handmade nation and sewing FOR ME!!!!

it's beginning to look like i won't have the time to write about handmade nation before i leave on friday, so i'll just do a quickie post about it for now. i really want to write about it in more detail, because i've had several really good conversations about it since (andi and tishie!), and it's really correlated with some thoughts i've had lately, and other conversations that have been going on on other blogs. interesting, for sure. i took notes, so maybe i'll have time to write something up while i'm back east!

but overall, it was fabulous! it was really awesome to see so many people out for it - even though i barely knew any of them! i've been so out of the loop the last few years. i wish i'd been feeling better earlier in the week, i totally missed how many local twitter and blog folks were planning to attend, i could have met up with some of them. i did meet becka from bliss in a teacup, and that was awesome! (i got to see the goodies from their shop in person too - gorgeous! i'm so in love with the playing card magnets, and the wooden bookmarks that aren't up yet!) and i ran into jackie, who i haven't seen in a long time, which was also awesome!


my sister and i went together, and it was so awesome to hang out with her. photobooth vancouver was there, so we both tried to take pics "showing our DIY". my bag was too big to fit in the picture with me!!

(the last one is funny because i wanted to get up on the bench to show my skirt, but realized at the last minute that i didn't have time!)

my sister is so awesome! i love the look on her face in these pics.

i managed to get both of our tickets early enough to get goodie bags - goodie bags are always fun!


with all the paper stuff taken out

the soap smells super yummy, and thankfully wasn't an artificial flower scent - i wouldn't had to toss the whole bag then! really, scented soap probably wasn't the best/most accessible idea!

andi's bag had different goodies -

i'm super jealous of the little birdie pin, it's so cute! i don't know who made it, there wasn't a business card attached.

so fun! i love the little silkscreened totes they were packaged up in!

there was a craft fair set up before and after the film, and while i didn't buy anything more than cupcakes, andi found a brooch that's so totally perfect for her.

she also beat me, and bought the wooden bookmark from bliss in a teacup that i'd been eying. it was really better for her though - she even recognized the wood grain that it was. andi's such a wood snob!

most of the craft fair stuff wasn't really my style - gorgeous stuff, but pretty "boutiquey", not so much funky, you know? there were a few things i really liked, but since i'm trying to spend very little money before i go back east (i'm saving it all for prairie thrift stores!!), i resisted temptation!

there was apparently a book signing earlier in the afternoon, but i'm not sure how folks found out about it - i didn't hear about it until we arrived at the theatre and discovered that the book signing wouldn't be part of the Q&A afterward like originally posted. the Q&A was really great, and is part of what i'd like to write more about. and i got Faythe to sign my book anyway, so it all worked out!

here's a kinda crappy pic, the only one i got inside the theatre -

(taken from the balcony above)

lots of vancouver crafters blogged about it, most of whom had way better pictures than me - especially kim werker's, they're lovely! definitely check out cabin + cub's post, laura bucci's post, daulhaus' post (i completely fell in love with her pottery mugs), henryandlili's pic, and coco cupcake's post (i had two of her cupcake - ohmyGOD yummy!).

there were a few press mentions before the premiere, and it was really neat to see and talk to people who are totally disconnected from the primarily young "indie" scene, but read about it and decided to come out. there was an article in the Georgia Straight and Faythe was interviewed on Breakfast Television. (i STILL can't get the sound to work on my computer, and want to watch that so bad!)

and also go take a gander at the pics posted on handmade nation's flickr photostream, and the wrap up blog post!



in other exciting news, i sewed FOR MYSELF this past week. i never do that! i whipped up a couple of skirts, both altered from vintage clothing, made a few pairs of footless tights, and most excitingly, i made myself a purse!

the first skirt is pretty basic, i just cut the top off of a mid-calf length vintage fortrel skirt and added a super wide elastic waistband. i love the pleats!






the second was a bit more complicated, because the fabric piece i had was from the middle of a dress - andi already made a skirt out of the bottom for herself, and cut off the top. i LOVE the velvet fabric, so she gave me what she had left. it was barely enough for the skirt - i added a cotton waistband, and still didn't have enough to turn the hem up, so it's just serged.

(it's wrinkly, cause i took this friday morning after the premiere)

i added a pocket too, cause pockets are awesome!


i haven't made myself a purse since high school - i can't believe it's been that long! it's so ridiculous, i've been working for vinyl for so many years now, yet everything i sew is always for everyone else. this one was a prototype of sorts, so there are definitely things i'd do differently next time, but i'm still pretty happy with it.



it's HUGE, i know! i wanted it to be big enough that i could put small purchases in it, instead of using shopping bags, and i wanted it to hold magazines and a ziplock with my current embroidery project in it. it's bit too big, truthfully, but oh well!





the lining is this GORGEOUS handprinted cotton from thailand that i've been hoarding.

i did a long pocket on one side, with stitching to separate it into three - one for my cell, one for my camera, and one for a pen or lipstick.


and on the other side i did a zippered pocket out of the purple glitter vinyl


i made a button loop and covered a button in the glitter vinyl, but honestly, i know i'll never do it up. i should've just left it off, now the loop is driving me nuts - hence why it's pinned down! i do LOVE how the covered button turned out though!

i didn't take pics of the two pairs of tights i made, cause honestly, they weren't that exciting, but this pic, taken outside the theatre, shows the black pair. the other pair is a deep cranberry/plum colour. just basic cotton/spandex 4 way stretch, they take less than an hour to whip out.


i'm so glad i finally got around to sewing FOR MYSELF! now i just need to alter some tshirts and make myself a new hoodie....