American Craft Council summer salon

i am extremely honored to have been asked to speak this thursday at the American Craft Council Library in soho. apparently they have an amazing library of craft books and magazines and are open (by appointment) to the public! i am very excited to see the place. i will be joined by my friend callie of the church of craft and we will be talking about DIY and how our paths have led us to making a living by 'doing it ourselves'....

Join us for the second Summer in the City Salon Event at the American Craft Council Library

Thursday, July 26 6-7pm, reception to follow

Marketplace Intervention: The Do-It-Yourself Renaissance

Join Reverend Callie Janoff of NYC Church of Craft and Hodge Podge clothing designer
Cal Patch for a discussion on how they’re converting, inspiring, educating and creating
the next wave of craft lovers.

www.churchofcraft.org
www.hodgepodgefarm.net

RSVP required: education@craftcouncil.org or 212-274-0630 x.234.

The American Craft Council Library
72 Spring Street, 6^th Floor (between Crosby & Lafayette)

The Summer in the City Salon Series is made possible by the support of Leatrice S. Eagle.

The American Craft Council is a national, nonprofit educational organization founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb. The mission of the Council is to promote understanding and appreciation of contemporary American craft.

The library of the American Craft Council holds an extensive collection of print and visual materials on craft. The collection includes over 6,400 books, 7,000 exhibition catalogs dating back to the 1930’s, 700 bound volumes of leading periodicals including many foreign and rare titles, artist files and the archives of the American Craft Museum (1956-1990). The library is open by appointment: library@craftcouncil.org

hodge podge is FLY!

i got an eagerly anticipated e-mail from andrea of fly this morning telling me that THE WEBISODE IS UP!!! it's only part I of her Renegade adventures, but her interview with me is the very first segment and even though i'm a total dork i think it's pretty good! i'm happy she kept in the shoutouts to treehouse and sodafine for my first promotional video experience. take a look-see!

sodafine summer sale!

hot tip: sodafine is having a huge summer sale this weekend! most items will be 20-60% off, and there will be surprise special discounts this weekend only! chie mihara shoes will be 30% off, and all loomstate jeans will be only $98. after sunday the shop will be closed for one week in preparation for the launch of the new park slope store (did you know? sodafine is merging with rare device!)

sodafine is at 119 grand street (just off berry) in the lovely williamsburg, just a short and scenic walk from the L train bedford stop. they will be open from noon-7 saturday and sunday.

you can also shop online, but some of the special deals are in-store only...

since i work there occasionally, yesterday i picked out my favorite pieces that are currently in the shop. of course everything i picked is the one-of-a-kind local designer stuff, which i believe are the only pieces not on sale! the cute shirt on the left, and the sweet dress below, are by popomomo, and the one on the right is by valhalla.


both of these dresses from 3 free and i am coveting them!

i also totally have a crush on these cards from amazing illustrator ashley anderson of i'm smitten...

stores like sodafine need your support, so they can keep on bucking the trend of mass-produced chainstore merchandise. erin works hard to keep a fresh selection of local indie handmade designers, mixed with organic and eco-conscious lines. remember: every time you make a purchase you are sending a message with your dollars! so please carefully consider which businesses you choose to patronize...

maker fairy-tale quilt

one day when i was teaching a class at the etsy labs, i noticed this quilt on the wall and got closer to take a better look... and fell in love! each panel shows a scene from a story of a girl who was inspired by some artisanal, organic handspun yarn, and then (with the help of etsy of course!) took her knitting from hobby to business, and how happy it makes her, not to mention the Planet Earth and siamese twins everywhere!

on the lower half of the quilt is the Dark World of corporate mass production with its chemical additives, polluting factories, greedy overlords ('sew faster, baby!') and evil 'enormostores' like Mall-Wart, all of which make the Planet Earth very, very sad...


click on the pics to see them in all of their detailed glory. these beautiful drawings were done by the talented doyenne of the labs, anda, and silkscreened and sewn by her and the other lab technicians.

treehouse is ONE!

treehouse* celebrates one year TONIGHT! 6-9pm come out and celebrate our one ring anniversary! BINGO, treats, prizes, and more surprises... *treehouse brooklyn* one-of-a-kind and local designed clothes jewels and more for ladies, gents, and now...tots! DATE: FRIDAY JULY 13th...TONIGHT! TIME: 6-9 pm LOCATION: 430 Graham Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn map to treehouse: click here! Visit us in the shop: 430 graham ave (between withers and frost sts) brooklyn 11211 Visit us online: MYSPACE BLOG WEB call us: 718.482.TREE (8733) email: info@treehousebrooklyn.com

blogiversary

well, it's been exactly one year since i started this blog! looking above (at left, studio one year ago, at right, studio yesterday) it would seem that not much has changed, but so many things have... i guess my housekeeping skills are not among them though. i am going to wax poetic about what i've learned through this project and my goals for the next year, but right now i am way too tired and going to bed. cross your fingers that the heatwave is over!

learn to spin!

next tuesday i will be teaching a hand spinning class at the etsy labs; if you've been wanting to learn how to make your very own yarn, come check it out! for some fun visual inspiration and to get you in the mood, take a look at my favorite spinner pluckyfluff...

Class: Hand Spinning

Date: July 10th, 2007
Time: 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Etsy Labs, 325 Gold Street 6th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

Description:
If you've been crocheting or knitting for a while, you may be getting the itch to make your own unique yarns. Spinning with a drop spindle is compact, inexpensive, portable, and a great introduction to spinning on a wheel! We will learn how to prepare raw fleece by carding, and spin it into a singles. Then we'll ply it to make a balanced 2-ply yarn and wind it into your very first skein!

Students will be required to bring the following materials to the class:
drop spindle (can also be borrowed or purchased from instructor for $12)and 1 oz. wool roving

There are only 8 spaces available in total so sign up quickly!

Class fee is $40.00

click here for more info and to register!

built by me!

i think the new(ish) Built by You patterns by wendy mullin for simplicity are so perfect... this is my favorite, #3964 dress/tunic/top and i used it as the project for my intermediate sewing class at Brooklyn General this past month. it was a little more challenging than i expected for the novice stitchers, but everyone was pretty happy in the end (and they've PROMISED to send me photos since i forgot my camera at the last class!)

here is my first version; i've been wearing it a lot! this is the 'top' length; i'm working on a second in the 'tunic' length, and can't wait to finish it. then i need to try one with the sleeves for fall! sorry these pics aren't great, but i was eager to share...

oh, and in Ready Made magazine this month (june/july 2007) there is an offer from Simplicity to get a FREE COPY of this pattern! you don't need the mag to get it, though, just mail your name, address and e-mail address, with a check or m.o. for $2.50 (for shipping of course) payable to Simplicity Pattern Co. to:

The Simplicity Pattern Company
Ready Made June-July 2007
FPO 3964, Box 910-M
Niles, Michigan 49121

it's a great deal because i paid $14.95 full price from the Built by Wendy store here in williamsburg, before finding out that most of her patterns are on sale 40% off on the Simplicity website! next up for me is the pants pattern; i need some new shorts...

patternmaking at Home Ec

i am now teaching at brooklyn's newest design studio and sewing school: Home Ec! brought to you by the ladies behind the two Flirt boutiques, it's a spacious sky-lit haven for aspiring stitchers. here's how they describe their new venture:

Home Ec is Flirt Brooklyn's new creative space on 3rd Avenue near the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn's Park Slope! In search of a design studio for our Flirt clothing line, we came upon a spacious former machine shop which afforded us enough space to do more than just design. It now allows us to answer the eternal question, "Do you teach sewing classes?" with a firm and resounding, "Yes! We do!". Sewing classes, crafting and mending nights, children's craft and sewing classes, knitting, pattern making, open studio and creative time and many more events. We are really excited about Home Ec becoming part of the Park Slope community so if you have a class you'd like to teach or an event you'd like to hold let us know! We'll be sending out weekly email updates about all our classes and events.

i will be teaching a patternmaking class there for 3 weeks starting july 11... here are the full details:

Pattern Making with Cal Patch July 11th, 18th, and 25th from 6:30-9pm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you can sew, you're most likely itching to make your own patterns so that you can design your own clothes from scratch. We'll show you how to take your own measurements and use them to draft patterns for a basic t-shirt and skirt that fit YOUR body! Then we'll take those slopers and stylize them to fit your vision, as well as learn to make patterns from existing garments. Soon you'll be stitching up a whole new wardrobe!

This is an intermediate class so some sewing experience is necessary!

There are 3 class sessions each lasting 2.5 hours. Classes are Wednesday July 11th, 18th, and 25th from 6:30-9pm. $220 plus supplies.

Supplies needed:
*a roll or pad of newsprint, drawing, wrapping or patternmaking paper, at least 14" wide
*see-through 18" ruler
*hip curve or french curve
*tape measure
*pencil and sharpener (or mechanical pencil)
*eraser
*scotch tape
*scissors (for paper)
*push pins
*safety pins
*1 yard of muslin or similar inexpensive woven fabric
*1 1/2 yds of t-shirt jersey or similar knit

Here's How You Sign Up!

Email: flirtbrooklyn@earthlink.net
Call: 718-783-0364
Stop By Either Flirt Location:
93 Fifth Avenue (between Baltic and Warren) Park Slope, Brooklyn
252 Smith Street (between Douglass and DeGraw) Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn


check out the Flirt website to get on their mailing list for updates and to see the other classes they offer: Build a Bad Workshop, Flirt Skirt and lots more coming soon.

Home Ec is located at 303 3rd Avenue (between Carroll & 1st street) Park Slope, Brooklyn