Gone Left

I'll be in Portland, OR from February 26th-March 4th on a bit of a workation. Not quite working, not quite doing nothing... but mostly doing things I love to do, and seeing people I like to see. Sort of like my normal life....but further West...and without the hopelessly adorable sidekick. Be prepared for a snore whopper of a travel journal upon my triumphant trailblazing return. And if you can think of any must see/do/eats in PDX, do drop a line.

Localvore

My fellow Charm City Craft Mafiosa Heather is posting a Hampden Craft-oriented tour over at the Craft Mafia Blog, and I thought I should remind you to check over there every once in a while. We're also starting to post about upcoming craft shows (those that we attend, AND those we put on ourselves) and fellow crafters in the area. If you feel like you're the next biggest thing since sliced bread... feel free to shoot us a line: charmcitycraftmafia@gmail.com. We'll keep you in mind for future posts!

Cotton Monsters

As if you didn't know..... my good pal, and partner in procrastinating self-employed, hard-working well deserved coffee breaking crime, Jennifer Strunge, makes some pretty spectacular soft sculptures, and has just updated her shop with 40 new creations. Act now, as her shop sometimes sells out in a matter of minutes.

Can you be More Specific

I just found out about this website through my friend alicia. It's called "Specific Things" and if it's actually updated often (i have no idea), is the coolest idea! The premise seems to be that they've listed handwritten categories, and you can submit relevant photos or stories to them. Categories include, but are not limited to: "Young woman holding a Koala," "Teams called 'The Pirates," "One man eating sushi," "Luaus in the continental United States," "Bands looking for members" the list goes on. As a serious story lover, I was even hooked on reading the less exciting (read: poorly written, too short, boring) stories! And don't even get me started on the "finding money" section. They're currently taking new submissions for "Pictures of Toppled houses," "The biggest tip you ever got as a pizza delivery driver," "Where you got your clothing when your luggage was lost..." just go look. It's like FOUND magazine, but with structure... and less content.

And yeah. I picked the redhead with the Koala on purpose. No, we're not related. All redheads are NOT related. Yes, I'm sure.
Also, Living vicariously is perfectly legal in Baltimore, MD.

Less is More!

As of today, we have a very special new type of tee. Two designs, in fact. I've been hard at work experimenting with discharge paste... a medium that basically bleaches the dye out of fabrics. While the bottle said to paint the paste on a shirt, I thought maybe I'd try just sending it through a screen, and printing it on one. I know I'm not revolutionary here... I'm positive that other people do this. I even OWN a shirt from MaryInk, who uses discharge...though she's significantly better at it than I am so far.
Anyway, check out the results of our first lovely attempts above, and visit the Red Prairie Press etsy shop to purchase one of your very own! (They'll be on redprairiepress.com later this week as well).

Weekend Recap

On Saturday, we went to the dreaded JoAnn fabrics (only to be dreaded on weekends, really) and purchased some fabric, and a pattern to make ties for the men in our wedding. I set to work Saturday afternoon, and by late that night, we had FIVE done! Phil was kind enough to model this morning. Two more to go (for the dear old Dads), and then we just have to worry about the less important things. Like..... a ceremony, a caterer, music...... you know....trivial things. At least there will be ties.

Thinking of branching Red Prairie Press into the custom tie world. They really were pretty easy to make, once I got the hang of it... and maybe a little screenprinted something would be nice! Hold that thought.

Until then, back to my day job. No ties required. In fact, frowned upon.

Please Send Chocolate

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. To celebrate, most people buy and eat candy, go out to dinner, and/or weep themselves to sleep. Because Phil and I decided on Monday to challenge ourselves to an entire week of no money-spending (none. nada. not even a parking meter. No milk, no gas, no movie rentals...no haircuts...), we were thrilled to receive a piece of candy in the mail yesterday from my friends at Serenade Chocolatier in Boston. SO GOOD. If you're in the Brookline Village area, you should go make friends with my pal Caritas. But sadly, as quick as it unfoiled, that viennese treat was gone. And now, no chocolate for the day of love.
We DO however, have a new chocolate colored shirt on the way (this is not the design, but IS our Valentine to YOU).
stay tuned!

Love,
rachel

Sharing is Caring

Start purging your old (but well loved) stuff now for Ladyfest's "Let
Me Borrow That Top" Clothing Swap! (You bring clothes, we all sort
them, and then pick through each other's clothes for treasure!)

LadyFest is hosting a clothing swap for all genders/all sizes/all
styles. (you can bring clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, hats, etc)

Suggested donation is $3-5 + (hopefully) some of your gently loved
stuff to swap.

SATURDAY February 16th! 1-4pm at 2640 St. Paul St.
(That's right! Same place Charm City Craft Mafia holds craft shows)

Changing areas! Alteration help! LadyFest logo silk-screening!
Button/Accessory making! Tasty treats (Coffee, Tea, Muffins, etc)!
plus Noelle Powers and her amazing ability to make everyone into a
hooping GENIUS! and SO MUCH MORE!

Democracy In Action

Hampden Love

I pass this sign on the way to the post office every day. It's hanging at True Vine, a visit-worthy record store on the Avenue.


A city employee out ticketing the handful of cars parked incorrectly on our street , chose THIS parking spot to park her car and walk down the street writing tickets for illegally parked cars.


Now...not to imply anything...but, here are the available parking spots on our street. about 5 yards from where said city employee chose to park across an intersection.

Just Sayin.

Learn to Crochet!

My friend Heather is teaching 2 classes on crochet and knitting at Lovelyarns in Hampden in March and April, and when I looked at what they were, I realized there are LOTS of classes there, and many of them beginner! As someone of fairly little patience and attention span, I never did learn to do either, but I'm thinking it might be time. Heather's crochet class is for kids, so maybe I could follow along? She's also teaching a beginning knitting class in which you get to make (or attempt to make) one of these cool knit balls-safe for your favorite baby to play with.

More Calendars In Stock

Only a few...but we managed to sneak in a new supply of 2008 Calendars and they're for sale again in the shop. Hope you can snag one before they sell out again!
Happy Sunday to you!

Year of the Rat

Happy Chinese New Year 2008. The year of the Rat! In celebration of the first day of the new Lunar Calendar, here are some rat related items for sale on Etsy (in order, from: Crochetroo, Potatopotato, Runonthesun and Thefullspectrum)! My Chinese New Year's Resolution is _________(not thought up yet). What is YOUR Chinese New Year's Resolution?

WHY PR?

What bitterness this afternoon just tasted! I just learned that as of Friday, February 1, WYPR (my public news station) has cancelled one of my favorite programs: The Marc Steiner Show. The ratings going down around that time of day (12-2), and his refusal to change the program apparently made it impossible to come to an amicable decision between WYPR and himself. Thus, no new contract, and without a contract, they cannot put anyone on the air. According to his blog, WYPR offered to buy him out for $50,000 but he refused. So they fired him instead. Call that stubborn, but Steiner was one of the originals helping to fund WYPR and in 2002, when the station was going under, he helped raise money to keep it going. He's been there something like 15 years. When a YPR representative called me this afternoon to explain what was going on, she said that, despite the difficulties the station had in working with him, she sincerely wishes he hadn't had to leave. In truth, I couldn't help myself from reassuring her that I still love WYPR. I donated my car to the station. I am a member. Craft Mafia often works with them. They are one of the only great radio stations in Baltimore, and it's enormously frustrating to be angry with them. I'm glad they're here. I'll still listen. That said, I wish Marc Steiner all the best, and hope he'll continue to do some sort of broadcast in Baltimore. His interviews were always so gritty and honest, and he really knew how to get information to listeners. I have to agree with a comment someone left on the (100% biased) Baltimore Sun online article about the situation: "Marc is one of the best interviewers on radio, and the one-two punch of Diane Reihm and Marc Steiner were hard to resist. Although I like to think of WYPR as more than just Marc Steiner, WYPR is not a better station without him."

Sweet Dreams

How much do you want one of these beds from Private Cloud? Indoor forts are so wonderful, and this is pretty much just a grownup version of the blankets over chairs model. It really rocks like a rocking chair (or...cradle), which might just do the trick in getting some sleep despite all the anxiety that comes with running a small business lately. The only hitch being that I just converted the price in Euro to the price in Dollars..... and it's looking to be about $7000 for the smallest model. I'm thinking I'll just count sheep for now.

Fresh Produce

Yesterday's craft show "Crafts & Kisses" in DC was the first show of 2008 for us and while it was a bit disorganized and panicked to start out, it ended up a nice enough day. We met some great people, many of whom are actually from Baltimore, which made us proud. The guys right across from us were Fresh Produce- an all-dude DC threesome that started as music producers, and grew to a t-shirt company about a year ago. They give out a free CD of local music with every shirt sale, which is really cool, and after the first hour or so, they had made friends with the DJ's directly to their right, and promised them a spot on the next of such compilations. Making friends is a fine way to spend a Sunday, and though we might reconsider doing a craft fair on Superbowl Sunday next year, we were impressed with the turnout none-the-less. A job well done to Moira, the organizer.

FIRST FRIDAYS HAMPDEN

Tonight in Hampden is First Fridays, which means that in celebration of a brand new month, all the stores and boutiques stay open late (and if Hampden had real art galleries, they would stay open late too), and there's beer and a chocolate fountain (not necessarily the best combo, but still) in the back of Double Dutch for the people you dragged out of the bars to go shopping with you. Figure out what the heck that new purple and orange place is on the corner of falls and 36th. Run into the people you don't see during farmer's market off-season. Check out Red Tree and Atomic Books (and Atomic Pop) and all the other jetsetting, indie-happy, localtarian establishments on the avenue that fight to resolve Hampden's addiction to looney tunes slippers and cuss words.

New Men's Tee

After a post a while back on design sponge about Oaxacan textiles, I got excited to make a new pattern inspired by them. While in the end, I guess my designs don't have a whole lot to do with Oaxaca... (the colors are off, the animals don't have horns, the pattern is screen printed instead of appliquéd and it ended up more of an emblem than a pattern), it was fun making up animals to draw, and nice to force myself to research something for the first time in a while. Also- the main point here being that we finally have a long awaited new men's tshirt so the half-dozen men that actually shop at indie craft fairs (generally, the brothers, boyfriends and dads of other crafters) can stop pestering me for a new shirt, and do something more productive, like recruit more men to shop at indie craft fairs!