If you’re in Seattle or the Bay Area, be sure to mark your calendars for some stellar craft fairs on the horizon. I wish I could go myself, but I’m here in Portland this weekend…

This weekend (Dec. 1 and 2) Urban Craft Uprising is going on at the Seattle Center with over a hundred vendors, daily fashion shows, and goodie bags for the first 100 shoppers both days.

If you go, keep an eye out for Cathy of Bossa Nova Baby, Torie of Totinette, Quentin of Monsieur T., Rachel of Lucky Loo Loo, and Ryan and Lucy Berkley — in a crafty rock block*, no less! Yay Portland!

Then, on Tuesday, Dec. 4, Christina of borrowed bought stolen will be selling her pretty jewelry and accessories at a sustainable-crafts sale at Ambatalia Fabrics in Mill Valley. It sounds just lovely — stop by for a glass of wine and shop for eco-friendly gifts, what could be nicer?

I better run, there’s a Trail Blazers game on TV tonight — go Blazers!

*aka: with their booths all in a row for maximum awesomeness

Things got so busy with work last week, and then it was so tempting to just take a few days off from everything for the holiday so sorry to be absent for so long! Here’s a little photo catch-up of a few of my favorite things (food and day trips) and I’ll write up some crafty stuff (Felt Club, the Sampler) starting again tomorrow…

food

The night before real Thanksgiving, we had low-key vegetarian Thanksgiving at home and it was awesome. I made acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, cherries, and cranberries along with sesame green beans. My first actual Veggie Dinnerplate entry!

Then for Thanksgiving we cooked at home and brought everything over to a potluck: sweet potatoes with maple-glazed pecans, vegetarian gravy, and stuffing with vegetarian sausage and cranberries. There was also a big piece of salmon in the oven that didn’t make it out in time for the photo:

day trip

We had a really low-key weekend, which was so nice, and then went up to Centralia, Washington yesterday to walk all over downtown, go to thrift stores, and check out the train station. It was beautiful out and we had such a nice time.

I loved the window display at Centralia Printing Co. downtown.

There are so many murals on the sides of buildings, I liked this one especially:

And the train came through while we were there!

Kayte and I are taking the train up to Seattle on Friday for her Plush You! opening, which I’m really looking forward to! The show looks fantastic and I’m excited to see all hundred artists’ take on all things plush. If you’re in town, don’t miss the opening — it’s from 5 - 9 on Friday evening at Fancy, Schmancy, and Pants, and all the details are here.

plush breakfast by Kayte Terry

The Plush You! book looks great too and I’m excited to get my signed copy… congratulations to Kristen Rask of Schmancy!

I always have such a good time visiting Seattle. The new art museum and sculpture park are outstanding, and the McLeod Residence is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen — Andrew and I are planning a trip up there again soon since this visit will be so quick.

I saw a dual show of Dan Stiles’ screen-printed posters and Melissa Stiles’ Stubborn jewelry line last night at a party for ReadyMade — I loved their stuff and bought some of the super graphic earrings they collaborated on (the birds especially caught my eye)…

Here’s some of her resin-and-metal jewelry, too, which I thought was gorgeous.

I met up with Christina and Diane at the party for one last hurrah while she was in town. The lighting is… unusual, but if you squint you can see some of Dan’s posters in soft focus behind us.

He also designed this year’s Bumbershoot poster — I really wish I could have made it up there to see the Shins and visit Torie, Cathy, and Christina at their booths, but we’re deep in rehearsals for our upcoming show (more on that later).

So if you’re in Portland like me, Art in the Pearl is going on in the Park Blocks downtown, which should be a nice afternoon. Over a hundred artists are exhibiting and selling their work, and the Museum of Contemporary Craft is having extended hours on Monday as well. All the info is here.

a ring by Amy Buettner, one of the artists in the show

This weekend is also ten years since I moved to Portland! I’m really excited to hit a decade in my favorite place in the world. Of course I love LA too, and I had such a great time there — but what can I say, Portland is home and it just feels nice to celebrate the milestone here. Even though it would have been cool to see the Shins again in Seattle, of course…

Our wireless is apparently back after a week of on-and-off (mostly off) glitchiness, thank goodness… it’s a hundred degrees out and I just don’t think I could head over to a coffee shop to check my email like I have for the last few days. My inborn Southern ability to tolerate this kind of blazing heat has completely slipped away after ten years. It’s so nice to finally upload some pictures and post again (at least for the moment!), and I’m working on my long-overdue getcrafty column too.

Today I saw a flyer for Shared Route and I’m so intrigued: a biodiesel-powered shuttle between Portland and Seattle, how cool! I am definitely hoping to head up to see the new McLeod show, and Kayte is coming to visit in a few days by way of Seattle, too, so maybe one of us can post a real-life review soon. It sounds awesome, and pretty cheap too — I love the train but it can be spendy (not to mention late).

here are the shuttle details:

and here are the McLeod details too!

I swear I’ll have some crafty stuff to post soon — most of my projects are in progress but I should be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel one of these days, I’m looking forward to it…

I just got a copy of the new ReadyMade, and my article on Diane Gilleland’s website DIY Alert is up front in the Re-View section. I’m so pleased!

The Re-Fashion issue is stellar through and through — I especially love Lisa Congdon’s vintage fabric patchwork pillow, the charming feature on Alyson Fox’s house, and the Re-Make craft-room organizing ideas.

In other DIY Alert news, Diane has put together a cool little spin-off: a free Crafter’s Guide to Portland, listing dozens of stores, studios, and all kinds of resources here in town, organized by neighborhood.

You can pick up a copy at the DIY Table at the next Crafty Wonderland on June 10. The featured project is awesome, too: Can Cozies for Father’s Day, taught by Jen Neitzel of DIY Lounge. Don’t miss it!

And in case you were wondering what these oh-so-lovely backgrounds in the first two pictures are, Andrew and I stopped at the thrift store in Centralia on the way home yesterday and I picked up a couple of vintage sheets in the spirit of Jenny’s Thrifty Tuesdays. I’m thinking some little log cabin baby quilts might be on the horizon — I love these prints, and there’s not a pink princess or a blue sports implement in sight. I’m definitely a child of the 70s… yellow, green and orange are big favorites of mine.

I’m very pleased to announce that a new documentary, The Fever of ‘57 (based on my father-in-law Paul’s excellent book, Sputnik: The Shock of the Century) is premiering at the Seattle International Film Festival this weekend. Andrew and I are going up for the Friday premiere and staying for the encore on Sunday, too. If you’re around, please join us at one of the shows:

Friday, June 1 at the SIFF Cinema, 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 3 at the Neptune Theatre, 11:00 am

Sputnik in orbit in 1957

Paul will also be at both screenings, along with the director, David Hoffman, and there will be a Q&A afterwards. I also spotted this interview with David Hoffman, which Zee Grega posted on Metroblogging Seattle this morning.

On the crafty side of things, I’m also excited to check out the art show at McLeod and see my friends Maggie, Daphne and Karen. I love Seattle, and I haven’t been up there in forever! If there’s anything else I better check out, let me know…

Just got two cool e-mails today that I wanted to share, so if you’re in Oregon or Washington, read on!

First, the Oregon College of Art and Craft is accepting applications for their upcoming Craft Biennial:

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Craft Biennial: A Review of Northwest Art & Craft

Oregon College of Art & Craft announces a call for entries for the
exhibition “Craft Biennial: A Review of Northwest Art & Craft.” The fifth
in the biennial series devoted to handmade work in the Northwest, the
“Craft Biennial” seeks submissions that demonstrate a broad spectrum of
craft media.

Artists in Oregon and Washington are invited to submit slides of work
that investigate and redefine the traditional form of the object.
Artists working in ceramics, fibers, wood, metal, glass, drawing, mixed
media, book arts, papermaking, photography and printmaking are encouraged to
apply.

As an educational institution committed to intellectual inquiry and
craftsmanship, this exhibition provides a unique opportunity to examine
the state of modern craft in the Northwest. The “Craft Biennial” seeks to
provoke a dialogue between the viewer and object, as well as one
between the objects themselves.

To receive a Call For Entries Form, please call 503-297-5544 or
download at ocac.edu. Deadline for submitting slides is May 25, 2007. The
“Craft Biennial” exhibition runs August 2-September 27, 2007 with an
opening reception on Thursday, August 2 from 4 to 7pm.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And Sister Diane passed this on via the Portland Church of Craft e-mail list:

The Citywide Arts Commission is gearing up to host a weekly
Sunday Arts Fair in downtown Portland. From
July through October, the parking structure at SW Third and Alder
will be converted to a giant (400 spaces!) arts fair, where anyone
may sell original work. (Which, by the way, is being defined broadly,
to include art, crafts, original music CDs, and self-
published writing.) There’s a $20.00 membership fee, a weekly $15.00
tabling fee, and they take NO commissions on your sales.

Nonprofit arts groups may be entitled to free tables to use for
outreach. Citywide Arts is taking applications for vendors now. Check out
sundayartmart.com for more information.

Back in February I had the chance to interview Seattle author Ariel Meadow Stallings about her new alt-wedding book, Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides. I love the book — it’s full of handy advice and unusual ideas from dozens of offbeat brides and grooms (including me and Andrew, actually) — and Ariel’s also writing a companion offbeat blog to include up-to-the-minute links and other cool stuff she spots along the way.

And today, she posted the interview she did with me about our wedding! If you’re interested in pulling off a crafty wedding and reception on the cheap (hopefully with working iPod… ahem) it seems that I have plenty to say on the subject. Thanks, Ariel!

five minutes after it was official! photo by Paul Rich Studio

Ariel has tons of events coming up in Vancouver, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, too, and as she says, “These aren’t your typical in-store readings. There are hula hoops, sock puppets, and veils involved!” I’ll be at her Powells reading on June 11th — hope to see you there.

When Andrew and I got married in the summer of 2005, after a solid year of planning the darn thing, I was so happy that we got to do the things that were important to us (handmade pretty much everything, daisies, food and wine, and cool photographs) and got to skip the things that weren’t (programs, favors, tuxedos, diamonds, and legal last name changes). But it was exhausting!

I felt like the last six months of the whole slog was dominated by my new unpaid full-time job: calling vendors, tracking down addresses, and keeping up a ridiculously detailed set of Excel spreadsheets all day on top of my normal workload, just to pull off a relatively informal and relaxed wedding and reception. Half the time it seemed like I was making it up as I went along — it’s not always the most intuitive thing to pull off a wedding that reflects the two of you, if you’re not the tuxedo-and-diamond type… and we definitely aren’t. Luckily for us, we had an amazing wedding officiant, Sister Diane of the Church of Craft, a batallion of awesome and energetic friends, and a Costco membership.

I met Ariel Meadow Stallings, a Seattle writer who shares both my wedding anniversary (August 7) and my thoughts on wedding planning, while she was researching her new book Offbeat Bride. She interviewed me and a couple dozen other brides and grooms about our planning, ceremonies, and beyond, and the resulting memoir-meets-anecdotal how-to has definitely widened the path for “women (and men) who want their weddings to be as independent and unconventional as they are.”

She’s also set up a website, offbeatbride.com, which she updates with new resources, interviews, and anecdotes on a daily basis, and she’s kicking off her West Coast book tour with a bachelorette-party-style signing in Seattle on February 7! I recently got to interview her about it all, and here are some of her thoughts on the state of indie matrimony in 2007 — thanks, Ariel!

What does the term “Offbeat Bride” mean to you?

“Offbeat” is a term of total relativity. I spoke to brides along the full spectrum of offbeat-ness, from women who had weddings in Catholic churches but wanted Europe’s “Final Countdown” played by the string quartet, all the way to couples who had underwater weddings, musical theater weddings, and full-out freakfests that made our hippie raver nuptials look downright traditional.

It’s this relativity that’s important. Being an offbeat bride, to me, means you’re working toward authenticity and faithfulness to your wedding vision, whatever it may be. That authenticity could take the form of a simple barefoot ceremony in the woods, or it could look like an elaborate Hindi-Jewish ceremony in a downtown loft. It totally depends on the couple.

What was your favorite offbeat moment at your own wedding?

One of my favorite moments was when we were quietly waiting “backstage” (on a patio behind some trees near the B&B) before the ceremony. We could hear our friends and family getting settled on the lawn in the gardens where the ceremony was happening, and it was so nice to have a few quiet minutes to collect myself with my almost husband, and the whole thing was made all that much more special when a tiny white spider appeared in the white lily that was at the center of my bouquet.

Ariel and her husband Andreas, just before their wedding

What’s the best piece of advice you got in the thick of the planning? Any one thing you’d recommend from your own experience?

Several level-headed women I respected told me to be gentle with myself … that weddings have a way of turning the most sane, low-key women into stress-cases. They were right, and their words reassured me that it wasn’t just me being a freak.

For brides who take on the bulk of the planning, there really needs to be an acknowledgment that you’re undertaking a huge bunch of project management. Treat your wedding like you’d treat any other project management — live by your budget and schedules. A little project management goes a long way with wedding planning.

What are some of your favorite online resources for cool and creative wedding planning?

•Indiebride.com’s kvetch message boards were certainly my most valuable resource.

•As much as I hate the site, some of theknot.com’s budgeting tools and calculators were helpful.

•I also spent a lot of time looking at other people’s wedsites and blogs for inspiration and ideas.

How have people responded to the book so far?

Very positively. I’ve gotten some really touching feedback from engaged women, one of whom said it was like having a big sister helping her out with her wedding. I’ve been surprised by the responses I’ve gotten from wedding industry folks, too — photographers and wedding planners who written to tell me how much they enjoyed the book, despite their jadedness with the whole wedding industry.

What book events do you have planned?

Tons of stuff in the Seattle area, and then I’ve just confirmed a reading and reception in NYC in early March. I’m working on Los Angeles and Washington DC, too. It’s hard, though — since my book was published by a small press, all my touring is out of pocket, so I’m limited to places where I have couches to sleep on. If anyone has a couch they want to open up to me, I’ll try to come to their city!

What other projects are you working on these days?

In a great stroke of divine luck, I was laid off from my dotcom job the week before the book came out, so I’ve been able to focus on not only my book, but all my other beloved side projects, like the Salon of Shame (a bimonthly diary-reading event), Mr. Bento Porn (a photo community of lunch obsessives), and my own freelancing and consulting. I recently set up shop as a social media consultant, too … I’ve been helping some of my fellow authors wrap their heads around using Web 2.0 social media like blogs and flickr and myspace to get the word out about their books. It’s been fun!

Anything else you’d like to add?

I think I’m almost more excited about offbeatbride.com than I am about Offbeat Bride. The book was fun, but it’s essentially a monologue — me going on for 220 pages while the reader just sits and listens. I love that the site is more of a dialog, what with the photo galleries and comments and advice column. I’m such a web geek, and while I’m super excited to be an author, I’ll always be a blogger at heart.