Susan Levin and Gloria Tracy of Ventura, California, have been partners in a busy craft business, K1C2, for eleven years. The partners often have long “work” days together sewing, writing and developing all kinds of craft products. During these midnight creative sessions they would often talk about how grateful they were to have grown up being encouraged to craft and sew by their patient mothers, Mary Bridges Jensma of Newton, Iowa, and Ruth Straumer Wagner of Princeton, New Jersey. The Fall 2007 release of their Show Me How series of craft books for kids grew out of these reminiscences.

Mary Ruth, the series heroine, was named for Susan and Gloria’s mothers. Susan and Gloria believe that Mary Ruth and her various crafting adventures would make their moms happy and proud!

The partners haven’t always been as fulfilled by their day’s work. Both Tracy and Levin were active stay-at home moms in the 1970s, sewing their own and their kids’ clothes, knitting, decorating and gardening. By the 1980s, however, each had heard and succumbed to the “you can do it all” message being proclaimed to women. Fully “dressed for success,” they each excelled in corporate jobs and were duly rewarded with “golden handcuffs”—and 10-hour days.

They felt almost guilty about missing the creative side of their former lifestyle, and both continued to avidly craft on evenings and weekends. In fact, they became more and more fulfilled by their “hobby” and less and less fulfilled by their paychecks.

Gloria unlocked the handcuffs in 1991 and started doing freelance knit design, teaching and writing. The two met when Susan, still handcuffed, took a knitting class taught by Gloria. The two stayed in contact, and when Gloria landed a freelance contract as Director of Design for a large yarn importer, she in turn hired Susan for freelance knitting and graphic design. The future partners “played business” for three years by Monday-morning-quarterbacking the decisions and situations they observed in the yarn importing company.

By the end of 1995 the desire to turn their passion for creative design and crafts into a business became irresistible. In February of 1996 they formed a partnership, and a new business was born. They chose the rather cryptic name of K1C2 for their business as a way of acknowledging their love of knitting and crochet (the name is short for Knit One, Crochet Too) without discouraging customers outside the yarn industry from approaching them.

Their mission statement in part reads: K1C2’s Mission is to develop a profitable business that provides innovative, practical top-quality products for crafters and to develop creative solutions to problems that inhibit the best use of leisure time for all crafters.

From 1996 to 2002 they fulfilled this mission through their line of luxury yarns and accompanying inventory of over 150 innovative patterns which were marketed to independent yarn shops under the Knit One, Crochet Too label. During this period the partners also developed a line of other creative products for crafters including the Rainbow Pick, Point & Match Color Selector, YarnBras and MagniClips Magnifiers. In addition to running their rapidly growing business, in 2000 the partners wrote their first book, Crochet Your Way, published by Taunton Press.

In 2002, overwhelmed by the demands of running both a successful yarn business and a growing craft notions business, the partners sold the yarn division to concentrate on developing and licensing craft products. Since then they have introduced additional Rainbow Color products, Adornaments Fibers for crafting, and the 123D Paper Crafting System with numerous other products now in the development pipeline.

During this period, they also supported each other through the last illnesses and deaths of their mothers, who lived well into their nineties. Gloria and Susan felt this was the perfect time to extend the love of crafts they received from their mothers to another generation. Thus, Mary Ruth was born. In the first two books of the Show Me How series, on shelves in December 2007, Mary Ruth takes up knitting and quilting. Susan and Gloria are sure their mothers are smiling, happy, proud — and, indeed, a little embarrassed.