Keep your eyes on our Flickr stream to see sneak peeks galore in the remaining week-and-a-half 'til Felt Club: XL Holiday!

Yes, the rumors are true! We are holding a much-needed fundraising raffle for our rapidly-approaching FELT CLUB: XL Holiday event, in conjunction with our sponsors, The Sampler!

What's The Sampler? The Sampler is a subscription-based mailing of wonderful samples from a variety of small, independent businesses, sent straight to your door just about once a month! Your Sampler could contain anything from cute 1" buttons to soy candles, handmade earrings to organic soaps, fanzines to fridge magnets. Check out their Gallery for a peek at some of the goodies they offer.

Why a raffle? It takes a ton of dough to put on an event like our XL Holiday shebang, so we need all the help we can get. Proceeds from the raffle go directly to the event, paying for stuff like parking lot rental, insurance fees, advertising, etc. We sincerely appreciate any help you can give, and offering an awesome prize like a Lifetime Subscription to The Sampler helps us put the FUN in fundraising!

Need more info? Click here for all the details.

This offer is running for ONE WEEK ONLY, from today through November 30. The winner will be announced on DECEMBER 1. Will it be you?

Our fave new neighborhood haunt, Reform School, will be throwing an official launch party on Saturday, November 18. Click above to check out the flyer full-size, or visit their site for more info.

Our friends at Machine Project gallery are offering Sewing 101 classes in November and December, and we thought we'd help spread the word. Check out their website for more info!
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Registration is now open for our November and December machine sewing 101 classes. If you've always wanted to know how to operate a sewing machine and sew something from a pattern, this is the class for you. Sewing is always popular, so we recommend signing up quickly to avoid disappointment. The class is $120 for 8 contact hours. You'll need a sewing machine but other materials are included.

The November class is taught by Leah Piehl and meets Nov 18th and 19th (Saturday and Sunday) from noon to 4pm.

The December class is taught by Julie Schworm and meets Dec 2nd and Dec 9th (Saturdays) from noon to 4pm.

Editor's Note: If y'all take the December 9 class, you'd better head over to Felt Club's XL Holiday event afterwards! We'll be open 'til 7pm.

...is our last show at The Echo for 2006! Come get a head start on your holiday shopping with gifty goodies from over two dozen fabulous artists, crafters, and designers.



FELT CLUB: Crafts That Kick Ass!
Sunday, November 12, 11am-6pm
@ The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd. (@ Lemoyne)
ECHO PARK

Okay, dudes...did you know there is a Los Angeles Diorama Club?! Well knock me down with a feather, there sure as heck is! They make themed dioramas and everything. Who knew? The club is holding a meetup next Tuesday and there's still time to get in on the fun. The theme for this go-round is "Alchemy", all the details are below. Time to bust out the Tacky Glue and start craftin'!

LOS ANGELES DIORAMA CLUB - ASSIGNMENT 1

"Everything that happens once will never happen again. But anything that happens twice will surely happen a third time." The Alchemist

MEETING DATE & TIME: Tuesday, November 7th, 2006, 8PM

MEETING PLACE: MARGOT'S HOUSE, 1629 N. Kingsley Drive, Los Angeles CA 90027

THEME: ALCHEMY

Alchemy is generally known as the science of transforming base metals into gold. The word itself comes from the Arabic al-k?miya? or al-kh?miya, also cf. Persian kimia meaning "gold". However, on a deeper level the work of alchemy (cloaked in allegorical images) has also represented the transformation of the soul. Alchemy combines elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism and art to investigate the mechanisms of nature as philosophical and spiritual disciplines.

What better to ponder over Friday the 13th and Halloween, than something both scientific and spiritual, both mystical and medical, both mysterious and esoteric?...and that is ALCHEMY...

Some keywords (just to get you started): Glass, Iron, Circulating vessels, Pelicans, Double pelicans, Philosophers Egg, Casting cones, Receptacles, Funnels, Dyoptra, Combustion, Reverberation, Macrocosm, Microcosms, Transmutation, Hermeticism, Resolution of opposites (Male/female), Resolution of opposites (snake), Splendor solis, Crowning of Nature, Twelve Keys of Valentine, Lambspring, Donum Dei, Cabala mineralis, Petrus Bonus, The Four Humors, etc.

Please interpret the theme as freely as you want to, in fact the free-er the better. Then make a diorama and bring on the 7th to share with us.

RULES:

THE DIORAMA SIZE MUST FIT WITHIN A 1.5FT CUBE MORE OR LESS
THE DIORAMA CAN BE MADE USING ANY MATERIALS YOU WANT
THE DIORAMA DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ENCLOSED OR BOXED IN

IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE PLEASE SEND A R.S.V.P TO: margotATkeepcompanyDOTcom

Thanks so much to everyone who showed up at the Craft magazine launch party last weekend at Machine Project. Major fun was had by all.

We're looking forward to even more fun on November 12, when we hold our last mini-monthly event at the Echo for 2006. Come by and see us, it's a great way to start whittling away at that holiday gift list early!

More photos from the Craft launch can be seen here.