Having fun at Maker Faire

Maker Faire has been loads of crazy fun. Exhausting, but loads of crazy fun.

First off, a quick "pupdate" (as Leslie would say!) Thanks for all the sweet words and emails about our sweet pup, Emilie. I'm happy to report that she is back home from the hospital! I called my husband from the Faire yesterday, and he surprised me when he said she was home! (I didin't think she would be home until Monday) I was so happy to get to see her last night and love on her. She's still in a ton of pain and can't move her back legs. Seeing her drag her little body around the house is heartbreaking, but then she'll start wagging her tail or give me a big smooch on the chin and I know she's on her way to recovery. Whew.


Now back to the Faire. Man, it is Fu-hun. There are so many amazing people here doing so many amazing things. The Craft Makers are just downright freaking awesome. They are super friendly and have all kinds of cool projects for people to do and learn. I just handed out my "editor's picks" for my favorite Craft Makers (the Craftzine bloggers get to pick our faves and hand out blue ribbons and the whole shebang.) Here were my picks:


Future Craft Collective - what can I say, these ladies just kick all kinds of ass. Kathie and Bernadette have been rocking the sewing machines out in the Swap-O-Rama-Rama tent, making hats for all the cool kids. They are absolute rock stars!


The Amazing Hancock Brothers - these guys have loads of amazing hand-carved wood blocks and a huge printer. If you bring a shirt or anything else, you can pick an image and they'll print it for you! Their stuff is A-Ma-ZING! Plus, they are really funny guys.

Craftcast - Kristy is demoing her gorgeous pysanky techniques. You can create one of these Ukranian decorated/dyed eggs at her booth this afternoon.

The gals from the Austin Fiber Arts are doing a felting project at their booth. You can get wool roving, set it up in a design and then put it in a big Ziploc bag with soap and water and walk around felting while you explore!


Finally, I picked the women of the Austin Lace Guild. I've never seen someone making lace before, and these ladies are doing some gorgeous work. It's breathtaking. Not to mention, the tools and technique for making the lace are beautiful, too! They were also really sweet ladies - one said that the lace trim she was making was set to go on a paire of pantaloons she'd sewn. She was SAUCY! I love it.

If you're in Austin, you still have time to catch all this good stuff - the Faire is going on through 6PM. If you're not here, sorry. Come next year. Totally worth it. :)