Do I get a Mulligan???

Hi guys...

Happy Wednesday morning.

Well, THIS post should have been called "The light, the light," because just look at what appeared over a certain fabric store in Damariscotta Mills after some thunder storms rumbled through yesterday. Gorgeous. In that light, even the bird poop on the roof was beautiful. Yes, I'm serious. It's a Damariscotta Mills thing.

In other news, we have BRAND NEW CLASSES listed on the classes page of our website. You should definitely check those out, as they are already starting to fill up and I haven't even sent out the class newsletter yet.

We have begun the process of building a whole new website, too. In a few months we will be able to sell fabric and kits to all of our customers through our website. That's very exciting for me. It's been a long time coming, but we are sooo going to do it right.

Oliver and I are having a big Barbecue at my house this Saturday night. If you're in the area please feel free to stop by any time after 6:00. I'm serious about that, too. Another Damariscotta Mills thing, I guess.

I went to see "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Maine State Music Theater this past Thursday. It was great. They always do a really good job at Maine State. My favorite part was Mary Magdalene's HUGE sunglasses in the beginning.

And last but not least, if you are AT ALL a fan of music, you should get yourself a copy of the new Mason Jennings CD, "In the Ever". He is what would happen if Lou Reed had a love child with Jack Johnson. Intrigued? You should be!!! The song "Fighter Girl" is my current fave.

Have a great rest of the week, I wish a rainbow over all of your houses!!!

XOXO

Rhea

The light, the light...

Hello one and all,

It was brought to my attention recently (and rightfully so) that I hadn't blogged as of late. You know who you are (Freixenet and S'mores by the fire... 'nuff said), if you are the one who brought this to my attention, this Post is for you, so you'll have something to read when you're fooling around at work and so desperate for entertainment that you read my blog.

I recently made curtains for my bedroom. This was a last minute job. I was at the shop with about a half an hour left on the clock when all of a sudden I decided that I absolutely COULD NOT live with the curtains that were in my room for a minute longer. So, I grabbed an April Cornell woven stripe from Moda (Not a new fabric, by any means, but one that I had been eye-ing for quite a while), and did some quick math in my head and some "Guesstimating" and hunkered down.

Fast forward to 30 minutes later: Voila! Instant set of three matching curtains that I couldn't love any more if I HAD planned the whole thing out. The best part is the afternoon light as it filters through these curtains. It is dee-vine. It makes the whole room golden-glowy. Over time I'm actually hoping that the curtains fade from the soft pink they are now to an ivory color. Either way works with my trusty LemonGrass Green from Benjamin Moore. This is the best color ever: it is green, but a warm, yellow-y green, so it actually works as a neutral. There is NO color out there that doesn't look great next to LemonGrass Green (Think about it, it's true!).

Anyways, this is NOT the golden late afternoon sunlight I spoke about earlier in these pictures: more like a grey, overcast, mid-morning light, but you still get the idea. If you look closely, you can even see my laundry in the "hula-girl" hamper!

It's been a successful mini-makeover, I'd say. Not bad for 30 minutes, eh?

See you again soon

Rhea

Oliver+S: Chapter 2

All done!

Actually, I was done late last week. Who woulda thunk that finding the time to blog about the Swingset Tunic and Skirt would take longer than actually making them in the first place!

Well, I am happy to report that this pattern is very fun to stitch together. I had a couple of head-scratching moments, but don't let that fool you into thinking the pattern was hard (It's definitely not). Just remember: a garment sewer, I am not. If I can make this pattern, ANYONE can.

In fact, this pattern took some of the mystery out of garment sewing for me and I learned a lot. The best part is that the finished outfit is soooo cute and professional looking. I love things that look home-made, but it is so nice when a garment (or bag, quilt, etc.) looks so "real" that somebody asks you where you bought it, and you can proudly proclaim that you made it yourself. But homemade things are always better: they last longer and you know that nobody in the world has an ensemble like that.

My favorite details on the Swingset Tunic are the pretty little gathers at the neckline, and of course the buttons at the back. I have no children of my own, but have 4 siblings who are atLEAST 15 years younger than I am, so it is safe to say that I have had a LOT of practice dressing little ones. Remembering my days of battling with buttons, I stitched a snap in place at the top of the Tunic Back and stitched the buttons in place just for decoration. That was the only modification I made to the pattern. Maybe I'm thinking ahead to the days when I DO have little bodkins of my own, but a "one handed in & out" sounded like a good idea to me. A "quick release," if you will.

The best thing about the skirt (besides how quickly it came together) is the elastic waist/drawstring waist combo. Practical AND stylish. What more could a gal want for? AND, as I was feeding elastic through the waistband, I had a moment of realization that I was probably learning how to smock at the same time. How about it Leisl? A smocked bodice in the next round of patterns? I think I'm ready.

The fabric for the Tunic is Fresh Squeeze by MODA and the fabric for the skirt is Dandelion Girl by MODA woven. Both very cute, classy, and easy to work with. I also reverse lined everything (The Tunic is lined in green and the skirt is lined in the little oranges) because -I've said it before and I'll say it again- I'm a details kind of gal.

Anyways, this has been a very good sewing experience for me. And, judging by the way the Oliver+S patterns have been flying out the door, it will be a good experience for other people, too.

Have a GREAT Memorial Day Weekend and if you're in the area you should MOST DEFINITELY come to the Fish Ladder Restoration Festival here in the Mills this Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There's going to be ALL KINDS of food, face painting (by yours truly) a showing of the Alewives Documentary, an Art Sale, have your picture taken with the giant Osprey (Trust me, you WANT your picture taken with the giant Osprey), and all kinds of fun and games. AND, it's all for a good cause: to help the Alewives keep doing what they do and get up that river in style!

See you next week!

XOXO

Rhea

Oliver+S: Chapter 1

Being the epicenter (or atleast vying for the title) of all things cool and hip in Midcoast Maine, we would be completely remiss if we didn't carry these totally cute new Oliver+S children's clothing patterns. We have the entire line in stock and so far, we are the ONLY shop in Maine to carry them. I read Leisl Gibson's blog regularly (www.disdressed.blogspot.com) and I am a huge fan of anything she does. It all turns to gold, and Oliver+S is her brand new company.

What do I like about these patterns? LOTS of things. I admit, I am partial to the name Oliver. Also, I am a sucker for great packaging, and these patterns are very well presented (each one comes with it's own cute paper doll for your little one- or you - to cut out and play with) and the instructions are well written and easy to follow. But even without the great name and presentation, I would still have fallen in love with the pattern line: these outfits are a great "fit" with our store (pun INtended), and they come in sizes that range from newborn to 5T. I have decided to make the "swingset tunic and skirt" for a display at our store and will keep you in the loop as to how it sews together.

I still haven't narrowed down my fabric choices yet, because new and wonderful stuff is arriving every time I turn around. I'm leaning towards the new "Fresh Squeezed" line by Sandy Gervais for Moda. Very cute and summer-y.

I would eventually like to make all of the outfits from the line to have on display at the store, but you know: one step at a time and all that jazz. Stay tuned the next few days as I chronicle the progress made on the "swingset tunic and skirt" by Oliver+S and thank you, Leisl for making these great new patterns!

Look WHOT I did...

(That post title is an inside joke for all those of you who like SNL's imitation of Sean Connery on celebrity Jeopardy. For those of you who have NO CLUE what I'm talking about, just take it at face value and pay me no mind...)

So, I actually finished a project yesterday. Ta-Da! But seriously, the sewing: soooo much fun. At the store I'm always waiting on people and running errands and checking e-mails and all that jazz and sometimes it seems like years before I get to actually sit down and sew something. When I do get to sew, the reaction is always the same: "Hey, this is really FUN!!!"

To that end, yesterday I finished my very own Amy Butler "Anna Tunic." I made the mini-dress version as I am very fond of wearing dresses OVER my jeans. Big fan of that look. It's funky, feminine, practical AND comfortable. What more could you ask for in an outfit? So I was very excited to make up this pattern, especially when the new Amy Butler "Midwest Modern" fabrics came in.

Imagine my delight when the pattern turned out to be VERY EASY and fun. I already have plans in the works for making MORE "Anna Tunics" because I'm thinking I need one for every day of the week. Summer is oh,so upon us and I can't think of a better ensemble for a fabric-store kind of gal like me. I used the "Trailing Cherry" fabric with the "Happy Dots" for the lining (I'm a details, funky-lining kind of gal, too) and did I mention there are NO zippers or button holes to put in? Just some lovely loops and shank buttons- nice touch!

Here are some pics: It's very hard to take pictures of yourself and I'm waay too shy to enlist the help of somebody else (Tyra Banks I am not!) so these'll have to do.

Floorclothapalooza '08

I think the photo of the floorcloth, paint brushes, hair dryer and cake says it all...

Years from now when I am old and gray I will look back on the last few days of April 2008 and remember it fondly as the first ever Floorclothapalooza, where between my mother and I, we taught over 30 people in less than 48 hours how to make a floorcloth.

The fabric floorcloth has definitely been my Mom's baby.

It's origins are kind of funny and very original to our particular situation at the shop. I'm quite confident that my mother, Barbara Neeson, is the only fabric store owner in the WORLD who does not like to sew. She does, however, love FABRIC and is really quite sneaky about finding ways to use fabric that don't include needle and thread, and that is how our fabric floorcloth was born. Being an art teacher for the past 30 years, Mom is much more of a "cut and paste" kind of gal. And who can blame her? When you treat fabric like cut paper and introduce acrylic gloss (again, I'm pretty sure that we are the only fabric store in the world stocking acrylic gloss), you get instant gratification. And who doesn't like a little instant gratification these days?

To that end, we have been teaching OUR method of fabric floorcloths (there ARE other techniques out there, and floorcloths have been around for CENTURIES, but I'm partial to our method, I'll admit!) for the last 3+ years. I've lost count of how many times we've taught this class and how many people we've taught it to. Mom started teaching it here at Alewives and imparted her wisdom on me. When I was working at the Cambridge Quilt Shop in Cambridge, MA, I taught the workshop there many, many, many times (Ironic footnote: I probably taught the class 6 or 7 times before I actually MADE a floorcloth! That's right... I faked it!) We've demo'd our technique at the Maine Quilt Show (and sold out of our stock!)and are demo-ing again this year. And this past weekend we broke our own record for number of people taught in 2 days.

We taught the floorcloth class at the shop on Sunday and then had a LOVELY time demonstrating and teaching for the Gals of the Gardiner quilt guild on Monday night. Thanks so much to Nena Cunningham for hooking us up and arranging everything. It was very fun for Mom and I. I feel like we made a lot of friends and we DEFINITELY had some good cake! You gals know how to rock and roll with the baked goods.

I think people get a kick out of our unusual Mother/Daughter dynamic. I always say that I am the Bert to her Ernie. The Oscar to her Felix (I think I have that right: I am Jack Lemmon and Mom is Walter Mathau, at any rate). The Moe to her Curly. In other words, Mom is the artsy, free-spirit, think-outside-of-the-box type and I am the OCD, strait-laced, type-A, anal-retentive-to-the-Nth degree type. It's true. They call me the "Folding Nazi" at the shop and have learned to put up with my Napoleonic ways (It's for the best, people!) and like me anyways.

But enough about that. To everyone who made a floorcloth this weekend, I salute you! Congratulations on participating in Floorclothapalooza '08.

Next year I will get some T-Shirts printed up and sell them at the concession stand at intermission.

Daddy's little tax deduction...

Yes, it's true. I'm afraid that this past Monday, April 14th, I turned another year older. This birthday was actually a bit of a milestone for me, as it marks my 10 year anniversary into the cuh-razy world of quilting and sewing and fabrics.

How did it all happen? I wandered into Alewives with my friend Amy and we were bound and determined to make our own shoulder bags, regardless of the fact that we had absolutely NO CLUE what we were doing. And when I say NO CLUE, I mean NO CLUE. I didn't even know how to thread a machine. I thought bobbins were something you went fishing with, and I thought $7.95 was the price for a whole bolt of fabric. That is, until Maia Hart (The store's previous owner and the gal who hired me) informed me that $7.95 would only get me 1 yard of fabric. Whoops. Silly me. Well, for some crazy reason it came out that Maia needed someone to work at the store and I needed a weekend job and the very next week I was given a key and began work on my very first quilt: a pink and green "Log Cabin." Ten years later I still have the key, the quilt and the job. I've got a little tear in my eye just thinking about it now...

Over the years, my life has been changed dramatically because of the store. Everything good in my life I have because I started working here 10 years ago.

For example (ahem, ahem):

• First and foremost, my knowledge of quilting and sewing.

• My AMAZING group of friends is made up almost completely of people I met through the store. Usually because I was their teacher and they were in one of my Turning Twenty classes. I always said that when I saw another young person in Maine, it was like seeing a Unicorn: this mythical creature that you didn't believe actually existed. But they do exist, and they started coming out of the woodwork over the last few years. This past Christmas, I went to a party at my friend Erica's house. Erica was one of my "Turning Twenty" girls. My other friend, Kristine (another Turning Twenty girl), came up alongside me and she said "Everyone at this party is here because they went to Alewives. This is the house that Rhea built." And I guess I like to think that's true.

• I found my teeny, tiny little hole-in-the-wall graphic design school because one of our fabric salesmen gave me his old design school brochures. Otherwise, I would have NEVER found a school like that and been forced to go to some big, bad institute of higher learning where I surely would have been lost in the shuffle. Nobody wants to be lost in the shuffle!

• I got my first apartment through a customer at the store who alerted me to a spot that would be opening up in her building. That was a great first apartment, and now, 10 years later, I have a HOUSE because of the store (conveniently located within oh, say...20 feet of the front door of Alewives). The commute is killing me...not.

• I met my boyfriend Oliver (and this is a TRUE story) because he came into the shop. You would think that a Quilt Shop would be a very unlikely place to meet a man, but meet a man I did when he came in to buy felt for the flags on his ice-fishing traps (of all things!!!) and he's been in my life ever since. I think I truly snagged him when he saw my impressive domestic skills with the needle and thread ;)

• And finally, I have a GREAT, very rewarding, very fulfilling job to this very day because I wandered in here all those years ago. Who knew that I would still be here? Not me, that's for sure, but here I am and here I shall stay.

And to prove that things really do come full circle, my friend Amy (the other gal who wandered into Alewives with me 10 years ago) now lives in Boston. I saw her Dad just the other day for the first time in many, many years.

"Rhea," he said. "How are you, what are you up to these days?"
"I'm good. I'm working at Alewives," I replied
"Oh, you're not RUNNING that place yet?" He said sarcastically.
"Actually," I said, grinning, "I am."

And that's the truth!

Happy Birthday/Quiltiversary to me: let me know how YOU got into sewing and quilting. When, exactly, was it that you "Drank the Kool-Aid?"

Hope you all got your taxes done!!!

Sincerely,

Daddy's little tax deduction

(AKA Rhea)