talk amongst yourselves...
as part of the Toronto Craft Alert's goal to galvanize the city's craft community, we'd like to get a bit of a discussion going.
It's monday morning and we'd like to know how you spent your weekend. did you attend any craft fairs or shows? did you make something crazy? did you take a workshop? did you read something interesting about the world of craft? do you just want to send a shout-out to some crafty comrades?
discuss any crafty topic you like... we'll be re-posting this thread every monday morning, so that the discussions can continue in the comments section of this post.
posted by toronto craft alert at 9:11 a.m.
27 Comments:
Lately, a lot of my crafty work has been based on planning for future projects and trying to set up my etsy shop. However, i must admit that i have a few other things to attend to so much of my time lately has been spent online checking out others work and being inspired!
This weekend I finished one collage that started in March and took photos of my beaded pieces. I also started writing on my blog and added photos to my flickr account. But as far as hands on work, unless stuffing my face with dim sum yesterday counts, i didn't do anything this weekend. heehee..the dim sum was good, how about a crafty dim sum where we all bring different little bits to the table to share? hmmm...that's actually not a bad idea.
Lisa
just trying to keep up!
this weekend? see, the problem with summer is that i have yet to master the concept of outdoor crafting, so when it's gorgeous, my hands are lazy - i think i need an "outdoor projects" bag - aha! another project :-)
lately i've just been trying to organise craft shows (maybe you guys could add application deadline dates to the Motherlode list, pretty pleeease?) and realising than i really need to be planning for next year already, not just trying to sneak last minute into the fall and winter shows.....
also still trying to source organic (and Canadian made - ha! fat chance!) fabric in Toronto.....
it'll be interesting to see this whole weekend idea thing - i have a sneaking suspician that most crafters are nocturnal and that you should do a "it's midnight - we know you're not sleeping" thing instead :-)
Hey, I'm new to this posting stuff!! I'm a crafter who makes stuff for myself and friends and do everything from sewing, knitting, collage, photography and drawing.
For the past month or so I've been preparing myself for future works by collecting inspiration. The weekend was unfortunately spent working at a restaurant (I also work 9-5)... so this week I'm recovering and hopefully I'll have some time to start on some sewing projects next week.
On Monday nights a group of my friends have set up a tennis league and I've been dreaming up outfits for us!!
Amanda
I worked, and worked and worked some more... good think I love what I do! I had a bunch of custom orders to finish, so I sat by my open window (except when I needed to close it so my flame would not sputter) and enjoyed myself tremendously!
lisa pn - have you seen the selling your stuff on etsy guide on designsponge? i've been thinking of setting myself up on etsy too (gotta make stuff first though...) and it seems pretty useful. i also like the time machine feature on etsy that lets you see what's sold recently, it gives you an idea of what people are buying.
hi everyone.
i did not have a craftastic weekend because the inlaws were in town but this week am working on finishing up some old sewing projects while working on some new ideas.
i have been reading craft, inc. by mateo ilasco (which i would def. reccommend) so am starting small by making some lists.
thanks for the etsy tip angelune--i have registered for a shop but have not posted items for sale yet.
also trying to set up a new website. if anyone knows a good webdesigner, could you let me know?
marnie-crafting outdoors is the best : )
yay, glad the water cooler is starting to buzz!
please don't be shy to post links to your websites/blogs/etsy shops or photos of whatever you're working on in your comments. (that means you - amanda - need to see your tennis outfits! too cute.)
lisa - i love the idea of a show and tell/crafty dim sum. actally, susan brought up the concept of a friendly crit/regular meeting to share our work & get feedback during craft chat. i think a lot of people could benefit from this sort of thing...
marnie - send me any info for shows & i can post about it & add it to the list fo'sho.
susan i am ordering craft, inc. as soon as i have the cash! looks great.
xjx
wait a minute - are you saying that i should do my own legwork? that's just crazy talk lady! alright, alright, i'm not THAT lazy! ;-)
Thanks for the designsponge tip, angelune.
Susan - have you seen The Knit Cafe's website? (www.theknitcafetoronto.com) i've always thought that their designer did a good job (sorry, don't know the name): easy to navigate, an engaging kind of style.....
Jen - i'll send you what i find!
Thanks everyone!
Susan - www.backyarddesign.ca. Yesum created a few of my friends websites and they are beautiful. I have a husband who creates my website, so i am lucky that way, but i do know that if i was to get one designed by someone else, it would be her.
Angelune - Thanks for the link. That helps.
Jen - Hmm..the crafty dim sum might be something that i organize...however i have a few other things on my plate right now working on two new shows and teaching creativity classes in October and November! Perhaps it might be in the new year...hmmm..
thanks for all of the support and good ideas!
have a great day!
Wow!
Thank you Marnie and Lisa for the web designer suggestions. I will check them out. Fingers crossed!
Good luck with your projects and look forward to the crafty dimsum!
Jen-thanks for creating this space!
Happy crafting all!
susan
angelune: thanks so much for that link to tips for selling on etsy! it looks really great!
i made cushions! finally i finished these cushions i'd been meaning to make for my bed from a pink faux-wood print
i ordered from reprodepot.com.
let me say that sewing a zipper-placket is still not my forte!
i've made a coupla crafty neighbourhood discoveries lately. i may post about them at some point but figured i'd share them here first.
macfab on queen west - has awesome new fabrics in. most of their fabric stock has focused on somewhat mainstream home decor, but they've recently built on their amy butler collection with a bunch of more contemporary stuff, including super cute japanese imports. definitely worth a dropby.
type books (also queen west) - has a great little craft book section. it's small but well curated, with books by lotta jansdotter, amy butler, built by wendy, and craft inc.
yeah - i noticed that macfab has a lot of the japanese imports that can be found on reprodepot, and also some other David Hicks-ian fabrics that are seen all over mags like domino and blueprint.
i was impressed to see the amy butler home-dec line at European Textiles, which is on the North side of Queen, but closer to Spadina. it has a door on a corner and always has nice window displays. i've also found that their prices are soooo much lower than macfab (shhh!).
Hey there everyone! I hope that you all had a good weekend. This weekend Dave and I headed to Aberfoyle in search of some good ephemera and paper pieces for upcoming collage pieces that i am working on.
It was a bit crazy as the much of the paper was really expensive. I found a box of old books that were on a table in the sun, very looked through, no cover, the price? $100..hmmm. I definitely thought that such a high price item might be a little more protected! oh well. funny world..
I have a cold since then, so i have only begun to do little bits. Am trying to figure out wirework with beads and that isn't going so well either..so it's a tricky weekend.
But i did add a blog post..and my question is this..Why do you create? It's a good thing to ponder...
Hello fellow TCAers...
It's been a productive weekend.
I made 4 new beaded pieces, i updated Dave's photo etsy website (www.nomuraphoto.etsy.com), taking photos of my new work to put up on etsy by the end of the night.
And on top of that, i am helping organize a demonstration on Wednesday about the possible cutbacks in Toronto. Of course, if you want to know more about that, just send an email to me at lisa@girlcancreate.com! cool...
gotta go, my newphew and dad are coming for lunch!
I'll definitely post the tennis outfits when done... even though we may be wearing our snowsuits under them soon.
We've been super busy with the film festival so I haven't had much time to do anything other than gather up inspiration.
I do have a lot of virgo friends and am putting together some belated birthday gifts... along the lines of quilted logcabin scarves...
Lisa, you had a good question posted... why do you create? I'm not sure I've ever thought about it before... It just makes me feel good to see the fruits of my labour!! Also, its a great feeling when something you make can brighten someone's day!
Amanda
oooh, quilted log cabin scarves - what a great idea! need to see pics of those too...
lisa: i will post about the demo now - have had a crazy last few days (mostly revolving around dear diary craft fair that went down on saturday) so have not had the chance.
xjx
hi all
taking a break from too many projects! lisa and marnie--thanks for the web designer tips! i liked both of your suggestions and both are v. busy. am working forward on that so will let everyone know when i have something up and running.
jen, how was dear diary?
yes, on the photos of projects! that sounds fun!
and why do we create? have to! life seems out of balance without making things, ideas, etc...
brand new to this mecca +
this weekend i had lots of fun in the crawl and i found out about this:
from 1 pm onwards sat sept 22 on queen st there's a carfree party
buy a parking metre spot and set up shop
i'm thinking it would be super fun to bring out the lawn chairs, the crafting gear, and some snacks for a stitchnbitch in the street +
does this sound fun to anyone else?
hey all!
i would be interested in taking up a parking spot with others to stitch (and bitch and snack!). holler at me if you want to join forces! therealaMyleigh at gmail dot com
did anyone end up hooking up for crafty action at car free day?
my craftcon this weekend mainly involved reorganizing my unwieldy fabric stash into more contained basins.
perhaps this will inspire some actual crafting someday soon! i find that will all of the crafty organizing i do, i have less time/mojo to actually make stuff, which is a little sad. but organizing is my passion (and its own kind of creative outlet) so not too sad. i do hope to find some time to see out some of my sketches for quilts and sewn accessories that are accumulating in my notebooks, and to do some more textile printing.
it does feel good to use my hands to do more than type every once in a while!
xjenx
My most recent craftyness has been in the world of embroidery. I'm taking the online embroidery classes at Crafty Daisies, but I'm a couple of weeks behind. Right now I'm working on creating the "perfect" mom+baby bag, no it's not a diaper bag. :-) Something washable, that can hold the Bug's necessities as well as Mama's DSLR and Moleskine!
I'm here to request a little info. I'm one of the "contributors" to Ask Crafty and I've often thought it would be great to have some reviews of the stores in the GTA region (and beyond?) that carry crafty supplies - especially trying to hit the hidden gems and mom & pop places. Jen really dug the idea and so I'm starting to compile a sort of matrix to review the stores with.
So I'm wondering, what kind of information would you be interested in reading about? Lemme know!
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As per usual, I spent tons of time looking at different blogs, Etsy and online diy shops for inspiration. Love it all! I was overcome with inspiration and had many ideas floating around so lastnight, I took out various pieces of paper and made a lovely little journal. It's my prototype for future journals that I want to make for my own online (or Etsy) shop.
I also watched part of Karate Kid III (Ralph Macchio failed miserably... sigh... after his smash-up performances in I & II... very disappointing), spent time with some very special people and wrote several letters (love those handwritten letters...).
Have a great week, all.
this weekend i was mostly visiting my dad on pender island, bc.
here's the craft stuff i did:
a) i went to the farmers' market there and checked out some local handspun/hand dyed yarns that were even dyed with local botanicals (save some indigo) - frozen broom, mystery seeds, grasses.
b) talked to my dad about making me some custom mega crochet hooks on his friend's lathe.
c) enlightened a vancouver comedian to the wonders of hyperbolic crochet.
the end.
Okay, and so, i did it!
i have an etsy site with three items on it.
i know it's not tonnes, but it is a beginning!
check it out and let me know what you think!
www.girlcancreate.etsy.com
whoo hoo!
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