mary e. robbins :: moth written

making.

just a couple of images from what has recently been made for bazaar bizarre, coming up next weekend!  fresh off the sewing machine and printing press (errrr, um, my kitchen table).  i can't wait to share these items with you in person at the show! 

i just need to sleep a little bit between now and then...

thanks, squared.

this year we had thanksgiving two days in a row.  on thursday we celebrated with family, and friday with friends.  truth be told, the feasting began on wednesday, as i spent several hours baking four pies--during which i first tried to pour 9" filling into 8" pie plates, necessistating the ingestion of extra pumpkin pie filling.  i then used a bowl too small for the amount of whipping cream i intended to whip, thereby forcing me to whip with one hand on the blender and quickly eat spoonfuls of whipped cream with the other (lest the whipped cream spilleth over and go to waste--horrors!).  amazingly, my stamina for thanksgiving holds up beautifully--allowing me not only to enjoy (heavily) on thursday, but to follow up with leftovers that night and the next (yesterday) morning...and to then do it all over again in the afternoon...and eat pie for breakfast this morning. 

we are thankful for so very many things this year, family and friends topping the list.  here listed are just a few other things for which we are grateful (in no particular order):

president elect obama

health

our wee niecey and new niecey on the way

the pellet stove

gus

rummage sales

the u.s. postal service

the u.s. department of immigration and naturalization

the beauty of maine

etsy

hannaford

the south portland library

our little mighty saturn

home

warm blankets

love

msn instant messenger and our webcam

cumin, paprika, parsley and cilantro

our grill  (cooking, not dental)

not having had to take my wisdom teeth out yet

freecycle

our new shower walls and curtain

the portland greyhound meetup group

greytalk.com

the awesome local hardware store

...of so many many other things, these were the first that popped into my mind.  and you?  what are you thankful for this thanksgiving?

not a hotel.

when we first moved into this home, there were squirrels living in the walls.  they had been living in the house for a good solid two years or so : during my grandmother's last year here she slept downstairs, and her hearing was declining, so she was essentially unaware/unbothered by these animals wreaking havoc in the crawlspaces of the second floor.  sigh.  the house was then empty for nearly a year following my grandmother's move to an assisted living facility, and with no noises nor disturbances, the squirrels set up home in full glory. 

by the time nabil and i started coming here to work on the house during the months before we moved in, the squirrels had formed a strong community, family, and alliance.  we rented and borrowed havahart traps (see below!) for weeks, trapping, researching, scheming...to outwit these small grey creatures.  we trapped several early on--no doubt the dimwitted ones.  this necessitated several jars of peanut butter and many many raucous trips across the bridge, over the water to portland to release one very angry trapped squirrel at a time into the park--hoping that water would keep them from returning.  we then fruitlessly attempted over and over again to capture the smart squirrels, keeping vigil outside crawlspace doors, awaiting the satisfying SNAP of the door and ensuing rattle.  it seemed that we would hear only the SNAP forever, the squirrels having duped us again...taken the bait without getting trapped.  my blood pressure soared.  but eventually, nerves ragged from weeks of failed efforts, we rid the house of the wee scratching chewers, and i was finally able to clean out the mothballs i had thrown everywhere in vain.

two years later, they are back.  here we go again.  nabil came downstairs this morning and said 'mary, we have squirrels again.' 

sigh.  off i went to the hardware store to rent the trap, and out came the mothballs.  we need to buy one of these things.  seriously.  i'll keep you posted on the efforts.

yup.

alright, i admit it...when i am tired and have too much to do, i get whiney and cranky and really not very fun to be around at all.  more than that, i become increasingly unproductive as each earth shattering minute achingly passes.  and yet i remain awake.  making empty promises to myself that "in thirty minutes i will get back to work.   ...um, i mean 45.  okay an hour.  wait?  didn't i say after i read two more chapters of my book?  i totally have to finish that knitting.  crap."

and so, yeah...yesterday was hard.  i was tired.  the day ended with nabil coming home from his soccer coaching class, me covered in ink and whiney, the sink full of dirty dishes, nothing cooked for dinner.  bless nabil, he complained none, and set to making some food.  as we ate, i laid my head on the table and fell asleep.   i feel much better today.

things to do when you are tired and avoiding work (tried and true by mary e. robbins) ::

1.  grab the jar of peanut butter, a knife, and anything heavy with carbs.  sit in front of the computer and browse blogs, ingesting.  repeat.

2.  start a new knitting project.  you know you aren't going to finish it anytime soon, so why not just start one more project?

3.  take dog/cat/hamster out for walk.  if you don't have any of these, put a leash on a stuffed animal and bring it outside.  it might work.

4.  whine and swear.  i highly encourage the second over the first.

5.  open the refrigerator and look way into the depths, over and over again.  seek cheese, olives, and bread. 

6.  bribe your dog with treats, fruitlessly attempting to get a head on photo. 

yup.  remember, these things must be practiced regularly to achieve perfection.

cheery, bleary.

somehow it became the week before thanksgiving.  what??  in just one week i will be making more pies than any family should ever ingest in one day, and getting ready for the marathon month ahead that will henceforth be known as "project sanity."  in the meantime, i have been doing much of the above--screening!  bazarre bizarre is fast upon us, and my excitement/overwhelm-ment (is that possible in english?) is peaking.  eep!  oh the details, how i love thee...oh the time...how thee i detest.  oh fatigue how i curse thee!  oh sleep how i bless thee, fleeting as thou art.

so.  yes, bazaar bizarre is coming on december 7th, at the castle at park plaza, 101 arlington street, boston, MA 02116.  i will be there with bells on!  and many many moth designs arabic t shirts.  and some saadiyya carryalls and naima totes.  and perhaps some homemade brownies.  and DID I MENTION...finally...(TA-DA!!), moth designs is now printed on sweatshop-free, fair wage, american-made, super soft american apparel t shirts!  all of the shirts i will be bringing to the bazaar bizarre will be american apparel.  wee hoo!  until i can update the etsy shop, shirts ordered there will continue to be the lovely strong gildan standbys.  but if you want to special order an american apparel shirt from the shop, please let me know!  it will be just a few days extra wait for you.  the combination of water based, eco friendly, non toxic inks and american apparel t shirts is a match made in heaven.  so please, by all means, come visit nabil and me at baz biz!

also right now:  taking care of my uncle's dog kala for the week, and awaiting the momentary arrival of wee niecey for a brief stay while her mum, my dear sis, goes in for a check up -- 5 weeks and counting until niecey number two arrives!

earliest.

here is the earliest hand silkscreened arabic t shirt i owned, created by dear friend darby.  i learned silkscreening as a camp counselor at friends camp, a small quaker overnight camp in south china, maine.  i didn't learn it at nyu, where i studied studio art in large studios with expensive presses and professional instructors.  i didn't learn it for a class assignment, and i didn't go through a series of tutorials.  i cut my stencils in oaktag or old manila folders with my fellow counselors and pals at my side during days off, and screened on old shirts left behind by campers uninterested in tie dye day.  (really, i didn't blame them).  i focused on the message and immediate gratification, laughing with friends, creating community with designs.  this very simple manner of design, in its earliest forms, has carried through to where i am today--where ink selection, shirt quality, and print register matters much more than it ever did, but ultimately, the message still trumps all. 

darby created this shirt for me in the summer before i went to morocco for the first time, just a year past her own return from many months lived in east jerusalem with the amazing friends world program.  i wore the shirt proudly and often, and everywhere i went, moroccans would approach me or pass by, reading my shirt aloud, calling out 'anah ohebou falasteen!...' i love palestine. 

this photo was taken at the hassan II mosque in casablanca, with good pal gillian davis at my side.  from those earliest days of travel and design, i take my inspiration--powering my heart forward.

shop love!

hey!  so.  i am kicking back into creation drive...  today i passed along most (nearly all) of my existing inventory to these two lovely shops, opening very very soon right here in the wild wonderful world of maine.  for those of you who may have been hoping to nab one of those readymade shirts or fresh off the machine totes/carryalls in the shop--my goodness i am sorry!  but if you are near to biddeford or damariscotta, jeepers you are in luck because there you will find them, carefully tended to by their lovely new shop owners, ms. coco corral of loving anvil, and ms. liza morrision of kindred.  how amazed i am by the talents of these women--by the talents of so very many women taking on this added role of brick-and-mortar shopkeeper, following that of mother, wife, designer, artist, online-shop owner...the list is far to long to write here in completion.  suffice it to say that i know some very awesome women, whose superpowerdom never ceases to inspire me.  that they have called upon me to supply some of my wares--be still my heart--!  thank you coco and liza...my moth designs items are given into your hands with love and care, and the complete faith that they will be more than just fine, shining on the shelves of your new sparkly corners of the earth.

this holiday season, won't you buy handmade?  yallah yallah...

nostalgia.

i was 12 years old in this photo.  sitting in my best friend's bedroom, laughing, probably listening to nirvana or hole.  ever since ms. courtney love purchased some jewelry from maryam, i have had a running thread of 'violet,' 'lake of fire,' and 'come as you are' pacing the halls of my mind.  memories.  when i look at this photo, i notice several things...long hair, round wire glasses, ring on the index finger, tanned arms...times past.  when best friends meant everything in the world.  when weekends were a two day marathon of sleepovers, 2 am brownie mix and black and white movies, first cigarettes, empassioned crushes, endless conversation, purposeful ripping of jeans and staining of shirts, black eye makeup and painted nails, wonderings about the next year of school, trips to the mall, thrift shopping with mom, attempted seamstressing and hairdressing, and the everpresent comfort of female companionship, so very very important.  

i am 27 now, and much of my time is spent in quiet solitary work, so far from the days of school when i wished to be anywhere but in class.  an early nineties grunge dream of bleached hair, combat boots, and old converse.  i love that i still have old boots and converse in my closet, and that i still remember the lyrics to curt and courtney's earliest songs.  long live the pacific northwest that so shaped me here in the east.

visiting.

over the weekend, a cold settled into my chest, but warmth filled our home.  maryam of the hand of fatima and her family made the 6 hour trek from west harlem to maine for a weekend of friends, fog, beach, lighthouses, and lobstah.  i am honored in this life with the friendship of so many wonderful, talented, loving people--and when they make the trip to maine it means more to me than i can say.  thank you, maryam, arian, amir and rami for coming to stay. 

maryam gifted me with the beautiful shawl shown above, as well as the too cute for words little red bird hanging above it.  she knows my colors. 

four years.