Latest Handknitted Purses

I just posted two new purses for sale. They are both made with felted wool and colorful eyelash yarn. I love modular knitting, have been experimenting this past year and I never know what shape I will end up with ! That's the fun of it.

I subscribed to Iris Schreier's Artyarns Yahoo list to get tutorials once every couple weeks. Her website is http://artyarns.com and the Yahoo site is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multidirectional/

Another group I suscribe to is Modknit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/modknit/ The home page for main site is http://modknit.com Lots of good instructions to try out there.

Here are the purse listings:
http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=503362
and

http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=503390

10/7 & 10/8 Fall Fiber Festival in Orange, Virginia

I keep hearing about this festival but haven't been able to check it out: http://fallfiberfestival.org My fiber guild http://www.potomaccraftsmenguild.org
friends tell me that it is a really wonderful event, much smaller than the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and definitely worth the drive.

Artistic Artifacts

A fellow member of http://potomaccraftsmengallery.com, Judy Gula, is selling fiber and embellishment supplies on her website, http://www.artisticartifacts.com . She collects fabrics and trims and hand-dyes them into colorful sets, and also sells found objects like game tiles, etc.

She will be a vendor at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo at the Chantilly Expo Center Thursday, September 28th, Friday the 29th and Saturday the 30th. Check the link for hours and additional information: http://www.sewingexpo.com/cities/chantilly.htm

Artistic Artifacts booth is # 322. Artistic Artifacts, collects and sells all those funky items that are great for your quilts /paper/mixed media/dolls/assemblage Art. Buttons, Beads, Game Pieces, Angelina, Hand dye laces, trims and fabrics, Vintage linens, quilt tops and "out of print fabric." Paper and Fabric Collage kits. The new hot embellishment is GLITTER and she will have kits of glitter from the The Art Institute and the coolest sequins in town.

Takoma Park Street Festival

On Sunday, October 1st, I will be joining fellow violinist and artist, Nina Falk http://ninafalkglass.com at the Takoma Park Street Festival http://takomafestival.com . She is exhibiting her gorgeous fused glass creations, some of which contain elements of musical instruments, at the show and I will have examples of my beadwork on display alongside.

Grand Re-Opening Celebration 9/30

Our building at 309 Mill Street in Occoquan is having a Grand Re-Opening party to celebrate the renovations of our gallery, the Artists' Undertaking Gallery http://artistsundertaking.com, and Melisa Dent Jewelry Designs, a custom silver and gold jewelry maker http://www.occoquan.com/shops/ShopsView.asp?ID=229. The building also includes Local Color, which is a gallery of handmade drawings of Washington, DC metro area local places by artist, Jackie Liedl http://www.occoquan.com/Shops/ShopsFrm.asp.

From 1-4 pm we will be offering refreshments and door prizes and at 1 pm, the mayor of Occoquan will be taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The building was formerly a funeral home, and the original gallery founders, 29 years ago, used a bit of irony in giving it the name "Artists' Undertaking."

Currently we have 13 members and our newest member, Anna Yakubovskaya, a fellow member of Potomac Craftsmen Fiber Gallery http://potomaccraftsmengallery.com will be displaying her unique and beautiful fiber art starting on Oct. 3rd.

Etsy picks on Style Feeder

I've been going through Etsy CREST (Capital Region Etsy Street Team) shops and selecting items for my style feed. Check out my favorite items from local Washington, DC Etsy sellers at the top of my blog.

Helsinki Fashion Sense

My husband is a musicologist with research ties to Finland, so we have traveled to Finland and have learned some Finnish (the coolest language-no pun intended). Here is a fascinating website that shows what great design sense some Finns have: http://hel-looks.com Most of them are wearing vintage pieces mixed with modern designers. When I was in Helsinki it was winter and everyone was wearing coats so I didn't get a chance to see any of the fashions on the street. One of these days, I'll get back there during the summer which my husband says is deliriously beautiful.

Gallery featured artist show

At Artists' Undertaking Gallery we have two featured artists each month, and this month my work is featured along with that of watercolorist, Marilyn Milici. We titled our show "The Scenic Route" because we wanted to promote the idea of always "taking the scenic route through life." Our work is based on images from our travels and I am exhibiting four beaded pieces that I graphed (by hand) from photos of my trips to Europe and the west coast. Here are two of them. The first is a bracelet called "Venezia" and the second is an amulet bag called "Embarcadero Palm." They are both done in herringbone stitch. Since I scanned them, you can't see the entire piece. The other two which I don't have pictured here are "Karwendel Peak," a peyote stitch necklace based on an image from my first trip to Bavaria, and "Helsinki Harbor," a peyote stitch bracelet from an image of my trip to Helsinki.

Beautiful jacket designs from Ghanian designer

I met a young entrepenurial woman this past summer through craigslist who needed help with a sewing project. (I'm always trolling CG for sewing gigs). Through sheer determination, it seems, she was able to get a wonderful collection of jackets made in a very short amount of time and has planned a trunk show for Sept. 3o. I am inspired to try to move my projects along more swiftly. Take a look at her beautiful creations which are produced by seamstresses and tailors in Ghana: http://www.aagyeman.com/ Such gorgeous fabrics !

New beading classes

I just finished designing my class offerings for the beading classes I'll be teaching at the new Loft Art Center in Occoquan, Virginia. The first class is scheduled for Oct. 15th and I'll teach the spiral rope technique. Students can make a matching bracelet and earring set that I designed. Of course the pictures show two different colors, but I will be offering kits for sale which will include everything needed to make a matching set. I'll be posting pictures of the kits and color choices soon.

The classes will take place from 10 am to 1 pm and are $30.00. Kits will be priced at $15.00.
The Loft Art Center is located at 313 Mill St. in Occoquan, Virginia and the phone # is (703) 490-1117. http://www.loftgallery.org/

If you want to know where Occoquan is, here is a link: http://www.occoquan.com/

I am a member of The Artists' Undertaking Gallery which is a 14 member co-0p in its 30th year. The beadwork designs I will be teaching are on display there as well as some of my more elaborate art pieces. The gallery is located at 309 Mill St. just a block down from The Loft. http://www.artistsundertaking.com