Craft-rageous! Craft-tacular! Craft-abulous!

I think you can pretty much put the word "craft" on the front of any other word and it would be funny.

Last Saturday was the 3rd Ward Handmade Holiday Craft Fair. The fair itself was quite impressive. It was out in the middle of nowhere in Bushwick, Brooklyn and, yet, there were hundreds of people there! Quite a turn out, indeed.

It was a mild success for me. It's been several years since I was on the craft fair circuit and was a bit rusty. I also think that Bushwick is not really the demographic for my goods. Ah, but live and learn, right? I know what I would do differently next time around.

The coasters, gift tags, and, soon, the pillows are up in my etsy shop. The gift tags were incredibly cute and my best seller. There's only a few left so go get 'em!!!!

In which I head out into the world of crafting

Hey there! I've been super busy since my last sorry post getting stuff ready for the 3rd Ward Handmade Holiday Craft Fair! It's my first craft fair in about 4 years and I'm a little nervous, so come out and say "hi", OK? And maybe buy something!

Gotta go finish with the sewing and knitting and etc! See you Saturday!!!!

Oh, hey, I have a blog

I actually couldn't remember the last thing that I posted. I had to visit my own blog to find out. That's really sad.

Then I had to go to flickr to see if maybe there were some pictures of stuff that I hadn't blogged about and there weren't. Not really. Just some random shots of supplies for a photo shoot I did a week ago and this one.

These are destined to become something that's a bit of s surprise. I'm going to sharing a table on December 12th at the 3rd Ward holiday craft show in Brooklyn. I'm pretty excited. I'm going to be selling stuff from my etsy shop as well as a slew of new items.

In the meantime, I've been sewing up a storm, knitting when I can, and, well, living life. I often forget that I can share all of this here. There's been another photo shoot, a chili takedown, a Christmas tree.... I'll be sharing all of that with you really soon.

I promise.

Have you seen this? (via isuwannee.com)

clearly I have a very rich imagination

Pun, completely intentional.

Apparently, in my fantasies, I carry $1,240 Lanvin purses and wear Alexander McQueen earrings.
And have a rich grandmother who lives on the UES in NYC.

Just discovered Polyvore.com via Angry Chicken and Posy Gets Cozy. Also, discovered that Polyvore.com is not fire-walled at work. Big Mistake.

For some reason writing like Bridget Jones.

Alternate titles for this outfit: "Too Much Gossip Girl" or "I Could Never Really Walk Around NYC In These Shoes That's Why It's A Fantasy, Silly".

She knits! She sews!

It's true, I do both of those things. I used to write about them on this blog quite a bit, actually.

Above, you can see the latest evidence of my knitting. This is Shaylee, from Rowan Kidsilk Aura Collection book that was published in 2007. Oh, that's right, 2007. I bought it while I was still working at The Point NYC. While The Point was still open, even.

The yarn you're seeing is Manos Silk Blend, which I bought when it was still a new product. I can't even remember when that was.

What you're looking at, is my 4th attempt to knit the left side. It's seems that I just can't get it right. When I follow the directions as I believe they are written, the shaping doesn't match the diagram of the finished knit. When I tried to wing it, it came out really, really wrong. So I'm back to following the directions. The worst case scenario is that the spacing on the belt loops are a little off. I can live with that.

In other news, I made my Halloween costume this year. Or, rather, I cobbled it together from items that I already owned, made and bought on the cheap.

I was inspired by Tim Burton's much anticipated, Alice in Wonderland, and dressed as Alice. The are no current photographs of me because I just wasn't myself in that blind wig. I felt obvious and silly. (Though I secretly LOVED my costume and thought it was incredible.) I think I'll recycle it for next year, since it took a bit of work. Perhaps then there'll be photos.

A Year of Living Dangerously

Hi, friends. I'm coming up on a bit of a milestone. This coming weekend will mark one year that I've been living as a single woman in NYC (well, Queens, more accurately, but I digress).

This is a fact that still kind of hits a raw nerve for me. I didn't think it would, but this past week I've been bombarded with random mood swings and general feelings of panic and grumpiness. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me and then I looked at the calendar.

One year ago this Sunday, I moved all of my earthly belongings into my friend, Kevin's, apartment in Sunnyside, Queens and never looked back. Somehow, between the two of us, I developed a mantra that would guide me through the next year. I would in the months to come, time and time again, hear Kevin's voice in my head, "Just say yes, Rebecca."

Someone invites me to see a band I hardly know at 11pm on a Tuesday? Just say yes.
Drop everything and spend 2 weeks in Italy? Just say yes.
Face all of your fears and do the one thing you're afraid of the most? Just say yes.

And so I said yes. Every time I was too tired, or too scared, or too shy, I heard Kevin urging me on. Whether he's aware of it or not, he helped me discover a new self. Or maybe it was an old self that had just been pushed down for so long that she had become unrecognizable.

But she's here now, and she's not going away, and she's going to keep saying yes. Thanks, Kevin.

Just a few of the things I have said yes to in the last year:
I moved into a new apartment.
I spent 2 weeks in a country where I don't know the language.
I sang karaoke.
I ate wild boar!
I took up kickboxing.
I went to a party where I didn't know anyone except the host.
I bought my first computer.
I took on a project that I wasn't sure I could finish.
I ran three 5K races.
I took lots of pictures.
I raised some tomatoes.
I went to Staten Island.
I saw my friend play in a band.
I kissed a stranger.
I went to a Knicks' game.
I ate sweetbreads.
I made new friends.
I went to Long Island.
I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding.
I went to Texas alone to see an old friend get married.
I read a Psalm at my grandmother's funeral.
I considered the possibility of new love.
And, oh yeah, I flew on the trapeze.