Katherine Artines

We introduced Stipple! Sassy Cats this summer to dealers at Baby Lock Tech (Baby Lock’s dealer convention) and wow – what a hit it was!  I’d thought you’d be interested in meeting Katherine Artines.  She’s one very creative lady and I was thrilled when she agreed to tell us a little about herself.

	Tell me three things our readers would be surprised to know about you.
	I eat way too much candy ….I whine that “I can’t do free motion”…and my mom found my first gray hair when I was nine years old.

	Describe your perfect vacation day.
	As a young mother, I would have given you the “quiet beach with a book” answer. Now that I am a grandmother, I’ll go with “anywhere my children and grandchildren are making noise and laughing.”

	Describe your perfect work day.
	As much as I enjoy my people-jobs, my favorite work day is spent alone in my sewing area with a new just-unfolded piece of fabric looking up at me, …candy bowl and I-pod within reach… and the dog has already been out.

	Finish the sentence: Nobody knows …
	Well, now….if I complete that, then everyone will know….that I loudly sing in my car anything by Led Zeppelin!

	What is your favorite thing to do other than sewing/embroidering?
	Reading! Whether from a library book or in my Nook, I’ve made friends over the years with Nancy Drew, Meggie Cleary and Ralph de Bricassart, Kinsey Millhone, Stephanie Plum, Harry Potter, Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Lincoln Rhyme, and scores of others. My current quest is to finish the thousands of pages from George R. R. Martin.

	What is your favorite project you have created over the years?
	My favorite project, and the one that was the most momentous, has to be my green leopard, black-white-pink jacket. It was the first time I made the cover of Designs, and the binding technique so intrigued Nancy Zieman that she specifically asked for it to be included as one of the projects we  featured on Sewing with Nancy’s Jackets on the Cutting Edge.

	Do you prefer to design from scratch or do a makeover?
	I’m a “don’t fence me in” kind of gal, so I prefer to begin from scratch. If I do a makeover, chances are not a lot of the original fabric is showing or it’s missing some parts!

	Share one embroidery tip that every embroiderer should know.
	Although not witty or clever, I’d say to change your needle often!

	What 5 things can you not live without?
	A tough one to answer without sounding sappy–my family, the gift of laughter, the ability to create, my eyesight, my belief that life is good. If I had to live without them, I could….but I would really rather not.

	What is your favorite afternoon snack?
	Choices, choices. Anything from Mars, Nestlé’s, or the Hershey’s Foods Corporation would do just nicely. But, then, who makes Circus Peanuts?

	What one item do you cook or bake really well?
	Uh……..hmmmmmm……….oh gee, my keyboard just locked up……………..Truth? I can open a jar really, really fast.

When you were 12 years old, what did you dream of being when you grew up?

Funny you should pick 12—it was the year I started sewing. I made almost all my clothes through junior high and high school so, of course, I wanted to be a fashion designer. That is until I got my first-ever “C” in Chemistry my senior year. Logically (a misnomer for a teenager), I switched my major in college to business education because, at that time, fashion design required a full year of chemistry and I was going for the Dean’s List!  Luckily, my business education degree led me to computers, which lead me to my first embroidery machine with digitizing software, which led me to Eileen and Nancy and Mary and Rita and Judy and to countless amazing women who love to talk about all things thread. Ahhh, the paths you take.

	Are you more creative during the early morning hours, midday, or do you burn the midnight oil?
	Early morning for sure!  My “midnight oil” is hopefully relaxing all the laugh lines I’ve accumulated over the years.

	What is your motto?
	As a kid, my dad would encourage me to “See Beyond” when he was teaching me to draw. Mentally repeating his phrase has helped throughout my life, whether I needed it to challenge, to inspire, or to endure.

	Name one talent or skill you wish you had.
	Singing would be nice. I know those around me would ask for that.

	Which do you prefer—milk, white, or dark chocolate?
	Milk and dark are interchangeable for me. White? If it were the only type of chocolate on my island, I would learn to love it.

	What one word best describes you?
	Now, Eileen, you know I’m a word-nerd. One word just won’t do—how about merry, joyous, cheerful, jubilant, sunny……and blest?My Hub and I saw a t-shirt that read “Six out of seven dwarves aren’t Happy.”  He now calls me “the seventh dwarf”!

	Finish the sentence:  My mother taught me….
	…to be strong. She did so mostly by her actions, but also from her mantra, “Things could be worse!” She taught me to sew, shared her joy of reading, explained that a lady always wears a slip, and to not wear white shoes until after Memorial Day—a true southern lady.

Thanks for reading!

Reprinted with permission from Eileen's Blog.