Friday Feature with knittingmomma

Tell us a little about yourself!
Well, I am a homemaker first. With six children that learn at home, a wonderful husband of nearly 18 years, and a homestead to keep, I am very busy with our daily life. I have always enjoyed working with my hands - sketching, painting, building, knitting and crocheting. All throughout our home can be found my works in progress. A basket with a sewing project, another basket filled with yarn and knitting needles or a half completed project on a counter. I do my best to weave my handwork throughout our day.


Our family’s primary income is our handwork business. My husband, myself and our children all help to create natural fiber toys and rustic décor.


What do you make and how long have you been creating?
I make mostly hand knit toys and I crochet the bags for our branch toys.
With the birth of each of our children, our family gradually began a process of moving towards a more natural lifestyle. I began to read Mothering magazine and the articles I read spoke to me and I realized that there were alternatives to mainstream living which I didn’t feel comfortable with. As I researched natural living, I was drawn to waldorf education and also the amazingly beautiful, yet simple play things associated with a waldorf inspired home or school. During this time, I created a simple knitting gnome pattern and starting knitting lots for my children and for sale.

What inspires you?
I enjoy the magazine, Living Crafts, looking through the natural toy catalogs and simply searching through etsy to get glimpses of the amazing things others are creating. I also love to watch our children play with the simple open-ended toys that we create. It is wonderfully gratifying to see them create all kinds of scenes with simple branch blocks and some hand knit dolls, for example.


What got you started working with wool and wood?
I knew when I began knitting gnomes that I would only use natural fibers. Wool is my fiber of choice and all of our toys are stuffed with wool roving. As our family began the process of working towards a more simple, homesteading lifestyle we incorporated my husband working with branches to create natural toys for children. What is so wonderful about both of these fibers is that they can be composted - they can be returned to the earth if for some reason they are no longer loved.

How long have you been on Etsy and how has it been for you?
I actually began with Etsy shortly after it started in 2005. However, it wasn’t until last year that we began to actually sell in earnest on Etsy and really build our business. It has been amazing for us.


What advice would you have for other Etsians?

Don’t expect to sell out your first week, although you certainly could. But realistically, it takes time and effort to begin selling regularly. List or relist products daily and read as many articles that you can in the community section of Etsy.

What do you hope to learn/gain/contribute from being a part of the Natural Kids group?
I hope that natural fiber toys, clothing and other goods will become mainstream. My wish is that parents will realize the importance of organic cotton touching their baby’s skin and the importance of only buying items that are made of natural fibers in keeping with being mindful of our earth. As a group, we have the ability to reach a wider audience.

Your items can be found where:
http://knittingmomma.etsy.com

We blog at http://plainandjoyfulliving.blogspot.com







Interview by Beccijo of The Enchanted Cupboard