i was so honored a while back when my old livejournal pal and crafitivism writer betsy greer asked me to write a sidebar blurb for her new book, knitting for good! betsy sent me a copy of my very own and though i am completely humbled by the amazing array of other contributors in such a wonderfully written and inspiring book, i am also very proud and have to share the news with you.

though i haven’t quite finished it yet, i can say already that knitting for good is a most excellent read for knitters and non-knitters alike. personally, i’m more of a crochet brain (though i don’t buy that whole sticks vs hooks war rumor) but the book focuses so much on the meditative effects and the community aspect of making in general that i don’t at all feel as though i’m reading a specialized “for knitters only” insiders’ guide. to the contrary! betsy’s almost convinced me to try my hand with the sticks once more! almost.

anyway, if you’ve got a knitter, a maker or candlestick sticker on your list, this bright and empowering little book would make a great gift! i feel very lucky to have my own copy as it would definitely be on my list otherwise.

woah! thanks to miss siri treehouse for handing over dear birthday’s carousel horse romper to the good people of block magazine! so rad. nice photo by raymond yeong.

oh! and speaking of siri treehouse, she’s hosting a headdress making party in the branches this evening from 7-10. i for one, am totally going! i could use a headdress. maybe i will be something for halloween after all.

treehouse brooklyn is located at 430 graham avenue, between withers and frost in williamsburg. and it’s darn close to el loco burrito (not the one on bedford, silly. the *other* one), you know. just sayin’.

i’m kind of in more of a pierogies sort of mood tho…

the end of shameless self promotion

well no. not really. but for now!
just one more thing: i want to thank the nice ladies of the following blogs for featuring dear birthday in the past few days

*love is near
*horse+radish
*and finally, a little interview over at spark twinkle and fade

i feel a little built guilty for typing my answers to the interview questions in my typical fashion, not capitalizing anything except for emphasis as poor leyda seems to have gone through and corrected it all! ha! ah well. perhaps i should resign myself to the proper way of doing things? it’s just that i don’t feel as though when i speak i am capitalizing certain proper nouns or places unless i’m indicating their greatness or importance somehow, so it seems false to capitalize them in writing. or typing. and part of the great joy of being an adult is making such executive decisions that fly in the face of reason! you know? like the executive decision to sometimes eat cookies for three meals in a day.

i remember when i was learning cursive handwriting as a kid, i studied my mom’s and asked her why it wasn’t properly upright and loopy. she explained that once you know the correct way to do a thing, you can develop your own style, playing on what you know. frustrated by the insinuation that i was too young to have my own style, i longed for the day when i could scrawl in lowercase. and lo, i did grow up. and here is my scrawl!

hey goodmorning!
(uh…i guess 2pm is technically afternoon, but whatev’s)
no time for photos as i’m in the middle of dye batch BUT siri just sent me a link to a nice little piece of press we got for our show on saturday!
thanks refinery 29!

two thingsss
1.

i added one more amelia top to the etsy shop just now. it will be the last amelia top of summer…alas!

2.

a press page was added to the main site. this is the kind of thing that embarrasses me to no end. but! it must be done. did i ever tell you about the photo shoot for the washington post express? probably not. the girls were so sweet and kind, i feel horrible admitting it, but the experience was mind-meltingly terrible. they did me up in a crazy manner–i can only imagine that the inspiration was chola make-up? like, they gave me eyebrows (i was clearly not meant to have eyebrows) and outlined my lips super dark. i was caked in make-up and then made to act super goofy and play with my hands a lot. when the shoot was over, i drove straight to ian’s house. when he opened the door and burst into an uncharacteristic peal of laughter , ushering me in quickly (lest i be propositioned) it was all i could do to keep from crying! i’m not usually such a baby, but the whole thing was nothing like i’d anticipated and really very overwhelming. of course, i went along with it, so it’s my own fault, but when i saw the resulting images and noted the photoshopped teeth, i definitely didn’t want to leave to house for at least a week. not that anyone who didn’t know me would mistake me for the girl in the photo…but still!

so i was super nervous when the time out new york photographer came over a few weeks ago. i couldn’t help but explain to her the reason for my anxiety over having my picture taken, but she was really very understanding (and chatty and sweet and rather calming, really) and promised not to make me act at all. i did my own hair, put on my own mascara and was in my own space. perfect. i might look a little stiff in the resulting photo, but at least i look like me, right?

anyway, i understand the need to be more of a presence behind dear birthday; i definitely love to read maker bios and see their photos and hear them talk about what they do. and after that first one, all of the subsequent experiences i’ve had with press-types have been really positive (i especially love the tiny refinery 29 blurb) but man if that first photo shoot didn’t scar me for life! i think especially now with the prevalence of blogging and self-promotion, it’s harder than ever to hand over the reigns even for a moment.

oh haiiiii!
that’s just little ol’ me acting natural for the time out folks. completely natural. not nervous at all. can you tell?
heh.
this is very exciting, so i will refrain from being too hard on myself. no. it’s awesome! check it out.

(photo from time out ny)

ps– what is up with wordpress squishing all of my photos and making me look smirky??

hey! sodafine is featured on threadbanger’s threadheads!

thanks so much to erin for kindly mentioning dear birthday! we’re blushing over here.

oh! press!

a genevieve blouse from the spring collection is featured in Time Out New York!

i’m so proud of that little plaid top!