How I Found Joy Again — One Stitch at a Time

I’ve always said I make things that bring a little joy into someone else’s life. What I never realized until recently is that this business brought joy back into mine.

This journey didn’t begin with a grand plan or a business strategy. It began when I was managing a bookstore, and a group of women came into the coffee shop I used to work at and sat down to knit. I was intrigued. Years earlier, I had tried to learn to knit and thought I was doing a pretty good job until someone told me that beginners couldn’t knit a cabled afghan. I gave up after that. But this group of knitters pulled me back in. They invited me to their next knitting meeting, and by some serendipity, I had the day off. I went. And then I kept going.

While attending those knitting group meetups, I needed something to carry my knitting in, so I made myself a bag. The other ladies loved it, so I made each of them one. That’s where the spark started.

At the time, I was sewing mostly dresses for my granddaughters. My sewing space had evolved from the dining room (we weren’t formal dining people) into a dedicated sewing room after my kids moved out. When someone suggested I should start selling the bags, I did. That was the start of my first business, The Handmaker’s Bag.

Eventually, I left my job to run it full time. I sewed knitting bags, attended fiber events, and even tried launching a hand-dyed yarn business with my daughter. It didn’t work out, but I kept sewing. I kept showing up.

Then in August 2021, everything changed. My son-in-law passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. It was devastating. My daughter and granddaughters came to live with us, and I gave up my sewing room so they could have bedrooms. My space, my energy, my spark—all of it disappeared.

I moved what I could into my husband’s office, but I wasn’t sewing. I wasn’t creating. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to. I let my business sit untouched for months. And then one day I had to ask myself: was I going to let it go, or was there still something left in it?

 

That’s when Katie Laine Handmade was born.

I decided to rebrand. I let go of knitting bags, stepped away from the fiber world, and started making pieces that felt more like me—floral totes, cheerful keychains, soft hand creams, candles that smelled like comfort. Pieces meant to bring a little joy to someone’s day.

I pivoted. But I didn’t give up.

Now I spend my Saturdays at the farmers market. I sew in a bright room with a closet full of fabric. I restocked my studio when my daughter and granddaughters moved into their own home. I have my space back, and I have my spark back.

Katie Laine Handmade is still just me. I make every product by hand. I load the car, pitch the tent, write the emails, and greet every customer with a smile that comes from a place of real gratitude.

This business gave me something to hold onto when everything else felt like it was falling apart. It brought purpose back into my life. And it reminded me of who I am.

I didn’t just keep going.

I chose to begin again.

And I’m still building—one joyful piece at a time—with a few dreams tucked quietly in my pocket.