The white badge of courage...

Here in the Mills, my neighbors and I sport something I like to call "the white badge of courage."

Or, more specifically, our houses sport the white badge.

Put another way, you know you live in the Mills when:


















your roof looks like this for 6 weeks in the spring.

Personally, I kind of like it and get a kick out of the whole thing...
























Where else in the world do you have your very own seasonal seagull hotel?























They really aren't very good guests, though...
























(View of my house from the back...)























(View of my house from the front...)
























(View of the store from the back...)



















(View of the store from the front...)























Even the church is not immune! Is nothing sacred?

BUT...

It's not just the seagulls who come and visit us at this time of year.

There would be no seagulls without the alewives, would there?

Confession: I got up early this morning and went poking around the fish ladder to try and get some new, fresh photos of the fish, but the alewives were a bit camera shy and I didn't see a single fish!

Maybe they'll come out later on for the afternoon matinee...

I did take some photos of the fish ladder to share with you, though.

I think a lot of people come to see the fish ladder expecting to see literally a ladder made out of fish, but really the fish ladder is a man-made stream that helps aid the fish from the Great Salt Bay into Damariscotta Lake.

Let me put it this way:

If you were a fish, would you rather try and swim upstream through this:
























Or through this:
























It's a no-brainer, n'est-ce pas?

And every so often, if you are reaaaallly lucky and get up super-early in the morning, you will catch a glimpse of the elusive and rare ale-husband through the brush:
























I'm told you can attract them with Dunkin' Donuts and brunettes who own fabric stores.

Hope you have a great weekend!

XO,

Rhea

Alewives Fabrics is hiring!

Alewives Fabrics has a full time opening for a friendly, outgoing employee at our busy shop in Damariscotta Mills. The ideal candidate does not need to be a master sewist/knitter/quilter, but passion for those crafts is definitely a plus! The position will be for 35 hours a week: Monday through Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm. In addition to the 35 hours a week, once a month you will be asked to cover our Sewing Lounge, which meets from 5:00-8:30pm on Friday nights.

The position includes maintenance and processing of fabric sales on our website, uploading new fabrics and other products to the website, creating and sending our e-newsletter, updating our facebook page, and e-mail correspondence with customers; therefore, all applicants need to have strong computer skills.

In addition to maintenance of the website, the position includes assisting customers and maintenance in our retail store. A typical day includes aiding customers, processing new fabrics, cutting fabrics for kits, tidying and rearranging the shop and taking inventory. These tasks keep our employees very busy, so the ideal applicant needs to have lots of energy and be able to self-direct. Applicants need to be friendly and outgoing with excellent customer service skills.

Our shop is classified as contemporary: knowledge of modern designers, authors, blogs and fabric companies is also a plus, but not absolutely necessary. The position does not require that the applicant do any sewing or knitting; therefore, even if you do not have strong sewing and knitting skills, you are still encouraged to apply. Conversely, applicants are warned that they unfortunately won't get to do much sewing or knitting at the shop as the other tasks and duties keep us all very busy. If you are interested, please e-mail your resume to alewives@alewivesfabrics.com or drop off your resume at the shop.

Thanks very much and we look forward to hearing from you!

The alewives are here!

The seagulls have been waking us up at a super-early hour each morning so I knew they were here, but I saw them today with my very own eyes.

Though it's still early and they're not here by the zillions like they will be in a couple of weeks, it still never fails to amaze me when these fish show up each year.

Ever wonder how the alewives got their funny name (And consequently how the store got it's name as well)?

Read all about it in our newest online newsletter right here.

See you again soon!

XO,

Rhea

Giveaway today on the blog "Stumbles & Stitches"

Hello all,

Do you like free Alewives Fabrics?

I'm assuming you do, so I will tell you there's a giveaway of particular interest over on Angel and Jenny's blog, "Stumbles & Stitches".

(Sorry folks, the giveaway is only open to US residents...)

Go forth and enjoy the gorgeousness that is the Pomegranate Fat Quarter Set!

(I made it myself!)

XO,

Rhea

The Royal Wedding

So sweet...
















I'll admit, I got up at 4:00 this morning to watch the whole thing...

Here's a link to a story that was on CBS Sunday Morning this past week about the Royal School of Needlework, who helped make some of the garments you saw at the wedding.

Enjoy your weekend (especially those of you across the pond!).

XO,

Rhea

Next quilting bee for Russ and Diana Williams

Hello everyone,


Just popping in to announce that the next quilting bee for Russ and Diana Williams (my neighbors who lost their home in a fire a few weeks ago... read all about it here), will be held this coming Sunday, May 1st from 12:00 to 5:00 pm.

If you came to the first one we would love to see you at this next quilting bee, and even if you were unable to attend the first bee, please feel free to come to this bee as well. Alewives will be providing a pizza lunch for all who attend, so bring your appetites!

Thanks again to everyone who turned out for the first bee: I cannot BELIEVE the gorgeous quilt blocks we turned out for not one, but TWO, beautiful quilts. I know Russ and Diana are excited about the quilts and so touched by the outpouring of support from the community. Let's turn those gorgeous blocks into quilt tops: I bet we can get them all done this Sunday!

If you would like to come, please call and we will write your name down so we know how much pizza to buy, but if you'd like to just surprise us and show up, that's okay, too!

See you there!

XO,

Rhea

Denyse and JoAnn and Me

File this under "For what it's worth," but I thought it might be a good time to confess that last Monday night, as soon as Ollie got home from work, I asked him to turn around and march himself right back out the door so that we could drive to the nearest JoAnn Fabrics together (it's 40 minutes away) and buy some of the new Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

Now, I know some of you out there might not even know that Denyse has a new line of fabric out that is only available at JoAnn stores (she does).

But I know there are quite a few of you out there who DO know about the new fabrics (it has been all over the internet this past week) and may be a bit confused as to why I would do such a thing as to drive straight out and buy from a chain store when I, myself, own a local fabric store.

And because I feel that everyone is entitled to my opinion (whether they want it or not), I thought I would share my thoughts on the whole situation.

I've seen a few comments on the internet and had a few discussions in the shop where people are concerned that designers like Denyse Schmidt and Liesl Gibson (both of whom are selling their fabrics and patterns at JoAnn stores) may ultimately hurt the smaller local fabric stores.

If you've read my post about "To Mardens or not to Mardens" then you know my feeling on the subject...

In my own weird, warped way, I do NOT believe that this turn of events will harm my business, but in fact, in the long run, it may be a good thing for my business. No need to rehash old posts.

And let us not forget that deep, down, underneath it all, the Alewivesgirl is just someone who loves fabric. If Denyse Schmidt has a new line available anywhere you bet your sweet bippy I'm running straight out to see it and feel it (and in this case, buy it) for myself.

Denyse would never put her stamp upon something that wasn't completely fabulous and the collection at JoAnn's is no exception. I have to point out, the quality of the fabric is lovely and the price was comparable to prices at my own shop.

In fact, I had a great time jumping in the car with Ollie, driving to the big(ish) city, grabbing my shopping cart and piling it up with the bolts from Denyse's new line. It was fun and good for me to be a shopper and not a retailer for a change and bring home some new fabric for the stash.

And okay, yeah, I did feel a little "smirky" when the lady behind the counter admitted she liked the fabrics but had never heard of Denyse Schmidt. My inner fabric snob was all "Mwa ha ha... of COURSE you haven't, you work at JoAnn's!" as I rubbed my hands together.

But I unfortunately have to admit that a lot of my customers and contemporaries have also never heard of Denyse Schmidt. The issue is by no means exclusive to JoAnn fabrics.

And am I super-jealous that I can't carry these fabrics in my shop? Yes! I would have bought this entire collection in a heartbeat (even the pink and yellow colorway that you can only get in Australia!), but them's the breaks and there are puh-lenty of other fish (and fabrics) in the sea.

But, I repeat, I do not think that this cross-marketing with chain stores will have a negative effect on my business. We will always provide different experiences for the customer and just like any other shops in my area, JoAnn's will always keep me on my toes and that is DEFINITELY good for my business.

And speaking of things that are good for my business, Denyse personally has done so much for independently-owned local fabric stores like Alewives Fabrics (remember when she came to visit us and teach her Improvisational Patchwork workshop?).

And I think she had an awful lot to do with a piece of happy news I wanted to share with you all:

I saw just the other day that Free Spirit will be doing a reprint of Flea Market Fancy this Spring.

Exciting, is it not? (I'm super-jazzed: take that, JoAnn's!)

But in all seriousness, chain-stores are not the devil. My goal is not for JoAnn's to fail; my goal is for my business to succeed and to be the best local fabric store it can be. If a new Denyse collection brought me to a JoAnn's store, whose to say it wouldn't bring a JoAnn's shopper to my store in the future?

So if you see me in the shop and you want to jibber-jabber about how cool the new Denyse Schmidt collection is, there's no need to be ashamed (yes, Tammy, I mean you!).

And if you want to call me later and ask me which section of JoAnn's has the Lisette patterns (yes, you again, Tammy) I will happily share that information with you.

Not only am I a rather open-minded and optimistic local fabric shop-owner (if I do say so myself), I am also an equal-opportunity shopper.

Moral of the story:

Denyse Schmidt is a very smart, very talented lady and if she would like to design a line for JoAnn Fabrics, then she absolutely has my support...

AND my 40% off coupon.

XO,

Rhea