{Disclaimer: We are working with Kat’s Paws to bring you this post.}
Vermont is home to a rich tradition of quilting and hand sewing; as a new transplant here, I’m finding that there’s nothing else that makes my home look quite so attractive and uniquely “Vermont” as beautiful quilted and hand sewn items.
I recently had the opportunity to try a number of quilted and sewn products from Kat’s Paws, a northern Vermont-based quilting business that makes lovely gifts for great prices.
This mother-daughter team of Jenny Russell and Kat Salemno is busy making tons of hand sewn and quilted merchandise just in time for the holidays, and I highly recommend any of their beautiful products based on my experience.
Since Kat lives and sews just a couple towns over from me, I went to see her operation in person. Kat and Jenny have always loved to sew and officially started their business together in 2013. Kat showed me an impressive array of high-quality fabrics which she and her mother have found all over Vermont (and purchased from local quilt shops whenever possible), and which are almost all made from natural fibers.
Because Kat and Jenny are very savvy about their fabric shopping and have perfected their methods for sewing beautiful items on small machines or by hand, they can keep their prices affordable even for families (like mine) on a tighter budget.
Kat’s Paws makes a huge number of unique items, and I got a lot of gift ideas just looking through the wide selection of home goods, purses and bags, and quilts that they make. Kat and Jenny draw inspiration from the Vermont landscape, as well as Spanish art and architecture, and this comes through in their colorful and striking designs; of course, they are also happy to work directly with customers for special requests on colors, fabric choices, and designs.
In order to get a feel for Kat’s Paws products, I tried out several of their best-sellers, including quilted coasters and cord keepers.
Like all of the products I tried, I love these coasters and cord keepers as decorations and have also found them to be very practical and sturdy (especially when they have already been thrown, hidden, and used as crib decoration by my active toddler!)
Another area in which Kat’s Paws specializes is children and baby products, including baby and toddler-sized bibs, teething rings, pacifier clips, reversible dresses, and baby quilts.
I was pleased to see that they stock these items in a large range of fabrics that aren’t “just for” boys or girls – you’ll be able to find fabrics that will appeal to any family- whether a brightly colored batik, animal print, or kid camouflage. I took home a toddler-sized bib for my 2-year old daughter, with a reversible blue and yellow design; she now requests to wear her new bib every day and, even with this frequent use, it still looks brand new thanks to the sturdy construction.
I have also loved trying a truly unique item from Kat’s Paws, a coiled fabric bowl.
Kat creates these bowls in all sizes by covering a piece of twine or cord with coordinating fabrics and then sewing it in a lovely coil design. These bowls are lightweight and slightly flexible, and I am using mine to hold hair clips, bows, and necklaces in my daughter’s room. They would also be perfect for holding buttons, keys, coins, charging cords, and any other household items that need to be organized. These bowls have such an interesting and beautiful design that they could stand on their own as decoration for your shelves.
My final test for Kat’s Paws was ordering a completely custom item which they had never made before; I have been looking for lightweight fabric trivets that can be used for hot pots but also look nice just sitting my kitchen counters. I wrote to Kat’s Paws with a suggested size and design in mind and Kat responded immediately to let me know that these would be no problem for her to make. She then helped me picked out a color scheme, and only took a few days to sew three unique, but coordinating, trivets in exactly the right colors.
The process of placing, and then discussing this custom order through the Kat’s Paws Etsy shop couldn’t have been easier and the wonderful end product has convinced me that there’s nothing that Kat’s Paws can’t make!
Kat’s Paws sells their items through their Etsy shop, and in person at local craft fairs, including the Greater Barre Craft Guild Show, taking place on November 25 (9am – 5pm) and November 26 (9am – 3pm) at Barre City Auditorium and the UVM Holiday Bazaar, taking place at the UVM Davis Center on December 6 (9am – 3pm).
