you might remember this post about oh ginger's week-long give-a-way in february. this little chickadee followed her own instructions and left a comment every day with crossed fingers. and it paid off! take a look at the loot that landed here at chickadee central the other day:

the second annual hello craft summit of awesome is heading west! this year they are holding their fun and informative craft conference in portland, oregon. pack your bags!

many of us in the mid-atlantic region are on the verge of a serious meltdown. the recent onslaught of snow has left us cooped up in our condos, huddled in our houses and unable to leave our apartments. with more of the white stuff in the forecast, it seems like we'll never see signs of spring. but don't despair! lovers of the painstakingly handcrafted, nostalgic and overwhelmingly cute can rejoice! oh meaghan is coming to the rescue with a week-long giveaway of delightful designs from her online shop, oh ginger.

...let's talk about what some of my crafty friends have been up to lately. you've already met the amazing gaggle of panguins that pang of pretty little fings put together. now let's see what that crafty gypsy who calls herself dandelion blu has gotten into.

great big thanks to friend and fantastic crafter katie of moonlight bindery. she's included chickadee wanderlust wallets in her last minute shopping guide!

thanks tiffany!

meaghan over at queering domesticity has put together the sweetest post on little old me. it is part of a series of write-ups on crafters participating in her jolly holiday giveaway (the results are now posted). i can't thank her enough for her support and her kind words about this chickadee. in fact, i'm speechless. so you'll have to click on the image below to read all of the lovely things that she has written.

you've seen the image over in the sidebar, now it is time to find out what all of the fuss is about! friend and patron saint of craft, oh ginger, is hosting a holiday giveaway that features some really fantastic and creative creators. click over to her blog for more details and while you are there, check out the list of featured crafters. consider buying your holiday gifts from people who put them together one stitch, one toggle, or one screenprint at a time. this chickadee is happy to be a part of the pack and has contributed a cute little craft apron to santa ginger's sack. just one little comment can win you this crafter's little helper:


and it is always the poor, tireless hostess who doesn't get a seat at her own table. have you seen what oh ginger has been up to lately? not only is she blogging and organizing this holly jolly giveaway, she's also crafting up a storm herself and preparing for several upcoming area shows. click on over to her shop too where you'll find all sorts of things both fancy and schmancy. here's a sample:


and grab your woolens and brave the first cold snap of the season to come on out to silver spring and support us this weekend. oh ginger also has a booth at the holiday shop and stroll. she's sharing with fellow contest contributor prettylittlefings. ohprettylittleginger is going to be filled to the splitting seams with cuteness and charm.

click on over to the hand made mart blog to read the q&a with yours truly. while you are there, check out the other vendors and events planned for sunday's big event! hope to see your pretty face in sunny downtown silver spring.

one of the highlights of the hello craft summit of awesome was the craftnote address by jenny hart. jenny is the driving force behind sublime stitching and a woman that i consider one of the mothers of the modern craft movement. her fresh take on the world of embroidery design caused crafters everywhere to pick up those long neglected sharp needles and get to stitching. she gave an inspirational talk about her business and how craft and the craft community got her through some tough times in her life. then she sat down with a few lucky ladies (this chickadee included) for a demo of basic embroidery techniques.

magic the unicorn was made in just one short sit-down with a sublime stitching starter kit. while we worked, we learned more than just how to execute a french knot. jenny also educated the group on a current conflict between her business and another embroidery company, urban threads. it raised a lot of questions about copyright and copying in craft, and i left the session vowing to write more about the dispute and issues surrounding it. but you know how those best intentions sometimes go...thankfully (and coincidentally) meaghan of oh ginger put up a well written post about the integrity of craft on her blog, queering domesticity.

hello craft is giving away two free passes to the saturday edition of the summit of awesome. to enter, just sent an email telling them why you are awesome (and you are!). for more information, see the original post. don't delay! the contest ends tomorrow, saturday april 25th!

this post is a day late for earth day...but hey, shouldn't earth day be every day? here's a peek at a recent special order of assorted knitting project bags. danielle, from knit-a-gogo, had an earth day entrelac class this weekend and requested some custom bags for the participants. to go along with her green theme, the bags are a combination of linen and recycled cotton. there was an assortment of patterns but each one was constructed the same way: totally reversible with a tie top and handles. these bags are a bit larger than their sock project sized sisters since danielle's ladies were making scarves. something tells me that you'll be seeing some more of these in the near future...

and can you believe it? that's just what my ultra-talented, generous friend christy did! thank you, thank you, a million thank you's! this multifaceted gem of a kerchief has barely been anywhere else but around my neck since the gifting. it has already garnered numerous complements and deserves some time in the spotlight here as well. to see her other beautifully crafted handknits, check out her blog knitting pretty in dc.

if you are here, that means that you probably like handcrafted cuteness. if you like handcrafted cuteness you'd probably also like FREE handcrafted cuteness. you are in luck lovelies! today is your day. friend and fellow blogger meaghan o'malley is playing craft genie over on her blog queering domesticity. she's giving away a couple of her own creations along with a few more from some of her favorite people.

friend, blogger and fellow knitter christy of knitting pretty in dc has had a big week. not only did she study for and successfully complete the GREs, she also managed to publish a new knitting pattern. the "it all comes together" beret is her stellar sophomore effort.

you might remember her first foray into pattern writing, the perfectly delightful prettybird neckwarmer. not long after its release, it joined the chickadee cast-on club and the results were pretty indeed.

for the beret, this chickadee got a jump on the competition and gladly accepted an offer to be a test knitter. it look less than one skein of the alpaca yarn company's glimmer to make this jaunty cap. the sprinkle stitch that makes up the body of the beret sparkled with flecks of gold that were spun right into the yarn. the chapeau's crowning glory are the rows of reverse stockinette that make up the very middle. a joy to knit and a pleasure to wear, you'll want to add "it all comes together" to your knitting queue too.





way to go christy! can't wait for lots more lovely knits and purls from knitting pretty in dc.

a little while back, this chickadee flew up to philadelphia for the day. on the list of things to do in a few short hours: visit loop, a knitting store on south street -- it would have also been great to visit their sister store spool (which is right next door) but it was closed that day. loop is a darling store with shelves overflowing with all sorts of yarns in so many colors. plenty of temping projects were on display and draped over the comfortable sofas that were just calling for someone to sit down and knit. confronted with so many colorful choices, pressed for time to make it back before the beltway jammed, but determined not to walk out empty handed, the day's winner was one skein of noro kuryeon sock yarn.

this sublime skein went on to become the catch a wave shawl that you met earlier on this blog. now that very same shawl is featured in the most recent loop post. how flattering! thank you to the lovely folks over at loop. let's hope that our paths cross again very soon.

here's a snippet:

nothing new to show you today, as this chickadee is a bit behind in preparation for the homespun yarn party. instead, here's a little bit more about last week's trip. an interested reader wrote in and asked about the names of the stores that i saw when out in santa monica.




the first stop was a mano yarn center in venice. a nice little bike ride along the strand from santa monica and a short jaunt along venice boulevard brought me to this shop. (it took a while for me to figure out that the name, a mano, means by hand. maybe the sun made the brain work slow) a mano is a small store but stocked to the gills with all sorts of yarns. you'll see some of that yarn soon, after it is put to good use...



the next day brought new adventures, including a hike to wildfiber, located several blocks into downtown santa monica. it was worth the walk! a roomy store stocked from floor to ceiling with all sorts of lovely fibers. they boast a comprehensive selection of koigu, plus lots of cottons for spring knitting. there's no chance of walking out of this place empty handed.