A weekend filled with craft & community

Lace up yer craftin' shoes, 'cause this weekend, Austin is chock full of seriously awesome crafty events. Let's get right to it, shall we!?

Handmade Nation Austin Premiere
I've heard a lot of "Finally!"s with the announcement of the Austin Premiere of the documentary, Handmade Nation. Austin is home to at least four of the folks featured in the film, so it's hugely satisfying to see it finally making its premiere here. Jessica and Mary of Sublime Stitching (and their own production company) have been working tirelessly to put together a great series of events around the two screenings of Handmade Nation. There will be a book signing party, and craft bazaar, two film screenings with Q&A sessions with director, Faythe Levine, and a post screening shindig. You can get full details on all the events over at the Sublime Stitching Web site.

I'll be there all day on Sunday, representing Craftzine and doing embroidery demos and a couple of demos on the Yudu with Jennifer Perkins! Stop by and say, "Hi!"

I attended the Handmade Nation premiere in Portland back in April, and it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with other crafters and celebrate the craft community. The film is great, and having the opportunity to see it and have a Q&A with Faythe is awesome!

Swap and Sew + Sweeets
The Austin Craft Mafia, Space 12 and Communicrafting are hosting a clothing and craft supply swap and bake sale on Saturday from noon to 6PM at Space 12 in East Austin. From their event page on Facebook:

Clean out your closets and your craft supply drawers and come participate in a community swap! Bring any unwanted clothes - both adult and kids clothes welcome, and crafting supplies like fabric, thread, yarn, notions, buttons, etc. etc. Get rid of stuff you don't want and go home with new stuff that you love. Any suits or professional clothing and accessories left over at the end of the day will be donated to Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged women get dressed up for job interviews. Any crafty supplies left over will be donated to "Sew What?", a free after-school sewing program. Everything else will be donated to a local charity shop. Bring your sewing machine or knitting needles or embroidery hoops or whatever and spend the afternoon hanging out with other crafty types fixing up your swap finds, having fun and sharing ideas.

This sounds like a total blast! It combines all my favorite things: crafting, community, charity and ... BROWNIES!

Creative Spark Gathering - Mini Lego Movies

This is a picture I took at the massive Lego display at Maker Faire.

This is at the same time as the Book Signing party, but it looks like it would be worth shuttling between events. My son is obsessed with Lego, and I've caught his obsession. I'm hoping to be able to go so I can make a mini-Lego-movie for him!

From the event's Facebook event page:

Think flip books, think clay-mation, think spaceships and adventure! Please join our special guest, Creative Spark Stephen Bohls for the low-tech magic of stop-motion animation--and some serious fun! Bring your camera and make your own mini movie—or just come and play with one of the best Lego collections in Austin. The Creative Spark Gathering is a FREE opportunity to have fun, learn, and meet other creative Austinites.

Whew! That's 36 hours of insanely rad, crafty, creative, community events. Rest up and get ready to have some fun!