Help a kitteh out

Multnomah County animal shelter is bursting at the seams with kittehs! I heard on the radio this morning that they were in taking 25-30 cats/day. That is a LOT of cats.

They are offering waiving adoption fees as part of their “Certified Pre-Owned Cats” program, to place as many cats in homes as possible. These are cats 1 year of age or older.
As a long time pet owner, I do love baby kittens, but I will never adopt anything other than an adult cat. They already have their personality, and won't climb your drapes (hopefully).

I am offering an item of clothing if you adopt one of these lovely felines. Let's review:

Adopt kitteh + free kitteh = happy you, happy kitteh, FREE CLOTHING!

Here is a link to their website about the program:
http://web.multco.us/pressrelease/2010/07/08/how-much-kitty-window-free

Here is where you can go to find your new BFF:
Kittehs! Kittehs! Kittehs!

(at the time of posting this there were 39 adoptable cats, I think we all know what goes on at the shelter, please save someones life)

Blog for Better Sewing

So as if I don't already have waaaaaay to much to do, I have been guest blogging on this fantastic blog:
Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing

It's super cute and she's always working on fun projects.
I have been writing about knits. You can see my posts here:

Meet Alyson Clair
Knits in a Nutshell
Sewing Knits Without A Serger

Other than that I have been attempting to swim, my 2nd favorite thing besides making pretty dresses. The weather and my schedule have not been co-operating. If I could just swim all day and my clothes would sew themselves together on their own I'd be in good shape.

Jené DeSpain ! In Portland 7/9

I am so excited to see the lovely Jené DeSpain next week! There is a rather nice write up about her on the Mercury Online.
http://mod.portlandmercury.com/mod/archives/2010/07/02/jen-despain

See her next Friday July 9th at Pin Me Apparel from 4-7pm. Her jewelry is most lovely. I had the pleasure of using it in my Fall/Winter shoot. Here is another sneak peak. Entire collection to hit the interwebs soon.

Vintage Portland

I don't have too much new to share other than my studio has been a sewing storm. Fall photos will be coming soon, as well as lot of garments I am really excited about. (Now if Spring OR Summer would arrive in Oregon that would be nice too.)

I thought I'd share one of my favorite blogs. It is the first thing I read in the morning. I love Portland dearly. Seeing the history is fantastic, along with recognizing the places somtimes almost a century old.

Inner workings of my brain

This is pretty much what goes on in my head most of the time.

Spotted! No Muffin Top Skirt

I spotted this lovely lady in one of my skirts last week. She said owns several, and it was a huge nerd moment for me.


Get them while they are hot. Vintage limited edition spring colors available at Pin Me Apparel now.

H&M in Portland?

As of today it has been confirmed:
http://pdxneatsheet.com/neat-shop/hm-opens-portland-oregon/

My brain is fighting with itself right now. Crazy shopper that racked up a mountain of credit card debt in the 1st half of my 20's (almost gone phew!!), is screaming YEAH YEAH YEAH!! H&M!! The more mature half that has spent most of the 2nd half of my 20's paying off my debt, and working my ass off sewing clothes says BOO!

This year one of my resolutions was to be more mindful of practicing what I preach. It's kind of pointless for me to bust my ass making things locally and then turn around buy cheap shit at Forever21, Target, ect.

So I'm going with the "no can has" on this. I deemed 2010 the year of No Can Has personally for many reasons. So I'm not setting foot inside the H&M. Instead I will be a conscientious consumer. I will spend my money locally and on the 5% of apparel that is actually made in the United States.

That being said, shop local. Look inside your labels. Know where your things are coming from, how they were made and who is making them.

xo

Clair 20% off sale at Union Rose

You need a new dress! Go get one this weekend at Union Rose. All Clair items are 20% off. Plus don't miss the mega sale rack where there are some past season goodies at 60-80% off!

xo

P.S. Can someone call Mother Nature and let her know is almost summer?!?!?

Dress for Success: After

The Dress For Success fashion was a huge hit! With over 500 in attendance, for the fashion show, dinner and silent auction.




Nicolle from Nicolle Shops Portland was one of my lovely models.

You can see her backstage coverage here:
Nicolle Shops Portland

If you would like to see all the photos from the evening, check them out here courtesy of my good friends at Enko.

Shop windows

I never get over the excitement of seeing something I have made in a shop window.