Category Archives: personal

trip report 1

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I am back home and at work getting ready for the Boston Handmade Marketplace- and keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain on Saturday.

My trip report in several parts-

We drove down to Allentown, PA for a family event. I convinced my husband that adding a few more miles (hours) to the trip and 20 pounds of wool stuffing into the car would be a wonderful side trip…

So, actually, the first stop was the West Earl Woolen Mill in Ephrata, PA. This lovely woman told us that since last fall, the wool is Australian. It is “processed” (I think that means cleaned?) there and shipped to her for carding. At least I think that is what she was saying.

In Allentown I was very excited to see this green roof at a nature reserve we visited. It is beautiful!

Next, we drove up the Susquehanna River toward Ithaca, NY.

Along the way, I saw this- a bait vending machine. New to me!

In Ithaca, we relaxed, saw our daughter, walked along some waterfalls (here are photos from last year), and we ate at the Moosewood Restaurant.

I will post about rest of the trip tomorrow.

On other topics- I’ve been thrilled by some recent amazing internet community love- I discovered that I’d been mentioned in Small Magazine, but only when someone left me a comment and mentioned it! Isn’t this collage fantastic? I had a wonderful meet-up with Jan of Be*mused- I’ll write about that tomorrow. And, Claire’s note at the bottom of this post has me purring like a kitten. She was the first craft blogger that I found and she inspired me start my own blog… which opened up this whole amazing world to me!

Okay, back to work now.

a very busy June

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This month is very full and unfortunately that will probably mean not too many posts and not much finished projects.

I got my Paperbag Swag out last week and have received mine back- that will give me some wonderful things to blog about.

After I mailed out the goodies, I was down in Connecticut for a quick family visit. This is a photo at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT.

Then the focus shifted to my youngest-

Prom on Friday night-

graduation on Sunday, lots to do around that. When you look at this picture, imagine 95 degrees, no shade- roasted everybody.

Next weekend I will be heading down to Allentown, PA. Then Ithaca, NY and westward to Chicago. Yep, driving. About 10 days or so. Anybody want to see if we can connect?

The last thing planned for June is the Boston Handmade Marketplace. I hope I will have some work to show!

More on everything soon!

weekend- Vermont and South End

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On Saturday we drove up to Vermont for a wedding. It was a beautiful day. The photo is of the floating bridge in Brookfield.

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Sunday was opening day of the South End Open Market. Lots of friends were there!

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Amy Burhoe and Beth–

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Betsy of Stonehouse Studio–

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Brian and Jen– yikes!  They are moving to Brooklyn!
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Louise and Amy Olsen, who had stopped in right before I got there-

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Pogibabies–

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And I saw Katy. She was there, of course, since she is one of the organizers.  Amazing to think about- I went to the market early last year- maybe not opening day, but early in the season.  I only knew one person there.  What a difference a year and a little networking can make- hurray for Boston Handmade!

After the market we went over to Jessica’s open studio.  Lots more great artwork to see.  A wonderful weekend!

what a week!

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Today (5/7) is the last day to vote on the Softies Awards… although if you haven’t already, by the time you read this it will probably be too late.

I am back at work-

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a group (choir? gaggle? giggle? luncheon?) of big ladies in pastels.

I have been reflecting on how the internet and blogging community has become such a good part of my life.  In one week I met Ariana of Staindrop (Sunday) who gave me a fantastic walking tour of Portland. Then Sister Diane of Craftypod (Monday) for talk, coffee and recommendations for great places to visit in Portland.  Tuesday was spent visiting those places.

On Friday, back home, I spent the morning with Abby of While She Naps.  We  discussed all the favorite topics- kids, marketing on line, our blogs, other favorite blogs, the state of Art and art and the world.  Wonderful!  But not only that- we went out for a walk and stopped in a fantastic coffee/tea shop-  Look at this!

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We split one of these-

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Thanks Abby!

Sunday was a party to celebrate a little more then one year since Boston Handmade began.  It is my Etsy marketing and friends group.

Wow!  What a week!  And so many people look at me like I am some kind of nut when I say I blog, sell online, post on Flickr…  they just don’t know what they’re missing.

fun in Oregon!

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I’m having a fantastic time here in Portland! I REALLY have to get out of my studio more often, eh?!

First, an amazing hotel-  Hotel Monaco. Thanks Ben and Priceline…

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We got into town around noon on Sunday. That’s noon, west coast time- we had been up and traveling for 10 hours by that time. Ariana, of Staindrop, met us at the hotel and gave us a wonderful walking tour of downtown Portland. The weather was perfect. We got to spend several hours talking about art, craft, blogging, etc.

Monday morning was our tour of PNCA. I have loved going on these Art School tours. On Monday afternoon, I met Diane of CraftyPod. I have to say that getting a chance to meet her was high on my list of why I wanted to come to Portland with my son! I enjoyed talking to her so much when she interviewed me last fall. Getting a chance to spend a few more hours with her was amazing. She found my blog originally because of my tikis. I wanted to make her a little gift and on Saturday, before I left, I got a flash of the perfect present-

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a tiki pincushion! As you can see, she liked it :) There is nothing so satisfying as figuring out the right gift! She gave me a list of great suggestions of crafty places to go and things to see- Thanks so much Diane!

The weather was beautiful and clear, so Pete and I decided to go to dinner at a restaurant described as a place for tourist- I said, Heh! We’re tourists! It was a wonderful way to see the city and surrounding area-

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Today (Tuesday) I spent the day checking out craft wonderfulness and Pete did his thing. First stop for me was the Knitten Kitten (a Diane recommendation).

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How amazing is a craft supply thrift store?! I left there with a bag full of goodies. Then back into town to the Museum of Contemporary Craft. Next stop- The Playful Needle.  And last, when I was worried that my feet were going to give out on me, The Button Emporium.

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That place was heaven… well, actually I think Portland is an embroiderer’s paradise- I have never seen anything like the stores full of beautiful threads and embellishments that I’ve seen here. Swoon!

Okay, so here was what was in my bag at the end of the day-

from the Knitten Kitten-

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and everywhere else-

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Tomorrow we go back home. My stay has been a delight!

a new bag

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another trip, another bag!img_8429.jpg

I even added one of my printed patches to the pocket.  This bag is to put my computer and my other bag into.  Last trip, I didn’t take the computer and my regular bag isn’t big enough to hold it comfortably.  I am not going to leave it home this time though… I really missed it when I went to London.

The fabric was given to me by my niece, an interior architect.  Thanks Laurel!  I absolutely love it!

So, now that the update is finished and I can stop stressing about that, I’ve moved on to stressing about my trip to Portland, Oregon.  Not too much really- it is just that it is such a long travel time.  I am trying to figure out books and projects to bring.  I am hoping to meet up with some fellow artist/crafters … if you are interested, email me or leave a comment.

to Portland, Oregon that is…

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My son and I will be in Portland, Oregon for a few days- arriving mid-day Sunday 4/27 and leaving again on Wednesday, 4/30.  I know, very short visit, very long plane ride.  We will be visiting PNCA and I would love to meet up with some friendly folks out there. Leave a comment or email me at mimik(at)pobox(dot)com, and we can make some plans!   Otherwise, recommendations for totally amazing, not to be missed, fun places to go, eat, shop, etc. would also be appreciated.

pond in Woodstock, CT

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these photos are for the family who know where this is-

That’s the roof of the gazebo.   And the island is back to the way it was when I first saw it.  I wonder if the beavers are still in the lodge on the right.
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Pieces of the gazebo are now part of the beaver dam-

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On the other side of the street, the water is really low-

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Lots of water coming through the culvert though- we were surprised the beavers weren’t working on the dam.  We didn’t see any sign of freshly cut wood.

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a new bag

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My new bag is done- another messenger/ schoolbag design. The last one I made was looking very worn out indeed. This is a very similar design. The changes- slightly bigger, longer and adjustable strap, slightly different pocket configuration, button closures.

I took these photos with the bag empty. The front-

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You can see that I found my left-over pieces from the first bag and have used them up. With the flap up- 2 layers of pockets in the front.
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The back- more of the old fabric. A large slip-in pocket in the back.
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It is a real mish-mash of colors and fabrics. The purple on the inside is a home decorating fabric sample. The brown is cotton twill from a pair of pants. I recycled the hardware from an old schoolbag.
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I’ve put my stuff into it. It seems so roomy now … but that won’t last long, I’m sure.

Onto other news. First- Happy Valentines Day everyone! And Happy 4th blog birthday to me! That was yesterday actually. I am constantly amazed at the wonderfulness of the internet. I am looking forward to another great year!

I AM going to London- the tickets are purchased and the hotel is booked. I am tagging along on a business trip. If anyone wants to meet up, I will be there from Wednesday through Sunday. I can bring freezer paper as a bribe!

The trip has meant a bit of reshuffling of schedules and as a result, on Tuesday, my son and I drove up to Portland, Maine. We went to visit the Maine College of Art. I love visiting these art schools. It is so much fun to see what is being created, all the tools and equipment, the amazing studios. And it surprises me that mostly I have no desire to go there anymore- I have so much in my head that going back to school would be a huge distraction… even if it would be fun to play with the toys- hee hee! It was fun to see Portland too. It is only 2 hours away but I have never been there before. They seem to have an exciting, thriving art scene. I think it would be a great place to go to Art School. We will see.

On the drive up, an entire thermos of coffee managed to leak out into the bag with my computer. Of course I spent the whole visit with a niggling worry that I had fried my computer. I brought it home for Ben to look at. Not too terribly bad. Now, two days later, I have an odd splotchy pattern on the left side of my screen- not so awful, except when I am trying to look at photos… which is, of course, what I do a lot of.  Hmm.  Maybe we will take it to the MacHospital while we are away…