Spins and Needles

Attention all thrift store junkies and craftionistas (ya I'm pretty sure I made that one up!) On Friday night I went to an Ottawa event called Spins and Needles and absolutely had a blast because it combines two things I love--- shopping for clothes and altering clothes!

Basically the event is a huge clothing swap, where everyone brings at least one bag full of clothes and gets to go through huge piles in search of a new item that they will wear! I went with a co-worker and a few of her friends. We spent the first 45mins or so going through the huge piles, trying stuff on and socializing with other people. It was a little overwhelming because there were tons of people all trying to get at the same things at the same time--- luckily there were no fights (I really thought there would be)! I tended to shy away from the big crowds. If you think of lions eating a carcass, I was more like the bird that comes and takes a few bites and runs away. It was a little intimidating, I felt bad since no matter where you are, you are always in someones way! I spent quite a bit of the time telling people what I thought of the outfits they had created, or whether or not the shirt they had found fit-- basically it was like working but not getting paid. Those who know me know that I love my job so obviously I loved every second of it! I found an amazing Beaver vest (and by Beaver think little boy scouts rather than actual Beaver fur). The problem was that it was for a 10 year old boy and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it to work on me. I tried to convince a smaller girl how cool it was but she didn't seem quite convinced! During the whole night there was a live DJ, hence the 'spins' part of the title, so it created a fun atmosphere!

This picture does not do the crowd justice because this is much later in the night when it had died down considerably.

After the swapping had died down a bit (I say a bit because people continued to arrive throughout the night so there were always piles of clothes and people going through them), tables were laid out with sewing machines, beads, fabric, stenciling supplies- you name it!- for people to use to alter their clothing. I spent the next two hours sewing on sequins and fake pearls to the shoulder of a purple turtleneck that I had scored from the pile. Seriously I have a new found respect for any type of beading or sequins on clothing because it was so tedious and time consuming. I had originally planned on sewing both shoulders but given how long it takes, I settled for an asymmetrical look instead.
Throughout the night I met lots of new really nice and cool people. Everyone was extremely open to meeting new people and I even had a few people recognize me from HUSH. The girls I went with all stenciled awesome designs onto shirts they had found. By the end I think people were going through the clothing pile just looking for anything that they could tear apart and alter!
Clive Doucet, who is running for mayor, even made an appearance which impressed me, even though he didnt seem too interested in going through the mens pile and sewing a couple buttons.

This is the girls (Rachel, Emma and Ruby) getting their stencils ready! Ruby even made me a shirt with a bright pink bulldozer on it!
All in all I really had a great time and am looking forward to the next night, scheduled for the end of November!! Let me know if anyone wants to join!
-B