I’ll be with the critters in Chicago for Indie in the Windy City…..

Fall Handcrafted Market!!

Saturday, October 4^th 10-4p.m.

The New Friendly Towers

920 West Wilson Ave., Chicago

The Indie Market will be featuring over 30 vendors from Chicago and surrounding area.  The goods offered will be clothing, jewelry, accessories, plush and amigurumi, paper goods, baby stuff  and more!  Some of our sellers:  bugsnbones, spinalfusion, jeniFer,  blue thimble, orangeyporangy, cranky pickle, greeniebean recycles… the list goes on…  There is none other like it in the Uptown area!

EEEeeek I can’t wait,  any excuse to spend the day in Chicago makes me very happy.   So if you are in the Chicago area please stop on by and say hi…….I of course will be stabbying like a crazy person (nothing much new there)  to have a ton of schtuff to share with you.

has it really been so long since I added a critter to the menagerie?  I guess so,  thank god I finally got to it and made this little guy

Meet Vince,  he’s a vampire bat although he will try and persuade you he’s a fruit bat.  Don’t let him fool you though!!!  the only fruit I’ve seen him show any remote interest in is blood oranges and I’ve never seen such a look of disappointment on any face when given one.   He loves to go for strolls in the moonlight,  midnight movies and all night pharmacies.  As cute as he is he always seems to be alone,   care to go for a stroll?

Of course he will be added to the shop just in time for Halloween.

That’s my funday……..and it really was last Sunday.  We attended the completely brilliant Willy Street fair in Madison.  Lots of fun was to be had from watching crazy people dance

to listening to every type of live music on every street corner…..from rock, pop, folk but these blues/jazz guys were my favourites

I really wish I’d gotten their cd……..how typical of me not to think about it at the time.

My favourite aspect of the fair (of course) was the arts and craft booths (huge surprise huh?) There was a guy outside Fat Pinky Glass actually making glass ornaments….he was fascinating to watch and I so wanted to have a go,   I’m not so sure he would have been that keen to let me take charge of molten glass and fire though

How cool is that?   and of course my favourite Madison Crafters had booths

Ekra and glitterworkshop both had brilliant booths proving that they both have been very busy over the summer with lots of new fun schtuff on show.

So that was my weekend how was yours?

Holy cow batman……..to the Batmobile!!!!

Ok, ok I know it’s a mobile and it was a terrible joke but I just couldn’t help myself.   I felt the urge to make the little vampire bats…..too much Christmas crafting I think,  although I am happy to think I’ve got a good selection of new Christmas goodies and I can take a little break from Christmas……..yaaaaaaay she shouts rather smugly.  Anyway I can’t wait to add these guys to the shop it feels a little neglected right now.

Remember I told you something wonderful might be happening with my acorns?   Well it is indeed,  they are going to be in Mary Engelbreit’s home companion magazine for fall…….although it’s fall ’09 so we will all have a bit of a wait to see ’em………I’m still really excited about it now though,  imagine how hyperactive I’m going to be this time next year………YIKES!!!!

And anyone who knows me well, knows that is a very rare occurrence……but I ask you how can I not be when I received a beautiful surprise package from my Etsy buddy MissBea.  And just what was inside the package I hear you ask well it was this beautiful papier mache bunny

He’s such a beautifuly made lil guy (as all of MissBea’s pieces are)  and Missbea’s generosity just blows me away and I can’t possibly thank her enough……..or maybe I can hmmmmmmm?  anyway my new bunny is lovin’ hanging out with my Kinser toys……..I think the closet beast has taken a real shine to him

And just to show you I haven’t just been sitting waiting for surprise pressies to be popped in the mail I thought I’d share some new Christmas goodies I’m making

The penguins are little guys perfect for hanging on the tree and the snowman and santa are larger…..better suited to tabletop or mantlepiece decoration.   See I’m always busy in stabbyland.

and falling, and falling, and falling………in fact I don’t think it ever stopped raining this past weekend in Chicago which of course made for a very wet Renegade Craft Fair.  Although it didn’t look like a bad time for everyone

He was loving the weather,   showing just how waterproof his new wellies truly were looked like a lot of fun.  Although it wasn’t so much for the vendors…..most of them appeared to give up footwear altogether (probably for the best)

But credit where credit is due I was so impressed with the resilience and friendliness of crafters even under horrible situations…….My favourite booth had to be the Etsy plush team booth

In the piccie is Christina from Dekvenga delights I have long admired her crotchet dolls on flikr, Susan of Susarto (I adore her business card…..she bills herself as a weirdo extraordinaire,  something I feel I can relate with her on) and lastly is Emma of uglyprettythings whose little Abraham I snatched up instantly as it was love at first sight…….although I happily could have stayed in their booth all day as I wanted to take all the critters home.

So here are my renegade purchase in all their glory

See what I mean about Abraham?   He is so cute,  I absolutely adore him to bits. I also got some brilliantly smelly soaps from Rinse…….mmmmm their booth smelled so yummy and I can’t wait to use their soap,  geeky ninja, magnet, pin and sticker from Shawnimals and a few completely cute magnets of cats on bike.  I of course hit up the etsy booth and got some stickers and pins……the hotdog  pin being my fave.  There was a ton of stuff I loved, but the weather being so godawful I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a huge deterrent from buying,  like a huge log pillow by Sally England Designs and the plush and wooden yoyos by suddenly it’s real and the paintings of Johanna Wright were wonderful……but the thought of schlepping them around in a torrential downpour just wasn’t  too appealing (hopefully other people thought differently for the vendors sake).  Still I’ve added a ton of etsy faves for holiday time and I’ve got a ton of insight into the not always brilliant side of outdoor craft shows.  Thanks to all the vendors for staying cheery and still making it a great time……..kudos to you all.

You gotta love when Gordon Ramsey calls people donuts,  it’s almost as good as when he calls them donkeys.  I think these would make the perfect gift for him to give to his chosen verbal victims….

I told you I’d be sewing donuts last weekend……I’m loving them so much,  although I don’t really want to give them up.  But of course  I’ll add them to the shop and convince myself to make some just for me.   I love that I’m able to use my crazy ribbon stash for these guys (I’m a ribbon addict,  I’m not sure why but I have so much of the stuff it’s crazy)  Although I guess that means I should really go and buy some more…..you know……just in case I need it……..sniff, sniff…….I don’t have a problem dammit!!!!!  I just like ribbon!!!!!  crap, maybe I am a pussycat.

I also have decided to show you my new Christmas cards…….I was hesitating in doing so as these cards I will be personally sending to my friends and family this year…..but oh well how else will I be able to add them to the shop if I don’t share them at some point?  I’m counting on the fact that if I show them early people will forget I said I was sending them……at least that’s how my ADD mind works…….ooooh look something shiny,  what was  I talking about again?  errrrrrr!!!

I got the idea for making them from making a Christmas mobile,  which I still have to share with you…ooooooh exciting stuff.

This weekend is the Renegade Craft fair in Chicago.  I LOVE this show so much,  mainly because it’s a huge outdoor event with around 200 vendors and it’s on Division street which is such a trendy part of town you can’t help but have a good time at it and 2 of my favourite crafters Ekra and Orangyporangy will be selling there  so it will be nice to annoy them in a different venue.  Anyway we are staying for the weekend which is a double bonus……….eeeeeeek I can’t wait!!   roll on Saturday

the end of summer?  really?    aw say it ain’t so……..All last weekend I listened to all the gloomy gus’s ending every sentence with “  this is the last nice weekend so you had better do *insert chosen outdoor activity* now” and at the time I rolled my eyes and laughed internally thinking how can you possibly know that?  the weather is glorious how can it possible change so quickly?………oh yeah I forgot we live in the Midwest.   It rained all day yesterday and I don’t mean intermittantly or showers or what ever else that might mean to you…..I mean it didn’t let up raining hard all day (they say it’s the tail end of  hurricane Gustav) and today is looking kinda grim too……….pooooooo I’m not ready for winter I refuse I tell ya!!!!! I feel like I didn’t get my fair share of summer dammit!!!!!

Oh well I guess it makes showing some of my Christmas goodies a little more appropriate what do you think about Rudolph?

or how about a christmas tree pin cushion?

I’m loving the trees……I found some miniature terracotta pots in an art store and got the idea instantly,  but even still they look much better in reality than they did in my head… and that so rarely happens to me.

This weekend Markie is of to Gnomefest a bike ride weekend extravaganza (yawn) so I’ve got the whole weekend to myself………guess I’m going to be sewing a lot of donuts.

It’s truly been a great week in stabby land,  first of a whole load of hanging goodies are heading off to a new store in Connecticut.  The request was brilliant as it was for some things I hadn’t even considered making into ornaments like the lovies and the donuts look brilliant,  so I want to make some more for the shop. anyway here is everything for you to see before it gets boxed up

And what else is totally great you ask?   well Craft likes me look………….I feel like Sally Field when she won her oscar……………you like me….you really like me ……..snifffffff

well they like Jon and Nermal at least.

Seeing the craft blog love was the perfect end to my perfect Labor day weekend.  We had gone to Chicago for the holiday and stayed in a fancy schmancy hotel we got on a brilliant deal on hotwire.  (how I love hotwire)  we had a brilliant time in Chi-town,  the weather was glorious and the cultural center was having an exhibition of Marilyn Monroe artwork and Photographs………..cold it be any more perfect I ask you?