Art|Everywhere 2011

Last weekend I participated in the (very crafty) closing night festivities for Art|Everywhere.  In fact, I actually spent a lot of last week preparing for it too!  Art|Everywhere is this really cool event we have in Norfolk where Granby Street is turned into a huge art gallery with juried art installations in many of the shop windows.  It’s in its second year and runs roughly May 1-July 1.  Both years, my favorite crafting supergroup, the 7 Cities Crafters,has participated and this year we also got a grant to put on fun, artsy-craftsy activities for closing night!  With my friend Vicki as ringleader, we had a huge fabric map of Hampton Roads that people could pin on (saying how they create community), a scavenger hunt with prize totes, and make-and-take crafts (pinwheels, leather cuffs, t-shirt bags, and sock puppets).

I mostly worked on the map.  First, Cassie (graphic-design genius) designed the map and got it printed on fabric at Spoonflower.  Then I stitched the panels together and got some crafters to help me embroider the city names on it.  I also stitched a rod pocket in it and we hung it from Kristen’s lighting poles and had people pin little tags where they live.  It was pretty covered, especially Norfolk, by the end of the night and I think we may add to it at future events.  We wanted something crafty-looking and it looks a lot like a quilt with the different textures for each city and the running-stitch print on the borders.  The embroidery took forever, but I think it was a very successful project .  Thanks, Vicki, for the photos!  I was dumb and forgot my camera…

On a related (embroidery) note, here’s the sneak peek of my vaca project…

You need to get one too!  It’s from my very favorite blogger, Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy.  I promise to show you when I finish and then I will tell you more about Alicia’s blog and books as well.

I’m off to the Outer Banks to relax like crazy.  See y’all in about a week!

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