Vintage Craft Thrift Heaven

When I was planning one of my early trips to Portland a few years ago, I remember when Diane mentioned a place she'd like to take me. Her description of the store immediately caught my attention and got me giddy:

"It's a thrift craft supply store with lots of vintage goodies," she said.

"Well," I replied. " You just named three of my favorite things!"


The Knittn' Kitten did not disappoint. During my first visit, I scored oodles of vintage bias tape and ric rac. I brought home a vintage embroidered table cloth that I still use when I'm doing embroidery demos or special occasions. (I even found, but did not buy, an embroidered table cloth that was in progress ... complete with the hoop still attached!) And I discovered loads of vintage embroidery transfers, including one of my most treasured vintage embroidery transfers: the Girl Scout Sampler.


The Knittn' Kitten in Portland is completely unique. It's a thrift store of nothing but craft supplies, and most of it is vintage. It's a dream. The Kitten suffered a bit of a slow summer in this struggling economy, and several of Portland's crafty heavy hitters have come out in force to support The Knittn' Kitten and encourage others to do the same.

Lots of laughter and finds at The Kitten during the PDX Craftgasm weekend back in April! From L to R, Lee Meredith, Kim Werker and Theresa Sullivan. Photo from Diane.

Even though I'm in Texas, I can't express my love of The Knittn' Kitten enough. When I returned to The Kitten during the PDX Handmade nation weekend, I had a blissful visit. We arrived with a full entourage of folks, and the store was alive with laughter and gasps of "OHMYGOSHLOOKWHATIJUSTFOUND!"s. Everyone found some kind of treasure that day, and everyone had fun.

That's me and Betsy Greer browsing the amazing vintage craft books and magazines. Most of the pictures in this post are from the magazine I'm holding in this picture. Picture from Diane.

Most of the pictures in this post are from some of the things I brought home from my trip to The Kitten in April. You can see the things I discovered in my first trip to The Kitten back in my post from that trip.


One of the coolest things that the Portland craft community is doing is coming up with free patterns for projects that can be completed using things you can find at The Knittn' Kitten. Some of my best crafty Portland friends are sharing their ideas and projects. Here's the schedule of contributors so far:

September 22 – Heather Mann

September 29 – Teresa Sullivan

October 6 – Diane Gilleland

October 13 – Joey Groendes

October 20 – Christine Blystone

October 27 – Susan Beal

November 3 – Lee Meredith

November 10 – Bridget Benton

Be sure to check out the projects, and check out the Knittn' Kitten Flickr pool where people are posting pictures of things they've found at The Kitten or made with things they purchased at The Kitten.

If you live in Portland, or have friends who do, please pass this information on. If you don't live in Portland, drop The Knittn' Kitten gals a line to show your support. And if you have the opportunity to travel to Portland, be sure that The Knittn' Kitten is at the top of your list for places to visit. You won't be disappointed

Sister Diane brings you the *real* way to "market" your blog

Since starting Average Jane Crafter two years ago (what!? look at that! I missed an anniversary ... again! heh!) I've been lucky enough to connect with fantastic crafters all over the world, I've had the privilege to receive review copies of dozens of awesome craft books and products, and I've somehow landed the dream job to end all dream jobs (for a craft blogger) of blogging for Craftzine.com.

I've had a lot of people email me and ask things like, "How did you do it? What are your tips? How can I get a larger audience on my blog? How can I get more followers on Twitter? How can I get/do/accomplish more!?"

I'm always kind of stumped by those questions. My gut reaction is to just say, "Uh .... have fun? Do what you love? Be nice to people?" And, at the very basic level, that's how I've done it.

I realize, though, that folks are looking for a more structured, thorough answer than just "have fun," and now I can now point them to the second book in Diane Gilleland's blogging e-book series: Creating a Blog Audience: An unconventional marketing guide.

I reviewed Diane's first e-book on blogging (Making a Great Blog) over on Craftzine, and any time someone asks me about starting a blog, the first thing I tell them to do is purchase that e-book. I think it should be required reading for any blogger.

Creating a Blog Audience carries the same prestige. I can't tell you how many bloggers I've come across who could benefit from the golden information Diane shares about how to build a blog audience. What I love about her premise is that at the root of it all, building a blog audience boils down to being a strong member of the crafting community.

Diane and me at Maker Faire. Crafting community connections and great friendships! It's why I love what I do. photo by Kristin Roach

One thing that I love about Diane is her ability to hone in on the specific roadblocks that face bloggers. She's exceptional at being able to get bloggers to focus, to think clearly and to move ahead with purpose.

She starts the e-book off by getting bloggers to sit down and truly think about why they want a bigger blog audience (she even has a set of worksheets that help guide readers through the process of figuring all this out). Diane's approach is all about engagement marketing, a new way of marketing that builds relationships and connections and growth through genuine partnerships. As she says, "A little genuine friendliness goes a very long way in the blog world."

Some of the highlights of the e-book for me are the following:

• exploring "not being nice just to get something"
• her 3 rules of blogging success
• the single most important thing you can do to promote your blog
• commenting on other blogs, and how not to comment

Her take on sharing ideas and projects is refreshing and dead on and reminds me of the adage about getting back ten fold what you send out into the world.

In this age of rampant sharing, ideas and techniques are like air - they're everywhere and free for everyone. You will not prosper by trying to clamp down on your creativity. You will prosper by being open and striving to build relationships.

She also has great sections on participating in online forums, building your blog archives, connecting with other bloggers and submitting links to large crafting web sites.

Remember, the craft blogosphere is a community. If you treat people like potential friends, you'll have a much better experience and make many more connections. If you treat people as merely potential customers, you'll mostly turn them off.

Even if your goal is not necessarily to build a huge audience, make money or land a dream job, the lessons laid out in Creating a Blog Audience are valuable for any blogger. Heck, many of the lessons are valuable just on the being-a-good-human-being level!

I've said it a million times before, Diane is my craft guru. Her writing is clear, simple, easy to read and follow and filled will a million gold nuggets. Grab your copy of Creating a Blog Audience (and Making a Great Blog if you don't already have it) today.

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!

Spreading the Stitch Addiction

The pictures you see here (aside from Kat's stamp carving one ;) are pictures of projects done by some of my embroidery students after they've left class. Enjoy!)

Jessica made this sweet owl bandanna for her pup, who is looking quite dashing, no?

I've said it before: teaching hand embroidery classes is one of my very favorite things to do. And one of my favorite parts of teaching is seeing all the cool stuff people make after they leave my class. I love seeing people get as inspired and excited as I am about embroidery, and leaves class ready to take on more projects.

I've been incredibly fortunate to have the nicest, most enthusiastic students at the Stitch Lab here in Austin. And I love to be able to brag on them when they send pictures of some of the things they've been making.

Jean used one of my very favorite embroidery books to inspire the stitches in this gorgeous embroidered handbag. Lovely!

So as you peruse the fine work of my students in this post, I'd like to let you know that there are a few opportunities to get in on the embroidery class action coming up. If you'd like a tiny taste of the class, head on over to Parts & Labour on Thursday, August 27 from 6-9 PM. My pals, Leslie Bonnell and Anne Marie Beard will be hosting a fan-freaking-tastic trunk show called Dueling Glamazons. These ladies make some insanely awesome jewelry and handbags, and they'll be rocking out at P&L on Thursday.

Kat's skillful hands carve a stamp in our Surface Design class.

As part of the event, there will be a handful of crafty demos going on. The amazing Kat McTee (whom I've fawned over again and again) will be on hand to show how to carve simple stamps. Carol, Stitch Lab Studio Assistant Extraordinaire, will be getting folks hooked on crochet (puns, FTW!). Finally, little ole me will be there showing some basic hand embroidery stitches and sharing my general love for the craft.

It'll kinda be like a drug deal, huh? First little taste for free .....

After mastering her dog's dapper wear, Jessica went on to stitch these adorable tea towels for a friend!

But here's the thing: embroidery has genuinely changed my life. No jokin'! And if I can send some of that happiness and fun creative time out to other folks, then honey - step outta the way, 'cause I'm gonna do it.

So! If I've convinced you to take a class, skedattle on over to the Stitch Lab site and sign up. I'll be promoting upcoming classes at the event on Thursday, so they'll be filling up soon. Grab a spot before they're gone!

Believe it or not, this sweet tote was stitched by an eight-year-old girl! She took my mother/child embroidery class back in May, and her mom reports that she's been stitching like crazy ever since. She made this totebag as a birthday gift for a friend.

And perhaps your work will be the work I'm bragging on here on AJC next ......

Creepy or Cool? Both?

I found this needlepoint piece at the Cathedral of Junk here in Austin (more on that below). I was immediately drawn to him because - obviously - he's a form of needlework, and because he was strangely pristine in the environment.

I've always been a little creeped out by clowns, but something about this guy makes me really like him. Maybe it falls into the same category as "so ugly, it's cute" ... he's "so creepy, he's cool."

Maybe?

* The Cathedral of Junk is a fantastic backyard "playscape" of junk here in Austin. You can read more about it here. The kids and I went for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and could have spent hours there if it hadn't been so insanely hot and humid that day. I plan to go back in the fall when we can explore even longer. Here are a few more pictures from the Cathedral of Junk. If you are ever in Austin, you *must* visit it!

Two Thumbs Up for Kanzashi in Bloom!

I'm crazy kinds of thrilled to be part of Diane Gilleland's Blog Tour for her new book, Kanzashi in Bloom. Kanzashi in Bloom is beautiful, inspiring and very easy to understand, and will introduce you to the ancient-yet-still-pertinent art of folding flower petals from fabric.

Diane is one of the most prolific, professional crafters around, and her level of expertise and attention to detail make Kanzashi in Bloom one of the best, easy-to-follow, most complete craft books I've read in ages. Diane has a gift for breaking projects in to simple steps that are accompanied by crystal clear photography. Reading the book is just about as close to sitting down with Diane to learn as you can get, and because the instructions and photographs are so clear, the learning is fun - not frustrating.


After teaching the basics of petal folding, Diane walks readers through almost two dozen projects using these beautiful flowers. True to Diane's form, she's included all kinds of extra information. In the basic instruction section of the book, she's included extra pictures to step out things like tying a surgeon's knot and specific sub-steps, as well as an entire section on "fixes" for common mistakes. She's covered every base possible, and follows with a range of beautiful projects that are very modern takes on this age-old craft. Kanzashi in Bloom is a dreamy craft book that won't disappoint.


So ... what's with all the thumbs?

You see, when I first started reading Diane's blog three years ago, I noticed (and appreciated) how nice and clear her tutorial photographs were. As I followed Diane's prolific projects, I got to know her ... by her thumbs. As I scrolled through hundreds of blog posts in my Reader, I could always tell when I hit one of Diane's. Her thumbs became a signature for me, and there were countless times when I'd see a blog - or even an article in a magazine - and know that it was one of Diane's projects not by reading the by-line, but by recognizing her thumbs! I've even noticed that Diane has inherited her good-thumb-genes from her mom, Pam, of Gingerbread Snowflakes! (By the way, Pam is a gifted photographer who happened to take all the pictures for Kanzashi in Bloom. How fantastic is that!? A mother/daughter team working together!)


This has been an on-going joke between me and Diane. I worried that, perhaps, Diane might think I was getting a little thumb-stalkerish or was just plain goofy. That was until she sent me an email with a picture of her thumbs with smiley faces on them and a sweet "Get Well" message when I was knock-down-drag-out sick at the end of last year. At that point, I knew that she not only *got* my weird thumb obsession, but was willing to play along. ;)

When I got my copy of Kanzashi in Bloom in the mail, my first message to Diane was, "It's beautiful!" Followed by, "It's like Thumb Porn for me!" Fortunately, she took that as a compliment (as it was, of course, intended).


I think it's time you get to know Diane's thumbs as well as I do! Please enjoy this interview between me (AJC) and Diane's Thumbs! (DT) And be sure to pick up, thumb through (har!) and purchase a copy of Kanzashi in Bloom as soon as you finish reading this post.


AJC: As Diane's thumbs, you get quite the crafty workout on just about a daily basis. How do you keep up?

DT: We really try to stay in shape with plenty of deep bends and stretches. And we thumb-wrestle several times a week for extra cardio.


AJC: What's the toughest part of folding Kanzashi for you?

DT: The folding comes pretty easily, actually - the only challenge we find in the process is in assembling the flower. There's a part where you have to tie a knot in the string of petals and then tighten it - well, let's just say it's a darn good thing we're opposable.

AJC: What are your favorite fabrics with which to work?

DT: We love quilting cottons, because we can pinch an excellent crease in them. We were a little pooped after making that vinyl Kanzashi belt buckle, though. And, covered with super glue.


AJC: How do you get along with the other digits?

DT: Well, they're all like, "We have two joints, and we're tall, so we get to make the rules."
Heh - yeah, well, let's see you operate a pair of scissors without us, pretty boys.

AJC: When you're not crafting, what other kinds of activities do you like to do?

DT: Sometimes we like to get a little jam session going, table-top drumming. We also make a mean batch of BBQ meatballs.

AJC: What was your craziest/messiest crafting experience?

DT: Oh, that would totally be when Diane decided to make about 300 magazine reeds. You have to roll magazines around a thin bamboo skewer - total grunt-work for thumbs, by the way. By the end, we were sticky with glue stick and covered with magazine ink. Being a thumb is not a glamor job.

Craft for Good!

The gals at the Stitch Lab here in Austin are teaming up with Ann Randall of The Stitching Studio to craft for charity. Ann heads up the Charity Craft Volunteer Network, and coordinates dozens of different ways that folks can lend a helping hand with their craftiness. Leslie and Carol at the Stitch Lab are coordinating a series of crafternoons where folks will tackle projects assembly-line style. The first session will be this Sunday, July 26 from 3:30 - 8:00 PM with the goal of setting up twice monthly sewing sessions to follow.
This weekend, they'll be making "cloth medical play dolls for children in the hospital. Medical play dolls are used in hospital as a communication tool for explaining an invasive procedure to a child or for diagnosing a child's discomfort. If a child is facing an IV for the first time, medical staff in the emergency room insert an IV on a doll's arm as they explain the procedure to the child. The child is then given the doll to keep and hold for comfort and security."

They need people to trace, stitch, cut, turn, stuff and close by hand. It's a great chance to spend time crafting with friends (and even learning some new techniques!) and helping others. I'm so glad to see the Stitch Lab offering this opportunity.


If you are interested in helping out, just RSVP to Leslie and Carol at beez[at]glitzkrieg[dot]biz and let them know what time you can make it. The event will take place at The Stitch Lab. If you haven't been there before, you'll directions to the location when you RSVP. If you aren't here in Austin, or can't make it, you can give a quick cash donation through the Craft For Charity web site.