hot and sticky

it is unbelievably hot and humid here in the catskills, and i am daydreaming about what i wish i were wearing today. skimpy, loose-fitting whites and creamy, cotton or linen skivvies seem just right for running around barefoot through the sprinklers and drinking homemade lemonade. all of my real summer clothes are locked up in storage; all i'm left with are a few pairs of cutoffs and some t-shirts. not the romantic vision pictured above...

fair weather

this weekend, august 15 & 16, i will be selling my goods at the Garrison Art Center's Fine Arts and Crafts Fair. i have never been to Garrison before, but i hear it's a lovely setting, right on the hudson river and just steps from the metro north train station. so if you live in the area, come out and say hello! and you city peeps, how about a day-trip up to the country? there are two music stages, tamales and keegan ales, and 95 juried artisans, both traditional and new-fangled. i'll have my own solo booth for the first time ever, and i'm bringing both summer and fall pieces since it's that time of year.

the visionary folks at the GAC reached out to a bunch of us etsians to freshen up the vendor list, so i think it's going to be a really fun mix! mr. smith will be there selling prints of his photos, and my buddy jill will have her scrumptious handspun yarn. looking at the list just now i discovered that my friend julie a.k.a. your secret admiral will be there! also the talented screen-printer alison tauber. some other sellers i'm excited to meet are: cerulean blue ceramics, astulabee, reine, and knit knit.

sayonara

i just finished a new batch of smock dresses which are on their way to japan as we speak. they are going to my friend-and-fellow-recent-nyc-to-upstate-transplant hanna's store in tokyo, which is called HaNNa. i love that the website calls it a 'gentle arts store' which is 'closed irregularly'. i had fun making each one extra-special with crochet, embroidery, or doily stencilling. more like these are in the works for fall!

light and sweet

today's edition of etsy finds featured my favorite linen tunic! i have subscribed to these daily collections of curated items for a while now, and secretly hope every day to see something of mine among the treasures. hooray! today's theme was linen and organic cotton and keeping cool in the summer. check out the entire collection of light and sweet; i'm in great company!

belltower market

hey catskills and hudson valley peeps! come check out hodge podge handmade clothes at the new arts & crafts market in rosendale, new york: BELL TOWER MARKET. i'll be there both days hocking my wares, and i'd love to see you! they are still seeking vendors too (this is happening every weekend through the summer) so if you're a maker in the area, get in touch with the organizers at rosendaleartssquad.org. otherwise please help spread the word to anyone you know who lives or weekends in the vicinity! rosendale is one of my favorite little towns around here, and features a fantastic bakery, yummy restaurants, and cute shops.

oh renegade you had it made

woot woot! renegade 2009 was the. best. ever. i shared a tent with my pal jen of raeburn ink and we were a frenzy of activity the entire time.

for five years we have all waited for the weather to cooperate, and this year it finally did! when it is 90 degrees and 500% humidity (as the past four fairs have been, with occasional downpours), NO ONE feels like trying on clothes. but this weekend was in the seventies, with a cool breeze blowing, and it was like a miracle. i sold every short-sleeved smock dress i made, plus most of the long-sleeved ones. thanks mama nature! i knew you were my friend.

and most importantly, THANK YOU to everyone who came out and said hello, and if you bought something from me, you have my undying and infinite gratitude! when you buy from independent makers, it really does mean the world to us.




here i am hand-delivering my favorite linen crochet-yoked smock to the lovely joi of stereoette, who adopted it. i'm so glad it went to a good home! i look a little insane but renegade kind of does that to me...


there's joi with her new dress, and another sweet customer who came back on sunday wearing the one she bought saturday. i love happy customers!


here are two more: emma with the shirt that's been 'waiting' for her, and teeter of 31 corn lane with wiggles in her new sling!

across the way were my buddies siri of treehouse and kayte of love forever's booth. i caught siri and gertie smooching between the tents...

last minute

oh yes, you know i will be sewing up to the very last second before i leave for Renegade! i know you haven't forgotten but in case you need reminding, it's this weekend, saturday AND sunday june 6-7 in mccarren park. of course, the new development this year is that i have to pack up my car and drive two hours to brooklyn the day before the fair, which really cuts into my frantic 4am-the-night-before sewing plans. is that good or bad? not sure...

above is a sneak peek of the sundresses, short-sleeved yoke tunics, and new reversible hats i've been working on. please come out and see me and gert, not to mention treehouse, raeburn ink, love forever, 31 corn lane, a.s.i.s., perch, and almost 300 more! the weather report looks promising and as always, anyone who brings me a lemonade or treat gets 15% off any hodge podge purchase.

ok, back to the sewing machine...

spring shop update

little by little i am posting new spring pieces to the shop! it feels really good to finally have some new work for sale, as the shop has been filled with wintry crochet hats and old spring (still on sale!) clothes that i am just so tired of looking at. and yet they say we should not forget the denizens down under, but i just don't want to keep the cold weather gear in the shop year round! what's an etsy seller to do? i wish we could put items in special sections and not have them on the main shop page too, but it's not the case.

anyway, i am really into the smock tunic style (top row), which is the same one you may remember from this incident. but i am making a bunch in lighter-weight fabrics and with shorter sleeves for spring/summer. i wear mine all over town and people keep telling me they love it, so i'm taking that as a good sign!

sneak peek

i've been busily stitching and hooking for spring... we tried to have a photo shoot today but it was just a bit too cold and windy. i can't wait to get it in the shop!

wraps on sale!

i've just marked down the last of my very popular wrap cardigans in the shop. there are a couple of wool, and a couple cotton (both long-sleeved and short) ones that are perfect for spring and cool summer evenings... remember those? you'll have to wade through the whole sale section to see them all. it's supposed to be in the high 50's here in the Catskills this weekend, so spring really is coming. and tomorrow night we gain back that long-lost extra hour of sunlight!

chosen

man, the etsy love has been flowing! last week the brilliant sabrina of super-cool indie art/craft zine knit knit was a guest curator on The Storque, and she chose one of my hats in her selection of favorite items. thanks! she has great taste, and she also picked on of callieco's rad pouches.

in related news, today i made my 75th sale! yippee!

double front page!

wow! apparently i was on the front page of etsy two days in a row! yesterday one of my coral cloches was on, and today the treasury with the dog sweater (that i mentioned on wednesday) was on. i would never have known about either one if it weren't for a kind commenter, so if you ever see anyone you know on the front page, do let them know! and for all you sellers, if you ever hear a rumor that you WERE on it, did you know that there's a flickr group that documents every front page? i have no idea how they do this, but i sure am glad they do.

winter sale

i've been marking down oodles of winter goods in the hodge podge shop to make room for spring, so get 'em while they're here! keep an eye on the SALE section as i'll be adding more stuff and slashing prices all week long. if you've been coveting something, or recently realized your current hat just doesn't keep your ears warm, hop on over and browse!

last chance to ship before the holidays!

tonight at midnight is the deadline for orders to ship before xmas, as i leave tomorrow afternoon on a 12-hour train ride to cleveland! there are lots of cozy gift-able items in the shop, and a whole bunch on SALE, and what the heck, i'll throw in FREE SHIPPING too! just write it in the comments and hold payment until i send you a revised invoice.