Crafty Craziness!

I thought I would post the mass-mailing I just sent out to my e-mail list. Check out the two great fairs I'm lucky enough to be in this year! Come check them out -- you won't be sorry! Oh, and you can do all your Christmas shopping* in one place -- you can't beat that.

*Fairs also are a great place to buy yourself a little gift, I find.

Here it is:

Somehow (though I'm pretty sure it works this way every year...) we've found ourselves only a week away from Thanksgiving and holiday craft fair season is upon us! I have had the good fortune to be accepted to two great craft fairs this year. Thus, the late notice of this e-mail -- I've been so busy knitting! Among the usual scarves, scarflettes and cowls (lots of those this year) I've been making lavender sachets, tooth fairy pockets, hand-dyed yarn and much more. I might have a few special holiday items up my sleeve if I'm extra productive this weekend too!

My regular partner in crime, Jay, of Jennifer Joy Creative and Noonday Textiles, will be joining me at both. We decided to enter two in the hopes we would get into at least one and now we're working overtime to make sure we can have not only enough items for two shows, but hopefully a few new/extra items specific to each one so it's not total overlap.

The first up is Handmade Detroit's Detroit Urban Craft Fair, on Saturday, Dec. 4 and Sunday, Dec. 5. It returns this year to The Fillmore, where it was in 2008. We're excited to be a part of it for the third year in a row and watch it grow to a two-day event. A great group of crafty ladies is behind this fair and we always have a blast.

There is much to see and do in Detroit, so even you out-of-towners could make a really fun day of it if you decided to come down! (I'm looking at you, family!) You could head up the road to Good Girls Go to Paris for some savory and sweet crepes. Then you could stop over, a couple of doors down, to the awesome independent book store, Leopold's. Go a few blocks over to the great indie store City Bird, owned by a great brother-sister team, where you'll also find my knitted goods (and tons of great other things!) Then stop next door for a quick beer at Motor City Brewing Works before hitting the road. (Wait, maybe you should do the beer first, then hit City Bird...) City Bird also is one of the shuttle bus stops for the fair, along with Slows BBQ, if you don't care to look for a parking spot.

Then the NEXT weekend, you can come see us a few miles up the road in my current place of residence, Ferndale. Organized by the crafty Shannon, who put on the Spring Fling we did a couple years back, Winter Fling...A Craft Thing will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11 at AJ's Cafe in Ferndale. This will be a bit smaller, but many amazing artists and crafters will be packed into AJ's's, which also has good munchies and great coffee drinks.

Especially since it's in the heart of my town, I'd encourage anyone who comes to see what else the quaint downtown has to offer. Obviously there are tons of stores, restaurants, etc. to see. Some of my favorites are: Naka, a great independently-owned store with all kinds of crafty things, as well as jewelry, paper goods, baby stuff and more (including a furry mascot); Anita's Kitchen for great Mediterranean food (you can't go wrong with either lentil soup, baked falafel or the Mediterranean salad...); The Emory or Dino's for good better-than-bar food and a cocktail; or stop by Ferndale's brand new library that sits behind Dino's.

Thanks for your continued support of La Femme Monkita and we hope to see you out at some of the fairs!

Kirsten