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Hot One Inch Action is back on again this year, this time hitting up three cities: Seattle (Nov 5), Vancouver (Nov 26) and Portland (Dec 1). If you haven't heard of it before, Hot One Inch Action is an event that that celebrates the 1" button: 50 tiny round artworks are selected, made into buttons and displayed on the walls. You can also buy a bag of buttons at the show and trade them, which is fun and hilarious. Really interesting to see which buttons become hot commodities on the trading room floor! Submissions for the Vancouver and Portland shows are due by November 16, 2011 . Get more info on how to submit here. For a little inspiration, check out the H1"A Presents video series . They are really lovely glimpses into some artists' studios and processes. This one's about Vancouver artist Arleigh Wood , who mixes photography, painting and printmaking, and there are more online on the H1"A site .

 Two interesting calls for submissions that I've seen recently... Creative Canadian footwear company John Fluevog has put out a call to fill their Vog Vending machine in their Calgary store. We want to sell things in this magical machine that even the Japanese have never thought of – and we want Fluevogers to help us. Do you have a little company that makes cool things that could fit into the rings of such a machine? Click here for more details and info on how to submit your convenient creations. The other fun call for submissions I saw was on a blog I like, Studio Morran , run by the ever-lovely Swedish artist Camilla Engman. If you follow Camilla online, chances are you'll know that Morran is her adorable and highly-photogenic dog . Camilla is compiling a book full of images of Morran. So get sketching, painting, etc, submissions are due by October 31, 2011. Click here for more info on how to submit your images. And check out some of the pics already sent in: here , her...

The Period of Purple Crying is inviting knitters to get knitting for a good cause! The Period of Purple Crying is a program which educates parents and caregivers about normal infant crying and the dangers of shaking a child. Here's the info I received about the project and how you can get involved: We invite you to join our mission: make a PURPLE newborn baby cap so we can give select babies born in British Columbia the week of November 15th a gift to coincide with Canada’s National Child Day. Please share your knitting or crocheting skills to help Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC. Unite and lend your hands now to knit or crochet PURPLE newborn baby caps for this great cause. Create as many as you like - from five to 50, or a ... ny number in between, using any newborn baby cap pattern, and any colour of soft baby-friendly PURPLE yarn. PURPLE caps must be received no later than by November 5, 2010. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Pelto: melissa@limelitepr.c...

Booooooom.com is partnering with the Vancouver Sun to inspire a lil' bit of cuteness and summertime goodness. Be a part of the Little Drifters project by creating a tiny boat using natural materials like twigs, leaves, grass, feathers or whatever you like. Then head down to Trout Lake Park on Saturday July 24th at 1pm to launch your creations! Send your photos of your boat launch in to Booooooom. You don't need to be in Vancouver to participate: they'd love to get photos of mini-boats from elsewhere, too! Read more about Little Drifters on Booooooom.com.

Do you create unusual embroidery? Leanne Prain, who co-authored the subversive knitting book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti , is turning her attention from yarn to floss. Her new book, Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery , is due out in Fall 2011, and Leanne is looking for needlework designers to contribute projects. Do you design unusual or unexpected pieces of needlepoint? If so, you should design a pattern for Hoopla, The Art of Unexpected Embroidery, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in fall 2011. Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery rebels against the traditional notions of quaint embroidery with motifs of flowers and songbirds. The book will feature unusual stitch work on a variety of surfaces and textures. With off-beat patterns including subway maps, feminist Girl Guide badges, and metal band letterforms; Hoopla will demonstrate that modern embroidery artists are as sharp as the needles that they work with. If you describe your stitch-work as a...

The Textile Museum of Canada is a little tucked away on a side street in downtown Toronto. What better way to make them more visible than yarn bombing? Fibre Person has put out a call to help the Textile Museum of Canada with a project to gather knitted or crocheted works from crafty people like you and me. The yarn work will end up on a concrete planter and on bike racks outside the museum. Get all the details on how to submit on the Fibre Person blog . The deadline to get your knitted or crocheted works in is May 15, 2010 . Here's the piece that I'm mailing in today... (PS. If you need some inspiration, check out the rad Yarn Bombing book by lovely Vancouverites, Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain .)