mmm.... coffee.....

look, but don't look like you're looking

can you spot what my sister is wearing on her wrist?
the first blanket of snow arrived in providence thanksgiving morning.  i crept out onto my front porch & listened to the amazing sound of snowflakes falling through the leaves still on trees.  my little street was all asleep, but then one by one neighbors came out & greeted each other with a happy thanksgiving.
last week was good, my parents drove up to providence for the week & we drove down to my sister & jo's for the night.  jo cooked up a delicious meal with little birds & we had a nice time all being together.  on friday we walked around the city a little bit, i managed to spot the amazing Yarn Co. where my sis bought me a little skein of brown & pink wool yarn.  we met up with jo at Galleria illy for delicious coffee (i can't believe i forgot to bring my camera!) and on to a delicious dinner at the restaurant Lupa where i ate a bite of tripe.  i'm pretty sure i know what it is, but please don't confirm my suspicions!  after a rowdy game of spit with lee we zipped back to little ol' rhode island. then there was a morning of yarn drooling & quilt planning with my mother... 
 
i didn't get much work done & i'm now very overwhelmed by upcoming deadlines.  there are many things i want to make & people i want to send things to!  thank you so much for the enthusiastic response to all my new work, vinyl & quilted.  you won't hear much from me in the coming weeks because i will be attached to my sewing machine & rotary cutter, but look out for my stuff at places like PlainMabel, Boston Bazaar Bizarre & Craftland...

no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet

many of you may have noticed that i haven't been returning emails lately.  well, okay, even worse than usual!  i did get some response from my hosting service about the excruciating slowness & they have offered to switch the server my account is located on.  i'm going to go ahead & do that some time this week.  they say it will take 24-48 hours & any emails sent to me will be bounced back.  so you have been  warned!  i'm going to send out a general email to everyone i can think of, but i can't get into my mailbox right now, maybe later... grumble grumble...

rachel drove me to Osgood Textile in western mass yesterday so i could roll around in overwhelming piles of vinyl.  i spent an embarassing amount of money on the stuff.  it was about what i had expected, but i had hoped it wouldn't be that much.  we met up with the lovely miss tara of plainmabel & ate grilled cheeses with bacon & onion rings at a real diner.  we played johnny cash on the jukebox, they had lemon & chocolate cream pies & i had a strawberry milkshake for dessert.  delicious!

and to those of you who have requested merchandise for your store and/or webshop: i am sewing sewing sewing like mad, obviously restocked & expanded my vinyl selection, and will hopefully be able to email you back about it soon!
 

not an artist? it doesn't matter anymore!

art would like you think that all those drinks are mine, although i was the only one to have a second mojito at my little birthday dinner!  there didn't end up being a party this weekend, nor did i go to NYC.  i did have a lovely dinner with my friend Paul who cooks a tasty vegan meal!  then the rest of my weekend disappeared in the flurry of color picking & painting at my friends' new private practice.  the space is finally coming together & hopefully they can start seeing clients next week.  the photos don't do the colors justice, but i assure you, it's looks amazing.  if you're on wickenden street in providence, RI, wander way down the end past the coffee shop & rug store & past where the Castro used to be & you'll find a sweet little building painted bright happy colors inside & out!  then maybe hop in & get some therapy while you're there!

i have no new craftiness to show you because i didn't have time for any sewing!  i did cut out some cute new vinyl cuffs, but they're still in bits & pieces.  i've been knitting a bit, too, the mini clapotis for myself is coming along nicely & about half done.  i started a something for a somebody with some of the yarn i recently bought, but it's not enough to show you yet!  yes, i'm being maddeningly vague, but it's a surprise...  lots of pictures, but not of what you want to see, i'm sure.  i'll leave you with a couple photos of the gorgeous handtools i've been playing with, i mean, uh , organizing!

knockabout club in the tropics

 
aww, isn't the lobster cute?  and tasty! yes, i'm still thinking about maine!  here are some photos of must-have-meals: crabmeat roll, coffee & popovers, & lobster.

thank you all for helping with the coffee fund, i'm up to $12!  my landlord took pity on me & lent me his old coffee maker.  that was after he tried calling me before 8:30am & found me a bit cranky...  i feel guilty being so forlorn about my lack of coffee when so many are much worse off down south.  have you seen that Crafters United has a shop set up on etsy?  it's great to see so many crafters reach out to help, i hope to have something up on it soon.
  i've spent my weekend tiling in the kitchen, cleaning my studio, sewing little quilts & trying to make the whole apartment look presentable.  it's quite sad & lonely in there, it echoes because two rooms are completely empty now that abby moved out.  i still haven't found a new roommate so if you know anyone nice...  i did show the apt on sunday, but that was awful, she clearly didn't like me & barely looked at the room.  i forgot how intrusive & hurtful it is to let strangers in to scrutinize your home.  i don't want to go through this again, it makes me think seriously about living alone.
in a cabin?
in maine?
filled with reproduction fabrics?
in many shades of brown?
(that's the Busy Thimble in Litchfield, ME)
we had our second annual block party on sunday & it was awesome.  perhaps not as many people came, but it was much more comfortable this time & my orange chocolate pound cake was a hit.  i got to know some of my neighbors better & even met someone my own age!  i think i need to have a little bbq this weekend, perhaps an "erica's apt is lonely & empty please fill it with friends" kind of bbq.  maybe i will ply them with cheap alcohol & stuff them with food so they have to crash on my couches...  this is starting to sound like a plan...

the cheerleaderening begins

  so i have returned.  well, i actually came back sunday night, but the last few days have zipped by.  maine was gorgeous, as always, the weather was perfect & the people were wonderful.  teresa & i drove up on tuesday, heading straight for my favorite fabric store the Busy Thimble, Litchfield, Maine & then on to dysarts the trucker diner where i was mocked by an unusually large platter of onion rings.  there was also a yarn store & some crabmeat sandwiches along the way...
  i don't know what to do about the computer since, as i realized after buying all that fabric, i'm broke!  wow.  i haven't been this broke in... years.  i will try to stay late at work to load some pictures for you, but i'm not sure when since i'm itching to finish those quilts i started before vacation.  suddenly there isn't enough time!  it's my fault, really, for having so much fun this summer: i was lazy & relaxed & now, as a result, i am penniless.  i guess i'm not too sad about it, i can pay my rent & eat food & i love my job - so i'm still pretty damn lucky!  now if only my roommate abby wasn't moving away, then i could sleep better at night...

"old israel's arid plain, it's magnificent, but so's maine"

i'm giving you lots of photos to look at since i have finally exhausted the tiny blue laptop!  who knows what it's fate will be, poor sad little limping laptop.  (it barely qualifies as one since it has to be tethered to an outlet at all times)  it had become a storage facility for my digital photos, but as of this evening it has less than 200MB left!  my camera has more memory than that.  i was hoping it would last until my birthday/christmas when i could ask for assistance in buying a real computer...

mm, apple coffee cake & coffee.  apple cake made from aforementioned translucent apples from the farmers market down the street.  awesome diner-style mug from maine & second only to the hand made one by Carole Beal.  mod little plate from my collection of Taylor Smith & Taylor dishes.  and how could i resist a little skein of recycled silk yarn from Nepal?  any suggestions on what to knit with it - i hear it's quite a bitch to handle...

i got this cool robot cuff from Jill Killjoy at Renegade & wear it constantly - it has survived being caught out it a couple rainstorms including the one that lasted the exact amount of time it took us to pack the car & leave Manhattan the monday after the sale. the adorable fetal skull is by allie's oddities & i also got it from a trade that weekend.  i keep it at work - hopefully it will frighten away anyone who even thinks about touching something on my desk!  it is photographed beside my hand-carved bone folder.

another at-work photo: a super cool chair i found in a corner, buried beneath spiderwebs & mouse poo & other old furniture.  (can you tell where the lab desks were ripped out?)  i think it looks quite lovely in my room & will be the perfect spot for taking a break & sipping some coffee!  here's my little head with my mohawks crappily fanned out for the first time!  (i usually use elmers to spike them up)

i frogged an old sweater of mine, a wool/cotton blend, & played with koolaid dyeing since it was too hot to iron little silk origami flowers Friday.  the yarn is wonderfully soft & i already knit some of it into a delicate scarf pictured somewhere below.  (hey, anyone notice the swanky new knittermeter on the right?)  now i understand, it's really hard to take a photo of yourself modeling scarves!  many many scarves...  especially when one is allergic to the scarves...

manos del uruguay variegated wool knit on giant heirloom needles,
berroco hiphop needing blocking & weaving in,
first FO ever scarf in noro silk garden.

infamous evil alpaca scarf - alpaca blend with berroco optik,
misty garden from scarf style, again, recycled sweater,
neat woven thread scarf neighborSusan bought in SanFran.

still here?  well, i'm finally off to Maine in the morning.  as you can see, i have shaven off the mohawks.  i was kind of sad about it, but i can't be bothered with doing my hair when i'm in maine.  MAINE!  i love maine.  gotta pack, i'm going to maine.  bye.

dumdee dumdeedum dumadum day, oh-oh new england. 

canned heat?

i think it was pre-determined that i would be frustrated at work today.  despite a very pleasant walk in with neighborSusan & her lovely dog Hollow, i don't feel like i'm handling things well.  i keep thinking i'll get something to leave the room, but them i am thwarted.  again.  i am overwhelmed by the amount of large fragile things that cover every possible workspace & even the floor & it's always someone else's job to decide where it belongs!  & teresa is not here.  she is in california, normally i would call her & we would get lunch & grumble about work.  i need to tell teresa about the large warp in time & space that is occurring in my dining room that only she & her dad would understand...

it's freezing in here again, the thermometer claims it to be 67 degrees,  but i think it lies.  how does one measure the wind chill?  i'm sorry, i'll stop.  instead of more complaining, here are some pictures i've been keeping in my digital camera for one reason or another, but mostly because they make me smile:

like t' hear it, here it go

 

finally!  here are the first bunch of pictures from renegade last weekend (was it really only last weekend?)  this is our little tent set-up with our lime green sign that attracted people to our table - especially coffee drinkers!  they'd walk up to me & ask "are you the coffee drinker?"   
one of our neighbors was the Amazing Talking Paintings & they were amazing & talked & some were rather suspicious...  on the right is heidi of mypapercrane & her husband with all her yummy stuff: i ran up to her pile of hand-spun yarn & just hugged it because it was so wonderful!  i love her cute pink hair, too!

my sister lee took us to Patsy's for real NYC pizza, note the life-sized portrait of Frank Sinatra behind her.  it was the most delicious thin crust pizza & we ate 2 whole pies of it!  kristen was telling a story in the picture on the right, but i don't remember what it was about...

 

a little photo of teresa enjoying some coffee from the corner store before attempting to navigate the BQE for the second time.  after the sale ended on sunday my brother-in-law jo insisted we go out to a german beer garden with him so here jo is with his giant glass of beer & plates sausages!  (there was also potatoes, but mostly sausages)

i hope that is enough for now, i'll post more when i get teresa's pictures & still to come are the photos of the awesome trades i brought home...

whiplash! whiplash!

here's the sparkley lime green sign teresa & i made for our table!  we did a mock set-up with our tent & tables so we feel a little more prepared for the sale.  i hope to get a lot more done in the next few days, i still don't feel like i have enough stuff.  i ended up losing most of saturday because i stayed up ridiculously late friday night with my bookstore friends!  we finally went out for all-you-can-eat chicken at this incredibly Rhode Island place called Wright's Chicken Farm.  it's, um, quite an experience.  and then we played Beat Detroit from my collection of 70's board games.  it was really fun, although no one ever wins & most rarely make it around the board once!  i have some fun pictures i ought to post, but i need to stop procrastinating & get back to sewing!

wee-hoooo!

i got it!  i got the job!  man, oh, man, do i feel relieved, it's wonderful to get good news when you're feeling down.  so for at least the next 2 years i will be working in the John Hay Library making all sorts of boxes & other enclosures!  i'll be working less, but making more per hour, so the plan is to have the time to make all that stuff i was whining about wanting to make!

speaking of which, i'm sorry, but i had teresa take down the slithy tove & mome rath from her shop because i need to start making creatures for the RISD Alumni Sale on April 30th.  we also got into the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn on june 25 & 26th and i'm making some creatures to send to Art Star in Philly!  if you really have to have one of the jabberwocky creatures i might be able to make some more in a few weeks & i still have a couple more to sew.  thank you all for waiting & the rest of the little guys are getting mailed out once the torrential downpore ceases in providence!  the talented mimi kirchner just got hers...

< thank you so much to everyone that sent me kind words last week, i really appreciate all of your support & encouragement.  teresa has been so nice to drive me places & make sure i eat dinner & kristen gave me the little coffee book at craft night.  i ran off to nyc for the weekend to be comforted by my sister & fed bagels & lox & mimosas.  it was super fun & i hope i'll get down there more often in the coming months...  if she can afford to keep feeding me!