Summer People, Summer Not...

I have been having THE best time at the shop lately. Everyone who has come in has had a smile on their face and been very complimentary of the shop and our fabrics and our projects and it's so nice to hear. Thanks so much to ALL of you who make this job so darn FUN.

And, I had a lovely time in Massachusetts. My floorcloth class was full of the same brand of people and they all made gorgeous floorcloths and were very fun to teach. I was talking with Rina about teaching the other day and we both agreed that so much of teaching is not about "teaching" but about "translating." So, I have pictures of the gals from Massachusetts with their projects: First there's Marlene, then there's Shauna and her mother Sallie, then MaryBeth and Marguerite, and finally Arlene and Linda. Thanks, ladies for being such a fun, sweet group and for putting up with my hoarse voice!!! Your floorcloths look Fabu!!!

And speaking of wonderful people, we have this new friend at the shop named Elizabeth and she takes our fabrics and does the neatest things with them. I cajoled her into letting me take a picture of her latest project, which are these throw pillows you see. Aren't they the coolest, most fun and funky things ever??? I'm in love with them, and inspired to make my own throw pillows to go with my decor when I move into the house.

Oh, and speaking of the house!!!... It's coming along great!!! In a few days, I will actually be moving in. That's not to say that the house is completely done and finished and ready, because it's not, but the bedroom and living room are done. My HUGE closet is done and the bathroom will very soon be done so when the bathroom is ready I'm moving in for good. In the meantime I'm moving bits and pieces of my stuff and preparing to take George up on his offer to build me all kinds of shelves and things in my closet.

In other news at the store, we're having a great time in Michaela's Machine Quilting Class. I earned the title of "Speedy Gonzales" when I actually completed my baby flannels quilt last night. It's sooo soft. And I've finished a couple of Turning Twenties that are going to be kits as soon as some fabric comes in that I need. I've started a new batik quilt that is going to be so pretty I think I shall cry. I'm keeping the machine quilters in business, I tell ya. Of course, we have the batik sale coming up. You DO know about the batik sale don't you??? June 30 through July 7 all batiks are buy 3 yards get 1 yard free. So, if you've been jonesin' for some batiks now is a great time to stock up. We've got an incredible selection. WAY too many to put on the web. And all kinds of 108" batik quilt backs and rayon batiks that are great for garments.

Fabric, in general, not just batiks have been pouring into the shop lately. It's like Christmas for us and we don't know what to make something out of next. Happy, happy days.

So, until next time I guess that's all I've got!!!

See you soon!

Love that Dirty Water...

Sooo....

I find myself back in Boston. Not as a student but as a teacher: I'm teaching the floorcloth workshop tonight at Cambridge Quilt Shop. The sox are in town as well. They lost last night. Pretty badly. As in, 12-2. But, as Mom says: Oh well, if you're gonna lose, you might as well lose big. And after all, tomorrow is another day.

It was so nice to come back and get to see Karen ( who was my "pretend Mom" and took me in while I was staying here in Boston for school these last three years). She has the quilt I made her on her bed and I can tell she and her husband Dan really love it, which makes ME very happy. I'll never be able to repay them for everything they've done, but making them a quilt was one thing I could do to show them how much they've touched my life. That and kick a little ass while I was at school (I just got my last set of grades: all A's, thank you very much). There was no way I was going to slack off when soooo many people were making sacrifices just so I could have the opportunity to go back to school. You feel very different about school when you're older: you realize how much is at stake and you really want to get everything you can out of it.

AnyHOO,.... I rant and I rave.

I had a very interesting car ride down here. A nice young gentleman in a sporty mazda CX-8 (bright blue!!!) was sending smiles my way on the turnpike: all the way from Kennebunkport to the exit for 495. I, of course, returned the smiles while trying not to get into a car accident. And at the rest stop in Kennebunkport there was a jazz band and all kinds of finger foods set up being served by waiters and waitresses in tuxedo jackets. It looked like a wedding reception but, as I saw no bride and groom I can only assume that they were trying to spruce the place up. Mission accomplished. And I saw Freida from our local jewelry store in Damariscotta. Err, rather, she saw me. I must have given her a blank look because I didn't even recognize her and further more wasn't even sure if she was talking to me, but she cleared everything up when she said "You're from my town!" and I said "You work at STARS!!!" Very funny, random encounter. I wonder where she was going... someplace glamorous I bet. And I wonder where Mr. Blue CX-8 was going. He left me at the Worcester exit, blowing me a little kiss. It's nice to know I still got it. He had a Red Sox license plate on his car, too, which truly makes him the perfect guy for me but I'm thinking he was maybe just a fignewton of my imagination. Either way, it perked the long ride up considerably, and like I said, I was VERY careful to pay attention to the road WHILE flirting.

Anyways, I suppose I should mozy... So many people to visit... so little time. I'm just enjoying this little bit of downtime before the craziness starts. It's going to be a whirlwind trip as I'm leaving for home at 6:00 am. Got to beat that early morning traffic and got to be at a meeting at 10:00 am in Nobleboro.

Wish me luck!!!

Rhea

PS... these are pix of Dan and Karen on their Harleys. Aren't they just the picture of bad to the bone?

Iris Day

Once upon a time, in my family, when I was 10 or 12 or so, we all had the Mid-winter blahs. It was February, I believe, and all Mainers get a little nutty around February due to the cold/lack of daylight/cost of heating fuel, etc, etc, etc. Anyways, my Mom had bought this little Iris that sat on our table top and never really bloomed, until one day, all of a sudden, in the middle of February, it bloomed a lovely, purpley-blue. My Mom, my brother and I declared it "Iris Day" and made it our own personal holiday and gave each other little gifts. And every year after that (for three of four years, anyways) we celebrated "Iris Day" and used it as an excuse to cheer ourselves up when there was really no other Holiday to look forward to. And all of this really has nothing to do with nothing, except that My Mom has a killer deep, dark Purpley-Blue Iris in her garden now and it blossomed the other day and gave me pause and made me very happy and reminded me of Iris Days past.

In other news, SOOOOOO much has been going on at the store. I know it's been a lil' bit since my last post but the craziness at the store was mostly to blame, and I'm glad it's been crazy. Happy/Crazy, not Crazy/Crazy. If that makes any sense. Here's a picture of our newest friend Lynn with her "Fresh Cut Floorcloth." She was one of the glas in our floorlcoth workshop this weekend. We've had oodles of classes (Machine Quilting, Two-fer Runner, Skrappy Sack, Floorcloth Workshop, and Doggie Leashes for the 8-12 year old set, not to mention Sewing Lounge which could be a whole footnote of craziness) and seen lots of old friends (Most notably my kindred spirit Robina from Vermont, who I KNOW is out there somewhere, sewing something fabu and reading this right now... HI ROBINA!!!) This is a picture of her in a "Turkish Dancer" jacket which she made from a pattern and fabric purchased at a GREAT little shop in Damariscotta Mills that I know. She brought in 2 little sprites (Anne and Olivia) who were new to the whole Alewives/Midcoast Maine thing. It was obvious they were having a magic weekend.

And the house is coming along slowly but surely. George says I will be able to move in in a few days, but I think not, as I'm sure I would have "Unfinished Kitchen" nightmares. I say, I'll move my stuff in and certainly "hang out" a lot more, but I shant be moving in until the kitchen is done. If I have a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen, I'm good to go. Remove one of these three key ingredients, and call me crazy, but it kinda takes the fun out of the whole thing. And when everything (meaning the upstairs, the downstairs, etc, etc, etc) is done (we're talking many more weeks, here, people) then I'm going to have a huge shindig/open house and really warm the place up. I'd love to invite Betty (the home's former owner) but I'm afraid she'd faint, it's so different.

And last but not least, i went to my little sister Johanna's art show last night. The whole school was decked out in everyone's art work. Kudos to her art teacher ( whose name eludes me at the moment) for doing such a great job, and the graphic designer in me apprecciated the way EVERY piece was mounted and matted and presented so attractively. It makes a huge difference and did not escape my attention. There's a lot of good energy going around in Johanna's little school. It sounds cliched, but it really does seem like a family there, and every student gets a lot of praise and support and all the benefits of a small school. Johanna's art work was great. She puts all kinds of little details in her art. My favorites were the clay Oyster shell mobile with dangling seahorse, sea otter, angel fish and dolphin, and the Conch Shell shaped color wheel. Other favorites by kids I didn't know were the Miro inspired "Pig Elvis" and a great take on Munch's "The Scream." There was also an adorable talent show. As a Bonus, on the way home, Mom and I stopped to get cold drinks, and on the eddy near their house there was amazing fog ("sea smoke" Mom calls it) hanging on after a thunder shower. The showers really cooled off the air and the sun came out for a view of the eddy I had never seen before. I had to pull over and photograph it. Just as I was pulling out, our friend Kim and her daughter Avae were pulling over to do the exact same thing.

It was a lovely ending to a lovely day!

Be back soon (I promise!!!) Class tonight with Michaela and the girls... I have to go do my homework!!!

XOXO

Rhea

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...

I mean, what kind of "Alewives Girl" would I be if I didn't post some pictures of the Alewives? So, this Memorial Day weekend was very memorable for me... I had an excellent Friday night with my good friend Michaela and an impromptu barbecue at the neighbor's on saturday... "relaxicab" on Sunday and work at the store and Lobster Rolls on Monday. Was it not the most glorious weekend in recent memory?

Oh, and I helped my Grandmother with my Grandfather's 80th birthday party on Sunday, too. My Grandfather, by the way, is the oldest boy of 11 brothers and sisters, all of whom are alive and all of whom are living within a 30 mile radius of one another and they are ALL full of the dickens. Very funny when that crew gets together. And my sweet little Grandmother, when the party shows signs of slowing and some of the people had gone home, looks at the 1/2 empty pitcher of fruit punch, looks at me and says "probably we should put some Vodka in there, don't you think?" I, of course, said yes, and summarily helped my Grandmother to spike the punch at my grandfather's 80th birthday party. "Big Girl's Punch," we called it and let me tell you, it does not get any better than that.

...Or does it? The Red Sox have won their last 5 in a row and when Trot Nixon came back to town (this time as a member of the Cleveland Indians) the standing ovation he got from the crowd and the smile on his face gave me a serious case of the warm and fuzzies. Then we beat them fair and square. It's a great game. Did you all get your free Mike Lowell picture in the Boston Herald this Sunday? I got two!!!

In store news, I have finished my very first self-designed quilt top. It's called a "picture frame" quilt, it's very simple and very pretty and one in what I hope will be a long line of self published patterns. I'll post a picture as soon as I get it quilted. I'm finishing up my Magic Tiles quilt and loooooving it. I also just started a Turning Twenty out of the new April Cornell's this month. I'm discovering that I work very well with two or three different projects going on at once, so if I get bored with one I can jump to the next and have little "palette cleansing" projects and still feel like I'm getting a lot done.

And, the biggest news of all is that Sewing Lounge starts tonight. I'm so jazzed to have the store open until 8:30 as there's a totally different energy there at night (what other Quilt Shops do YOU know that play "My Chemical Romance?"). My project tonight is going to be making a pair of PJ pants out of the blue on blue "Acanthus" fabric by Amy Butler. I made a pair out of her lacework fabric on Saturday and they were so cute and so easy it was ridiculous!!!

Anyways, hope to see lots of people there tonight. If half the people show up who've said they're going to it should be wild.

And now, I must go and mow my lawn.

Enjoy the pictures!!!!

XOXO

Rhea Rhea

Hot, Hot, Hot

It's gonna be a scorcher!!! 90 degrees today they tell me. Very excited about this... I'll be sick of it soon enough, to be sure, but in the meantime I love the first few TRULY hot days of summer and I bake all the coldness right out of me. And yesterday, the Alewives performed a little fish-y miracle and made an 11th hour appearance. I went for a walk around the Mills and was poking around the tippy top of the fish ladder and saw one little lonely Alewife make it up to the top. I was kind of depressed as I kept walking around the circle because I was thinking "Geez, I guess that was all for this year," and as I came around the bottom of the fish ladder I saw Frankie's car so I thought I'd stop and say Hello. Frankie, for those of you who don't know, is the Alewife King/Guru. he's kind of a local celebrity because every year he takes care of the fish ladder and he knows all there is to know about the Alewives. He's also my Grandfather's brother, which I guess would make him my uncle. Anyways, I don't see Frankie anywhere so I figure I'll just keep on-a-walkin' and just as I'm about to join the road again, who should pop out from in between two houses, but (you guessed it!!!) Frankie. He took me behind the houses and showed me a view of the fish ladder that I had NEVER seen before (about 3/4 of the way up) and showed me that there were thousands of fish that had just come in that morning. It was the huge rush of fish he had been waiting for and we were both so happy to see these fish it was ridiculous. He said the hot water made their eggs swell and that made their bodies bigger and THAT makes it easier for them to get up the fish ladder: it takes them two hours (as opposed to two days), so how do ya like them apples?

In other news, the summer people are REALLY starting to come back. We got back my good friend Donna on Monday and then yesterday my friends Jeff and Liz (The coolest "Quilting Couple" you will ever meet) came back. They got a tour of the house next door to see how the progress is coming along. I've gotten REALLY good at giving tours of that place. I think I missed my calling as real estate agent/museum tour guide.

Anyways, afterwards I sat out on my deck and let the Apple Blossoms fall on me as I read my Better Homes and Gardens and dreamed and schemed about re-decorating. It was the most relaxi-cab moment of the week.

Later on I went to see the third "Pirates of the Carribbean" movie in Boothbay with my friends Erin, Shawn(Y) and Dwayne. For the record, it was a GREAT movie. I was leary, because I loved the first one but the second one, not so much... so I was totally jazzed that the latest one was funny, romantic, action-packed and Keith Richards as Johnny Depp's father was priceless!!! Very good movie... I give it four bobbins!!!

And so.... I guess that's all until next time. Get out there and enjoy that weather!!!

xoxo Rhea
PS Happy 80th Birthday to my Grampa!!!
PPS Happy Anniversary to my Grandparents!!!
PPPS Happy Memorial Day!!!

Alewives Day and Mini Totes

Happy Monday guys...

















Even though there is sooo much construction going on in Damariscotta and I can't even cross the street to get to Reny's to see if they have geraniums for my sweet little grandmother, I'm still happy. Why? Because the sun is finally out, we had a great Alewives Day at the store and I have a brand new mini tote that I made at this weekend's workshop.

First things first: Alewives Day was a huge success and I had such a good time. And the best part is that you guys are the ones who made it successful... all the kids (and adults!!!) who had their faces painted (That's me painting Jennifer Genthner's face in the photo) and all those who came to see the DVD and bought merchandise to support the Alewives, you all did your part and had fun (I hope) in the meantime. So, thanks very much for coming out and it was great to see familiar faces and meet new ones and let's do it all again next year!!! A special thank you to Dr. Friedland (who donated procceds from the sale of framed and matted photographs and greeting cards of the Alewives), John Kennedy (who donated proceeds from the sale of his oil painting prints) and Jayne Dwyer (who designed exclusive Alewife pins just for little old us AND donated proceeds of the sale of her Paper Moon jewelry to the Alewives). I think it was most definitely a success (even though it was cold and rainy and I don't think there was an Alewife to be seen anywhere- except in our gallery!)

And second things second, I had sooo much fun taking (not teaching) a class yesterday!!! It's nice to be on the other end of things and now I know why everyone likes classes so much!!! We had a great workshop taught by guest teacher and real-estate agent extraordinaire Debby Schling, who taught us how to put a wicked snazzy lining into those Classic Mini Totes you get at Reny's. It was the perfect 2.5 hour project (which seemed, for some reason, to shock Debby when the timing worked out so perfectly) and everyone went home with a finished project. Even Mom, who had a sewing machine malfunction and had to "abandon ship" half way through the workshop and use Johanna's "Sewing Pretty with Hello Kitty" machine (which, for the record, is a really good machine) finished her tote. We taught Donna some "Maine" vernacular when Rina described her bag as "some cunnin'" (Donna is from Michigan and had no idea that "some cunnin'" meant "really cute," but she knows now!!!) and I learned how to use a seam-gauge ruler. It's a $1.59 tool that I had no clue how to use, but now that Debby showed me a practical use for it I'm sure I'll never be without one again. Debby was a great teacher and she put a new spin on sewing for me because she's self taught and looks at sewing very differently than I would ever be clever enough to do. She's wicked smaht!!! I am positive this workshop is going to be a keeper and I already want to make more: one $2.99 tote to match each pair of $2.50 Old Navy flip flops!!! Between the shoes and the totes and my $4.00 skirts from Target (which I have in a rainbow array of colors) I am all set for the summer!!! BRING IT ON!!!



Talk to you all again soon!!!

Rhea

PS... I cananot WAIT to watch the Sox v. The Yankees tonight!!! GO SOX!!!

Hole in the wall gang...

LITERALLY!!!

did you ever see such a hole in a wall? My stepdad, JD, decided that the upstairs bathroom in the "Alewives House" needed to be bigger and he wanted NO DOUBT as to which wall needed to come down in order to make that happen. So... the hole. I think he's just a little boy at heart and likes wrecking things and I must admit, there's a certain appeal to taking all your aggressions out on a wall and leaving a nice, satisfying hole in your wake.

In other news, I am all graduated. Last week was gorgeous, gorgeous weather in Massachusetts and I had a lovely late night stroll through the park with my girlfriends after the ceremony. It's a great memory that I'll always have. The next day we went to the Science museum and saw all kinds of great stuff, including a film about the Louisiana Bayou at the Omni Theater and a visit with the butterflies in the butterfly garden. Then we went on the Duck tours so I've had my dreams of being a pseudo-tourist fulfilled. And now that school is really and truly over I am diving in to projects of my own and projects at the shop. There is a great workshop this Sunday that is being taught by my friend Debby. She's teaching us how to put a lining in those cute little mini-totes that you get from Reny's (they look like L.L. Bean totes) so they are personalized to your liking and have little slots for pencils and checkbooks and the like. Very excited about that one. So, there will be more very soon, I Promise!!!

Coming next: Pictures of the Alewives as they do their Alewife-y thing!!!