Hello All! I have been sick (no, not swine flu), but my energy level is in the minus category and, i have been coughing my brains out. Finally went to the doctor yesterday to get some drugs! Feeling a tad better this morning, not great. But, we sold two more bags on Etsy which is wonderful news! So excited for Karen. She is actually making some real money now. I have to leave for work in a minute where I know i am facing cleaning up March's billing so i can send out April's billing on Friday! I need a clone. Have a wonderful day all! Tina

hello everyone - i feel like i haven't had contact for many a day. friday i got called in for jury duty and after missing the first lottery, i got called on the only other trial of the day. how rude! we started the jury selection but i had to go back today (monday) because it wasn't finished. but, there was new evidence and they had to continue the trial so the judge let us off! yeah! the whole weekend was spent slinging burgers, hot dogs, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, rice, beans, french fries, nachos, frito boats and anything you can make with chili. pretty extensive menu for a carnival, no? i was in the kitchen with "the crew" - the same key people we had last year at my son's carnival so we actually had fun but i am exhausted. i worked a total of almost 35 hours in 3 days. i ate waaaay too many brownies too. anyway, i am back to my "etsy" work now. i want to make one of the new bags to list after the mother's day sale. and of course, since we got a 2 hour lunch on friday, tina met me at patches and we got some new material! we are sick, sick, sick!
karen

Well today Karen is slaving away at her son's school's carnival.. poor thing! Today is my youngest son's 16th birthday. I can't believe my baby is 16! how depressing! Anyway, we are going to celebrate the day by going to Universal Studios. We are really lucky that our sons still want to hang out with us. We have someone to watch Molly because there is no way we could take her there. She can't wait in lines, has to go to the bathroom constantly and has rather shocking ways of behaving in public. Needless to say, it would not be a fun experience for us or the public! Anyway, I have to get ready to go!

Hello All!
I was off from work yesterday because my daughter was sick.. I was so glad! (not that she was sick, but because i didn't have to go to work). I need more time to work on the bags, hats, etc. I also need to sew some clothes for work. This is also therapy for me. I don't have to dress fancy for work, but somewhat work appropriate. I like wearing things i have made because they are unusual and different and more me than things you buy at TJ Maxx (my favorite store!). Anyway, I will probably cut out a blouse this evening just to get back into the swing of apparel sewing. Have to get back to work... Tina

no jury duty again today. yeah! i know this can't last. but i will enjoy it while it does. going to get water and chips for my son's school carnival today and then, finish the curtain hat (the bag is done) and starting the brown and pink hat and maybe the new sling bag that tina designed. she made me a pattern (thanks, girlfriend!). i think i will add the side pocket we talked about too. depending on the amount of fabric i have. haven't decided what fabric to use. hmmmm.....looking forward to choosing (my favorite part of the process). have a great day!

good morning! another day of projects to complete. since there is the possibility of an order for new york i guess i should complete a hat today. and i really need to finish the curtain bag and hat. this afternoon i am probably going to need to make brownies for the carnival at my son's school. i wish i could make them at home but because they are sold to the public, it has to be done in the school kitchen. drag.... keep your fingers crossed, i haven't been called for jury duty yet. 3 more days.
karen

tina puts me to shame. she works, takes care of her mentally disabled daughter, writes in our blog twice and she has time to make me a pattern for the new tote. i am constantly amazed by her. i have been very lazy today. all i really did was go to joann's and get 20 yds of interfacing. enough to make hats for everyone in new york. :) oh and i paid the bills (always an uplifting experience). i guess i should go to work on another hat. i think i will finish the brown and pink one next. look for it tomorrow sometime!

I am exhausted tonight. It is way too hot here for this time of year (about 100 degrees!).. and i had to go to Costco after work. And I remind you that I work with my aging (not gracefully) father-in-law who is 81 years old and refuses to retire. I think his goal in life is to outlive me and then he can go feeling satisfied. Anyway, I have to re-cut the pattern for the sling bag so I can give it to Karen. As some of you might not know, she is an artist, so she can draw. I'm not, and I can't draw. Anyway, my daughter who is 23, but mentally challenged, is starting a cold. I wish I could stay home with her tomorrow and sew... we'll see.. just might have to.. we will see... hope, hope, hope! Tina

Hi All! I am sneaking this writing in while my boss is a the telephone. I say my boss, but it is really my husband. Yes, I am doing what probably every marriage counselor would discourage, I work with both my husband and .. get ready for this.. my father-in-law! Mortal sin and I would not recommend this to anybody unless you are looking for a reason to go insane! Anyway, I took the new sling tote to work today to show it off. People seemed to like it, or at least they said they did. I plan to hopefully make another to put up in our shop within the next week. Back to work. Tina

hi everyone (or no one as the case may be!) i am so happy that tina finished that new sling tote - we will have a new tote type (oooh i like the way that sounds) soon. since tina's was the "prototype" the new bag will not show up for a week or two. stay tuned! i am going to joann's today to get my scissors sharpened (that just sounds wrong) and get some more interfacing to make yet more hats. i absolutely love making hats and bags! i started the out of curtains bag yesterday and she wants a hat too so i need my interfacing. i found some fabric that i like to go with the curtains so again, stay tuned for updates.

Good Evening All! I made the new sling bag today. I was a little nervous because i had to draw my own pattern. But I am proud to say that it actually worked and looks cute! Now I am tired. Did tons (and I mean tons) of wash today. It never seems to stop! I wish I could have a weekend where I didn't have to pack so many chores into a small space of time! Actually sit down with a book and read for a while without falling asleep in two minutes! Anyway, another week begins and I must get ready for work tomorrow. Good night, Tina

i finally finished the cow hat. it is really cute. i almost wish i could sell it, but it is promised to my hairdresser. hopefully she will wear it in good health! tina and i are having a mother's day sale on etsy. check it out!

i saw the capelet tina is working on and it is simply gorgeous! she is very modest. she has many, many talents, not the least of which is she is a sewing magician! i am working on finishing my cow hat for the lady who cuts my hair. it is going to be very cute. and then i am going to start on a bag and hat combo made from old draperies! renew, reuse, recycle!!!

Good Morning All! Karen is an amazing person! She has turned into this wonder woman regarding all things technological! She has far surpassed my ability to understand any of it! I am trying to make a pattern for a new type of bag today. I love the bag i am taking it from, but i have to figure out how to draw the pattern. Should be interesting. I am also making this crocheted caplet in a luscious lavender super soft yarn. It is actually turning out ok so far. In other words, i haven't messed it up yet! It is going to be an extremely hot day here today and i am not too fond of the heat. It doesn't work well with my hot flashes! Must go feed all the animals

good morning. tina will be glad to know she is no longer writing in hindi. i must have done that by accident. sorry! check out the pioneer woman if you want a good laugh. she is a really good writer and she cooks and tells you her secret recipes. she lives on a ranch. her life sounds so fun! today i am planning on sewing all day. yesterday tina and i put up new pictures on etsy and it took all day. and i posted them on flickr too. i was exhausted! who knew taking pictures could make you lose your will to live! but the pictures are way better than our previous ones. we are learning from experience how to do this entrepreneurial (i have no idea if that is spelled correctly) thing. have a good day everyone.

hello my peeps! i made a new hat yesterday and will probably put it up today when tina comes over to take pictures. this is so fun! i am really enjoying having a partner in this business. i discovered google analytics (thank you fellow etsyers) and now i just want to see how we are doing all the time! must work though or we have no product to sell! today my friend joyce is bringing me some fabric to make her a bag/hat combo. i always love getting fabric! it is a sickness. give me your tired your poor, your huddled masses and give me your FABRIC!!!! :)

i know tina started a hat today. i hope it went well. i made the 6 fabric roses and i think they turned out well. check them out! i am also starting a new hat. it will be black and white on one side and sunflowers on a black background on the other. way cute! i think i will make the rosette green.....or maybe pink. gotta go work!

today was a frustrating day because i tried to figure out how to create a collage with our pictures but i needed the pictures to be really small so i could use them for our banner on etsy. (are you still with me or did you fall asleep....) anyway, i gave up. i am sure there is a way to do it, but it was beyond my brain power! so instead i am creating a new item for our shop. i am making rosette that you can use in a flower vase. interesting idea, no? they are very cute, i think but i need to go get some white pipe cleaners. you will have to keep checking to see what they turn out like.

so, today i had to make a trip to joann's. fabric withdrawal. what can i say. i have so much that i can match any color in the rainbow, but still..... sometimes you just know that the right fabric is going to make that bag or hat just that much better, you know? and since i was hoping we were going to get an order for 5 hats (which so far has not materialized, but i am still optimistic because i am a glass is half full girl), i figured i needed to go and get coordinating fabrics for the choices i already had. besides, you can never have too much fabric. so this afternoon i will be sewing my heart out.

I, like Karen, have a Janome machine. I do really like it. I bought it mainly because it makes great buttonholes! All other machines i have and in the past just don't make great buttonholes, and I like to make tops with cute buttons. Another one of my passions is to buy really cute buttons when they are on sale at Joann Fabrics. Yesterday they were having a 50% off sale on their buttons and the notion wall! It was like Christmas! Anyway, Janome makes a very smooth running machine and handles machine quilting pretty well.

My perfect day would be the house to myself with a good movie and my sewing machine and delicious fabric to work on! I, (Tina), have never taken a formal sewing class except for a quilting class i took with Karen. From there, we started making beautiful quilts to give to all our family and friends.. but when we ran out of giftee's, we had to figure out something else that would incorporate our overabundance of material! So the tote bag business was born. Karen is very artistic and is branching out creating her own patterns. I am still too unsure and need the crutch of a pattern. I have always looked at the main staples (McCalls, Butterick, Simplicity and Vogue). But i started looking at some independent pattern makers for tote and purse patterns. I just feel a bit safer knowing that someone of some authority has made the item before and tested it out! I may be a bit too old and settled in my ways to take an actual sewing class to learn the right way to do things. Maybe one day I will!

my sewing machine only came with a few bobbins. it is a janome and you can't just go to the local fabic store and get the correct bobbin (i know, i tried). so i went to a place that shipped them to me called sewingmachinesplus.com. it is so much better to have a bobbin for every thread color! it saves time and i can match the thread to the project rather than just get close.

i forgot to tell you that tina and i love to shop for fabric. but we really are very cautious now about going to sales to make sure we get the best value for our dollar. we went to downtown los angeles about a month ago to michael levine's and we really got some great stuff. we also shop at joann's alot because they have great sales on cotton fabrics we use in our hats and totes. when we quilt we go to patches which is a small mom and pop store we like alot. the only problem is that their fabric is really expensive and would make the hats/totes too expensive. but if you need fabric for a special quilt they are the best. they have gorgeous, high quality fabric and really unusual prints you won't find elsewhere. we have also shopped online at equilter.com and we like their stuff but it is getting expensive so we shop their sales too. hope that helps people with fabric options!

hi everybody - i am so into the sewing thing now that tina and i started our own business. i used to make quilts by hand quilting which i liked alot because i could transport it wherever i went (except when i tried taking it to the courthouse during jury duty - they don't allow scissors!) but now i am really into the sewing machine. i love making hats and totes! i love to mix the fabrics together. my most favorite part is when i choose two fabrics that have something that appeals to me about them and put them together to create something new. i really, really love to make hats. i have created my own pattern and i think it is really cute. i have to wear hats, so perhaps that is why i have such an affinity to them. i am going to go make a rosette for my step- niece's hat now. let you know how it goes!

Hi Everyone! I wanted to talk a little about my sewing background. My sister and I learned how to sew when we were very young from our grandmother who was born in France. She went to a school where the nuns taught the girls all types of needlecraft such as sewing, knitting, crochet, etc. I feel very fortunate that i learned so young. I absolutely adore sewing! I also adore fabric of all types! When my kids were little i made shorts and shirts for the boys, and dresses for my daughter. This lasted until the boys got to the age that mom-made clothes were not acceptable to wear! My daughter turned into a dress-hater (probably because i made her wear so many when she was young)! Anyway, I make the majority of my own clothes and now with our business, (thisandthatbykandt), I have found a new reason to buy fabric and sew! The best is that I met Karen and we both love to sew and buy fabric! I was a little sad when my kids were young that nobody seemed to know how to sew anymore. But i think that shows like "Project Runway" have inspired people, especially the young, to start sewing again. A Lot of my 20-year old son's friend now sew and are excited to create things! Now if we can get the manufacturer's to get real with their prices again so people can actually buy the fabric! I am so angry about how high the price of cotton has become. I am starting my very own boycott and I refuse to pay $9.75 for one yard of cotton! It is unbelievable! Anyway, I know Karen and I share with lots of sewers out there our love for making unique creations with our own hands! Please visit our shop on Etsy!

well, i put up the new bag. if i do say so myself, i think it is really cute. and it has a matching hat (of course) because i am totally a hat person. i have to wear them because i get skin cancer, so if you have to wear them anyway, at least they should be cute, right?

now i am going to make a hat to match the bag that my step-niece has to take to the market. she goes with her mom to the pacific palisades farmer's market and she is taking one of our bags tomorrow so i told her mom i would make her a hat to match. i hope she likes it.

off to work! i love my job!

Good Morning Folks! While Karen is being positive and creating beautiful items for the world, I am telling everyone out there not to work with you family members, especially your husband and in-laws. That is my life! Anyway, I am sure that Karen's creation will be beautiful! I am going to start a new crochet item tonight which I hope will turn out and will add just that special touch of style to your summer outfit! Back to work now! Tina

Good Morning Anyone! Well today I will be putting up a new style of tote on our etsy website. I am very excited by it. It is much larger than our usual ones and it is made from denim. But the really different thing is that it has inside pockets and really long handles and a fabric rosette. Check it out this afternoon. It should be posted by then. Have a good day!

Well, Karen has set out the background history. I don't know what I would do if she wasn't so technologically savy. I am the more "who cares what we have to say" member of the team. But we do make some beautiful creations and I would love for the world to see them! We sometimes get discouraged ,but I have to keep reminding myself that times are hard for everyone right now and things will improve. In the meantime, I have to stop myself from ordering more fabric because I do believe it is a bit of a sickness that I have. I am sure there are many others of you out there that can relate. Now I must get back to work. I have to make some bags for my family for Easter. This is partly out of the goodness of my heart, but mainly because they live in South Orange County (which for those of you outside of California is considered a very ritzy area), and I am hoping they will spread the word of our bags to their other rich friends!

So, lunch was fun and Jill is going to borrow one of my jackets for her luncheon. She and her daughter belong to a service organization and they have luncheons to raise money for things. We had lunch at this restaurant (I will have to look up the name of it) that was really good. And they sold different types of bread in their bakery. Of course, I bought some. It is tomato basil bread and I bought it unsliced so I can make thick sandwiches with it. Doesn't that sound good?

Our First Blog

Okay, here is is everybody (or nobody as the case may be) our first blog. Tina works at her husband's law firm by day and is a designer by night/weekend. Karen doesn't work outside the home, her husband does that! Lucky girl! So I (Karen) am able to address you fine people and tell you what is going on in my world right now. At the moment I am getting ready to go out to lunch with my friend Jill who I haven't seen in al really long time. She asked me to look in my closet for a spring dress she could borrow to wear to a luncheon she's going to (we are the same size except she's taller and prettier!) This caused me to realize just how little I have to offer in the way of clothing to be borrowed! I need to go SHOPPING! Anyway, that's all for now.