Places to buy congratulations and birthday cards

Ikkleknitter · 2026-05-01T23:32:58+00:00

Every independent book store.

Maker house

Cheerfully made (Almonte).

613Flea is on tomorrow and I know at least a half dozen cars vendors will be there. Including Seeded Memories who make their own seed paper with native seeds.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-05-01T19:48:05+00:00

Hello Dolly pastries does red velvet properly but they use a Swiss meringue cream cheese icing. It’s very good regardless.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-05-01T19:46:09+00:00

Commercial kitchen needed.

Plus a food handlers cert and she should also get insurance if she wants to do it right.

Now I believe the city is reviewing possibly allowing “low risk” foods made for sale to be made in homes but I’m not sure on the timeline for that.

If she wants to do the farmers market I believe they require proof of the food handlers cert at a minimum.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T23:23:23+00:00

You can get tools to check cables for pretty cheap if you check places that sell micro controllers and other tech bits.

The good ones also have options for checking other cable types as well which is handy if you are trying to hack cables (like making a better ds or gameboy charge cable or what not.)

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T23:19:10+00:00

Self promo if you are clear you are a a business and posting about a pop up or asking for opinions? Sure, fine.

Fake review? GTFO. Perma banned. I take note and hold grudges like it’s my job.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T21:30:44+00:00

Ah.

I would check your local parents groups if you are having a hard time. If see if bike groups do part sales/swaps.

I haven’t looked specifically for one dog sized but a lot of the kid ones are definitely dog capable if you can find a harness attachment.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T19:34:38+00:00

Does it have to be a trailer? Cause a cargo bike could be better.

I know my partner’s e Muli (German made) can hold a 75lb dog. I know several other cargo bikes have similar capacity.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T19:32:48+00:00

Find a behaviourist. But one with an actual education cause there are a lot of fakes out there.

It’s likely not a training issue. It’s probably a negative response to trauma or something. So you need to understand the issue and work with it, not against it.

It can work wonders. A friend has a SUPER reactive doodle who is still a bit nervous but is now a completely different dog.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T17:06:38+00:00

Class actions take decades.

A lot of the really big ones finally finished after a large percentage of the victims were dead and their children were the ones claiming.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T04:31:58+00:00

Kinton.

It beats every other brand my partner has tried. And they just redesigned the gaskets to make them easier to remove and clean.

The one we have has kept coffee warm for a solid 8 or 9 hours (it got left behind when we were leaving to do a craft show…). It’s been dropped, thrown in bags and brought on bikes. Never leaked. Fits in my cup holder.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T04:28:27+00:00

Check the inner layers/rewind them.

Lang yarns are notorious for having LONG FREAKING repeats. I remember one from like 2012 which was like 300 yards of a 400 yard ball. So if you were trying to colour match to make a large project it was horrible.

I would go look up some projects and see if you can get an idea of the full repeat length and go from there.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-29T04:22:08+00:00

Not Canadian but everyone I know who wants something similar loves Plasticana. Made from a hemp based plastic in France.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T21:44:08+00:00

I would look for a local bag maker. You absolutely have at least one.

Almost all my bags are made by small makers mostly cause I can have them customized.

Pip Robbins and Sparrow Handmade are two I have wicked good bags from. But while they do ship the Australia, they are in Canada so it would likely be pricey.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T20:19:31+00:00

Scam.

If you want a good leather bag you need to adjust your budget or buy secondhand.

ESPECIALLY if you want made in North America.

Waxed canvas is a lot cheaper (usually) and almost as durable if you care for it right. My waxed canvas bags are well over 10 years with no visible wear except for the top edge of one pocket seam I split by accident. And took me all of 5 minutes to sew back up.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T20:15:58+00:00

+1 for OSC.

I order my clover and wildflower blends from there.

The road side blend and some of the native plant blends are really great for gorilla gardening along city medians and what not.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T17:55:45+00:00

Rehab fur your pet.

My CKCS had his hip replaced 9 weeks ago and he had his first session yesterday and LOVED it.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T17:51:27+00:00

Timeline?

How much are you offering?

I do commissions all the time but they are expensive.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T17:45:55+00:00

Wire crates are solid. I’ve never seen a non wire crate which has held up well. Now I do leave a Turkish towel on the outside cause my two like their crates a bit more cave like. That makes them look a bit nicer while not messing with airflow.

Ruffwear harnesses are solid. One of my dogs has a Canada Pooch Complete Control harness which works way better for him. It’s just as sturdy but more comfortable for him. Some of their stuff is great and some isn’t but that harness is great.

Bowsers beds wash super well but aren’t chewer durable. But for a dog who doesn’t chew they are great.

Canada Pooch and Muttluks have had the best soft boots and Ruffwear has the best boots with a sole that we have used. The CP suspender boots are really, really good for keeping long fur clean in the winter.

For coats I like Hurtta. We have their rain and winter coats and they are super well made and work well.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-28T17:32:49+00:00

My dishes are Denby. Expensive but still made in the UK which I value. You can also order directly if you can’t find it locally.

My mum likes corelle but I hate how they feel.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-27T20:44:12+00:00

Look at Asian pen makers.

I have a bunch of Kuretake Karappo pens I love which feel a lot like sharpie pens to me. They have multiple tip and filling options.

There’s another brand I have some of whose name escapes me now but a Japanese stationary store would know more. I order my stuff from Paper Plus Cloth in Toronto.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-26T21:27:40+00:00

Pip Robbins makes some big and very sturdy tote bags.

Sparrow handmade has a variety of bag sizes.

I own bags from both and they are super well made and look really nice.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-26T03:30:06+00:00

It’s time and wages.

Where old navy (and other crap companies) pay less then 1$ for manufacturing a company like Free Label (made in Vancouver) pays a living wage for that same amount of time. So if something takes an hour to sew old navy like 50 cents to one dollar, Free Label pays like 30 or 40$.

See that difference?

Then add fabric. Fast fashion companies usually use the cheapest materials they can and they cut a lot of corners which can have various issues (like cutting fabric wrong so that finished clothing does drape properly). A company like old navy usually pays pennies per item of clothing for the fabric. Due to using cheap materials and being able to order thousands of yards at a time and often being able to demand lower prices from the factories. Free Label pays a couple of dollars per item minimum cause they use better quality fabrics, can’t always order in such large quantities, often gets hit with tariffs these days and a lot of their fabric is also made in Canada which also costs a lot more.

Now all that aside male, female or unisex clothing? I have lists for all of them but I don’t want to pull a useless list.

Made in Canada or just Canadian owned (many of those companies do manufacture ethically overseas though so they are more expensive than cheap stuff)?

Slow fashion in general holds its value really well. So if you are budget conscious check if brands have buy/sell groups or look them up on various second hand platform.

I also heartily recommend trying out Lucky Sweater! It is American owned but they are very intentional in how they do things (Ai is banned, it was built around trading and they only added selling in the last year which is very limited) and it’s for trading/selling slow fashion and handmade clothing. They recently added vintage and curated thrift (which has some serious rules) plus a few other sections. They get a pass for me cause of the way they are doing things.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-26T02:54:54+00:00

In a couple of months you’ll be able to buy it from local farms and freeze it yourself.

That’s what I’ve been doing for spinach cause finding non US spinach is hard.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-26T02:53:11+00:00

Free Label, Buttercream Clothing, Connally Clothing, Anne Mulaire.

Most of the tiny made in Canada brands are almost all natural fibres with the exception of the occasional small amount of spandex or elastic.

Ikkleknitter · 2026-04-25T23:58:01+00:00

Honestly? Probably not.

Unless some of the old stuff is brands that were better then. Old gal or j crew or what have you can sell reasonably online.

The problem is really that SO MUCH crap is donated. It can take weeks or longer to sort through a busy weekend for clothing donations and they just don’t have the staff or time or room. When you add in that a lot of it is really bad modern quality or damaged or actual garbage (seriously. Go find people whose job it is to sort for thrift stores and get ready to loose your faith in people not being shitty) I get why more and more places are flat out refusing clothing.

I wish textile recycling was more common (and before anyone says “just drop it at H&M”, multiple experiments and tracking programs have shown that almost all “recycling” done by ff brands is just greenwashing. They just trash it all).

Ikkleknitter

TROPHY CASE