Add it to the pile of things to do.

Maker Faire this weekend.

I Heart the Etsy Guy

kanzashi
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


etsy
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

The Maker Faire was great — over-stimulating — but, great. Bethany, Sonya, and I spent most of our time socializing with as many crafty/fashion folk as we could find, like: Nancy, Claire, Susan, Tricia, Moxie, Brookelynn, and Missy; while Blaize took my older boy around to check out all the fun kid stuff. Beth and I got books signed by Lotta. We also said hi to the Etsy folk who were real nice and crush-worthy. I think this is a sign that I should finally open an Etsy shop. For starters I've got a bunch of extra kanzashi hair pins from back in my craft fair days. Then, there are the lampshades. I've never told you about the lampshades, have I? Anyway, it might help twofold: by cleaning out some of the craft area, and enabling my current affair with fabric. What do you think?

Maker Faire: Who's Going?

I know a few crafty blogger types are going to it. Anyone else? I'm not sure if I'll make it, but want to play spot-the-blogger if I can.

A huge thanks to all you generous folk who commented on my last post. It was fun as much as it was scary. OX

Showing Off My Talented Friends

I've got some talented friends who are doing fun things, so I wanted to share them here:

Bitter Betty
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

Bitter Betty:
Bethany will be at this craft show up in Sacramento on Saturday, May 5th. She's also got a New Vintage Wardrobe thing going on where she and others are sewing from vintage patterns and/or fabric and posting photos at Flickr. Bethany stages elaborate photo shoots to feature her latest fashion creations, including this video that she made with her 11-year-old son.

Work of Bridget Henry
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

Multi-artist Studio Sale in Santa Cruz:
I know two of the four gals doing this home show on Sunday, May 6th. Bridget Henry makes wonderful reductive woodblock prints — a very interesting technique, if you've never seen it. I love her imagery, sort of magical mysticism-ish. Felicia Gilman, one of the vendors from that craft fair I co-hosted, sews one-of-a-kind vinyl wallets that are super cool. If you are in town you should definitly check it out.

Octophrost
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

Futuregirl:
Alice is now selling her extra cute octopus pattern (a.k.a. Octophrost: Santa of the Sea) online as a PDF. It's only $5, a deal anyway you slice it. Her illustrations are top notch and the octo guys and gals work up really cute. Add your softie to the octopus garden over at Flickr.

My Friend Blaize
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

St. Blaize:
Recently voted Best Independent Docent, Blaize gives super secret staircase tours around Santa Cruz. It's a great way to get some exercise, local history, and Blaize Facts™ at the same time. Keep an eye on the Santa Cruz Free Skool calendar for future tours.

Turnips
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

Mariquita Farm:
Andy and Julia are part of a two-family farm co-op that provides weekly boxes of vegetables to subscribers through their CSA. I've had the pleasure of being a subscriber for many years and love it. Their distribution includes Monterey Bay area, Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Andy is a great writer, as well, and keeps a weekly e-newsletter, which is also posted to his blog.