When I first started knitting I fell in love with the patterns by Tiny Owls Magic Attic. I even posted about the lovely patterns right here. Well I happy to say I finally had enough guts and experience to try out their Hopsalots bunny slipper pattern. I made these slippers as a Christmas gift for my soon to be sister in law and she absolutely loved them. They were really easy and fast to knit, but if you decide to try this pattern out for yourself a few words of advice. First make a gauge swatch, it really does matter. And secondly, the pattern suggests felting these by hand in the sink, It would have taken me days to felt these by hand because I had to go up about 3 sizes in needles, so I felted them in the washing machine and they came out great! Have fun!

First off, what a cute shop name! Hide the good scissors may only have a few items in their new etsy shop, but everything in it is super cute! I love these geometric animal embroidery designs. The color selections are perfect and the result of mixing organic shapes and geometric stitching is simply wonderful. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

I came across Pilli Pilli Handmade and couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off my face. Their little textile creations sure to brighten anyone’s day. My favorite handmade lovely has to be the fluffy cloud magnets, whoich look great on their own, or maybe holding up the corner of a long list of to-do’s. All of their goodies are just super cute, I can’t wait to see what’s next!

This little fox pillow from KushKush always makes me smile. In fact everything in their etsy shop  turns my dreary day frowns upside down! Even their little rain cloud brooch would make me a little bit happier on a very rainy day.

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have Matt’s parents up for a visit. I absolutely love having them here and Matt’s mom was kind enough to teach me the basics of knitting. In the last week I have knitted three scarves ( well 2 and a half since one was for the dog) and I have to say I have found a new hobby!

When I have a little more practice under my needles I hope to get a few patterns from Tiny Owls Magic Patterns. These woodland inspired knitting patterns are just amazing! I especially like the bear hooded sweater, it looks so very very cozy.

This past Saturday I had the good fortune to check out the Picnic music and arts fair in downtown Portland Maine. It was the first smaller sized indie fair I have been to but I have to say it was just amazing. It was so refreshing to see new vendors that aren’t part of the usual suspects of crafters and DIY’ers that I typically see in the NY area. Of course I picked up a few awesome pieces for myself but I didn’t want you to miss out on the fun either… so enjoy!

Heather Toupin, aka heatherjeany had these hilarious kids shirts that had me in a giggle fit. It was such a pleasure to finally meet her in person. As always her both looked so well put together and you couldn’t help but pop in to take a look at her printed cards and paper goods.

Kyle Durrie from Power and Light Press had a slew of witty and unpretentious letter pressed greetings. I actually almost missed her booth but I am so glad I spun around at the right time. My personal favorite was the WTFWJD which I promptly bought to send to a dear friend in New York.

Matt and I were both drawn to the bags by Jared DeSimio, aka dappermonkey. He had such a range of ideas and I loved them all. Of course my my favorite were the lumberjack themed laptop sleeves, I wouldn’t mind thinking of my little macbook as Paul Bunyan. But in all honesty all of his other up-cycled bags were just stunning as well, I love having something that is a functional art object as well.

I loved seeing Morris & Essex at the show as well. I don’t believe I have ever gotten the chance to see their work up close and personal. The hand printed cards and wrapping paper have the most gorgeous colors and really draw you over from an aisle away.

I was also pretty stoked to see former Brooklynites Zooguu and Goobetsa. Jen and Brian (respectively) always have a great looking booth. Of course the critters in the Zooguu line always make me smile but Brian has some new superhero paper cuts that really take the cake.

Sarah McCann had these great little finger puppets of monsters and mysteries. The yeti might have been my favorite. I really enjoyed seeing local artists, and some not so local artists gather in Portland for this awesome fair. I really hope next year I can be apart of it, in the meantime I will keep my fingers crossed for a holiday indoor version. After all I heard it does get cold here in Maine.

This coming weekend (May 15 + 16) is the annual Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia, PA. I’ve been looking forward to selling the Peppersprouts line there for the last few months. My favorite part of doing out of town shows is all the new artists I get to meet and of course the lovely people who put on these events. So this week on the blog I thought I would share some of my favorites that will also be at Art Star this weekend.

First up is the adorable bubbledog. They have a wide range of cute products, from belts, to cards, to adorable totebags. It is going to be hard to keep my money in my apron when passing by their booth. Will you be attending this amazing festival?