kiss, kiss, hello!

whew! i am just peeking in to say hello. i'm leaving half-finished woolly projects all over the house gearing up for some local elementary school craft fairs. if you're in town (portland, oregon's the place). i'll be at sunnyside environmental school (3421 se salmon st) this saturday 11 am - 4 pm with a big bunch of toys and warmers and woolly mistletoe! i'm very excited about the mistletoe. isn't it sweet? it's available in my etsy shop too, of course!

the following saturday, dec. 12, from 10 am - 2 pm i'll be sharing space with lanz at portland village school (7654 n delaware avenue). i'm very excited to be at both of these schools, as i've heard wonderful things about both of them!

i'd also like to mention that cedarwood's magical winter faire will be this saturday (dec. 5) as well. if you haven't been, it is very worth the trip. i owe much of my hand-sewing skills to my time as a handwork assistant there! my friend natalie's sixth grade class has made salve they will be selling, and they've already sold a ton of pre-orders! it is very good stuff and supports handmade healing and learning for these budding entrepreneurs! aaaand my friend shauna will be there with lovely organic soapy goodness. her things are so lovingly crafted and made from the purest materials available. they are delicious! how lucky am i to know such crafty people? okay, back at it! xxx

for the love of handwork

september is a wonderful month, isn't it? so many celebrations! this project was for one of my greatest handwork teachers thus far. i worked alongside her as an assistant and learned lots of essentials i didn't know before. pattern-reading, altering, creating, lots of handsewing stitches, how to really crochet shapes and hats, and how to teach these things too!

in other words, a tall order. she is expecting a baby girl (any day now they say), and red is her favorite color. this luxuriously soft cashmere sweater was destined for baby-wear, and i sewed the sleeves into pants in short order. i've kinda got that process down, but the sweater jacket was a little more challenging. i added some flowery vintage trim (25 cents at an estate sale) to cover my rough edges, and some sparkly buttons (also estate vintage) that looked similar to other things on ms. gloriana's wishlist.

i think it will probably fit a lot better at a year and a half than 0-3 m., but isn't it sweet? i intended to make a hat too, but ran out of time. i've had a lot of crafty deadlines lately, including an application for crafty wonderland (due today!), which we attended for the first(!) time on sunday. i can't believe i'd never gone. it was spectacular!!! and i'd love to share more about that too - but for now, i'll leave a little link to the things i submitted as part of my app, here at: byhandathome.com if you see something you like, let me know. i'm working on re-tooling my etsy shop and getting some things up there too. i'm happy to make things specifically to your liking, especially if you are a dear friend, which you probably are if you're reading this! and thank you for doing so, i appreciate it!