a while ago (feels like forever ago now) I received an infrequent mailing from Coudal. They were doing a new thing! (Another new thing, really – they are always doing something new).

This new thing was the best yet – a virtual swap meat (no, not meet, and definitely not real meat. Keep reading). The deal was this:

“Send us some of the stuff you made for yourselves, that you’re selling or giving away. You’re going to have to trust us on this, but we’ll check out what you send and then send you back some stuff of approximately equal value. That might be stuff we received from someone else or some of our stuff, or some combination of the two.”

I sent them one of my new collection of sock-monkey bicycle seat covers (available at Ladyfest this weekend), and they sent me back this:

Which is awesome, and I love it. But just after I tore into my Coudal package from the mailbox yesterday I stopped and laughed and laughed and laughed. It would figure that for the girl who doesn’t play guitar, who wrote the DIY custom guitar strap tutorial, who’s been making them for years, whose studio is full to the brim of guitar strap pieces for this weekend’s show, the swap meat item they would send me is…a guitar strap. This is my craft karma.

Crafters/artsy types: there is still time! Read more about the Swap Meat here, and see what’s being swapped over here.

About the strap, above: The nice people (M&M) at lefevre make guitar straps (and if I do say so myself a cute messenger bag) and sell them too (in case you’re not loving mine lately).

PS – thank you Coudal!

i got a present in the mail today that actually made me laugh out loud. You may very well too, when I tell you what it is…tomorrow.

But for now, this is all that’s on my mind:

See you Saturday, crafties.

Edited to add: Does anyone know how to get in touch with the critter crafters group? They collect fabric for the annual Glebe fabric flea market and donate all of the funds raised to the OHS, and I have a huuuuuge stash I’d like to give them!

i kid. I am not in china. But that’s where I was a year ago today. It’s hard to believe that it’s actually been a year. In some ways, I miss the chaos of it, the complete confusion, the “special deals for you”, the beautiful sandy desert, the scorpions on sticks (ok, I don’t really miss that part, but it was ok to watch), the funny menus. But I don’t actually miss it. China was dirty. DIRTY. And what was not beautiful was very bleak.

A year ago today, I was walking on the streets in Xi’an, laughing hysterically at the grocery store girls on headsets trying to sell us oranges (you have never seen *anyone* so excited about oranges), saying no to boys trying to sell me baby chicks (dyed pink and blue, no less!), walking through the warehouses that house the terra cotta warriors, and attending a taing dynasty dinner show (not my idea, but actually kind of interesting – good photo ops!). And this year I am at home, sorting through thread, setting up a new online shop, and getting ready for the first vacation *ever* where I am not going anywhere.

I think it’s safe to say I have a bit of a travel bug.

Also, you know how I know I am a design nerd? These are how. I need these. Next weeks show had better go well!