November 2

Portland Post-It Pac-Man

I was downtown a few days ago and spotted this cool little Post-It Pac-Man scene that someone put together – an Oregon answer to the San Francisco scene Sherezada blogged about in May?

Love the power pellets and especially Pac-Man’s contrast eye.

You can find this one at the corner of NW 12th and Davis in Portland. It spans two windows for maximum horizontal video-game effect.

Whoever made this one, thanks! Any other Post-It Pac-Men sightings out there? (Or Tetris, or any other pixelated masterpieces?) Please snap a photo and add it to our geekcrafts flickr pool or comment with a link and where you spotted it, we’d love to see more of these.

September 28

Star Wars Terrarium at Powell’s Books for Cooks and Gardeners

Imagine my happiness when I was buying some books at my favorite Powell’s for Cooks and Gardeners (in SE Portland) on Tuesday, and saw this huge, super amazing Yoda-with-a-leashed-dinosaur terrarium in the shop window! Megan Walsh and her Powell’s co-workers made this Star Wars-meets-Land of the Lost world inside a large antiqued glass box with ferns and lots of other plants. It’s beautiful in person and they will even open the hinged doors so you can see the scene more closely!

I also got word that Megan has been working on a Star Trek: TNG terrarium (starring Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of course) and I’m sure hoping to see that one too… stay tuned.

August 17

Make a comics magnet this Saturday!

Hello Portland! If you’re free this Saturday afternoon (August 20 from 2-4), please stop by the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store for a craft party + book signing to celebrate World of Geekcraft (and my other new book, Modern Log Cabin Quilting). There will be free craft kits to make your own POW! ZAP! comics magnet from WOGC (plus wool log cabin quilt block kits), and we’ll have snacks and cupcakes, a tote bag full of crafty prizes to win, and a few other surprises…

August 4

Race from Fleece to Foot at Sock Summit

I wrote about Sock Summit coming to town last weekend, and there was a pretty amazing element this year: a live-action race to card and spin a batch of freshly shorn wool and knit socks from it!

From the article:

Three lambs huddle in a makeshift corral inside Portland’s Convention Center Sunday morning. In a few hours, Heel Flap, Gusset and Instep will submit to the first shearing of their lives, and the Sock Summit‘s Fleece to Foot competition will be under way. For Sunday’s competition, six teams – five  members each – will rush to card the freshly shorn fleece, spin it into thread, ply two strands together into yarn and knit the first pair of socks by 3:30 p.m.

Worldwide Mash-Up, an international team from Canada, California, Washington and Iowa, won with the most knitting completed, earning $300 for Doctors Without Borders! Very cool.

June 29

Trek in the Park: Mirror, Mirror

For those in Portland (or anyone who can rapidly book a flight, drive, or teleport here), Adam + Amy Rosko of Atomic Arts are putting on another fabulous live Star Trek episode: Mirror, Mirror. The performances (which use all handmade costumes + sets) are July 9-10, 16-17, 23-24, and 30-31 at 5pm at Woodlawn Park. They’re free, and I highly recommend boldly going at least an hour or two early if you want to be able to squeeze into the lawn amphitheater area with a picnic, and without binoculars!

 

June 8

Etsy Worldwide Craft Parties this Friday!

This Friday, June 10, is Etsy‘s birthday and to celebrate, they’re throwing a global Craft Party, with hundreds of events scheduled. Check to see what’s going on in your area!

Here in Portland, there are three Craft Parties planned, including one with a Quilts for Quake Survivors quilting bee I’m helping organize at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, which benefits Mercy Corps‘ relief work in Japan! I’d love to see you there for paper cutting, freestyle embroidery, mighty ugly crafts, or quilting with us (all supplies included along with six sewing machines, just show up). All the details are here and you can check out the worldwide Etsy Craft Party events here.