Interweave Knits' WebWatch

Do you like cruises?
I do. So when Patricia Babischkin [of Cruise Planners] asked me -- thanks to a connection made by Mama E -- asked if I'd like to join her and her guests on the 2008 Sea Socks cruise to Alaska, can you imagine how long I hesitated? Yup, barely a millisecond.

Well, details are now finalized, and guess what: we have another cool cruiser coming along with us. Are you sitting down? Brenda Dayne. Yes, you read right. The patron saint of knitting is coming from across the sea to sail with us! She and I will both be teaching classes, and there's way more going on than I even know about.

You can find full details here -- or if you're really keen, just call the lovely Patricia at 888-286-9827. We'd love to have you join us!

We sail May 9, 2008, from Seattle for 7 days aboard Celebrity's Infinity, with stops in Victoria, Ketchikan and Juneau. I believe I need to lie down now.

Posted 8:44 AM PST

The Etsy of Europe?

Just spotted this: DaWanda. It seems to be the new Etsy for European artists, though I recognize some of the work on the front page from Etsy artists located elsewhere [North America, Australia].

Not every seller there takes Paypal [which is quickly becoming the ubiquitous universal web currency exchange], but a lot do. I think this requires further investigation. Race ya!

Posted 8:53 AM PST

Shop Indie!

Indie is a huge movement and it's only getting bigger. If you love unique goods and think it's cool when someone starts their own business, here's how you can do your part to support this movement. Spend a little of your disposable income with someone who makes everything by hand. It's just way too cool.

First, you're probably going to want to bookmark Etsy.
Etsy tips:
- register so you can save your favorite shops and items for later on - don't forget to check out their feedback system if you're going to make a purchase [kind of like eBay]. There has been recent talk of a shop on Etsy who got so much negative feedback about the quality of their product, they closed their shop and reopened under a new name [and bye-bye went the bad feedback]. Buyer beware!

[In my experience, most indie artists are the coolest people you'll ever meet, but there are bad seeds in every area of life.]

By the way, the links that follow are in no particular order.

These yarn and fiber shops are all indie, or specialize in indie artists:
- The Sweet Sheep
- Kpixie
- Yarn Rescue
- Hello Yarn
- Pick Up Sticks
- Miss Hawklet
- Scout's swag
- Woolgirl
- Pippikneesocks
- Ernst glass knitting tools and buttons
- One Planet yarn and fiber
- Happy Fuzzy Yarn
- The Urban Knit
- SuperCrafty
- Spritely Goods
- Briar Rose Fibers
- Fun With Yarn
- Woolly Wonka Fibers
- Jenkins Woodworking
- Lisa Souza
- Spunky Eclectic
- HollyEQQ

Indie collectives [shops that sell items from a variety of different indie artists]:
- I Shop Indie
- Cut + Paste
- Modishoppe
- Indie Shopper
- India Romeo
- Anezka Handmade
- Shana Logic
- Buy Olympia

Indie-spotting blogs, websites and magazines:
- Indie Collective
- Miss Malaprop
- Indie Finds
- Indie Obsession
- Indie Designer Labels
- Jrosebud
- Culture Junkie
- Squidoo's list
- Craft Revolution Magazine

And I'll leave you with this:
- Buckaroo Style's definition of Indie...and then check out the cool stuff this indie shop has to offer.

Posted 6:38 PM PST