Happy Hands

If you live in Portland, and find yourself with some spare time on Saturday (that's tomorrow...yikes!), stop by the Happy Hands Market on 33rd and Alberta. We'll be there with lots of fun handmade goods from 12-4. I'm selling apron dresses, a few skirts, and some pennant-type fabric bunting. After that I plan on having a good stiff drink and some much-needed sleep.

Sometime soon I'll be begging my brother to help me start an online shop. Something like my gal Textile Fetish. I love these crafty gatherings, but it is tough to try and crank out a bunch of things on a mom-of-three schedule. I'm sapped. And I miss blogging.


I designed this skirt for Zöe and have made a few more to add to my dress collection for Saturday. Eventually I'll size it up for the big girls too. It fits nice and a-line, just like I wanted, falls a bit below the knee and looks very cute. The other versions have a middle panel of a contrasting fabric much like these by Rebecca.

Hope to see some of you tomorrow, and for those I don't...happy weekend!

Secret Sisterhood Society

On Friday evening my house was filled with some keen skirts looking absolutely swanky, dolled up in their 1920's glad rags. The giggle water was flowing freely; we beat our gums, hit some cards, and even smoked a few ciggys. A few of us wound up quite zozzled, a few of us won some scratch playing poker, but jeepers creepers the joint was jumpin' and everything was Jake! Hot socks, it was one ducky time!

My dear friend Sarah and I threw a Secret Sisterhood Society Poker Party as a fundraiser for our Preschool Auction. Our basement served as the perfect spot for a Speakeasy. Eric was our dutiful manservant, mixing and pouring (real Singapore Slings, Cosmopolitans and Champagne Cocktails) with such finesse that no one's glass was ever empty. Sarah's brother Noah was our dealer, kindly maintaining his patience with a bunch of chatty dolls. And everyone looked fantastic in their get-ups. Sarah and I had such fun opening the little "Who-Goes-There?" door of our front door with each arrival. They'd whisper the secret password and we'd giggle each time to see such other-era faces peeking in. Our lovely friend Colleen was a time traveling visitor from the 1950's (she looked perfect in our knotty pine basement...next time we'll have to have a 50's party) with her thrifted find of a dress so excellent we insisted she wear it. The dresses were incredible, and yet my gal Sarah and I loved pushing our costumes in the other direction, inspired by the great Marlene Dietrich. Too much fun. More party photos here.

I've got it bad...

...the sewing bug, that is. Hence, the reason I haven't posted in over a week! Sorry. But it may be this way for a while. With packing, moving, unpacking and room-painting I hadn't even glanced at my sewing machine since last summer, when I was madly making these for my friend Holly's backyard Art in August gathering.

But then a few weeks ago someone asked if I was going to be making my apron-dresses again and now suddenly, bam! I'm back at it and involved in three different crafty shows all coming up in the space of two weeks. I've concocted an apron-skirt as well, and am also working on an open-sided tunic style top. In addition to that I actually sat down, took some time, faced my fears, and figured out how to make something following a real pattern. Shazam! I made some pants and a peasant top for Zöe! Thank you, Rebecca, for kindly explaining how to put the leg inside of the leg for easy crotch seam sewing on the pants. I never would have figured that one out without your explanation!

So this newfound pattern thing has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and I absolutely can't stop thinking about sewing. Can't. Stop. When I get even better I want to make some of these! I'll post more information on the shows as the days approach, and more photos of dresses and such as well. For now, you'll just find me sewing.