Last night we hopped up to Milwaukee to meet friends for dinner then stopped by Cafe Lulu in Bayview.  Lulu was hosting a book release party for Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design.  Co-author Faythe Levine is very active in the craft community – organizing Art vs. Craft, running her shop Paper Boat Boutique and finishing up her documentary (which the book is based on and due to be released next year).

The book discusses the ‘new wave of craft’ with interviews from artists and crafters across the country.  I haven’t read it from front to back yet, but I am very impressed so far.  Oh, you can purchase it here!

OK, I’m totally not trying to turn this into a baking blog….but I make no guarantees.

Anyways, this past weekend I made the cuuuuutest pies in the world.  Mini apple pies!  They’re baked in small half pint mason jars and make a decent sized single serving.

They just need a pat of butter on top and their lids…

Here they are right before I popped a couple in the oven…the rest went in the freezer.  I only have a couple left since I gave some away, so I should have made more :(  But they were so good!

Ok, I know Art vs. Craft is more than a month away, but I just got this little gem of a flyer in my inbox a couple days ago, and had to share it with you.  Ain’t it purdy?

See you there…

I’ve just finished listing some handspun yarns in my Etsy shop.  I hope to have some new items (bags, etc.) to list later this month, hopefully….so keep in touch.

My friend Carrie is an amazing artist and has a solo show opening this Friday.  I’m so excited!  Hope to see you at the reception…

Queen of This Island (Utö) 2008 c-print 42 x 33 inches

Carrie Schneider
How Not To Fall
October 17 - December 6, 2008

*Opening reception for the artist Friday, Oct 17th, 6-9pm! Please stop by!

moniquemeloche
118 N. Peoria
Chicago IL 60607
312.455.0299
www.moniquemeloche.com

WE (Blatic Version) 2007 c-print 58 x 76 inches

After a year-long Fulbright Fellowship to the prestigious Finnish 
Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Carrie Schneider returns to Chicago 
with a body of new work for her first solo exhibition with 
moniquemeloche gallery. Schneider sets up impossible scenarios that 
pit a character (usually herself) against some force of nature.   
Through a complex web of personal mythologies, Schneider throws 
herself into fantasies of escape and concealment, creating uneasy 
resonances with simple juxtapositions.  The result is a series of 
large-scale photographs and two 16mm films that continue to heighten 
the familiar to a level of precarious strangeness.

YarnCon Poster, originally uploaded by moonrat42.

I’m gearing up for YarnCon this Saturday, October 4th! There will be a ton of vendors selling all things yarny. There will also be workshops and snacks…yea snacks! Above is the hand-printed YarnCon poster by Chicago artist Alex Uribe. A limited run of 30 posters will be for sale.

Pulaski Park Auditorium
1419 Blackhawk
Chicago, IL
Oct 4th
10am - 4pm

Ok, let’s see if this works.  This here is my first post of a brand spanking new blog.  Big thanks to Kelly (click here too) for hooking me up with this blog! Yea! Ok, that’s all I got.  Stay tuned…