home.

our place never looks this tidy except when the bulk of our stuff has been hidden for subletting purposes.

we got in late last night and stayed up well into the wee hours unpacking, sorting, cleaning and finding places for the thrift, craft and art scores we made on this last trip. hopefully, i will be able to keep up with updates here as things find their places.

i am really excited about this feedsack/flour sack quilt we got in wisconsin for $10. it's pretty tattered but that just makes me feel less uptight about it so it can actually be used. it is a light summer weight quilt that only consists of a top and a back with a thriftily used chenille sheet for the batting.

i also quickly found a spot for the tatted hoop i got from the all citizens shop in bruno, saskatchewan. it's up in the bedroom next to the shrimp lace and tea bag paper shoes i got from tara bursey at last year's city of craft. sorry, tara, your shrine has been expanded to include others. tyler tells me that the tatting was done by bernadette greule who also composes cowboy poetry and sometimes performs at the shop.

of course, this influx of new things is making us go through old things we had been hiding from ourselves. there is much to get rid of in order to properly clear up all of our working space and i am in the mood to get tough with my possessions. who knows? maybe there is a yard sale in our near future. or a rummage show? your ideas are heartily encouraged.

telephone city.

it feels, at times, that even when i get back home the touring never stops. a few days after our homecoming, the sweetie pie press is making the little jaunt t nearby brantford, ontario, for the second installment of the telephone city art and craft fair. we will be piling into the pontiac with amy, krystal and aitor to bring some joy and crafts to this neighbouring place to which i have never been. do you live in the area? nearby? come visit!

telephone city arts and craft show
saturday, august 22, 2009
11:00am - 5:00pm
the ford plant
1 king street
brantford, on

zine dream, too.

poster by jesjit gill & laure mccoy

just a message to let all you torontonians know that i will be pulling the cobwebs off my zine catalogue (including the trampoline hall comic zine and some other stuff) to table at zine dream 2.

a lot of the usual suspects will be there. for me, this is going to feel like a compound reunion - arty zinesters, toronto friends at large...you should come. the venue has a bar. we can pretend it is 1995 - only better!

zine dream 2
sunday, august 30th, 2009
noon - 6:00pm
the tranzac
292 brunswick street
toronto

window shopping.

today aitor and i are spending our day skirting another store window in chicago. the store, in this instance, is renegade handmade and we are installed together (unlike our separate installations a few months back at uncle fun). we are also less in the window than last time. but you can probably peer around some handmade wares to spy on aitor if you like.

this, the first of renegade's in-store events has been going so well that we have committed to coming back tomorrow. watch me make buttons, buy them off the table and/or get a portrait from aitor! not to mention all the other marvels to see here (my favourite place is the print pocket in the back).

thanks, renegade (especially sue and kate). this is perfect. i makes me feel like i have a real job, too.

a last re-sort.

this image of my suitcase may not be as sublimely satisfying to you but for me it represents a good investment of time and thought and is the most organized my travelling wardrobe has been in a long time.

sure, the car still smells like sweat all the time and we are basically filthy but this makes me feel like i might have some secret dignity.

it will last a day.

twin cities maniacs.

on the way out of minneapolis (or mipples, as we now almost exclusively call it), we managed to slip into i like you before closing. aside from the obvious awesomeness of wall-to-wall astroturf carpeting and an indoor swing, this is the most indie craft packed shop i have come across in the twin cities (crafty planet excelling in craft materials and resources, of course). i am so glad we made the effort to find the shop. angela and sarah were so great to hang out with and i am happy to say that they now stock a good selection of buttons and artist sets. go check 'em out!

we finally got on the road late and didn't drive for long. i got tired and pulled off the highway at eau claire. it was a good thing we did, too, because as soon as we settled into the motel, the television was buzzing with flash flood warnings on all stations. my pictures don't do the chaos justice - it's was an incredible storm. suffice it to say we are happy to be safely tucked into our motel room.

prairie tales.

i made these special buttons today as gifts for my friends lee and steve who had aitor and i on their weekly radio show here in winnipeg. these buttons (made on the new 3" machine) represent some great technological leaps for me - ribbons, duotones (although you can't tell), etc.

we had a great time on the show. the boys are very fun and attentive hosts. we also got to field call-ins from folks like janet and another fellow who liked to spread gossip about her. thank, you 'peggers! we always enjoy ourselves in your breezy folds.

the crumbs show is every monday at 5:00pm on umfm in winnipeg (but also streaming live on the internet).