A benefit for Portland quilt artist Mary Catherine Lamb is set for Sunday, June 12, from 2 – 5pm at the Bossanova Ballroom. MC is a dear friend of mine, and it seems only fitting that such a rocking party would be planned as a benefit for her.
A loyal band of friends dubbed The Tribe of Mary Catherine will hold the Art Etcetera Auction to benefit the well-loved Portland quilt artist Mary Catherine Lamb. Lamb, a member of Nine Gallery and former member of Blackfish Gallery, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Happily, she is out the other side of treatment and her prognosis is good. But medical bills not covered by her insurance, added to the costs associated with a layoff from her day job as a copy editor, have prompted friends and colleagues to rally and plan this event.
Admission is $10 – 21 and over. Festive adult beverages will be served, as well as an array of delicious food courtesy of area chefs. And the whole affair will be gleefully emceed by media personality and local bon vivant Rob Sample.
Featuring donated art work by more than 35 artists, including: Stephen Hayes’ Christopher Rauschenberg, Paul Sutinen, Sandy Roumagoux, Mar Goman, Tyson Grumm, Ten artists from Blackfish Gallery ( including:Paul Missal, Stephen Soihl, Becky Slemmons, Jana Demartini, Judith Wyss), Textile artists (Michael James, Terrie Mangat, Wendy Huhn, Melissa Holzinger & Mary Catherine Lamb), And many more!
Exciting non-art items to bid on, too! Services from graphic designers,computer wizards, art photographers; a tour of Mount St. Helens with a USGS vulcanologist; a “studio crawl” of three local fabric artists; a four-course North Italian feast prepared by former Genoa owner-chef Amelia Hard at the home of current Genoa owner Kerry DeBuse; a weekend at a beautiful house at Manzanita; ditto at a cabin at Lake of the Woods; an overnight stay for up to 14 at the architect-designed lodge at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest; and more. Too much to list here!
If you have any questions, would like to donate an item to the auction, or volunteer to help with our auction – please contact us.
Sunday June 12th 2005 2-5pm
The Bossanova Lounge
722 East Burnside, PDX, OR
www.bossanovapdx.com
I’d heard rumors of a new craft supply shop in town from my sewing newsgroup, but the gal who posted didn’t leave much information about it except that I could Google for it, and she accidentally misspelled the name of the shop. For the record, the shop is called Knittn’ Kitten, and they are located at 75th and Glisan. Yes, you can Google for them – getting the shop name correct is the trick! Apparently there is a Knitten Kitten shop in Cambridge, MA, and that threw me off.
Knittn Kitten is simply terrific! For those of you who enjoy playing with “found” and recycled materials, this fabric, bead and craft supply shop is the place to go. SCRAP still holds a special place in my heart, but comparing the two shops is like apples and oranges. The Kitten offers a well-organized selection of just about everything, and their prices are very reasonable. During my chat with Ethel, who co-owns the shop with her daughter Rome, the source of her inventory was a well-guarded secret. If I could procure vintage fabric and offer it at these prices, I?d probably keep it a secret, too.
The Kitten was started as a home-based business with scheduled sales, and the venture was successful enough to move on to a bricks and mortar store. Ethel’s background includes a number of years with a national fabric and craft supply chain, but she wanted to move on to a position where she could enjoy more personal interaction with her customers. Rome is a very talented artist, and if you ask nicely Ethel would be happy to share photos of Rome’s work.
Finds during my first trip to The Knittn’ Kitten included a couple fun pairs of purse handles, a decorative zipper, several yards of vintage Star Trek fabric, enough Sesame Street corduroy to make myself a purse, a yard of fuzzy leopard-print fabric, and a knitting stitch holder. This fabulous haul set me back about $6. How can you beat that? (Confidential to my knitting group: Aaron has requested that the Star Trek fabric become a bowling shirt, not a quilt or boxer shorts. Should be a fun project!) Inventory moves at a brisk pace, and Ethel advises that if you see something you like, pick it up quickly because it won’t last long.
There is a beadwork class on their calendar, and additional classes and events coming soon. Make your way to the Montavilla neighborhood to visit this lovely shop today!
Knittn’ Kitten
http://www.knittnkitten.com
7530 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97213
503-255-3022
Hours:
Tues – Sat 10am – 6pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Aaron and I took the opportunity to tour the newly formed non-profit Northeast Community Center, which rose from the ashes of the recently shuttered Northeast Family YMCA. After an unsavory experience with the neighborhood highly corporate fitness center that is open all hours of the day, I was pleased to learn that there was a comfortable neighborhood place where I could work out, take classes, and not be subjected to “Popped 40″ dance music and people who work out because they want to, not because they need to.
NECC offers a wide variety of classes from kickboxing to water aerobics, including special programs with seniors, kids, and families in mind. They provide a good selection of workout machines, and I didn’t see people waiting for any of the machines. A reasonably-priced child care center is available on-site, as well as personal trainers, saunas, and a licensed massage therapist. The staff was very friendly.
The hours of operation are reasonable: 5:30am – 9:30pm Monday through Friday, 7am to 5pm on Saturday, and 12pm to 5pm on Sunday. For all of the amenities and unique sense of community it provides, membership is a steal. Single adults are $40/month, and two adults are $55. No sign-up fees or contractual obligations! NECC is currently holding a membership drive — check out their website for more information.
It’s just heartening to know that in an age of corporations taking over our lives, there are still neighborhood-oriented organizations that focus on the health of the community, not on the health of the company’s bank account.
I just got the June issue of BUST, and it included “Island Girl,” a super cute skirt idea in their Real Life section. The basic idea is to transform men’s Hawaiian shirts into women’s skirts. I was originally looking for palm trees and hula girl shirts, but once I found the pale blue dragon shirt (Men’s size large), the hunt was over.
The instructions the author provides are well-written, but since the shirt buttons were a little too far away from each other for my comfort, I sewed the buttoning area shut and installed a zipper in the side hem instead. This worked really well! I cut a little further out in the sleeves than suggested so I could use the arm hems as faux pockets. I also sewed darts in the front as well as the back darts suggested by the article. That modification helped the skirt fit better. The entire project took around six hours to complete, but if you do it according to their instructions you can be ready to hula in less than two.
I was really pleased with the end result, and this is easily one of the best fitting skirts of this style I’ve ever worn. With this project under my belt, I am excited to find more shirts to convert into skirts. Next time I would like to embellish the design a bit more, perhaps with beadwork and additional fabrics.