Organization

Stitch Glossary: Here is a collection of detailed illustrations to help you with our most commonly used embroidery stitchces.

How Tos: Here is a collection of tutorials and tips that will help you with things like working with felt or reducing and enlarging patterns.

Latest Update: 3/26/12
Note: Policies can change. Please check back for changes :)

As I sit here, faced with the task of updating our Frequently Asked Questions, I understand why legislators are so reluctant to update their state’s constitutions… it’s NOT FUN! But given the fact that we have evolved, grown and changed so much over the past 3 years, it is task that cannot be swept under the rug. So here I sit, with no more enthusiasm than when I originally worked on our FAQs, but determined to get it done as quickly and as painlessly as possible!

Although I would like to think this is the last time I have to address this issue, I know it won’t be. If any info in the FAQ changes or if we add additional content, we’ll highlight those in our blog. Please take the time to read through our FAQs. I would hate to think I invested the time… yet again… doing this for naught! So… go grab a cup of coffee and meander through with us. If you think of a question we left out or if our answers are unclear, please, please, please speak up! Contact info can be found at the end of this article. So here goes!

Who are you guys? Fair question :) Wee Folk Art is a mother/daughter team with a mutual love of crafting and the gentle art of homemaking. With the "wee folks" in mind, most of our crafting is focused on children. We do, however, throw in crafts for the home, self or yummy recipes just to keep it interesting. I am Kimara, the "sage" mother, and have a degree in elementary education and home economics, which I received just this side of the dark ages! Michelle, the "innovative" daughter, earned her degree in fine arts from a rival university in the much less distant past, majoring in graphic arts and photography. We are both stay-at-home moms, guess I’m now a stay-at-home gammy, that spend our days homeschooling and crafting. We both share a belief that less is often better, as long as the less has quality. We love working with natural materials, and are ever mindful of respecting our environment. We hope that is reflected in our crafts.

All of the patterns on your site say Copyright. What does that mean? All of our patterns and directions are original. Although the “concepts” cannot be copyrighted… hey, who would own the copyright on a doll or a coaster, BUT, the patterns, directions, PDFs, and photos ARE copyrighted. In a nutshell, nothing from our website can be copied without our permission.

We do give permission for people to copy patterns and directions for their own use. We do give permission for people to use one or two of our photos online if there is a direct link back to us. Our photos, directions and PDFs should NEVER be downloaded directly to your site or altered in any way. If you wish to use our materials in another manner, please email us for permission at weefolkart@yahoo.com .
 
Can I sell items made from projects on your website? Wee Folk Art now has a Cottage Industry License program that enables you to sell items made from patterns on our site. We won’t go into the details here, but you can read about the Wee Folk Art’s Cottage Industry License program HERE. Without this license you are NOT allowed to sell items made from projects on our website.

We are doing a fund raiser. Any chance I can make some of your projects to sell for a non-profit organization? We often allow individuals to use certain designs to help non-profit organizations. Please contact us at weefolkart@yahoo.com to request permission.

You have a SHOP button on your blog. What’s that all about? Wee Folk Art will be opening an online shop… eventually :) (Taking a little longer than we planned!)  Very exciting stuff! We will be hosting the shop right here, instead of using one of the outside markets like Etsy. We plan to sell kits for some of our projects and some general crafting supplies that we personally use on a regular basis. We will also be selling kits at farmers’ markets and conferences. Not sure where all of this will lead us, but we are open and excited to be going down a new path. We do know that our commitment to using high quality natural materials and eco-friendly solutions will follow with us on this new journey. Also, from time to time, Michelle and I will be placing special pieces that we make in the shop. Fun!

Rest assured. We will still be designing FREE patterns for Wee Folk Art. As far as the kits are concerned… ever look at our designs and NOT make them because you didn’t have all the supplies on hand? How awesome will it be, to simply order the kits on line, and when they come in, you are good to go?

In these beginning months, we will be adding to the shop slowly, and we will be looking for your feedback. Like everything we’ve done on Wee Folk Art, we expect the shop to grow and change. We hope you will all be a part of the process!

I know your online pattern pieces are on PDFs, but it would sure make my life easier if you turned all your directions into PDFs. Any plans to do that? We were hoping to start turning some of our more popular tutorials into PDFs. Time has not allowed us to accomplish that yet. So, in the meantime, if you would like to make a copy of the directions for your personal use, you may.

Can we link to your website? Absolutely! As a matter of fact we LOVE being linked to. It is the “bestest” way to make new friends. You can either link to us in a blog or incorporate one of our totally sweet buttons on your site. And, thank you for wanting to share our site with your friends! And, now for some total hypocrisy…

Will you Link Share? You may have noticed we do not maintain a blog roll, and seldom link to another site. That is not the nature of our blog. There are so many wonderful blogs out there that we deal with every day, we would feel awful if we didn’t include all our friends and their fabulous blogs. So, instead of hurting anyone’s feelings, we chose instead not to link to other sites. (Hardly seems fair, does it, when we encourage others to link to us?)

Having just said that… there are two ways that you can be linked to on our blog. First, when you leave a comment, feel free to link to relevant information or photos from a personal blog, Flickr account, Ravelry, or other social networks, BUT, it is not meant to be used solely for the purposes of advertising. Comments made with the express purpose of personal gain will be removed.

Wee Folk Art does have a Facebook account. There, I link to our readers’ websites all the time. So, although we don’t usually link to other sites on Wee Folk Art, I just might link to your website on Facebook! BTW... if you have a project that you think we'd enjoy seeing, just send us an email, and we will definitely drop by a take a look :)

I think your website is great and I just gave you an award. Will you pass it on? We receive many awards from our readers and are touched each and every time we do. We always take time to acknowledge them and say “thank you” but trust me when I tell you, I’m a weak link! I’m always the killjoy who breaks chain letters and emails. So, please, please, please, do not take it personally if we don’t play along, pass along awards or post our accolades on the site. We’ve decide not to post any awards instead of accidentally missing some. I am just such a slacker when it comes to those things… but an appreciative slacker!

How do you handle criticism? If I find a mistake do you want to know about it? The answer is, yes, of course, especially in our tutorials. As all of our patterns and directions so cleverly state:

We are sharing patterns we have designed and made for our own children, families and friends. Every effort is made to share information in a clear and accurate manner. We offer preemptive apologies for any mistakes that may be made. Please let us know via comments or emails if you stumble upon a mistake or if you encounter directions that leave you scratching your head! We will rectify the situation as soon as humanly possible!

Please remember, we are turning out patterns at an alarming rate… and without a net! (AKA editors!) So, if you notice a typo, just grin and know we actually are decent spellers, and that spelling mistakes just slip past us sometimes. We can live with a few typos. But, if we’ve left out a step in the directions, mislabeled a stitch, or have done anything else that impacts the quality of a project, please let us know immediately. I suppose, in that respect, our readers are our editors! It is best to post a comment under the offending post. We check comments more frequently than emails.

And on that same note... our "DISCLAIMER"!
We make every effort to share patterns and directions as accurately as possible. But we are human, although I often long for superhuman powers, and as humans, mistakes will be made. Before beginning any of our patterns, think of yourself as a Beta Tester. We do not have a staff, editors or even volunteers that are crafting our projects before we share them. YOU are the first to have a go at them. As such, other than a heartfelt apology, we accept no responsibility for mistakes made, or in an extreme circumstance, for time or supplies wasted. Please tackle our projects in the same manner that we are sharing them, with a spirit of goodwill and global friendship!

Who designed your blog and where is it hosted? Who takes care of your personal computer issues? Or… Nitty Gritty blog talk! For those of you who don’t “know” me, I meet my darling Tim on Match.com eight years ago. In my profile, when asked what I was looking for in a man, I said… “MUST be able to repair my computer!” True story! Since that day, the man has been dinking around in my computer. I have him changing things and writing new programs as often as I have him move perennials! I say… “I want…” he says… “Not a problem.” How lucky am I? He tells me, and I have to take his word at this, that we are hosted on Host Gator, and our platform is Drupal.

As for the absolutely adorable web design… that is all Michelle! She has a degree in graphic arts and definitely has an eye for detail. She frets over things I can’t discern, but since the final product is flawless, I can only assume the Devil’s in the detail! Can’t argue with success, right?

Can we advertise on your site? Yes. We are selective in our choice of sponsors, including only those who provide products or services we ourselves would use or feel comfortable recommending to our readers. This may include (but is not limited to) craft supplies and fabric, natural toys, homemade items, attachment parenting products, Montessori or Waldorf educational items, natural bath & body supplies, books, art supplies, etc.

If you would like to be considered for a sponsorship position on our site or have any questions, please send an email with your name, company/blog/shop name, web address and a brief description of your products to michelle@weefolkart.com .

 
Contact Information:
 
Email Kimara: weefolkart@yahoo.com
Email Michelle: michelle@weefolkart.com
 
Snail Mail : Wee Folk Art, PO Box 376, Brighton, MI 48116

 
Wee Folk Art Flickr Group
Wee Folk Art on Face Book
Wee Folk Ravelry Group
 
You made it through. Good for you and thanks for taking the time. Whew!

I absolutely feel in love with this Coiled Rag Bowl last summer. I made this bowl to hold all the other rainbow gifts I made for Pixie's birthday. I've meant to return to this project and make other containers using this technique, but alas, I have yet to. Hmmm... The roping can be coiled around something as small as a juice glass, or as large as your stainless steel apple bowl! When using a form, the only trick to remember is the sides have to be straight or flare out as you are working. If your ring ever gets smaller than the one before it, you won't be able to get it off your form!

Think of the colors, think of the shapes, and think of the purposes these bowls can be used for!
Directions for how to make your own Pixie's Rainbow Coiled Rad Bowl can be found HERE! If you didn't make one last year, isn't it time your tried!

We have all experienced this at one time or another. We buy our child the perfect gift, whether it is a new playhouse or their first tricycle. We follow the directions and assemble it with love and care, and perhaps a few colorful euphemisms for the uncooperative wrench. When we are done, and the gift is presented, the child "oos" and "ahs" for several minutes, then spends the rest of the day playing with the box the toy came in...  

The other night I was knitting a sweater for Fairy that I had started a while ago. I was down to my last few rows of my last sleeve, but bed was calling, and while I was putting away my knitting, Tim started snickering?

Me: "What?"

Him: "Do you know how many baskets, bowls, boxes and bags you have laying around this house with the express purpose of stashing your knitting projects?"

Me: "Several."

Him: "Several? (Raising his eyebrows in a most annoying manner.) And what exactly are you using for this knitting project?"

Me: "Um... an empty Kleenex box. Your point?"

Him: No point. No point at all. (His shoulders bob as he tries to suppress an out-and-out laugh.)

Okay... this here is the truth. I DO have, oh, probably 2 dozen different containers for holding projects I am currently working on. I'll be out and about and see a lovely container and think, "Oh... that would be great for holding my knitting." So I get it. And, I do indeed use many of them, but that evening, I was caught using a used Kleenex box. 

It happened quite by accident. I was trying to hide my knitting from the ravenous jaws of my pups while I made a quick pit stop. I tucked a ball of yarn, and my needles in an empty Kleenex box that was sitting on my desk waiting to hit the recycling bin. When I returned, I realized the empty box was perfect for setting on the floor and pulling my yarn out of it. I loved it! First, the protective plastic sleeve at the opening does a wonderful job of keeping your skein in while allowing your yarn to come out. Then, my yarn can be on the floor without doubling as a mop and picking up all the dog fur in the area. Finally, small projects, including my needles, can be tucked away when I'm done, and stowed on my desk while leaving a minimal footprint!

No, I won't get rid of all my other containers. My Kleenex box won't hold all my projects, and the rest of the sweater is tucked away in one of my many beautiful bags, BUT I refuse to feel silly for using my little used Kleenex box. So snicker all you want, Timothy, I will not be teased into giving it up!

The Three Birdies Glass Case has always been one of my favorite designs. Truth be told, I have about 20 pairs (no exaggeration) of reading glasses spewed throughout the house. I ALWAYS have a pair on top of my head... sometimes I forget and throw a second pair up there which gets me strange looks if I go out in public like that... SO I seldom use an eyeglass case. I've been meaning to come up with a more useful purpose for this design. Any ideas? The original post and pattern can be found HERE.