a fun day with Betz White

Ahh, that was great. This past Saturday we hosted Betz White at Panopolie for a class. It was one of those crazy, anything-goes classes that I love so much. When you are looking to make bags out of felted sweaters, old belts and cut up jeans half the work is finding the right 'ingredients' and the other half is getting up the courage to cut into them. Ok, the third half is deciding on just the right project!Betz started by showing us several projects from her newest book, Sewing Green for inspiration and then she worked the room, gently coaxing us into cutting up those felted sweaters and silk ties. I spent a lot of time threading needles but even I managed to finish one bag and start a second. Several people made multiple bags (the largest number I saw was 6!) and a couple of folks just concentrated on making one really good one. We also got to try our hands at making one of Betz's newest designs, this felted wool nest pin. It's so sweet! She had a bunch of felted wool in just the right shades of brown and green and we used some tiny felt balls to finish the nests.
Betz autographed copies of both her books for us and it was a real treat to see the projects from Sewing Green in person. They're even more beautiful. I am really inspired to quit holding on to my thrifted goodies for just the right moment. That moment is now!

(read what Betz has to say about us here and you can even follow her blog tour and win a copy of her book!)

Patti Digh at Panopolie

Tonight was so much fun! The store was full to the brim with so many artists and creative people. Everyone had a great time listening to Patti Digh read and I loved hearing the stories behind some of her stories. She is a wonderful spinner of tales and everyone was loathe to have her stop. She signed books until they were all sold out (!) and then cheerfully signed some flashcards I had lying around.

Thank you to all who came out to hear Patti read, and a big thank you to Mollie and Heidi who spent the afternoon putting extra touches on the store (like the stack of books above!) while I was home with my children.

Now I am off to bed, Betz White's class is tomorrow and I have to pick her up at 8:00 at her hotel. I wonder if she drinks coffee?

Betz White Class changes...

We've had to do a bit of switching around with the Betz White classes this weekend at Panopolie. We have had to cancel the Sunday class. The Saturday class is now a bit longer and we've added the accessories projects to the day's lessons. You'll now make bags AND accessories in a one-day class for the same price. I am calling all the folks who were registered for the Sunday class. If you want a spot in the new extended Saturday class, please call Panopolie at 872-4767 before they all fill up!

Betz will have copies of her brand new book, Sewing Green, for sale and to sign!

We've got company coming!

To the craft table, that is. According to this article from the NY Times magazine (and my personal experience at work lately) there are lots of new beaders being born from tough economic times.

We see them every day, baggie of broken jewelry from a boutique in their hands. Confused, they really want us to fix things for them. We don't. We are kinda devious that way. After all, it's one tine step from restringing a $200 necklace that broke the second time you wore it to buying beads to make your own, much more interesting, necklace. Can I show you how to crimp? It's free!

Welcome, ladies! Can I get you a cup of coffee?

Read the article here.