatives (adoption etc.) for not keeping the child. And it should absolutely be covered in circumstances of medical emergencies, rape, and incest. Bringing a child to full term when it has no chance to live puts the mother’s life in danger and puts unnecessary strain and expense on the healthcare system, yet again.

So here’s a shocker for the religious right who refuses to think reasonably about this matter. I have been on birth control since the age of 10. And newsflash, I was NOT having sex when I started birth control. Being on it did not change my views on sex and when to have sex. It did not mean I had a free pass to be a whore. And it sure as hell doesn’t prevent STDs. It did not turn me into a sex crazed maniac. I should also put out there that I did not have sex in high school, which I’m sure many many people who claim to support these laws have. Birth control was and still is medically necessary for me. I mean, sure, I could probably get by without it at the risk of bleeding out, becoming anemic, being a raging hormonal bitch, and further complications from untreated cysts.

So here’s the deal, healthcare is based upon a system of people paying in and people who need it, getting money out (let’s not get into all the things wrong with the American system and how it doesn’t follow this model). But since the Catholic Church has decided that they are above this simple system, I suggest that anyone be able to opt out of their money going to anyone uses their insurance for anything I deem immoral or unnecessary.

Let’s see:
-women choosing to bring non-viable and risky pregnancies to full term
-in vitro fertilization and similar things. after all, if it’s god’s will, it’s god’s will. the earth is already overpopulated and there’s kids sitting in foster homes.
-irresponsible pregnancy caused by a refusal to use birth control. I’m thinking of the Duggar’s here. The truth is, it is not medically healthy for her to keep getting pregnant. Her last kid has severe health conditions and bringing that baby to full term was very costly. Her last pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. If she is against birth control, then it’s clearly time to stop having sex.
-organ transplants or serious medical procedures for alcoholics, smokers, etc. After all, there’s too many people on a transplant list to begin with. So let the organs go to those who need them through no fault of their own and not to alcoholics who willingly destroyed their livers.
-and fat people! We should just stop covering diabetes caused by being fat. And stomach stapling. Let’s just ban insurance from all fat people until they lose the weight.
-people on long term life support. Yet again, this always seems to be fueled by religion, though I will never understand how keeping a brain dead person on a bunch of machines is the kind of natural life Jesus was advocating we protect. In any other era, the person would be long dead.

I’m sure there are many other things that are seen by many as unnecessary, are known drains on the healthcare system, and are procedures that Jesus wouldn’t be all too happy about. So before everyone throws a hissy fit over people of other religions making their own sexual choices, at least think about the underlying affects of a law like this passing. Because in essence, it isn’t violating freedom of religion, it’s violating everyone’s personal and religious freedoms outside of a select few. It’s our health and we are allowed to take care of it how we choose. So I won’t judge you and your overeating that will lead to diabetes that I will have to pay for and you won’t judge me for not being ready for children.

I’ve always had grandiose dreams of a blog, full of wit and insight. And I fail, everytime…miserably.

So thanks to , I’m getting a little dose of motivation or a little ass kicking, depending on how you want to term it.

The Christmas season is over but work didn’t slow down as I expected. I’m currently preparing for a show at Fabricate, a handmade store in Cincinnati. If you live in the area, definitely check out the store in Northside as it’s packed (literally) with tons of stuff. This will be my first exhibition and will officially open on Northside Second Saturday in February. More information to come!

Now on to general updates. Last year was a bit of a blur. In terms of life accomplishments, here’s the best of 2011.

-Participated in my favorite craft shows, Crafty Supermarket in Cincy and Bloomington Handmade
-Expanded my shows with Craftin’ Outlaws in Columbus, The City Flea in Cincy and smaller events in Indianapolis with Handmade Promenade and Indieana Handicraft Exchange
-Got into my biggest show by far, Renegade, in Chicago and had a blast during the weekend.
-Started selling by consignment at Fabricate and at the Handmade Promenade Holiday Pop-Up shop.
-Built this website. It needs some (a lot) of work.
-Created a line of 15 cross-stitch kits as well as PDF patterns.
-Started crafting full-time
-Attended a Crafty conference in Columbus
-Learned the basics of photoshop to redesign my business cards, logo, and kits.
-Started keeping real track of all my expenses and sales.

In life news:
-I graduated with my Masters Degree and can now go in search of a librarian job.
-I got engaged to an awesome guy.
-And we expanded our family by getting a new cat!

Some things I’m counting on in the new year:
-Getting married! (Oct. 13, 2012)
-Getting a job and relocating, most likely to Cincinnati
-Learn to use my brand new sewing machine
-Having my first art show
-Expanding to new handmade consignment stores

I haven’t had a lot of time lately, so here’s a quick update. The last two weeks I had the chance to participate in my two FAVORITE shows and had an absolutely great time. Especially since I beat previous sales at Bloomington and beat an all time record at Crafty Supermarket.

One is the city I live in and one is the city I hope to move to! Now I am gearing up for Black Friday and the ensuing craziness. If you want to be in on the Purple Hippo Deals, stay tuned to my Facebook Fan Page and my Twitter account (patterninstatic). I haven’t finalized the sales yet, but stay tuned for a coupon code as well as free shipping on all of my cross-stitch patterns.

Unfortunately, I got completely wiped out at Crafty Supermarket. Okay, good for me, not so good for you. So here’s the deal for Christmas. I will NOT be doing custom orders UNLESS you choose an existing design. You can customize colors or details to personalize it. As for all new patterns, I just can’t do them right now.

Additionally, I will be listing pieces as MADE TO ORDER. These will ALL ship in time for Christmas (and I will make sure of it!). Now, maybe I didn’t list the item you had in mind. I will be listing my most popular designs but certainly won’t have time to offer everything. If you want a piece that you don’t see, send me an Etsy convo. As long as, by that point, I do not have too many orders, I will create a custom listing and stitch that piece for you, guaranteed by Christmas.

The following order dates should be followed when ordering for Christmas:

APO/FPO/DPO (Military):
Made to order – Dec. 1st
Ready to Ship – Dec. 8th
I do not have a lot of experience shipping to these and do not have time frames beyond what the postal service gives me so please order ASAP!

International (Unless you live somewhere really obscure…then PLEASE convo me):
Made to Order – Dec. 1st
Ready to Ship – Dec. 10th

National:
Made to Order – Dec. 12th
Ready to Ship – Dec. 19th

Please note that this does NOT guarantee that the order will arrive in time for Christmas. It does meet the USPS date deadlines for delivery by Christmas and delivery confirmation will be attached to domestic orders.

Occasionally, items do get lost in the mail. In my entire time on Etsy, I have had one item lost and it was over the Christmas period. I will inform you of when the item ships. If the item has not arrived within a reasonable number of days, please contact me as SOON AS POSSIBLE. I am willing to replace the item (or refund, etc.) but one customer did not alert me until Dec. 23rd in regards to a Christmas present and, by that point, there was nothing I could do. Basically, don’t be afraid to point out an issue when you see it!

And with that…Happy Thanksgiving!!! Tomorrow I’ll be busy (attempting to) cook and if things turn out, maybe I’ll share some pictures.

In case you haven’t noticed, the economy is in the shitter. So it’s more important, now than ever, to support local small businesses. It won’t just help the business but help the community as more money that is spent there will stay within the community. So I’ll be highlighting some of my favorite places around Bloomington.

I’ve heard a lot of people say, “I can get that cheaper at Walmart.” And I get that. Believe me, I’m poor. Like, really really poor. So no, I don’t eat all organic. I don’t shop solely at the Farmer’s Market. But that’s why I want to highlight some awesome places that anyone can support. And as for Walmart, there’s a classic case of you get what you pay for.

So the first place I wanted to feature is T&T Pet Food and Supply located way down South Walnut, where students don’t dare venture. I actually just went for the first time the other day. Mabel, the cat, was about to run out of food and I didn’t really want to drive out into the congestion of College Mall to buy her food at Petco. So I decided to stop in here and hope they had her brand and expecting to pay more for the convenience factor.

This store has any and every type of food that your dog or cat needs. And honestly, if they don’t sell it then your pet shouldn’t be eating it. They carry healthy, natural, holistic foods and everything you need for special diets. Naturally, get the holistic fully organic stuff and it will set you back quite a bit.

In fact, a short plug for my cat’s food. Natural Balance. I did quite a bit of research because I didn’t want to feed my cat crap food but I’m also not a billionaire. This brand fit the bill. It’s completely natural and has a much healthier ingredient list. While the regular food didn’t quite agree with Mabel, the limited ingredient line works great. Some things I’ve noticed and were also mentioned by other reviewers of the product: healthier coat (seriously my cat has the softest fur ever), weight control (the cats aren’t filling themselves with crappy junk food), and they actually eat less! Because it’s more filling. At $14 a bag (which I buy about once a month) it’s about half as much as Science Diet and other similar brands that claim to be good. Check those ingredients and see what you are actually paying more for.

But back to this store! The prices are comparable to the major chains and they have a loyalty program for food. Buy 10 bags and get the 11th free. They also had lots of fun cat toys, one of which Mabel is currently enjoying. They also have a big orange cat named Maurice who slept right on the counter while I paid and enjoys waking up to “talk” to customers. As their sign says, family owned for 42 years.

It’s always great to discover a new place. It’s even better when the place is locally owned, just as cheap or cheaper, and actually more convenient for me to get to!

Last week was a crazy week and this week isn’t shaping up to be much calmer.

Two weeks ago, I drove 6 hours to Oberlin Ohio to interview for a job I really really wanted. It seemed like the perfect first job. And while I was overqualified technically for the position, it seemed like that would work to my advantage. I drove the 6 hours back knowing a decent amount that I made me fairly self-assured. There was only one other candidate and she didn’t have the experience I did. If offered the job, I would be moving in 2-3 weeks and starting full time soon after.

While waiting to hear back, my boyfriend, Tim, decided to drag my adorable kitty, Mabel, outside for a walk against her will. To be fair, she likes walks…but it did seem a bit odd. And a few minutes later, Mabel was back and tied around her neck was this!

Naturally, I freed Mabel and I also said yes! Of course, we’ve been living together for over two years and have dated off and on since freshman year of college so it wasn’t totally unexpected. The ring is actually one that I looked at and immediately fell in love with. But it’s about time Tim made an honest woman of me and my daughter (the cat). And having not been one to preplan my entire wedding, one week in, I’m having fun planning and imagining the possibilities.

And then two days later, I found out that I did not have the job. As an unhireable art history grad who went back to school to get a more useful degree, I’ve suddenly gone from underqualified to overqualified. Overqualified is never something that made sense to me. After all, the salary for the position was already set. And I already knew that I wanted it. And that I would be pretty good at it.

And hell, I really wanted to be settled. I just don’t see myself staying in Bloomington and neither does Tim. I was excited to get the job and get settled in a more permanent location. I’ve lived for periods of time in 3 countries and 2 states and I think I may be over it. Not that I don’t want to travel but I want a reliable home base. And I want that place waiting for me when I get married.

But scratch that plan. I have a beautiful ring, a cute boyfriend fiance, a spoiled kitten, and a business that I built on my own. And that’s not so bad. And weeks like this make me wonder whether I seriously have time for a job!

This weekend is Craftin’ Outlaws in Columbus, Ohio with a scheduled visit with the family back in Akron which has now turned into looking at wedding venues! Seriously, who ever has time for a real job?

So this post is to say that the crafting business will not be going by the wayside anytime soon. And that, knowing so many crafty people now, I’m having grand and somewhat crazy schemes of wedding craft projects.

As someone who loves to travel the world, it might seem a bit odd that I’ve become such a fan of being “local” in the last few years. Especially considering that I’m rather outspoken in Bloomington, Indiana not being my location of choice. In fact, I always wanted to live in large cities and live the big city life. Which was a surprise to me when I ended up, after high school, at Oberlin College in a town called Oberlin, Ohio, otherwise known as the middle of nowhere with a population of 8,000 (3,000 students) and the nearest “metropolis” being Cleveland.

So it’s time to reconsider. The truth is I hate suburbs. So many seem free of culture and free of any real sense of community. They strike me as full of gossip and one-upping. If you stick 3,000 students, mostly from the East and West coasts from extremely hippie liberal families, in a small town situated in the poorest county in Ohio…now that creates culture and it creates a unique community.

Most students at Indiana University will tell you that they go to school in a small town. Compared to others in the Big Ten, Bloomington social life might strike many as lame. After all, Kilroy’s Sports is the best excuse for a night club and best real city is 2 and a half hours away (Indianapolis doesn’t count, Cincinnati represent!). It also lacks some of the other Big 10 sports culture on account of the fact that the football team doesn’t really win and no one really cares. But students are completely shocked by the fact that, where I went to undergrad, there were two bars. There was the Feve and there was the Oberlin Inn…which was a bar inside a hotel. Technically, there was also the ‘Sco, actually owned BY the college and lovingly termed by the college as a discotheque. So basically there was the Feve.

I can also honestly say I never drank at the Feve until I was of age. Seriously, why would anyone go through the trouble of getting a fake ID when there is one bar in town? And it wasn’t that we didn’t have a social life…there was plenty of social life but that is for another post.

The Feve is one of the things I miss most about Oberlin. Honestly, as far as bars go, it’s not very special. The food is mediocre at best (those that claim otherwise simply don’t get out of Oberlin enough) and there is no dance floor. The music selection is based solely on the tastes of the bartenders which can range from esoterically hipster to esoterically gangster rap-ish. Their best feature? Friday happy hour in which all drinks were $1 but in my senior year, they raised their prices to $1.50. Bitches…

The Feve was my local, I just didn’t know it then. I was simply 21 with one choice of bar in town. What do I mean by my local? It was my bar. It’s a phrase often used in England, because even if you live in the busiest part of London where there is a pub every two feet, one of those bars is your local. It’s yours. And it’s a term I heard often and fondly from many of the people that came to my pub. Basically, I graduated from college, the economy crashed, and I used my liberal arts degree to work at a Starbucks in Target before taking the first flight out to London where I worked in a pub for 5 months. That’s a story for another time, but many of the regulars at my pub taught me the importance of having a local.

I heard once, though I don’t have the statistics on me, that a British citizen will visit their “local” on average of 3 times a week. Despite the obvious boozing implications this draws, it also highlights the importance of the pub as a social place and at Oberlin I had a bit of that without knowing it.

The thing is you never have to make plans to show up at your local. Even as a single girl…you can just show up. Have a drink or two. And inevitably, people will join you. Perhaps there was more choice in a city like London, but Happy Hour at the Feve was the 21+ social event in Oberlin. You didn’t have to text people to meet up. You showed up and other people would show up and a great time was had by all.

Maybe it wasn’t the most exciting bar or the greatest bar I’ve ever been to but it was my bar. Part of the community of a small town or of chilling in your favorite bar seems to be a fierce loyalty to the exact things that make it not so great. So don’t you even think about dissing the hipster music or the giant vagina paintings on the wall (i mean coughartcough) or the garlic salt doused tator tots which are the best the whole of Oberlin has for late night munchies because otherwise you will get your ass beat.

Maybe this is part of why I bitch about Oberlin, Indiana. After all, it certainly has more “Culture” with a capital C. It has an insane multicultural food scene. It has more bars than I know what to do with. But I’ve lived here for two years, and I don’t have a local. I don’t have a place in town I can just show up. I can’t just be a girl in a bar having a beer.

Luckily, in the past couple of months, I’ve found a lot of things to slowly fill my local gap, mainly through the local craft community, but I’m still on my search for a local.

As for London, I may have only been there for a sort time but I will post on my local pub later.

Hussy-noun (pl. hussies)
an impudent or immoral girl or woman: that brazen little hussy!

- ORIGIN late Middle English: contraction of housewife (the original sense); the current sense dates from the mid 17th cent.

Courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Hussy is a word that isn’t used nearly as much as it should be. One threatened to be extinct within the next generation! Hell, if my own Grandmother hadn’t decided that I was a hussy while taking in a dress for one of my high school dances (it was a tie up back, but no, it did not show any cleavage) I would have never heard the word! And I’m proud to say that, despite my Grandmother now being almost completely blind, that I am still referred to as a hussy despite my unseeable clothing choices. And my cousin, who is exactly 10 years and one day younger than me, has also come to bear the label. Her crime? Dying her hair blue and black.

My hussy cross-stitch now occupies prime real estate in my Grandma’s bedroom and I have taken on the noble duty of trying to educate the younger generation to the use of this word. After all, it’s kind of like calling someone a slut or a whore or a floozy except it has come to be an endearing somewhat less harsh alternative.

The stitch originally received neutral attention. However, whenever anyone recognized the word, they instantly had a story to share. Nicole Ray of Sloe Gin Fizz was the first person to really notice the stitch and if you’ve ever come across her booth at a show, she’s not the first person in the room you’d expect to be a hussy!

One of Sloe Gin Fizz's prints - What a hussy!

I recently turned my hussy pattern into kits for other DIY hussies out there. And then I was shocked from the overwhelming response in Chicago. Chicago appears to be THE city of hussies. Suddenly everyone knew the word and everyone loved it. And everyone wanted to stitch is. I made 15 different kits styles but I sold twice as many Hussy kits as any other design.

Nothing makes me happier when one of my favorite stitches and words gets other people just as excited. And I love all the hussy stories I’ve heard. It’s crazy because I’ve actually met crafters who actively despise selling at craft shows. I say, then why bother? After all, it certainly won’t make you rich and it definitely doesn’t include health insurance. If you aren’t having fun doing it, then you shouldn’t be making your craft into a business.

I’m so grateful that, over the last two years, I’ve found a way to justify travel around the Midwest, meeting cool crafty people and meeting other hussies.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when shopping for prints at Renegade. It seems like everyone is selling prints and there’s so many that deserve to take up all the extra white space in my larger apartment. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find Alternate Histories at Renegade as I had discovered him a few weeks earlier and lusted after everything in his store.

Alternate Histories takes vintage prints and maps and digitally alters them…creating event in American history that never really happened. The detail is amazing!

The 1932 Zombie Killing Games is a great example. You can’t even see all the detail from these images but tons of details have been changed and one would never know that there has never been a Zombie Killing Game.

I also bought this print of Boston Harbor.

Since the business is based out of Pittsburgh, natives will love the Pittburgh centric offerings with plenty of altered maps of the area.

During my two month build-up to Renegade, I put just about everything else on hold including this website. But now it’s done and over with. And with my next show less than a month away, I’m already thinking about Christmas.

Renegade was a fantastic time. My booth was sandwiched between Laura of The Wind and the Sail and Talia of Conduit Press. I couldn’t have asked for better neighbors.

Sales were a bit slower than I anticipated but at least I don’t have a mad scramble until my next show. And it was still my best show ever. Renegade estimates that there were 50,000 in attendance. That’s ridiculous!!!

It was also my first time with a completely new booth set-up. Unlike coughTaliacough, my booth set-up has gotten simpler and less bulky. I think I’m pretty happy with it. I’m basically just using wire boxes that I can build to match any table set-up. It worked great because it can display frames but I can also go crazy with clothespins for smaller items.

Some other new additions! The painstakingly hand cross-stitched tablecloth with Purple Hippo Stitches. It wasn’t fun to make but I love the result. For signage, I put chalkboard vinyl fabric (yes, it exists!) into wooden needlecraft frames. I also took advantage of the tent set-up to hang ornaments.

As for sales, I’ve been attempting, since my first show, to find some sort of sense in them. The only concrete conclusion is that “Damn it feels good to be a gangster” will always sell. Every time. Even at shows where I have less than 5 sales. Everything else is a crapshoot.

Saturday started off with people who came to buy and people who came with money. Many of my frames were snatched up within the first couple of hours. Sunday started off slower. There was lots of coffee and beer drinking, dawdling and hangover recoveries. And in the wake of an expensive night out, the crowd was much more thrifty. I sold hardly any framed items but I sold a ton of my brand new kits! Thank God as I had made 150 in preparation for the event. And I was so excited to convince people that cross-stitch should be their new fall craft. I sold 45 kits total and at least 10 of them went to future “manbroiderers” with “Badass Motherfucker” being the manliest choice.

As for the short amount of time in Chicago when not at the show, I met up with my parents and stayed with a family friend. It was a great time that featured lots and lots of booze. And did I mention the bean?!? You see, I live a mere 4 hours away from Chicago but I had never ever been to the bean. So strike another thing off of my life to-do list.

All in all, it was a successful show and unlike many others, my expenses were super low as I was lucky to have free accommodation in the Gold Coast area. Would I do it again? Definitely. I passed on applying to the winter show, but I definitely have plans to apply to next year’s Renegade.

I’ve been very very busy preparing for Renegade Chicago! It’s a bit overwhelming.

I also found out that I was accepted to the Craftin’ Outlaws holiday show in Columbus, Ohio. This will be my first show in the city and I’m very excited!

For those looking for unique gift ideas or want to make something with your own two hands, I will soon be unveiling cross-stitch kits. I’ve compiled patterns of my most popular designs. Kits will range from $15-20 and will include instructions, floss, fabric and a needle to get you started.

Cross-stitch is fun and relaxing. You can learn the basics in just a few minutes! Kits are a great way to own your own Purple Hippo Stitch even on a strict budget.