Stitching: The Neighborhoods Project

About a year ago, I decided to pick cross-stitching back up, completely out of the blue. My mom had taught me to stitch when I was a teen, and for a while I stitched up a fury. I wasn't as technically or artistically gifted as my mom (and probably never will be!), but I was good enough to be able to make stuff that didn't totally suck. I appreciated the repetitive feel of stitching, and I was pretty good at it as my hands are bony and my fingers long and dexterous. But then, because I was a teen with the attention span of a flea, I stopped and picked up some other hobby or activity. Picking it back up over a decade later was not something I ever expected. I enjoyed it for a while and started making cross-stitched cassette tapes. In the last year that I've been stitching, I've switched from cloth to thick sheets of bristol paper and cross-stitches to straight-stitches. Last year I was able to participate in Handmade Arcade, and I hope to return when it happens late in 2012. I'm in the process of reworking and updating my Etsy store and coming up with new stitching ideas. Outside of making stitchings to sell, I've been working on The Neighborhoods Project - stitching a 4 x 6-sized outline of every neighborhood in Pittsburgh. I'm not sure what the actual completeness of this project with be, but I've been donating Sunday mornings to stitching the next 6-8 neighborhoods in order alphabetically. Here's a sneak peak of the fruits of my labors of the past three or four weeks:

Love Stinks! And Inks! Making Valentines at Commonwealth Press

Screen printing and letterpress are two means of making things that I've always been fascinated by and have admired, but I had never given either a go with my own two hands. When I saw a tweet from Commonwealth Press announcing their Love Stinks Valentines card printing party, I was immediately interested. After trying to find a buddy to sign up with me, I decided to buy a ticket regardless of whether or not anyone came with me. This is 2012! I'm trying new things and if I have to try them alone, well, that is something I'm going to try and do.

Cards sitting out to dry in the Commonwealth Press warehouse.

I arrived and was greeted almost immediately by Dan, owner of Commonwealth Press. We talked for a bit while waiting for the fashionably late and he answered my questions about his shop/store and screen printing. Though I felt a little nervous and anxious having shown up without a pal, Dan was really welcoming - as were the guys and gals stationed around the warehouse to help with screen printing and letterpress. After the initial nerves subsided, I was bouncing from station to station chatting and creating. Because I am an excellent journalist/blogger, I took a couple very fuzzy photos of the warehouse.

Dan (in red plaid), owner of Commonwealth Press, and Lisa (also in red plaid, but with hat), owner of Sapling Press.

I had a blast learning how to use the screen printing and letterpress stuff. I got to drink some beer, have a few cookies, and make a ton of awesome Valentines (that I still haven't given out, so - friends - expect me to use these throughout the year for your birthdays). Here are some of my favorites that I am proud to have made with my own two hands:

(Kate, Zack, and Mullen: those are your Christmas presents in the background. Just FYI.)

When I left, I said goodbye to Dan and thanked him for hosting a fun and creative night like this. I also hinted at wanting a similar party for Halloween. Not enough people are giving each other Halloween cards, and that is a problem we really should fix.

Handmade Arcade 2011: Thank You!

During the two and a half weeks leading up to Handmade Arcade, I spent 95% of my waking hours (that weren't already being spent at my job) stitching. Deciding to participate in the annual indie craft market at the last minute was a big gamble, but - I'm thrilled to report - it paid off nicely!

Big thanks to my dad, who not only helped me get set-up, but hung out with me behind the table for the first three hours. He was adorable, and his support was and is always greatly appreciated.

Big thanks to Eric, who stopped by and sat with me for a while, and who also babysat the table while I ran outside for fresh air and Exedrin.

And thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth! And to anyone who might've found this blog as a result of stopping by.

I ended up selling OVER HALF of the inventory I have made. I'm going to keep tweaking and making things, and will continue to update the Etsy shop. So, if you're in need of any stocking stuffers (my dad loved selling the notebooks as stocking stuffers!), check out the pghpghyeah Etsy page.

Last Minute Notice: pghpghyeah in Handmade Arcade - TOMORROW

Come visit the pghpghyeah booth at HANDMADE ARCADE.

After receiving word way back in October that we had been wait-listed for Handmade Arcade, I took a break from crafting. The I Made It Market in Hartwood Acres had been a bust (I guess suburban moms don't want to buy awesome stitched things!), so I needed a break. We found out a few weekends ago that we'd moved from the waitlist to the invited vendors list. Since making the decision to go for it and participate as a vendor on extremely short notice, I've been crafting like crazy. I've come up with some new items and designs and I'm overall excited for tomorrow's daylong indie craft fair. Here are the details:

Who: pghpghyeah (me! and Eric!)
What: Handmade Arcade
Where: David L. Lawrence Convention Center (Downtown)
When: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Why: Because supporting local arts & crafts & creatives is good for the city!

Part of my scrambling around over the past couple weeks to prepare was setting up an Etsy page for pghpghyeah. So, even if you can't come say hi and entertain me for a few minutes at the booth, you can still see what I've been working on.

pghpghyeah on Etsy

Here are some things I've been working on. Enjoy!

Come visit the pghpghyeah booth at HANDMADE ARCADE.
(it'll be so awesome. promise.)

Waiting Out the Rain: The Gallery Crawl, September 2011

It had been a long day. A long week. I felt like I had the headache that would never, ever go away. I was very close to telling my friend Allie that I was backing out of our plans to check out the Gallery Crawl a few Fridays back. But, as the end of the day neared, the rain wasn't stopping, and I didn't feel like biking home in the pouring rain. I figured, if nothing else, the crawl would keep me downtown a little longer to wait out the worst of the rain.

First we stopped into SPACE where many of the installations had a childlike quality to them. There were hanging toys, cozy little forts, and video-game like creations.



Our next stop was the gallery above Bricolage, where Canstruction was on display. My favorite was obviously the Pittsburgh skyline, but they were all pretty awesome. The Incline was a close second favorite.



We were about to head home; the weather had calmed down and instead of it being rainy and cold, it was just cold. But before we departed Downtown, we stopped into the Handmade Arcade set up to make some buttons. (Never underestimate my desire to make buttons.)

A skull button and a duck button for the road.

pghpghyeah: Debuting on September 24 at Hartwood Acres!

When I was a kid, my mom taught me how to cross-stitch. She was a master cross-stitcher; the proof of which adorns the walls of my childhood home. She made hundreds of intricate and complicated works of art throughout her 63 years, but all I could ever grasp were the basics, which I got bored with pretty quickly. Fast forward many years and I found myself wanting to pick the craft back up and give it another go. Again, I got bored quickly, but the desire to make SOMETHING remained strong. I toyed around with a couple different ideas, but finally found a craft that feels like my own, a craft that I'm continuing to explore and improve upon - and one that I'm now confident enough (mostly) to share with the world.

I've partnered up with my Pedestrian Pittsburgh/extremely talented friend Eric to create pghpghyeah, which combines our handmade creations that celebrate Pittsburgh. We're debuting these little creations at the I Made It Market taking place on September 24 from 12 n - 4 p.m. at the Hartwood Acres Hay Day Fall Festival.

Here's a sampling of what I've been working on. Everything is handmade! No machines were used to do any of the sewing.









So, there you have it. Some of the fruits of my labors over the past few months. I'm not sure about pricing yet, as I have been internally arguing with myself over what these are worth, both framed and unframed. But, if you're around this Saturday, come visit Eric and me at our booth. I can promise that we will have yummy cookies baked by Carrie and me. I can also promise that there will be all sorts of fun things to do: hay rides, pony rides, petting zoo, MOON WALKS, and a book fair. Sounds like a perfect way to spend a Saturday in the fall.

pghpghyeah: Just the Beginning

Working on some projects. Here's a peek.

Stormy Skies Over Bloomfield

Last week as I biked home from work, the air felt heavy with an approaching storm. Sure enough, as I made my dinner, the sky quickly changed from a summer evening's blue to a very unsettled and fast-moving dark sky.

I finished making my dinner, and ate it on my balcony while the storm rolled in. For a while, there was no rain. Just strong winds, lightning bolts and near-constant rumblings of thunder. I finished eating just as the huge raindrops crashed to the ground.

The rain fell for a while, and then everything basically cleared up outside. But I was in for the night, so I worked on some new projects. Including this matchbook. There will be more of these to come.