G-Uknit

Is your love Rocksteady?

2012-02-02T20:48:00.013-05:00

Do you like love? And reggae? And the library? Well then! Check it out, it's the Official Gregory Isaacs-inspired Lovers Rock Library Card! Just in time for Valentine's Day! Roots reggae legend Gregory Isaacs, AKA the Cool Ruler, recorded Love is Overdue in Jamaica in 1974. While I don't care much for "romance," I find his ultra-smooth, melancholy vocals (hey, they don't call him the Lonely Lover for nothing) impossible to resist. Combined with a wee obsession with old school librarian gear - library cards and rubber stamps in particular (check out my kick-ass vintage stamp stand!) - it only made sense to bring all these passions together in time for February 14th. Each card is hand-stamped with a custom made rubber stamp. I had intended to screenprint them, but this way I can (and fully intend to) stamp these lyrics everywhere.

Simply scribble a love note onto the card, tuck it back into its little manilla pocket and give it to your library-book-borrowing-big-chune-bumpin' champion lover. A limited number of Lovers Rock Library Cards are available at TYPE Books. If your love game ain't as tight as you'd like, you should probably gwan and get one.

She touched on my eyelids, the room fell silent
She walked away smilin', singin' Gregory Isaacs...

Sorry, Tsumori.

2012-01-23T18:14:00.015-05:00

It was crappy and rainy in Toronto today - a pretty lame welcome to the Lunar New Year if you ask me. I decided to celebrate by digging out my most dragon-like scraps of leather. I've been meaning to knock off this Tsumori Chisato wallet I saw in Tokyo a couple years ago. It was $200 and I couldn't justify spending that much on a wallet that would never even hold that much money. I left it behind, trusting my best friend Genevieve (who I was visiting at the time) to grab it for me if it ever went on sale. It never did. And I haven't stopped thinking about it. This isn't exactly the one I wanted, but it's close: Cute, huh? Yeah. While I'm not nearly skilled enough to make a wallet, I thought for sure I could manage a little cell phone case (to replace this awesome one I lost last summer). So with those scraps and some gold vinyl, I proceeded to channel my Chisato.The stitching is really quite awful, but it's totally doing the trick for now. Rainy days are good for ripping shit off.

Here comes the brand new flava in ya ear...

2011-12-08T10:13:00.003-05:00

After casting silver screws to make rings, I thought it would be cool to make something out of actual screws. I bought these blingy brass wood screws mostly because they would look nice in a jar - what is it with crafters and things in jars, anyway? And then I cut off their little heads... ...and turned them into earrings. Some are shiny, some have a brushed finish. The Hardwear collection is growing! These Screw Stud Earrings will be available at City of Craft this weekend. Holy crap, City of Craft is this weekend.

Hardwear

2011-12-03T01:44:00.008-05:00

Sterling silver screws

When I was small my father built airplanes for Boeing and my mother made clothes for Penmans. They always brought home little scraps of things from their factories - metal bits, bits of lace - first by accident, and then on purpose after I begged them. Like most kids I liked trash better than toys; greasy nuts and bolts would often hang delicately around my neck secured by a length of underwear elastic, steel tubing with sequins glued on became rings. I kept all these tiny, useless things in an aluminum cash box. My current inability to turn away from junk drawers and cluttered storefronts - especially hardware and fabric stores - is obviously an extension of this childhood game of turning the crap I found in my parents' work aprons into jewellery that I so desperately wanted but was too young to have. Now that I actually know what I'm doing (for the most part, anyway), I thought I'd give it another shot. At Home Depot last summer I found some absurdly long screws that I thought would make cool rings. I bought two different kinds - a Robertson screw and some other dinky one - and cast them in silver. They weren't hard to turn into rings, just had to heat them up and then hammer them into shape. Cast that shit, light that shit, bang it!

In the photo above the rings are almost done, but they still looked too silvery. So, I oxidized them to make them look a bit more...industrial? And here are the Hardwear giftboxes I made using some crazy tape I found in Tokyo! The screw rings are the first in what I hope will be an entire Hardwear collection. You can see them this Saturday, December 3rd, at Handmade Holiday, and next weekend at C ity of Craft.

Even bad books are good for something.

2011-11-25T11:55:00.018-05:00

Ever read a book that was so bad you just wanted to tear it up into five million pieces and scatter them across the room? Of course you have. Next time, try this: carefully tear out the pages of that awful, awful book; take the sharp blade of your exacto knife and slice the pages into small triangles... ...feed the triangles (circles would be good, too, but who wants to cut out five million circles?) through your sewing machine and step down on that presser foot with all your might as you think about the hours you wasted reading that crap; seek comfort in that repetitive stabbing sound the needle makes piercing the pages with tiny little holes; and finally, hold up your beautiful creation. Bunting, motherfuckers. String that shit up. Turn your disappointment into something productive and pretty. Drape the bunting across your bookcase, and let it be an example to all those other wack ass books that have made it onto your shelf. Or, if you can't be bothered to cut out five million little triangles - or simply don't have the heart to cut up books - leave it to me. I made lots. Ten feet of the stuff wrapped around a library card so it won't get tangled, tucked into a library card pocket for convenient storage.

Book Bunting, for sale tomorrow at Nathalie-Roze & Co's Crafternoon Tea!

Back to Bunnies

2010-12-28T07:30:00.003-05:00

I just realized it's been 10 months since I last picked up a crochet hook. I know, right? Now that all the holiday shows are over, I can work on the projects I've been meaning to get to for the last couple months. Which includes bunnies. Lots of bunnies. This little guy was a special request from a lovely woman who took home a bunny last year. She's going to give it to a friend who could use some cheering up. I hope this little dude and his bright orange sweater does the trick!

Punch in, punch out, craft on.

2010-12-16T00:18:00.006-05:00

Do you like to make things? Ever wish you could spend your every waking hour making things? Ever dream of turning what you do "for fun" into what you do period? Me too. So what are we waiting for? Printed on a vintage factory punch card, here's a wee bit of encouragement to turn your crafting life into your working life, if you haven't made that leap already. Late last night, after too many apple cider martinis, a friend and I were talking about whether we'd ever be "career crafters." And when I meant to ask her, "wouldn't you love to quit your day job?" I said "wouldn't you love to craft your day job?" by accident and we both thought that was pretty hilarious and a little bit awesome and also kind of perfect. And thus the motivational punch card print was born. We all need a crafty kick in the pants sometimes. I know I definitely need a crafty punch in the face now and then. For all you knittahs on your craft grind, this is for you.

All I want for Christmas are two gold teeth.

2010-12-15T23:31:00.009-05:00

I've always really wanted a gold tooth. But until I'm filthy stinking rich, these gold-plated, hand-carved brass earrings and pendant will have to do.

About a year ago my seven-year-old niece had to get a silver cap on her tooth. I asked my sister why she didn't spring for gold, and she was pretty appalled that I would even suggest such a thing. I guess that's the difference between me and her. I'm sorry, Priya, but if I was your mom, you'd totally be rockin' a gold tooth right now and you'd be the coolest girl in your class. Oh well.

These High Roller Molars will be for sale at City of Craft this weekend, and you can take 'em home in this ridiculous little gift box!

Stay tuned for more dental adventures, I'm kinda on a tooth thing right now.

I put the bling in Fear and Trembling

2010-12-15T10:54:00.005-05:00

This is one of the necklaces that make up Protect Ya Neck - a collection of four pieces I've submitted to the Love and Money group exhibition that goes down at the Ontario Crafts Council Gallery this Thursday, December 16th, and runs until the end of the month. The show is in conjunction with City of Craft (which is this weekend!), and curated by the most awesome Tara Bursey. You'll just have to go to the show to see the rest of 'em, but I might share one more with you by the end of the week. Here's an interview I did with Tara for the City of Craft blog, which - I hope - will kinda explain my project. I won't go into too much detail about this particular piece, but the text is of course taken from the title of Kierkegaard's existential meditation on faith and ethics written in 1843. I studied Philosophy for four years and I don't remember a goddamn thing. Except for Fear and Trembling. This book instilled in me such a clear and magical understanding of the nature of faith and love and the absurdity of both, a paradigm shift if ever there was one for a nineteen-year-old knittah. And when I pulled my tattered copy out the other day to get all pumped up for making this piece, I found this in the preface: Not just in commerce but in the world of ideas too our age is putting on a veritable clearance sale. Everything can be had so dirt cheap that one begins to wonder whether in the end anyone will want to make a bid. Word up! Love and Money, indeed.

I never thought it could happen, this craftin' stuff...

2010-12-03T16:31:00.006-05:00

Hi! Remember me? I don't blame you if you don't, it's been a minute since I last posted. But things at Knittah HQ have been absolutely bonkers! I expect the dust to settle for a little while next week, and I look forward to sharing what I've been working on these past few months then. But for now, the exciting news is that I'm hitting the road for my first show across the pond. In just a few short hours, I'll be on my way to Detroit for the 5th Annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair, where these babies will be making their debut: The Biggie Smalls Moleskine is the second installment in The Dead Emcee Series - featuring the face of Christopher Wallace in handwritten lyrics to Juicy - and will be for sale this weekend at DUCF5. There's gonna be a handful of small Biggie Smalls Muji Notepads, too: Alright Detroit, let's do it B.I.G...

...and I'll throw in a couple limited edition gold-on-black Boys N the Hood Moleskines too, just 'cuz.

And then there were twelve...

2010-09-18T06:02:00.002-04:00

Read & Write: The Pencil Project

Read poems & write something & help kids read poems & write things.

A fundraiser for the Sarvajanik Highschool in Navsari, India.

On sale Sept. 18 & 19 at the Queen West Art Crawl in Trinity-Bellwoods Park (Booth E7).

Read&Write: Paul Vermeersch

2010-09-18T06:00:00.002-04:00

And now the sharpened spear is ever sharper in the mind, and swifter and more beautiful.

Now, how's that for an ending?! This is the final pencil of the Pencil Project, courtesy of poet Paul Vermeersch. Paul was my first - the first person I ever worked with at my first indie bookstore, and the first published poet I had ever met. He's published several collections, including Burn, The Fat Kid, Between the Walls, and most recently, The Reinvention of the Human Hand (and the award for best book titles ever goes to...). These days Paul teaches at Sheridan College, and is also the poetry editor for Insomniac Press. Paul is one smart motherf*cker, and I have to admit I was pretty intimidated by him at first. One time I asked him what his plans were for the weekend, and he said he was very excited to see the new Spiderman movie. I didn't take him for an action-movie kinda guy and I must have looked confused, because he looked at me and shrugged and said "I can't be an artsy-fartsy poet guy all the time." And I thought that was pretty great. Paul's pencil poem is the lengthiest of all the pencil poems (and about 13 characters over the limit), but I came across it as I was reading his latest collection and knew that it had to close the show. Lucky for me, he gave me permission to use it. It was also a bit of a challenge to engrave - it was a tense moment indeed as I watched these pencils all a'quiver underneath so many passes of the laser. But they worked! And I love that when you use this pencil (if you can bring yourself to actually use it, I know I can't), the shorter it gets, it becomes more beautiful. And there you have it folks - twelve pencil poems in twelve days. They will all be on display and for sale at the Queen West Art Crawl this weekend in Toronto. And for all you out-of-towners, I'll be posting details sometime next week about how you can get your hands on 'em.

Read&Write: Nick Thran

2010-09-17T23:27:00.019-04:00

This kid can fly...

At this hour my hands are at least as good as wings.

...no, seriously - he plays basketball. I ain't ever seen him play, but I'm sure he can jump real high. Nick Thran might be second-last (pencil wise), but to me he's number one. I don't recall being quite so excited about a new book as I was when his first collection of poetry, Every Inadequate Name, came out. Perhaps this is because we were both working together at Book City when it was published - two youngish kids who cared way too much about their whatever jobs, each of us just waiting for bigger and better things to come along. And they did - he wrote a book, met Sue Sinclair, married Sue Sinclair, moved to New York to study at NYU, and is working on another collection! I sent a copy of Every Inadequate Name to my best friend Genevieve in Tokyo and after she read it she said, "he thinks just like us!" and I guess that's why I like his work so much. I want to share one of his poems here but it's almost impossible to choose just one. But since Nick's introduced me to some great music, I'll share this.

How Pop Sounds
You and a friend are listening to music.
Pop Music. You know what Pop Music is –
though you may not like it.
Forget you. This is about falling in love
with something dated.
About leaving, losing touch, then years
later hearing that same love skewed
in a new band’s blood. About turning
the volume up, and pressing repeat
until you’re touched again.

This is about wave, new wave, and new
new wave. How your first time lasted exactly
two minutes and thirteen seconds –
the perfect length, you thought.
Awkwardness, elation, guilt, and confusion
key to a verse/chorus,
rising and falling. Anywhere
and anytime. Over again
and again and again and again.

I’m sick of this song, your friend says.
This must be the worst music
ever invented. When was the last time
the sugar wore off? The last time
you looked him straight in the eye
and told him how you heard this same song
sung by a boy
at the edge of a candlelit dock
over the lake where his best friend drowned?

You don’t know shit, you want to say.
You don’t know how Pop sounds.

*My apologies for the shitty formatting. Blogspot's being a bitch right now and it's late at night and I want to go to bed and I can't fix it.

Read&Write: Souvankham Thammavongsa

2010-09-16T23:04:00.000-04:00

A firefly is a tiny elegant speech in the dark.

We're nearing the homestretch, homies. The tenth pencil of the Pencil Project is brought to you by poet Souvankham Thammavongsa, the mind behind the two tiny and elegant volumes Small Arguments and Found, both published by Pedlar Press, and the latter of which was made into a short film by director Paramita Nath . I've known Sou since, get ready for it, seventh grade! Well, actually, I knew her younger brother - he sat next to me in homeroom - but I was much more interested in his sister and before long, we were passing messages to each other through him, and writing each other letters like teenaged girls do. Junior high turned into high school turned into university and I finally re-connected with Sou just a few years ago, when she was doing a reading with Ken Babstock at the Runnymede Public Library a few blocks away from the Book City I was then working at. When I learned about the event, I volunteered to carry a box of her books down the street to sell and for her to sign. Though the books were small, I wasn't ready for how heavy a box of them would be - I still remember the ache in my arms and how embarrassingly out of breath I was when I finally got to the library. Alas, the heaviness did not end there. Sou read from Found, a book I hadn't had a chance to look at yet, and it was quite possibly the heaviest, most intense and moving thing I had ever experienced - all in a good way! I ain't gonna lie, I totally cried. Found is a collection of poems based on a scrapbook Sou's father kept while living in a Lao refugee camp in Thailand, which he threw out and which Sou promptly rescued. In it are stamps, addresses, a few careful and symbolic strokes through the dates on a calendar, and through this Sou manages to piece together a family and a past that I imagine still remain very mysterious to her. Her reading was all the more dramatic because Sou is the most precious little creature you've ever laid eyes on, as small and beautiful as her poems, with a soft voice that you have to strain to hear but that you continue to hear in your head long after she's spoken. Of all the pencil poets, Sou is the one I knew first and she was the first to contribute to this project, and I'm super pleased that she's a part of it.

Missin' the Midway.

2010-09-16T19:06:00.004-04:00

Here's something new from Knittah HQ!

I didn't get a chance to check out the CNE this year. I try to hit it up every year but this summer when the Fair rolled into town I was hangin' out in California, soaking up over twelve hours of sunshine and rap music at the Rock the Bells tour in San Francisco (okay, I guess I shouldn't complain). It was my West Coast Wu-Tang pilgrimmage! And even though I ingested my weight in crab and corn chowder there, I'm kinda sad I missed out on all the deep-fried everything on offer at the Ex. I'm way too scared to ride the Midway rides, but I love taking pictures of them. My latest Gocco print (printed on a royal blue Moleskine) is based on a photo of the swing ride I took last year. I think the silver ink totally makes it. The print is called "The Last Night of the Fair" - because there's always something magical about that night, the bittersweet end of summer and the excitement of what the fall will bring. It's also the first line of each verse in The Smiths' "Rusholme Ruffians." Remember?

This is the last night of the fair
And the grease in the hair
Of a speedway operator
Is all a tremulous heart requires
A schoolgirl is denied
She said, "How quickly would I die
If I jumped from the top of the parachutes?"

The Last Night of the Fair Moleskines will be for sale at the Art Crawl this weekend. I hope that you'll pick one up, and fill it with the memories of all the cotton candy you ate, and who you held hands with in the ferris wheel.

So scratch my name on your arm with a fountain pen.
(This means you really love me).

Read&Write: Sue Sinclair

2010-09-15T23:03:00.006-04:00

An ode to small things:

Pencil: Soft pink nose & silver eye, o little mouse, o little muse.

If there was a prize for the cutest pencil in the world, then this pencil would surely win it. Pencil #9 features a tiny little appreciation from poet Sue Sinclair, whose books include The Drunken, Lovely Bird, Secrets of Weather and Hope, Mortal Arguments, and most recently, Breaker. I met Sue when I started working at Book City over six years ago. She quickly became one of my favourite people, and to this day she's a pretty big deal in my life. In those days, working with Sue meant dancing in the bookstore, reading poems out loud for everyone to hear whether they liked it or not, and ogling the occasional fashion magazine. Sue lives in New York now, where she reads and writes about beauty and aesthetics, so hanging out with her these days means lovely dinners, long walks, ice cream and lots of talking. She's the person that I confide in with all my fears and hopes and concerns, and after a couple hours with her my head is clear and somehow I know myself better. For instance, after telling her about some recent changes and fun things that have happened lately, she pointed out that I might just be a Feminist! Who knew! I certainly didn't! Sue got married this past summer (and she managed to compose her pencil poem while getting her hair done!) and at her shower all the guests shared a poem. I knew right away which poem I was gonna read - a poem that Sue had actually read to me when we were stuck working at the bookstore one New Years Day. The problem was I had no idea what the poem was called, but had vague memories of scribbling a line or two from it down in my Moleskine all those years ago. This prompted an excavation of every journal and notebook I've ever written in to try and find those lines, and eventually I found it in a datebook from 2006. Clearly it had stuck with me, and reading it at her shower was the first time I had ever read a poem out loud to anyone, let alone a group of people. And it felt good! Here's the stanza I read from Don Coles' K. in Love:

I was with a few people the other night / And made some lighthearted remarks / About you. Anybody would think / I cared about you only / To the usual degree. But / Every time I mentioned your name / I was holding onto the table.

I finally managed to find the actual poem (it's in a collection of Coles' first six books, called How We All Swiftly) and only just today read K. In Love in its entirety. Here are some other bits from it that I like:

Think if by some accident we now / Forgot each other, how would / Our huge uncompleted feelings / Ever find enough to do in the world?

There must be enormous areas of pressure / Like huge dim balloons / Bobbing around in different places, / The result of deaths of / People who didn't finish explaining / How they felt about somebody.

Of course it's far from necessary / To die in order to quicken / This sensation of unfinished business. / I have a lot of previous selves, / Most of them dissatisfied, who think / Everything they have ever felt / Is only a first draft of what they could have felt.

Damn, that last bit is killer! D. Coles, I hear you, brotha! (Hey! Did you know that Ghostface Killah is also really a D. Coles?! Dennis Coles. There's yer G-Uknit factoid for today). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Sue's pencil. She was so excited when she read it to me that it killed me to tell her that the "soft pink nose" she described was actually white - the pencils I used for the project all have white erasers at the end - so it wouldn't make sense! But I liked her line so much that rather than change it, I changed the erasers. Sue is the kinda gal that stands out in a crowd, so there's no reason why her pencils shouldn't either.

Read&Write: Sarah Selecky

2010-09-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

This pencil is for the party.You cannot know what your story is until you write it.

We're two thirds in, pencil people! The eighth installment of the Pencil Project comes from Sarah Selecky. In addition to being published in the likes of Walrus, Geist, Event, and The New Quarterly, Sarah also teaches short story and creative writing workshops. Out of all the writers and artists that have contributed to this project, Sarah is the only one I first met through craft. After seeing my stuff at at Trunk Show or two, Sarah contacted me a couple years ago and asked me to make some tiny acorn necklaces for the flower girls at her wedding. I believe it was my first commission! It was only after the acorn deal that I started to bump into her at the bookstore. This past spring, Sarah published This Cake is for the Party, her first short story collection. And when I found out that we (i.e., TYPE) would be selling books at her launch party, I enthusiastically volunteered - both because I wanted to celebrate Sarah's big day, and because the party was at OMG Baked Goodness over on Dundas West. Books, friends and cupcakes? Sign me up!

Read&Write: George Murray

2010-09-13T23:01:00.000-04:00

Five years was twenty years ten years ago.

Just about the time I started this project, poet George Murray was putting the final touches on his latest project, Glimpse, a book of selected aphorisms published by ECW Press. Another case of perfect timing! George was kind enough to send me the proofs of his book and let me choose whichever aphorism I wanted. I didn't realize how overwhelming this task would be, as the book is full of pencil poem potential! (Glimpse is out now and I highly suggest you pick it up). I settled on the one above because it very accurately describes how I've been feeling these days. I turn thirty this year (I know, how did this happen?!), and never before have I been so conscious of time - how I've spent it and what I'm going to do with what's left of it. One thing I spend a lot of time doing is reading Bookninja - undoubtedly the best literary site in the world, founded and published by Mr. Murray. Some people watch the news or read the newspaper or listen to the radio to find out about the world and arm themselves with knowledge. I read Bookninja. And if you don't, then you should start.

Read&Write: Alayna Munce

2010-09-12T21:34:00.003-04:00

If only...Ah, to give up forever all get-rich-quick schemes of the heart...

Well, friends, we're halfway there. The sixth pencil of the Pencil Project comes from Alayna Munce, a Parkdale-based poet and novelist, and the author of one my most favourite books in the entire world, When I Was Young & In My Prime published by Nightwood Editions in 2005. As a rule, I do not re-read books. It's a pretty stupid rule, but if the stack of books waiting for you on your nightstand is as high as mine, I'm sure you understand. And while I have not intentionally re-read Alayna's book from beginning to end, I pick it up often and just read a page here and there because, seriously, each page of her novel is absolutely stunning. Before I worked at TYPE I worked at Toronto's other indie, Book City. That's where I met my dear friend Sue (you'll read more about her later on), who just happened to be Alayna's roommate. I remember how tingly I would feel when I would call the house looking for Sue and Alayna would answer and I would have to keep myself from gushing like a teenager about how much I loved her book. Soon phonecalls turned into actual visits and a few parties and craft nights later, I'm proud to consider Alayna a friend, a woman who is just as beautiful and warm as the story she's written, if not more. Like, for instance, let me just crack open the book right now. Here we go, page 198:

Addicted to Tolstoy lately. I'm a sucker for his impossible blend of moralistic romanticism and brute realism. Plus, War and Peace is quite simply a page-turner. Who knew?

When I'm caught with a stranger in the elevator in Gloria's building I can't help thinking about the peasant Nikita from the story Master and Man who, from kind-hearted politeness, always says something to anyone he's alone with. In the elevator, I try at least to meet eyes, nod. It's exhausting. So many people. Some of them unwilling to meet you halfway, stonily thwarting your noble effort. Some of them too willing, bottomless pits. Makes me want to hole up in the apartment and never come out.

A five-story building of bachelor apartments, twenty apartments on each floor. When in human history have people lived alone like this unless they were hermits or outcasts?

I take a walk by the lake. When I get back to the building, I decide to take the stairs, both for the exercise and to avoid having to small-talk in the elevator.

There's a guy in the stairwell playing his guitar. I climb into his sound. He's singing a song with a chorus about the grand design. You go your way and I'll go mine. Ah, the grand design...He stops playing as I pass.

"Great acoustics in here, " he says, shy.

And, feeling genuinely sociable for the first time in weeks, I say, "I'll say."

Read&Write: Derek McCormack

2010-09-11T08:23:00.004-04:00

Clever 'Corm.

Get the lead out.

I feel like everyone in the world (or at least everyone in my world) knows Derek McCormack, so it's kinda weird for me to "introduce" him here. Derek is a novelist and columnist for the National Post. He is seriously into fashion, country music and Halloween, and to call him a Minimalist would be an overstatement (see pencil above). Derek's written lots of stuff - including a collaboration with illustrator Seth called Christmas Days, and most recently the novel The Show That Smells. This past summer the Montreal theatre group Sidemart Theatrical Grocery produced a musical adaptation of his previous novel, The Haunted Hillbilly, which premiered in Toronto at Summerworks. When asked for permission to adapt his novel, Derek was thrilled and gave the company his blessing, so long as "they didn't take the gay out." And believe me, they didn't! Aside from being "among the best writers in the country" and an "evil little blessing," 'Corm also works with me at TYPE. All those gorgeous art and design books at the front of the shop? Yeah, he's responsible for all those. The man's got amazing taste and I look forward to working with him every single Saturday, where we chat all day long and listen to Morrissey and the Magnetic Fields. One Saturday we were looking at Dolly Parton's Twitter page and Derek, speaking to no one in particular and to everyone in general, threw this gem into the world: "You think you're smarter than Dolly Parton? You're not." Oh, my darling 'Corm!

Warhol/Parton, taken at the SFMOMA last month.

Read&Write: Micah Lexier

2010-09-10T09:50:00.004-04:00

Sign on the dotted line...

Pencil #4 is designed by Toronto artist Micah Lexier. Micah is seriously into paper, cardboard boxes, numbers, and arrows. When he comes into the shop, we often fondle books together and are intrigued more by paper stock, trim size and font than what the book is even all about. One of Micah's most recent projects is an installation at the Bank of Montreal head office in Toronto, entitled I AM THE COIN, in which he's studded an entire wall with 20,000 custom-minted coins, each bearing it's own letter and spelling out a short story (called "I am the Coin") by Toronto writer Derek McCormack (who introduced me to Micah, and who you'll hear more about very soon). If you can't check out I AM THE COIN, I encourage you to read the story and watch the time-lapse installation. I'm so honoured to have Micah involved in this project, and I'm already lovin' my Micah pencil. I hope you will pick one up (or 12) and write your own poem on it. Fill in the blanks, kids!

Read&Write: Lynn Crosbie

2010-09-09T05:09:00.002-04:00

Spoiler alert.

You have been dead 28 years. I see what is left in the stars.

Do you have goosebumps? 'Cuz that just gave me goosebumps. The third installment of the Pencil Project is courtesy of Lynn Crosbie. Lynn writes a kick-ass weekly cultural criticism column for the Globe, and is the author of Miss Pamela's Mercy, VillianElle, Pearl, Queen Rat, and Liar (and that's just the poetry) and her appreciation of Michael Jackson written last year is most definitely worth a gander. Lynn describes the line above as a crystallization of her new book - consider this wooden pencil the official teaser! A G-Uknit exclusive, yo! A leak, if you will. I met Lynn over the summer when she walked into the bookshop (as she often does) one fine Saturday afternoon needing something to read. I love when Lynn comes in. Mostly because she swears like a sailor and I really love swearing and people who swear. But I was super nervous because how the hell do you recommend a book to Lynn Crosbie? I mentioned that I was reading Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You. And she bought it. And I was more nervous. But she liked it. And she called and told me she liked it. And that made my day.

Read&Write: Kyle "Young Buck" Buckley

2010-09-08T09:54:00.008-04:00

If you've ever walked into TYPE Books, chances are you've met Kyle Buckley.I want a forgetfulness based on my own thinking in transit.

And if you've met Kyle Buckley, chances are you left the shop with a copy of his first book, The Laundromat Essay tucked under your arm and with your twelve bucks tucked into our till. And if you've already read his book, then chances are he's managed to get you to read the likes of Tao Lin, Cesar Aira, and Jean-Philippe Toussaint, too, 'cuz homie handsells like a motherf*cker. He has impeccable taste and will hook you up - talk to him and never read a bad book again. He's also really into college basketball. I've been lucky to work alongside Kyle at TYPE for just over two years now, and I'm super pumped that he's part of this project. In fact, Kyle was the first person to see my pencil prototype and enthusiastically jumped on board. He's such a team player! Go read his book if you know what's good for ya, and come buy his pencil at the Art Crawl, y'all.

Read&Write: Elizabeth Bachinsky

2010-09-07T08:56:00.004-04:00

It's the first day of school. Don't forget your pencils.

This borrowed pencil, I hope, will make it to the end of this poem.

Here she is, the first poemling of the Pencil Project, courtesy of Elizabeth Bachinsky. Elizabeth lives in Vancouver and has published three books of poetry - Home of Sudden Service (which I know I've referred to on this blog before), God of Missed Connections, and most recently, Curio. I've been a fan of Ms. Bachinsky for a few years now and we share some mutual friends (you'll hear all about them later). This summer, I attended the wedding of said friends and had the honour of shaking my tail in very close proximity to Liz on the dancefloor, but was still too shy to introduce myself. I resorted to creepy Facebook stalking and newly-wed name dropping to get her to contribute to this project and lucky for me, she was happy to oblige. Elizabeth's line comes from a new poem she just wrote in Montreal called "Sharpened Pencils". The timing for this collaboration couldn't be more perfect! I encourage you to check out her work if you haven't already. And in case you didn't know, she's a serious babe.

I wonder what tomorrow's pencil will bring?

Read&Write:The Pencil Project

2010-09-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

So, remember that sneak peek from a while ago? Well, the Project is finally complete. I think I mentioned sometime before that Labour Day always feels like the beginning of a new year (even though I haven't been a student in forever) so it’s fitting to reveal what I've been working on all summer long today.

The Principal's office at Sarvajanik Highschool (Navsari, India)

Read&Write: The Pencil Project is a crafty, collaborative fundraising endeavour that combines several aspects of my life that don't always get to play together. You see, when I'm not making things, I spend a couple days a week selling books and hanging out with other book people - writers, readers, poets, etc.. And when I'm not working or crafting, I'm hanging out (or dreaming of hanging out) in a sleepy little village in northern-ish India. When I was there earlier this year, I attended a Republic Day assembly at the local highschool - the same highschool where my folks first met and graduated from in the sixties. The students at this school are mostly the children of farmers or field workers and, as I discovered during my visit, neither the school nor the students have very much money. The Republic Day celebration included an awards assembly and as these bright young kids marched up to the stage to accept their prizes from the Principal (there was an award for needle crafts!), it was heartbreaking to see that many of them (the older students in particular) didn't have shoes on - not even cheap, plastic chappals (i.e., flip flops - the footwear of choice out there). "Surely we can do better than this!" I thought, and managed to scrounge up a couple hundred bucks to donate to the school, that would be passed along to the kids. The donation didn't mean much to me - a month or two of going without a trip to Soundscapes, skipping out on some new skinny jeans, that sort of thing. But the more I thought about those kids, and the more time I spent with the Principal and staff of the school, the more obligated I felt to do something for them.

Primary school students with their Republic Day awards (above); a typical classroom (below).

While I don't have huge amounts of money to donate (I make things and sell books, remember?), I do have hands and a group of fabulous and talented friends, so with the help of some crafty pals and a dozen mostly-local writers, poets, and artists, I came up with Read&Write: The Pencil Project – a series of twelve original one line poems or aphorisms, engraved onto wooden pencils. Reaching out to the people I work with or have met through my adventures in bookselling, I managed to convince some truly exceptional writers to donate an original line of text (it had to be a less than 75 characters) which were then burned onto pencils (with the help of Debbie and Karyn) at the workroom. The pencils will be sold in an effort to raise some much-needed funds for the Sarvajanik Highschool and its students. With The Pencil Project, I hope to encourage folks to read poems, to write something, and to help some kids on the other side of the world read poems and write things.

Starting tomorrow (the first day of school!), I will reveal a different pencil poem everyday, and the entire series will be on display and for sale at my booth at the Queen West Art Crawl on September 18th and 19th . I hope that you’ll check ‘em out, in person or here on G-Uknit, and tell me what you think! Happy Labour Day, y’all.

Most of the desks in the classroom above were very tidy except for this one, which was way in the very back corner of the room. A closer look revealed the name of the vandal:

I'm not kidding.

Kindred in Kensington

2010-08-26T22:06:00.004-04:00

Photo by the magnificent Melodie! Thanks, Miss!

I'm a bit late posting about PS Kensington (I decided to run away to San Francisco soon after...more on that later), but just wanted to share this photo of the lovely Leah who happened to be strolling through the market that day. We were discussing our mutal love of acorns when she flashed me her sexy little shoulder. I'm not sure how I feel about tattoos in general, but I'm digging this one in particular. And she drew it herself! And she's gonna draw me some, too! I love impromptu collaborations. Stay tuned to see what transpires!

PS to the K

2010-08-13T10:05:00.005-04:00

Old Weston signs from PSK 2009

Hey kids! Hope to see y'all at Kensington Market this weekend for Pedestrian Sunday - the most fun you can have in the city without being hit by a car. I'll be setting up shop outside of Kid Icarus (75 Nassau St.) from 12-5 . If you've got time between empanadas and drumming circles, come say hi!

I love to start the day

2010-06-29T09:05:00.004-04:00

with songs that make my heart explode.

Their entire album, Big Echo, is pretty darn special. Also of note:

Who knew Black Thought had such a beautiful man voice!

Who's worryin bout ya, babe?

2010-06-10T11:17:00.013-04:00

My Uncle passed away unexpectedly yesterday.

I am too far away from the people I love. Some days, this life is way too much for me.I've been meaning to share some pictures of my recent trip to India and now seems as good a time as any. These are some photos I took in and around my Aunt and Uncle's flat in Navsari earlier this year. The picture above is of the front of their apartment. Below: the meter on his brother's rickshaw, an abandoned fruit cart, the exterior of their building, stray neighbourhood puppies, a neighbour's baby sitting on the balcony, and their front door.

Nothing hurts more than saying goodbye; except, of course, not saying goodbye.

Sneak Peek

2010-05-27T17:49:00.013-04:00

Here's the prototype for a top-secret project I'm working on this summer (thanks in large part to the lovely ladies and laser engraving machine over at The Workroom). It's pretty exciting, just you wait and see. All I can say for now is, forget Twitter - it's all about fittin' shit on pencils. Also, anyone who can tell me who spit this line wins a set of whatever it is I'm doing here.

Oh, hi.

2010-05-24T11:18:00.005-04:00

Dudes. I realize I haven't blogged in a minute. Shit's been crazaay! To deal with the profound sadness and confusion I experienced upon returning to Toronto from India (i.e., grappling with the question of which home was really, you know, home?), I did what any girl with a couple extra dollars in her pocket would do. I left. Again. Tokyo this time. And it was good. Pictures and thoughts about both trips are soon to follow (if you're my freng on FB, Tokyo pix are already up). But for now, you can read a review I wrote of Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop for Toronto Craft Alert. It is a mediation on street art and authenticity and all that good stuff. Tell me what you think!

Who done won the bunnies?

2010-03-22T10:08:00.002-04:00

Wow! I can't believe that worked! I can't believe people read this blog! Thank you all for sharing such lovely comments and sweet Spring dreams. And an extra special shout out to all you new readers -thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll visit again. As promised, here are the two giveaway winners (I couldn't figure out how to post the results of the Random Number Generator, so y'all just gotta believe me): #9 and #14 - Stitchface and Barbara!

Way to go, girls! Your participation is appreciated and will be rewarded with a lovingly handmade Bunnushka and a $5 gift certificate* to redeem at the upcoming Spring Trunk Show (more details on that later on). I wish you and your new bunny buddy a lifetime of cuddles and companionship. He's already so excited to meet you, and for his trip to the post office!

*(I only realized last night that I didn't actually have Old Weston gift certificates, so I whipped these up just in time using some vintage library cards and envelopes. I kinda like the idea of re-using them - once the card is redeemed the date and name will get crossed out, and a new name can be written underneath. Cool or gross? I dunno).

The Great G-Uknit Birthday Bunny Giveaway!

2010-03-15T09:40:00.004-04:00

Dudes! We're two today! To thank you all for reading and supporting Old Weston over the years, I'm giving away these two wee bunnies - the first Bunnushkas of Spring 2010. These young lads are wearing silk ribbon ruffled collars,

and knee patches!

All you gots to do is leave a comment on this post between today and next Sunday (the giveaway ends on the 21st) - tell me what you're looking forward to this Spring, or what you think of G-Uknit - and don't forget to include your email address. Two of you will be chosen at random and the winners will be announced a week from today (March 22). Then all you have to do is sit and wait for your new friend to hop into your life. You'll also get a $5 Old Weston gift certificate to spend on my junk at the upcoming Spring Trunk Show at The Workroom on April 18th.

* Sorry, cupcake not included. I ate it!

So what're you waiting for? Get bunnies, get bunnies! And thanks for sticking around.

I'm back.

2010-03-07T17:25:00.003-05:00

Faded and torn film poster, somewhere near the airport.

Hey folks. So I know I said I would blog from abroad but obviously I didn't. It's not that I didn't want to, it's just that it wasn't so easy; you'd think I'd be able to find a decent internet connection somewhere in the Call Centre Capital of the World, but no. My mind is still reeling from my month and a half vacation, but I hope to share some thoughts and photos over the next few weeks, just as soon as I start to feel a bit more normal. G-Uknit will also be celebrating its second birthday within the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for a special giveaway announcent.

Peace out.

2010-01-17T08:18:00.001-05:00

Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm leaving. On Monday. For five weeks. India. No big deal.

My first passport, 1985.

I will be spending the better part of the month on a farm, so things will be pretty quiet around here. Do check back once in while, though, as I will try to update whenever I venture into a city-like environment. There were a bunch of things I wanted to post before I left but unfortunately preparing for a short life outside of Canada has taken up almost all of my time. And though I've been looking forward to this trip since October, now that it's properly winter here (aside from this freakishly warm weekend) I'm a bit sad to go. I've been enjoying wintry walks along the lake, checking out the geese and swans coasting along the ice (why are they still here, anyway?). But I guess spending the next month sunbathing and sipping limeade ain't so bad either. Later!

I'm a travellin' man

Moving through places, space and time

Got a lotta things I got to do

But God willin' I'm comin' back to you.

The Ponyboy Necklace

2010-01-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

Some of you might've seen this pendant on my table at City of Craft last month. It's one of the first new things I've tried in a while: hand-lettering in metal! It is one piece (i.e., nothing soldered together) sawed out by hand out of an 18 gauge brass metal plate. It is, of course, an homage to S.E.Hinton's The Outsiders. Here's a picture Becky took at the show: I read The Outsiders in grade two, at the tender age of seven. Some of you might think that's a bit young to be reading a novel about teenage rebellion, violence, class struggle, and references to Robert Frost, but that's what happens when you grow up with a sister who's eight years older than you and the only books around the house were her young adult novels (my folks didn't buy me any age-appropriate books because, much like clothing, they knew I'd outgrow them quickly, whereas any of my sister's books would be read at least twice). Also, by that time, the 1983 film adaptation was always on television and I have memories of sitting on the floor gazing at the tv with a tattered copy of the book in hand, following the dialogue with my finger running along the text. Obviously the experience has stayed with me (moreso than my encounter with Great Expectations in third grade, when I was all like, what?), and paved the way to a life of reading. Since making this necklace I've been thinking a lot about the books I read as a child, among other "formative experiences." Holy nostalgia. I hope it turns into something interesting; more literary bling, for instance. When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home. (It's still awesome).

Bunny #007

2010-01-11T08:28:00.001-05:00

The first Bunnushka of 2010, by special request. Thanks, Jill!

A wee bit of inspiration.

2010-01-04T10:29:00.011-05:00

This is so good I have to quote it at length, from Nicholson Baker's The Anthologist: "And then a man of forty or so, with a French accent, asked, 'How do you achieve the presence of mind to initiate the writing of a poem?' And something cracked open in me, and I finally stopped hoarding and told them my most useful secret. The only secret that has helped me consistently over all the years that I've written. I said, 'Well, I'll tell you how. I ask myself a simple question. I ask myself: What was the very best moment of your day?' The wonder of it was, I told them, that this one question could lift out from my life exactly what I will want to write a poem about. Something that I hadn't known was important will leap up and hover there in front of me, saying I am - I am the best moment of the day...Often, I went on, it's a moment when you're waiting for someone, or you're driving somewhere, or maybe you're just walking diagonally across a parking lot and you're admiring the oil stains and the dribbled tar patterns. One time it was when I was driving past a certain house that was screaming with sunlitness on its white clapboards, and then I plunged through tree shadows that splashed and splayed over the windshield. I thought, Ah, of course - I'd forgotten. You, the windshield shadows, you are the best moment of the day. 'And that's my secret, such as it is,' I said."

One of my biggest regrets is that I've never kept a journal. Arriving at the above passage at the end of Baker's novel was totally an "A-ha!" moment and since I've taken a minute to consider the best part of my day (with pen in hand) the words have been gushing out like water out of an unscrewed fire hydrant in a Spike Lee movie. How lovely it is to sit down and write out your favourite memory of the day, in cursive even! The Anthologist is a meditation on poetry in the form of a narrative. So, you learn a lot without even realizing it. And any writer who can illustrate the use of inner quadruplets (or, the paeonic foot) in poetry by citing Ludacris lyrics is fine by me.

Took your mama nine months to make ya, might as well shake what your mama gave ya.

Unfinished Mr.Fox

2010-01-03T21:25:00.005-05:00

Here's my new little friend. His name is Michael J. Fox. With all these bunnies running around Old Weston Road lately, I thought I'd introduce a cute threat. He's not that dangerous,though -he's got no legs and knowing me, I won't get around to finishing him anytime soon. Of course he was inspired by Wes Anderson's lovely adaptation of Fantastic Mr.Fox, one of my favourite books as a wee knittah. Just before the film was released, Rizzoli put out The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox and it has gorgeous shots and sketches of all the miniature sets, character models, and fabric swatches for all the outfits.

I've decided to start a notebook of bunny swatches.

Goodbye, oh nine.

2009-12-31T19:58:00.001-05:00

These are, in order, my two favourite things of 2009: Best-Test White Rubber 'Brush-in-can' Paper Cement and Kid Cudi.

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know

Everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold, hey

I'll be fine once I get it, yeah

I'll be good.

All the best for 2010, kids - I got your back if you got mine.

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you..."

2009-12-08T10:10:00.010-05:00

...without a few bunnies to flip through.

Bunny #006 - Oleg

Bunny #004 - Igor

Bunny #005 - Oblomov

Bunny #002 - Ludmila

Here it is, the Bunnushka Collection - one of a kind, lovingly crocheted bunnies for sale at next weekend's City of Craft. They wear wool scarves, and have Russian names! Also, wanna know what's fun? Replacing the word "money" with "bunny" in rap lyrics. For instance: It's all about the bunny, ain't a damn thing funny; mo' bunnies mo' problems; and life ain't nuthing' but bitches and bunnies. See? Go on and try it.

For more bunny fun, check out Karyn's adventures with her Bunnushka on Make Something. The first bunny I made was a gift for Karyn (she's got this thing for bunnies). She named him Benjamin. It was a little hard for me to part with him (it's hard for me to part with most things), but when I saw what a good time they had together, I was grateful he had such a good home. Maybe you'd like to take one home, too?

Two Pounds of Craft in the Stash

2009-10-13T21:29:00.005-04:00

It's Trunk Show time again! Things are a little different this time around as some of the city's crafty finest are cleaning out their closets for the first ever Pure Rummage Sale. You might've seen these people before - you've seen their crafts, you know their style, you're gonna want what they're gettin' rid of.

Yours truly will finally be letting go of some beads I've had since I was just a wee Knittah - lots of inexpensive plastic stuff, but lots of stones, pearls, glass and wooden beads too (the ones pictured above are hand-carved and from India - hard to part with, but I've been holding onto them for over two years and still don't have any plans for them). I'll also have the last few handmade paper envelopes and gift boxes left from my last trip to Chimanlal's in Bombay - these have made an appearance at the last few Trunk Shows, but this is the last of them, I swear.

And probably some bits of fabric, a few wool pashminas and other scarves, some paint sets for kiddies, and a stack of books - good ones! So why dontcha come on over to The Workroom this Sunday (October 18, from noon to five), have a snack, chat with your crafty pals, and stock up on some supplies to get you through the winter?

Week 46: A more grey than black board.

2009-10-05T12:49:00.000-04:00

Do you like making lists? I do. It's even more fun when you can write them on a chalkboard. So I decided to make a chalkboard because I like fun and lists.

The first thing to do was pick up some MDF. After reading about Karyn's adventures with her Twinkle Board, I made sure to buy something light enough that I could carry home and that I could simply nail into the wall - I picked up a 1/4 inch-thick 2x4. Then I ventured over to West Toronto Paint for chalkboard paint. Much to my delight, they also stock small tubs of magnetic paint, and tintable chalkboard paint - which meant I could have a Bennie Moore "Kendall Charcoal" grey magnetic board which would look way better against my Stonington Grey wall. The magnetic paint also acts as a primer for the chalkboard paint and after about four coats, it started to work!

After two coats of the grey chalkboard paint it was looking pretty good, but it still needed a little something. I had some Stonington Grey paint leftover from last Fall, so I used that to coat some cotton doilies, which I then printed onto the finished chalkboard.

And there she is!

Week 45: 4 kids + 1 rainy afternoon = Oh jeez.

2009-10-05T11:31:00.002-04:00

This past summer, Knittah HQ was swarming with out-of-school Lil' Knittahs. And with all the rain we had, it wasn't long before yours truly ran out of ideas for keeping them entertained. So after the DVDs had been watched, the iPods shuffled, and their tired little bodies Wii'd out, Mama Knittah showed us all a game she used to play back in the day, using nothing more than a crudely drawn grid, sea shells for dice, and whatever was in the kitchen cupboard for men - we used almonds, cashews, pine nuts and pennies. It's basically like the game Sorry! except there's some math involved and you have to make it to the center of the grid and then back home again. This primitive (yet wildly amusing) game quickly became The Sh!t around here, replacing all manner of high-tech gadgetry and widgets. And then my 7-year-old niece showed me how to make paper lilies by tracing and cutting out the shape of her hand.

And then my 3-year-old cousin showed me how to draw a boy.

Week 44: Always a Bridesmaid Pt.2

2009-10-05T10:26:00.005-04:00

This summer a long-time Old Weston supporter and bride-to-be asked me to make a bunch of acorn necklaces that she could give as gifts to her bridesmaids. What an honour! I never woulda guessed that these acorn trinkets would be so weddingy - this is the third time a bride has approached me for some acorn action - and I was more than happy to do it. But to be honest, packaging them up in little brown boxes with ribbon and personalized, hand-stamped cards was the part I liked best.

Week 43: Dolla, Dolla Bill Makeover - Pt.4

2009-09-20T07:24:00.003-04:00

1 boring Gap sweater + 1 doily

= cute new cardigan!

Calendar Girl

2009-09-18T10:10:00.004-04:00

Check it out! Yours truly was featured as Miss August on the Chatelaine craft blog, She's Crafty. Thanks for spreadin' the love, Katie!

Junction Arts Festival

2009-09-15T20:15:00.006-04:00

Last weekend was the Junction Arts Festival. It's kind of a strange event. A few years ago this part of town started to get a lot more interesting but even then, I never woulda believed the Junction would have transformed into what it is now. Heck, just this summer a New York Times profile of the Junction made me sputter my spicy chai. Anywho, a while back the annual arts festival featured, well...art. The past few years, not so much. Lately it just seems like an excuse for the shops along Dundas Street West to spill their wares out onto the sidewalk (don't get me wrong, with all the vintage and antique salvage shops in the area, this makes for some really great shopping), and featuring lots of vendors selling imported Kashmiri shawls, knitted, rainbow-striped Guatemalan leg-warmers (you know the ones I mean), and roasted corn. None of these things are bad, but it kinda feels more Flea Market than arts festival, especially given the reputation the 'hood has recently earned for going from "skid row to hip." Nevertheless, I check it out every year and each time, something (or rather, someone) surprises me and this year was no exception. I guess I've been living under a rock because up until last weekend I had never heard of Karli Strohschein and her squeal-inducing sculptures. Her hand-built clay forms and crazy firing techniques make for the most magical, beguiling little creatures (raku sculptures) I've ever seen, I had to take home a handful. These will hopefully become part of a terrarium sometime soon (c'mon, all the cool kids are making 'em). Then I had to check her out again on Sunday to grab some of her barnacle-like sculptures that I hope to hang on my wall and will share some photos once they're up. So, while the festival might not be all that (yet, anyway), there are some very special things to be seen there every once in a while, kinda like the 'hood itself.

Week 42: Acorn Porn

2009-09-15T13:07:00.000-04:00

Something I've been meaning to do for a really long time is set up an Old Weston Etsy shop. I still haven't done it but I'm a little bit closer, thanks to the lovely Danijela Pruginic and her fantastic photographic talents. Here she is in action: Danijela photographed one of my nest pins earlier this year (it was a prize in the Toronto Craft Alert Crafty Slacker Giveaway) and I was so excited to see a professional product shot of my work that I had to get her to shoot everything, and she did! Not only do I love the pictures, but she was a doll to work with, an absolute peach (she even had snacks at her studio!) Here's one of the acorn shots (but you'll have to wait until the shop is open to see the rest):

Thanks, Danijela!

Week 41: Always a bridesmaid...

2009-09-08T13:05:00.001-04:00

Possibly one of the biggest accomplishments this summer was gocco printing my dear friend Emily's wedding invites. She totally thought it couldn't be done, but after a few mucked up screens and design changes, we were well on our way. After a couple hours work we were eating barbecue and feasting our eyes on a living room-floor covered in about 150 gocco'd invitations. Good work, Em, I think it was well worth the effort! The wedding is only a couple weeks away, in not-so-nearby Combermere, Ontario, and will be held in a cozy clearing in the woods. I've already begun working on a fancy, feathered headband to wear! Aside from saving a crap-load of money, I'm glad Em was on board for this little project, 'cuz nothing beats crafting with your pal.

Holy crap, it's Labour Day already.

2009-09-07T11:20:00.003-04:00

Well, hello. Long time no blog. Let's just say I took the summer off...

Canadian National Exhibition, September 2009

This time last year I promised myself I would finish (or at least work on) a new project every week and post about it here, and that by today I would have crossed 52 items off my to-make-and-try list. Well, there has indeed been a whole lot of crafting going on, but not so much documenting, so I guess I'm halfway there. Over the next few days, this blog will be updated in a rat-a-tat-tat-rapid fire-machine gun-like fashion in an attempt to get all caught up and share with you what I've been up to for the past twelve weeks (aside from all the book reading, puddle jumping, sun bathing, window gazing, park picnicing, and midday napping, that is). But for now, my fellow worker bees, one more day to enjoy the last of a lazy Summer, and feel the buzz of a full-throttle Fall, you know? Happy Labour Day, y'all.

Week 40: Garden Party Trunk Show

2009-06-17T13:07:00.007-04:00

You. Me. This weekend. Trunk Show. Okay? The Garden Party Trunk Show Sunday, June 21st - Noon to five The Workroom 1340 Queen Street West (near Brock)

Featuring the incredible work of Bespoke Uprising, Brit Boutique, Keri Rounding, Krystal Speck, Kid Icarus, Lunar Craft, Operation Sock Monkey, Pleasurecraft, Snap & Tumble, Tara Bursey, and Willow Dawson. I know, it's almost a little too awesome.

Week 39: Goin' somewhere?

2009-06-15T13:04:00.000-04:00

Are you going away this summer? I'm not. But if you are, here's a wee acorn tag to protect your suitcase and make sure it doesn't get lost. This was made out of all the left-over ultrasuede from last summer's teddy bear-nose frenzy. It's hand-stiched and there's a vinyl covered window in the back so you can see your name. And, though there's no picture to prove it, I also sewed (by hand) my very first button hole for this little guy. You can see one up close (and comment on my crappy button hole) this weekend at the Workroom's Garden Party Trunk Show, which is probably going to be the best day ever.

Week 38: Contact/Paper

2009-06-15T13:02:00.002-04:00

If you haven't already checked out SMASH ("Toronto's best source of quality salvage materials, vintage fixtures and character architectural pieces") in the Junction, you totally should! I pressed my nose up against the glass one early Sunday morning last month only to see an entire skid of rolls of vintage wallpaper waiting inside. I went back at a more respectable hour when the gallery was actually open and scored the above for ten bucks! In addition to covering almost every flat surface in my home with the stuff, I'm looking forward to lots of bookbinding projects and handmade envelopes. And I couldn't have strolled in at a better time - Contact was happening and SMASH was the site for Three Generations of Urban Portraiture with photos by Steve Carty, Che Kothari, and Jamel Shabazz, including this:

Ice Cube and retro wallpaper together in one spot! West End Connection, yo.

Week 37: Moleskines make me want to do things.

2009-05-31T15:03:00.002-04:00

Moleskine makes really cute watercolour notepads. I bought one last year, thinking it would inspire me to take up watercolouring (the same way I expected their notebooks to make me write, sketchbooks = draw, squared notebooks = cross-stitch, etc.). I'm not sure I have the patience to really understand how watercolour paints work, but they sure are fun to mess around with. Who knew one teensy, tiny tube of burnt umber could yield so many acorny shades of brown? I've also just discovered watercolour pencils and while I'm not sure how real artists feel about these, I think I love them.

Week 36: Doodling

2009-05-31T14:10:00.000-04:00

I've been spending a lot of time pouring over Playful Type:Ephemeral Lettering and Illustrative Fonts by Germany's Gestalten Press. Makes a Knittah wanna draw (or at least pretend she can).

Week 35: English Paper Piecing

2009-05-31T09:18:00.001-04:00

The month of May was a quiet one for me on the craft front, but I did finally figure out how English Paper Piecing works. Ever since I laid eyes on Johanna Masko's gorgeous cushion that hangs around the Workroom couch I've been itching to learn how to do this. Thanks to some old sewing books I had kicking around and this wonderful online tutorial from Craft (by the way, anyone know what happened to Craft Magazine? I haven't seen a new issue in forever) I was able to get started on my own cushion cover. I didn't mean for it look so 70s, but I kinda like it anyway. Just another thirty or so hexagons to go!

Week 34: All Dolled Up

2009-05-27T09:05:00.002-04:00

Oh look, more bears. These little guys (and two of their close friends) are on display now at C1 Art Space, as part of their awesome All Dolled Up show (which runs until the end of June). Go on in and give 'em a squeeze, won't you?

Week 33: Gettin' my money right

2009-05-27T08:45:00.001-04:00

A while back I mentioned some nonsense about starting a business. Aside from registering a name (Old Weston, y'all!) and getting a PST number (which entitles one to mad discounts, at Mokuba even!), I hadn't done much else. And then I got some wacky form in the mail sayin' I gotta pay Retail Sales Tax. Well sh!t. I've been selling stuff for about two years now, and have never charged anyone PST, or even kept receipts for things I've sold. So, in order to be a legitimate bidnis woman, that's got to change. Also, if I'm required to pay taxes on stuff I sell, then surely I can write off my expenses - and lord knows there are expenses. I try not to think about how much money I spend on supplies (shoving receipts deep into my recycling bin never to be seen again), but that too must change. So, when I stumbled upon this little project from d*s, I was immediately inspired to create my own cute little filing system. Unfortunately, in my world, one airmail envelope will hold only about one month's worth of receipts so a proper, Knittah-sized file would require some reinforcement. Rummaging through my stash of office supplies (acquired back when I was a grown up, with a real grown-up job and everything) I found half a dozen brown file folders. I cut these in half (creating 2 mini folders), did some creative binding (that I didn't photograph and won't even bother describing here), and pasted envelopes onto each side of the folder, one for each kind of thing (metal, wool, paper, etc.) that I need to do my thang, and tied it all up with baker's twine wrapped around 2 paint-sample circles (one on each side of the file) that are attached with eyelets (rivets? whatever.) It's neatly housing about five months worth of receipts right now and is holding up quite nicely. I simply can't wait to do my taxes next year.

Week 32: Fun with Faux Bois

2009-05-27T08:17:00.001-04:00

Friends, I've been in a funk. A royal funk supreme. Perhaps you've noticed, since I totally have not been blogging. And I haven't been blogging because I haven't been making. I'm sure everyone goes through a slump once in a while, right? This particular slump has lasted an entire month. I thought maybe I should take a break, pack up the craft supplies and do something else for a while (Nothing, for instance; I'd love to do a whole lot of Nothing right about now), but with three shows coming up in June (three!), this isn't an option. So, here I am, updating this silly little blog with things I worked on over a month ago. This faux bois sticky paper was a lucky dollar store find in April (along with two other woodgrain patterns). I cut out some circles, and then punched oak leaves out of them: And used both the circles and leaf-punchings to decorate Old Weston gift boxes. Such an easy and inexpensive (one dollar! Not even, since I used only a tiny bit of the roll) way to prettify and personalize packaging.

Week 29 Follow-Up

2009-05-14T09:54:00.000-04:00

Making a gift for someone is my favourite thing to do. Seeing them rock it, however, is the sweet maraschino cherry on top.

Photos by Aaron Miller, more on his blog The Untold City.

Week 31: Finding Time

2009-05-03T08:41:00.000-04:00

Some days, I wake up real early.

Like, 3 a.m. early.

And feverishly get to work, assembling little bits and bobs until it's time to toddle off to the bookstore or do whatever else life demands of me that day. Unfortunately, this means that by four in the afternoon I'm ready to pack it in. But when I get home and see the fruits of my early morning labour, I can't wait to get back at it.

I filled all the little holes in these bits of lace with beads (turquoise and garnets) and crystals. They make me think of weddings - there sure have been a lot of 'em this year (hooray Jenny and Maya!), with a couple more yet to come (hooray Em & Tammy!) - and also of princesses. Not that I'm a princess or anything. But it's nice to know that I could be, if I wanted to.

Week 30: More Moleskines

2009-05-01T10:55:00.006-04:00

Cracked open the Gocco a few weeks ago to print some more Moleskines. This time with gold ink!

Week 29: A Week of 29s

2009-04-28T17:37:00.005-04:00

So, I haven't been blogging much lately; it's been a pretty crazy month. But believe me, even with my full-up dance card, I still managed to keep on craftin' on - just never got around to proper documentation. I hope to get all caught up over the next couple days. For now, let's take it back to the weekend of March 29th. That was a pretty retarded weekend. For starters, The Ostrich (aka. Orville Knoblich, aka. D-Sisive, aka. my partner in crime) turned 29 years old. He also managed to get himself nominated for a freaking Juno Award (Best Rap Recording of the Year, for his 2008 EP The Book), so we hauled ass to Vancouver to take part in all the glamaramma, which took place on his actual birthday. To celebrate 29 years of his life and his steady climb to rap stardom, and because he's been such a good boy this year, and because I'm so very proud of him, I made this:

Hand-carved pendant, dangling from a vintage gold chain.

I got the hottest boy in the game wearing my chain!

Um, hi.

2009-04-28T10:11:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna update this blog soon, I swear.

Week 28: Wrappin' sh!t up.

2009-03-22T12:53:00.003-04:00

I bought a couple of Fira Chests from Ikea about five months ago (I remember because it was Halloween, and that is the best night to shop at Ikea because all the young parents who usually shop there are out trick-or-treating with their kids) and just started building one the other day.

Being too lazy to paint it (the wood is unfinished, which means there would be sanding and priming involved - no thanks!), I decided to cover it all up with some pretty gift wrap and modge podge instead. Five dollars (2 sheets of Cavallini & Co. gift wrap, on sale) and an hour later, here she is:

I was feeling pretty chuffed about my new chest until I saw this Anthropologie-inspired table/chest on Design Sponge. Holy crap! Definitely something I'd like to try. I didn't think it was possible, but Design Sponge just keeps getting better.

Week 27: Dolla, Dolla Bill Y'all!

2009-03-15T12:40:00.004-04:00

So guess what? G-Uknit turned a year old today! So much has happened since I started this silly blog - I've met lots of new people, made lots of new things, and learned lots of new skills and techniques. Thank you all for reading and spending a little time with me. This past year has also been a busy one for Old Weston Handmade Wonders, in that I think I've actually gone and started a legitmate bidnis. And being a business woman means you gots to be organized. And being organized is way easier when you have a cute filing cabinet. Unfortunately, buying new stuff isn't really an option these days (no money, no space to put stuff), so I've decided to explore small, inexpensive ways to improve what I've already got, and make some of my more boring possessions a bit more special. After a trip to the dollar store, I was able to transform my undergrad-era filing cabinet into this pretty little thing: One roll of that sticky "Magic Cover" was more than enough to prettify the outside of the cabinet, and it took a whopping three minutes to do. Stay tuned for more dolla, dolla bill makeovers!

She Saves Seashells

2009-03-10T12:11:00.003-04:00

Over a year ago, my friend Lisa gave me a pair of seashells she found in California, hoping that I would fashion them into some kind of accessory. Well, it's her birthday today, so here we go:

Lisa, I hope you don't mind, I couldn't help but add a little sparkle. Lisa, I've known you since I was twelve. Together we went to Massey Hall to see Morrissey; we hopped on a bus to Hamilton to see the Verve; we hopped on a bus to Hamilton (again) to see Morrissey (again); we waited in the Warehouse parking lot all day so we could see the Violent Femmes; we smoked a joint in Kings College Circle as casually as if we were eating ice cream cones before going to see Patti Smith (and you left your seat, which was so much closer to the stage than mine, to stand next to me for the encore); we stayed out all night and fell asleep beneath glowing bank towers and bronze cows. Do you remember all that? Because I sure do. Happy birthday.

Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one.

2009-03-09T21:12:00.006-04:00

It don't make sense, goin to heaven wit the goodie-goodies

dressed in white, I like black Tims and black hoodies.

B.I.G. R.I.P

Which reminds me, G-Uknit is almost a year old. If you don't know, now you know, knittah.

Week 26: Cloud Carving

2009-03-05T09:02:00.001-05:00

Coming soon, a wee bit of weather for your darling sweater.

Week 25: Mo' bears, mo' problems.

2009-03-05T08:26:00.002-05:00

As you've probably already gathered by now, I'm hooked on crocheting small bears ("hooked," get it?! Ha!). Just can't seem to stop. It's even worse now that I'm exploring accessories (buttons, kerchiefs, scalloped collars, and next up - bowties!). Finished these little ones two weekends ago:

Week 24: Keeping my place

2009-03-05T08:14:00.001-05:00

There are days when I all I want to do is read. But sometimes I have to put the book down and attend to life. Having a pretty patchwork bookmark makes this easier.This little scrap is my first attempt at patch-working (is that a real verb?). Too much time spent hanging around The Workroom has led me to believe that I need to make a quilt, so here I am practicing. Also, weaving ribbon through lace is a tremendous amount of fun.

Heads up - Toronto Craft Alert's giving away mad prizes.

2009-02-25T16:36:00.006-05:00

Check out all this crazy swag! And all you gotta do for a chance to win it all (including a little nest pin from yours truly) is enter the Toronto Craft Alert's Get Er Done Giveway, in which you: 1. Reveal one of your abandoned craft projects by posting a "before" picture in the contest Flickr pool (this counts as one contest entry). 2. Join the Toronto Craft Alert mailing list - which you should probably already be on anyway, ack like ya know (for another entry). 3. Post about all this giveaway bidnis on your own blog, and then share the link here (that's two more entries right there. I guess this means I just earned two entries - easy!). 4. Git off yo' ass and finally finish your long-neglected creation, and put the "after" photo in this Flickr pool (five entries, kid). 5. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done and for continuing to make craftiness a part of your life, and pray that you win. (Check out the official contest page for all the nitty gritty). Good luck, slackers.

Loved and Rummaged

2009-02-25T16:02:00.005-05:00

Michelle, pinching a cloud.

(Stolen from Karyn's Flickr page)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came out to the Love and Rummage Trunk Show - it was lovely to see you again. And thank you, Karyn, for posting this and making me feel like a superstar!

Week 23: The Love and Rummage Trunk Show

2009-02-07T16:21:00.008-05:00

Sunday, February 8, 2009

The Workroom - 1340 Queen West (near Brock)

Noon to five

See you there!

Week 22: The Love Below

2009-02-01T17:20:00.014-05:00

Here's what I've been working on for the last couple of weeks: steamy Valentine's Day postcards made out of those cheesy, bodice-ripping inserts that come in romance novels - for sale at the Love and Rummage Trunk Show next Sunday at The Workroom.

You may be wondering what a Knittah is doing with such smut in her possession. Well, let me tell you. Back in the day when I used to work for the man (or, rather, the Woman) - i.e., a big bookstore selling crappy mass-market genre fiction - one of my greatest joys was stripping romance novels. For those of you unfamiliar with stripping, let me tell you. One of the reasons bookstores even stay in business is because booksellers are able to return books that don't sell within a year back to the publisher, for full credit. Except publishers have decided that returning cheap, poorly produced pocket books isn't worth the trouble and expense of shipping, so they just want the covers of the books as proof that they weren't sold, and the rest of the book is supposed to be "destroyed." Well, in the case of romance novels, once the cover was torn off, I was still left with a glossy, gloriously cheesy insert depicting a bountiful-bosomed maiden cradled (sometimes even carried) in the arms of her fantastically hulking Fabio - I couldn't just throw that kinda thing away, you know? So I started to keep them. Then I started to collect them. Then my co-workers started to collect them on my behalf. Four years later I had quite an impressive stash. I had serious plans for those babies (including decoupaging my entire dresser with them), but somehow over the years they went missing. Luckily I had the good sense to squirrel the top three away somewhere, and they re-surfaced about a month ago.

So here they are, for all your Valentine's Day needs. The whole project is named after Andre 3000's half of the 2003 Outkast double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below as a tribute to one of the greatest (and also, hottest) rappers ever, and also because the The Love Below totally sounds like one of those terrible euphemisms so common in romance novels - you know, things like "throbbing member" and "growing maleness." Those are for real, I couldn't make sh!t like that up. Except really I wouldn't know, because I don't read that kinda stuff.

Week 21: Henry's headless, one-armed, half-brother.

2009-01-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

And soon, maybe a little sister.

Week 20: The Envelope, Please

2009-01-26T09:42:00.004-05:00

Another go at trying to conquer the pillar of Believer magazines threatening to crush me in my sleep. These envelopes were made (out of the June 2008 issue - "Tmesis") two Sundays ago, in the company of some lovely frengs during what may prove to be a fairly regular "craft night." As I become increasingly sensitive (ashamed?) about the amount of stuff I put into the world (an issue for many makers, it seems) this is my (pretty lame-ass) attempt at redeeming some waste. Being a sucker for packaging makes this particularly hard, as my first inclination was to spend a small fortune on gorgeous Paper Place paper to make them. Baby steps, people, baby steps. These will be used for a new little crafty endeavour, The Love Below, which (if all goes according to plan) I'll be posting about later this week.

The pages with poems look the best.

Meet Henry

2009-01-13T20:24:00.004-05:00

Henry is my first bear of Oh Nine. I hope there will be many more like him running around Knittah HQ this year. Henry likes hanging around the bookstore, turtleneck sweaters, the sound of trains, hot chocolate, graph paper, sugar snap peas, wandering around, and birthday cake.

Week 19: The 3 1/2 Hour Hat

2009-01-11T20:13:00.002-05:00

I can officially knit hats. Tired of my very cute but very useless $12 H&M hat (that has to be worn with huge ass headphones if it is to stay on my head) I finally made my very own hat that fits! It only took one evening to complete (thanks to Lamb's Pride Extra Bulky and circular needles), and it's a lovely mung-bean-green. Now I gots the warmest ears on the block, and I can decrease like a mofo.

It's almost that time.

2009-01-08T20:13:00.006-05:00

I don't generally have much use for Valentine's Day, except for the fact that the excessive use of glitter and paper doilies is immediately permissable. And, making this little gift tag was way more fun than the Very Important Thing I was supposed to do tonight. Sigh.

Hello, 2009.

2009-01-05T23:07:00.003-05:00

A new year, a new bear. This one's made of linen. His head is the size of a weensy Clementine orange. This week, he'll get an orange alpaca sweater and some pants.

I'm back (or, Weeks 14 through 18!)

2008-12-31T22:22:00.000-05:00

Dear reader, I've been so busy I could puke. The holiday season this year just about killed me, and I've only just come up for air. Don't get me wrong, I've been having a lovely time, but between getting ready for City of Craft (which was possibly the greatest event ever), making everyone's presents, and putting in some crazy bookchimp hours, I was toast. I did manage to stick to my Labour Day Resolution though, you'll just have to take my word for it. So let's catch up, shall we?

First, there was City of Craft...

2008-12-31T22:21:00.002-05:00

Photo by Becky Johnson, stolen from her Flickr page.

City of Craft was bonkers. The turn-out was incredible, and everyone's work was just phenomenal. Being surrounded by so many ridiculously talented people was both overwhelming and inspiring, and I'm so happy to have been a part of it. I even got to meet some of you readers (who knew people actually read this thing?) - it's nice to know that the G-Uknit crew is growing.

Then it was my birthday...

2008-12-31T22:20:00.002-05:00

...which started off with strawberry shortcake for breakfast with my sleepy neice, followed by brunch at Saving Grace with The Ostrich (and the unveiling of Lil' Wayne tickets!), then a quick romp through the Ontario Science Centre, a cozy viewing of Happy Go Lucky at the Bloor Cinema, and finally, dinner with the gang at Nataraj. A happy birthday, indeed.

And then Christmas happened...

2008-12-31T21:59:00.000-05:00

and I needed an excuse to use ric-rac: These ornaments are made from some super cute Japanese fabric I ordered off Etsy last January. I think my favourite part is the precious, polka-dotted, pale blue ribbon (from Mokuba).

The Second Annual City of Craft

2008-12-12T16:35:00.003-05:00

Antique Brass Twig Brooches, for sale at City of Craft!

See you there!

Saturday, December 13, from noon to 8pm

The Theatre Centre

1087 Queen West (near Dovercourt)

Today!

2008-12-06T12:02:00.002-05:00

The Sassy Little Craft Show

Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 7pm to12am

Victory Cafe - 581 Markham St.

Week 13: The Holiday Acorn Collection!

2008-12-01T22:39:00.001-05:00

It's winter. The acorns have frozen! Check 'em out this weekend at the Sassy Little Craft Show on Saturday (Victory Cafe, 7pm-midnight) and the Artisans' Gift Fair on Sunday (Tranzac Club, noon-6pm).

I heard the news today, oh boy.

2008-11-26T20:50:00.009-05:00

A bunch of crazies took over my beloved Bombay today.

Bombay, as seen from Santa Cruz train station, on my last day in the city (February 2008).

"Luscious skyscrapers sprout beside mosquito-prone shantytowns. This is at once a city of paradise and of hell. But Mumbai's paradox is that it is often the dwellers of paradise who feel themselves in hell and the dwellers of hell who feel themselves in paradise...Walking amid the polychromatic chaos of Mumbai, one might ask: What other city so concentratedly distills the human predicament, in the fullness of its tragedy, its comedy, its absurdity and its promise?

Mumbaikars, as they are known, cannot resist one another, cannot resist Mumbai. Those who crave departure could depart if they wanted. They are still here. The newly arrived could have stayed in the villages, basking in their certainties. They too, choose to invest themselves here.

Neither investment is total, unreserved. But Mumbai works on the agglomeration of these hopes: Because so many cast their lots here, it becomes a place worth casting lots. The longer you remain, the less you notice what Mumbai looks, smells, sounds like. You think instead of what it could be. You become addicted to the companionship of 19 million beings. Surrounded by hells, you glimpse paradise."

- Anand Giridharadas, New York Times (11/09/08)

Week 12: Getting Ready

2008-11-23T20:18:00.000-05:00

Woo-hah, it's been a crazy week. I started a new job, the Ostrich is away on tour, and I'm getting ready for a bunch of craft shows. The next few weeks will be spent getting my stock ready, so unfortunately, no time for new projects. But here's what I've worked on so far:

Brass acorn cap castings!

Birds!

Cherries!

Week 11: Portrait of a Knittah as a young monkey.

2008-11-16T21:39:00.000-05:00

The right sock makes all the difference.

It's been a busy week.

2008-11-13T00:11:00.009-05:00

Those blink-and-you'll-miss-'em snow flurries have got me thinking of the holidays and about the huge-ass list of presents I'm hoping to make for all the lovely people in my life. I'm pretty sure the recipients of the gifts below aren't reading this, but if you are, please act surprised when I hand them over.

Yet another coin purse.

Eazy-E mojito tumbler.

Gocco-printed notepad for The Ostrich, inspired by and in celebration of his Nobody With a Notepad project.

Week 10: New stuff!

2008-11-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

Here are some new earrings I'm working on for City of Craft this year. I'm totally digging lace right now. And also doilies (they really tie the room together!). I'm hoping to embroider and weave some stones into the lace, and maybe make some pendants too. These make me think of waking up on wicked-cold winter mornings, and being greeted by the intricate lattice-work of ice and snow that has gathered on the window during the night. Magic!

Week 9: The Mixtape Massacre (or, My Mixtapes Bring All the Boys to the Yard)

2008-11-04T19:47:00.002-05:00

With three (count 'em, three!) craft shows fast approaching, I didn't get around to trying anything new last week since I'm trying to get stuff done for all the Holiday sales. First on the to-do list is more felted mixtape pins. They were a huge hit at Woolly Grooves in September, and they keep getting lots of love. In fact, this pin is the first thing I've made that's received more attention from the boys! (Which makes me wonder, how come boys don't like acorns? Why doesn't everyone like acorns? Weird.). So, in attempt to capitalize on this new demographic I seem to have attracted, I'm making some limited edition Robot Mixtapes. I assume boys also like robots? I first saw this fabric (robots printed on natural linen) on Etsy and put off buying it because it was expensive and would take a long time to get here (it was coming from Japan). Lucky for me, Karyn at The Workroom started stocking it and my problems were solved. The silver thread is my favourite part.

The Tuesday Night Ikea Beautification Project

2008-11-04T19:07:00.005-05:00

This Fall I am re-organzing/re-decorating Knittah Headquarters (i.e., my bedroom/workspace). I decided it would be a better idea to give my existing furniture a makeover rather than buy new things - you know, make all my cheap-ass Ikea crap look a bit more special. I started with the bookcases. I was tempted to buy some fancy, black and white Damask wallpaper but this wasn't really an option since I needed very little for this project and not a whole roll. Luckily, I found the cutest leaf-printed gift wrap (a Sukie design - damn I love that stuff) today at Red Pegasus. It took about three and a half sheets to cover the inside of the case, and (with the help of some spray-on adhesive) the whole project took fifteen minutes! Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Next up is a Fira chest that needs to be taken care of.

Week 8: Storing nuts for the Winter

2008-10-26T23:52:00.000-04:00

After such an exciting and emotionally exhausting weekend (see below), could you really blame me for not getting my craft on? Well, I did manage to work on a little somethin'. I got this set of watchmaker cases from Lee Valley Tools last week - cute little aluminum cases (about 33mm wide) with glass lids. To make them look a little more spectacular, I traced the lids onto decorative paper (with a vintage streetmap print), cut out the circles, and pasted them into the bottom of each case. These will serve as storage for my acorn necklaces, so that when I set up my trunk at the gazillions of shows I'll be doing this Winter, they will be nicely organized and not the pain-in-the-ass tangled mess they usually are. I picked up larger sized cases too, which I hope to use for my own personal stash of trinkets and accessories, so that each piece will have it's own little home.

Dreams come true at dizzying heights.

2008-10-26T23:37:00.004-04:00

Now, I'm not big on those Things-to-do-Before-I-Die lists, but if I was, then after this weekend I would quite happily be able to cross off item #4: Meet my (Pulitzer prize-winning) literary idol who rocks my world and who I sort of have a huge crush on. How many of us have dreamt of meeting our favourite authors? How often do we imagine the stimulating, life-changing conversations we would have with them, if just given the opportunity? Well, let me tell you. Last week I was invited (well, actually, my boss was, but knowing what a huge Diaz fan I am he kindly passed the invite over to me) to an intimate gathering hosted by Penguin Group Canada in honour of a handful of their authors (Aleksandar Hemon, a Spanish guy, some guy from Holland, and Mr. Diaz) who were in town for the IFOA. Other invitees included a select group of booksellers (none of whom showed up, except for me and a co-worker that I dragged along) and some media folks. The lunch was at Toula, that swank restaurant on the 38th floor of the Westin Harbour Castle. The incredible but slightly nauseating view (I don't do heights), coupled with the fact that I really hate talking to people I don't know made me extremely uncomfortable and I immediately regretted RSVPing. A glance at the banquet table made my heart sink even deeper when I noticed that I would be sitting between the President of the aforementioned publishing company (who, incidentally, just happens to be my former employer). The altitude, the number of forks beside my plate, and the thought of having to sit among several industry heavy-weights was dizzying and intimidating, but there was no turning back. In a matter of minutes though, everything changed. As we all sat down (there were maybe twenty of us altogether) who should take his seat directly across from me? Yes, yes, y'all. I couldn't believe my luck (there's a certain young publicist who will forever have a place in my heart for creating such a wonderful seating arrangement - thank you, Melanie!). I sat quietly, nervously contemplating the forks, as Mr. Diaz made small talk with my dining table-neighbours. Once the flurry of introductions were over, he leaned forward to shake my hand. I told him my name and that I worked for Book City, to which he replied, [insert Jersey accent here] "Aw shit, you work at a bookstore? Man, I been dyin' to hit a bookstore. Most motherfuckers, when they get off a plane, they have to pee, me, I gotta hit a bookstore. Is it close by? Can we get there in a cab?" He was so enthusiastic, and he swore like a sailor. This was love. Turns out he's been looking for a book (Matt Ridley's The Red Queen, which I've read) and was having a hard time finding it. I assured him, half jokingly, that I'd find it for him. And thus began our two-hour-long conversation. Topics of discussion included but were not limited to: Evolutionary psychology and sexual selection (this is what The Red Queen is about); the immigrant experience and the desirability and aspirations of "whiteness" we had both been raised with; the resulting loneliness and isolation when finally that "whiteness" - in the form of a university degree, or a professional job in a literary or academic field - is attained (in both our cases, we were the first generation in our families to complete any formal education, thus avoiding a life of physical labour and factory work, with the further consequence of putting us at an intellectual/professional distance from our ethnic communities); the difference in value of our sexual currency (low among our own - Indians and Dominicans, high among others - to whom we are considered "exotic"); our crazy mothers who don't understand why we read so much; the tragic loss of our native languages and the beauty of regaining it as we got older; where to find good Jamaican food in Toronto; where to go record shopping in Toronto; deciding we would meet each other in Bombay in February 2010; deciding we should hang out together for the rest of the day. I took that last bit with a grain of salt, but it was nice to hear all the same. And, the contrast between myself and the other people at the table (they being industry big-shots, me being pretty low on the food chain) totally worked in my favour, since Junot seemed to have very little interest in speaking to them (I caught him roll his eyes and shift uncomfortably when a certain Editor of a certain Book Section in a certain Toronto newspaper tried to initiate conversation), thus earning me loads of Junot time. You know, deep down, I knew we would get along. I mean, how could we not? But there's always that fear that your hero will turn out to be a pretentious punk-bitch. Luckily, that was not the case this weekend. My boy was so down-to-earth he was practically underground. After the lunch crowd began to disperse, I took Junot aside to get him to sign my copy of Drown and TBWLOOW, which he was only too happy to do. As I looked for a pen, he grabbed my arm and said, giddily, "Thanks for selling my books!" and then, squeezing my arm like an over-sized tube of Colgate, proceeded to compliment my "yoga muscles." Silly Junot Diaz. Oh, I should mention that by this point I had also received two firm handshakes and two kisses on the cheek. Not that I was, like, keeping track or anything. We (Junot and I, the dandy young journalist, and Melanie) left Toula and walked to the hotel lobby, where I bid them all goodbye, thanked them for a lovely time, and told them I'd see them later that night at Junot's reading. I could hardly believe that just minutes before, and thirty-eight floors up, what I had only ever dreamed of actually happened. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. The Ostrich very kindly drove me all over the city to find a copy of The Red Queen, which I was able to hand to Junot myself at the intermission during his reading that same night (he read wonderfully, of course). As soon as he saw me he gave me a huge hug, a kiss on the cheek (#3!) and said he couldn't believe I had remembered and found his book. Then, in true Diaz fashion, continued to say [insert Jersey accent here] "Yo, you hear about this after-party later? You gotta come! I'm jettin' as soon as this thing's over!"

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

2008-10-24T20:24:00.006-04:00

Not only am I going to see the Pulitzer prize-winning author of my favourite book ever read at IFOA tomorrow night, I'm having lunch with him too! All these years of being a hard-working bookchimp have finally paid off. What should I wear? What should I say? I'm so excited I could throw up. For your reading pleasure I will now quote, at length, from "How to Date a Browngirl, Whitegirl, Blackgirl, or Halfie" from his 1996 short story collection Drown:

Wait for your brother and your mother to leave the apartment. You've already told them that you're feeling too sick to go to Union City fo visit that tia who likes to squeeze your nuts. (He's gotten big, she'll say.) And even though your moms knows you ain't sick you stuck to your story until finally she said, Go ahead and stay, malcriado.

Clear the government cheese from the refrigerator. If the girl's from the Terrace stack the boxes behind the milk. If she's from the Park or Society Hill hide the cheese in the cabinet above the oven, way up where she'll never see. Leave yourself a reminder to get it out before morning or your moms will kick your ass. Take down any embarrassing photos of your family in the campo, especially the one with the half-naked kids dragging a goat on a rope leash. The kids are your cousins and by now they're old enough to understand why you're doing what you're doing. Hide the pictures of yourself with an Afro...

Dinner will be tense. You are not good at talking to people you don't know. A halfie will tell you that her parents met in the Movement, will say, Back then people thought it a radical thing to do. It will sound like something her parents made her memorize. Your brother once heard that one and said, Man, that sounds like a lot of Uncle Tomming to me. Don't repeat this.

Put down your hamburger and say, It must have been hard.

She will appreciate your interest. She will tell you more. Black people, she will say, treat me real bad. That's why I don't like them. You'll wonder how she feels about Dominicans. Don't ask. Let her speak on it and when you're both finished eating walk back into the neighborhood. The skies will be magnificent. Pollutants have made Jersey sunsets one of the wonders of the world. Point it out. Touch her shoulder and say, That's nice, right?

Week 7: Snap Coin Purse

2008-10-19T21:17:00.004-04:00

I just spent a lovely afternoon learning how to make this cute-ass snap coin purse at The Workroom today. I'm very new to sewing, so it's a little wonky, but overall I think it was a success. It wasn't very difficult, and it was quick (my favorite!), and I got to use up some of the owl and mushroom-printed canvas I got off Etsy that I didn't really have any plans for. Only problem is now I want to make more. Lots more. Guess what y'all are getting for Christmas this year! And I'm a sucker for cute linings, which made this project all the more satisfying: