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Coming Up This Weekend:
Seattle Tilth's Harvest Fair
Seattle, WA
Saturday, Sep. 11, 10am - 5pm

St. Martins UCC Craft Fair
Dittmer, MO
Saturday, Sep. 11, 9am - 4pm

Festival @ 51
Rye, NY
Sunday, Sep. 12, 12pm - 4pm

Ridgewood Fall Art & Craft Street Fair
Ridgewood, NJ
Sunday, Sep. 12, 12pm - 5pm

Brandywine Festival of the Arts
Wilmington, DE
Saturday, Sep. 11, 10am - 5pm
Sunday, Sep. 12, 10am - 4pm

Indie Craft Parade
Greenville, SC
Friday, Sep. 10, 6pm - 9pm
Saturday, Sep. 11, 9am - 5pm

Contests:
Worldwide Embroidery Design Competition
Entry submission deadline: Oct. 1

Call For Vendors:
4th Annual Holiday Hit List!
San Diego, CA
Sunday, Dec. 5
Fee: $100
Deadline to apply: Nov. 14

Indie Emporium
Tulsa, OK
Friday, Oct. 29 - Saturday, Oct. 30
Fee: $85 - $130
Deadline to apply: Sep. 10

St. Martin's UCC Craft Fair
Dittmer, MO
Saturday, Sep. 11
Fee: $20
Deadline to apply: Sep. 10

Cornucopia Fall Festival & Craft Fair
Chicago, IL
Saturday, Oct. 9
Fee: $30
Deadline to apply: Sep. 30

4th Annual Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market
Flint, MI
Saturday, Nov. 27
Fee: $10 - $20
Deadline to apply: Sep. 30

Crafty Supermarket
Cincinnati, OH
Saturday, Nov. 20
Fee: $65
Deadline to apply: Sep. 15

River City Gift Shoppe Fall Festival
Copley, OH
Friday, Sep. 17 - Sunday, Sep. 18
Fee: $20 - $30
Deadline to apply: Sep. 15

American Legion Craft Fair Fundraiser
Glendale, NY
Sunday, Oct. 3
Fee: $25
Deadline to apply: Sep. 12

Minds Over Matter
Brooklyn, NY
10 Sundays: Sep. 19 - Nov. 21
Fee: $70 - $80 per event
Deadline to apply: 1 week before each event

Indie Craft Experience
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, Nov. 20 - Sunday, Nov. 21
Fee: $225
Deadline to apply: Sep. 16

Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa
Athens, GA
Saturday, Nov. 13
Fee: $95
Deadline to apply: Oct. 10

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By Wendy Tremayne

My friend, textile artist and blogger, Heather Cameron of True Stitches says of crafter Gretchen Elsner, "Writing about Gretchen is like trying to remember a dream that keeps slipping away the more you try to capture it."

The dream that I am having of Gretchen Elsner is one populated by archetypal creatures. At the busy intersection in which Gretchen stands, she stitches worlds together. Strewn about are handwritten script letters that scratch out quick-witted phrases as they dance along colorful stuffed fabric. The letters are as bridges connecting a bounded reality to one not yet known. An eyeball, Victorian vanity, bird, slug, wooden shoe, they delight in crossing over. They are composed of heaps of thread, colorful, tangled, wild and free.

Gretchen, the one who gives them life, traverses an imaginary field wearing a textile pop-up book of her making. The story spills from it. Gretchen is the story. We are reminded that not all tales ought to appear in books made for children. "Come on in," we think we hear, "but careful or you might get lost." Just as the colorful fabric scenes seem to finally join together and resemble something familiar the dream slips away. It is just as Heather warned.

Idiosyncratic clothing designer, performance artist, electronics maker, mother, builder, and dream weaver (to name a few) you'd be hard pressed to separate artist from art in any of Gretchen's works. Today she whisks by to lend to us a quirky, fresh vehicle of self-expression that she stumbled upon and then nuanced. It is a way of creating image using cotton threads or whatever is lying about.

Gretchen recalls how she stumbled on the find, "I felt stupid throwing away all the loose ends of thread that are left over when you cut the piece away from the machine, they all looked so pretty all wadded up." When she began using the technique she laboriously hand sewed the wads into shapes, then she discovered a product called Solvy which modified the process into what she offers us today in the form of a DIY.

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These cute teddy bear headphone covers from Traci of Late to the Revolution make me want to dump my earbuds in the trash. You can find them over at Red Velvet Art. [via Mixed Plate]

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Take a look at these delicious mini deep-dish pizzas from Michael Derr over on his blog, Made by Mike. He's cooking his way through every recipe of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food - if he needs some help eating those pizzas, I'd be more than happy to help!

Via Made By Mike

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Jeff Potter is kicking off his Cooking for Geeks book tour tonight in DC! Be sure to catch him in your town.

HacDC is happy to be hosting Jeff Potter, author of "Cooking for Geeks" for a one night only presentation in DC on the finer arts of food science. Jeff's book has been featured on NPR, BBC and his presentations have wowed audiences of hackers & foodies alike. We're happy to have Jeff joining us for a hands on demonstration as well as book signing.

But you don't have to take our word for it... here's what Jeff has to say:

Hi! I'm Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks (O'Reilly Media, 2010), and I'm doing a "D.I.Y. Book Tour" to talk about my just-released book. I'll talk about the food science behind what makes things yummy, giving you a quick primer on how to go into the kitchen and have a fun time turning out a good meal.
Depending upon the space, I'll also bring along some equipment or food that we can experiment with, and give you a chance to play with stuff and pester me with questions.

In the Maker Shed

Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter

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We are a big Lego family. My son is obsessed with them, and honestly ... so am I. I love this sweet and simple tutorial from Zakka Life for making felt capes for Lego minifigures. She's provided a downloadable template and instructions for whipping up a whole batch of them. I think our minifigs will be sporting new wardrobes very soon ...

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A statement issued by Makers Market staff:

After a seven month beta test period, we're sad to report that we've reached a decision to cease operation of Makers Market and Boing Boing Bazaar. Although the concept of a marketplace for indie makers invited by the staffs of MAKE and Boing Boing received strong praise from sellers and customers alike, in the final analysis, it is not generating the kind of sales for our sellers that we expected, nor generating the revenue we need to "keep the lights on." Working in close collaboration with Boing Boing, we attracted over 150 wonderful makers with creations so magical, we frequently found ourselves pulling out our own wallets to buy gifts, and we successfully drove nearly 3/4 million visits to Makers Market and Boing Boing Bazaar through online promotion and editorial posts, resulting in 4 million page views. However, our model was predicated on a highly cooperative premise: that a marketplace of indie makers actively engaged in their respective communities would quickly begin to draw its own critical mass. In spite of our best efforts, this dynamic simply hasn't evolved. Too many sellers have confided in us that they are heavily committed to other projects or too pre-occupied promoting their own sites or preexisting stores to effectively tend to their Makers Market/Boing Boing Bazaar storefront. Which means that on any given day, the only product(s) that sell well are those that Boing Boing and MAKE have blogged that day. This doesn't bode well for the remaining sellers and is a less than exciting editorial concept for us.

October 8th will be the last day to sell products on Makers Market and Boing Boing Bazaar. Thereafter, we will keep the market open through November 9th to facilitate communications between sellers and their customers. We will publish a full-width graphical announcement on all marketplace pages explaining that the marketplace is closed, but that orders already placed are being fulfilled, and that customers can continue to access their account and order details and can communicate with sellers through November 9th. On November 10th, we will replace the marketplace with a static page with a message from MAKE and pertinent contact info.

Effective immediately, we will waive any new fees other than commissions for those sellers who wish to continue selling through October 8th. For sellers who continue to sell though Oct 8th, standard sales commissions will continue to apply.

We sincerely appreciate your investment of time and energy into Makers Market and Boing Boing Bazaar. We want you to know that we have spent countless weeks evaluating the underlying circumstances, talking with sellers, and analyzing various options. In the final analysis, we are unable to sustain the marketplace without many times the traffic we are generating. We welcome your comments and would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Please write us at help@makersmarket.com.

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This cool salt light from Danny Seo is so quick and easy to put together, you could whip one (or more) up for a party this weekend or romantic table setting tonight.

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I love this roundup on BlogHer by Already Pretty on crafty jewelry tips. For instance, you can use an old bracelet to lengthen a necklace and make it more on trend such as academichic above. These tips can easily help transform your current wardrobe!

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I'm all for the efficiency of the multipurpose blackboard rings by Etsy Seller twinklyspangle aka Katie Strang. She's got a whole line of blackboard accessories for back to school.

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The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book by Steven Tatar with Denise Grollmus is available now! Tatar is the President and Creative Director of Ohio Knitting Mills, a company that offers unique virgin vintage knitwear from 1947-74 made at the historic Cleveland Ohio mill. (You can read more and see my photos from an Ohio Knitting Mills Trunk Show a few years ago.) Now with this new book, these vintage patterns can be knit by you! The book is filled with vintage-style fashions and accessories for women, with a few handsome men's patterns thrown in there too. I love The Outsider sweater and the Go-Go girl sweater dress below. Even as the patterns are vintage-inspired, flipping through the book you'll find that the patterns are really modern and in line with a lot of current trends for fall. The book also features archival illustrations of sweater sketches as well as amazing photos showcasing the history of this unique American mill.

Book Giveaway Time!
One lucky CRAFT readers will win a copy of The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book. Just tell us why you would like this book in the comments. All comments will be closed by 5pm PST on Thursday, September 9, 2010. The lucky winner will be chosen randomly and announced later on the site. Good luck!

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I saw these two craft kits, from 1971 and 1972, while doing a little thrifting this weekend. They're plain on the back and are filled with gently-used pieces inside. I love looking for fun kits like this whenever I'm at a seconhand shop, garage sale, etc. I like how these kits are designed for the "expressive generation," too! I picked up the applique kit for a review and to see what I can come up with.

How many of you out there pick up vintage craft supplies for a collection or to use with your projects?

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By Leah Buechley

I built this shirt to experiment with wearable computing and electronic textile technology and realized along the way that the basic materials were actually quite easy to work with and there was lots of room for creativity and innovation at all levels, so I was inspired to write up this do-it-yourself guide. Everyone should be playing with this stuff! It's great fun for geeks and divas -- build yourself a sparkly fashion accessory and program it with the Game of Life or other hacker animations. You're guaranteed to turn heads whenever you're out on the town.

Tools
Fabric marker
Liquid Stitch
Multimeter
Scissors
Sew-no-more
Sewing machine
Sewing needle
Soldering iron
T-square

Relevant Parts

Silver-coated thread
Surface mount LEDS
AVRmega15 microcontroller
DC power supply, 9V-15V
Serial adapter
Battery and holder
On/Off switches slide switches or toggle switches
AVR Programmer STK500 recommended
Lead-free solder
Silver and brass crimping beads about twice as many as LEDs
Garment or a piece of fabric and a pattern to make your own

Go to MAKE: Projects for the full directions and PDF

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Julie Jackson of Subversive Cross Stitch shared this crafty kid flashback photo of herself and her crafty Thanksgiving scene from the 1970's. She looks so sweet and innocent, right? Julie asked her readers to share photos of themselves crafting as a kid and you can add your own childhood crafty kid photo too. See all the photos in her crafty flashbacks set.

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Scott over at What I Made shares his latest project for turning a tin can into a cool tea light holder. His hand-drawn illustrations of the step-by-step tutorial are spectacular and really worth checking out. Enjoy!

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Lenore Edman of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories laser-engraved these Converse sneakers. Turns out the canvas isn't dyed all the way through, so a lighter color is revealed when the surface is etched.

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Ellen of The Long Thread has a fun tutorial for a cute girl's skirt.

Not really a skort, but a full skirt with shorts underneath for your little tree-climbing, cartwheel-turning girl. Read the Full Story » | More on CRAFT » | Comments » | Read more articles in Sewing | Digg this!

Volunteers attend Maker Faire for free and many tell us it's more fun than coming as purely a spectator. We need help not just during the weekend but for set up and tear down too, every little bit helps!

World Maker Faire New York 2010 at The New York Hall of Science

September 25 & 26th

The World's Largest DIY Festival


Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It's for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. So much to see, you will need 2 days to see it all!


Volunteer at Maker Faire for at least 4 hours and get a 1 Day pass to the Faire!


Volunteer at least 8 hours for a weekend Pass!

All volunteers get a Maker Faire T-shirt

We are also in need of core volunteers. Core volunteers are individuals that will be committing to more than 8 hours and can help manage certain areas, including the volunteer tent.

TO SIGN UP VISIT: http://makerfaire.com/newyork/2010/volunteer/

For Questions email: NYvolunteers@makerfaire.com

Photo by Matt Mets.

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Even though it's still pretty hot here in Austin, I'm finally feeling like I can see Fall on the horizon. It's starting to seem like time to get to some cozy crafting, and this cute twirl and tie pixie hat would be a perfect kick-off Fall project. Michelle of Wee Folk Art shares the pattern in sizes for babies and adults.

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Say no more. A fun find I stumbled across while stopping for chocolate in Escanaba. Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone spent some time working a new project.

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