Once upon a time I worked in sales for a west coast start-up. They had an unusual name (Velocity 11) and I loved the inevitable question: "Where did the name come from?" Most often I cited the movie Spinal Tap and how the dial "went to 11," but there was never one real answer. My story is not that entertaining, but it's a story nonetheless. I used to dance. A lot. As in studied ballet from age 3-18. No, I won't be sharing photos. Don't get me wrong, I was never very good and certainly did not have the body for it, but I loved it and kept at it (God bless my mother and the countless hours she logged carting me to and fro). Let's just say it has always been a big part of my life and while I don't study anymore, I'm one of the most appreciative audience members you will ever meet. Modern dance, which I fell hard for in college, was much better suited to me. Add up the years, and that's a whole lotta dancing. Have you ever watched the threads move within a sewing machine? The thread from the spool is fed through the eye of the needle and thread comes up from the bobbin underneath, weaving the two threads together to make a stitch. A string of stitches is a seam. To me, those two threads dance while I sew. I live in Rhode Island, and have for 7+years now. We've put down roots and love it here. Plus, there was a weaver in Indonesia who had the "Dancing Threads" shop name already claimed on Etsy. Hence the slightly disjointed "RI" part. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. Plus, the state and feds now know me as "Dancing Threads RI," and it would be a pain to change. I like it. If you want to just call me Dancing Threads, I'm ok with that. I won't tell the weaver if you don't.
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![]() Thank you for visiting as I venture into cyberspace! You can probably tell that I'm not very tech savvy (am I the last person on Earth to start a blog?), so please bear with any glitches along the way as I get my sea legs. In this space I hope to share tips, pics and quips as they pertain to my adventures in sewing (yes, sewing can be adventurous--you should hear the swearing that ensues when something goes so wrong that it means an hour-long date with my seam ripper). Also, I'm not going to lie in my first real post, the blog will hopefully help me to grow my business, Dancing Threads RI. What you will not see are photos of my family. As important as they are to me, this is my endeavor and any and all mistakes will be my own. We have felt strongly that our children will not appear online until it is one day their decision. Paranoid? Maybe. I'm fine with that label when it comes to this topic. I don't want a 16 year old finding out one day that we chronicled his potty training experience for all the world to see. I would not feel comfortable today had my parents done that to me! Do I ever think that more than 5 people will read this blog? Of course not! But you never know. Things I do hope to share here: new product releases, previews of things in the design pipeline, things I sew personally for family and my home, tutorials for simple sewing projects, organization ideas and a whole lot more. The picture of the antique Singer occupies a place of honor in my studio. It was my grandmother's treadle machine (meaning no electricity, the needle is powered by a foot pedal). I adore this machine! It currently is non-functional because of a needed belt replacement, but one day I hope to have it working again. Once upon a time I sewed with my grandmother on this machine, so it would be fantastic to make her run again. How I started on this machine and ended up running a home-based business is a story for another day. ![]() There will be lots more of these in 2013. I'm glad you stopped by. Blogging is new to me, so bear with me as I fumble along, sharing ideas mostly related to sewing and my shop. You can find Dancing Threads RI on Facebook, so stop by and shout out a "like." You might get a coupon code out of it. |
Karen KatinAs co-owner of Stitchery in Portsmouth, RI, I teach sewing classes to children and adults. Welcome to my blog Dancing Threads RI. Archives
March 2020
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