mary e. robbins :: moth written

later that day...

...i finally put clothes on over my unionsuit (oh how i love love love a new red christmas unionsuit), and went out into the world with ms. longwinter and her magical two girls.  finally with some time to do anything besides holiday show and gift preparation, i am loving the chance to catch up with some favorite friends!  we dined on fine mexican pizza (remember when i told you about this recipe?  always good), and then went out for some children's museum action.  it was great.  i hadn't been to the children's museum since it was the OLD children's museum way back when i was...you know...still a child.  i don't remember where the old children's museum was...but i remember liking the 'store' part a whole lot (which they have in the new museum, totally awesome), and the 'bubble/water room,' which mandi told me still exists in the upstairs part of the museum--i'll have to see it next time i go...perhaps with little niecey?

the eldest longwinter young lady is exercising her independence in a big way, and i love seeing that.  look at her expertly handling this camera.  i am so impressed.  the hot cocoa we had later in the day was a little bit less expertly handled, but, meh, oh well.  any day that ends asleep in the backseat of a warm car with a hot cocoa 'stache is all around good by my terms.   and would you just look at wee longwinter's curly ginger hair?  swooning with envy, i am.  such a beauty. 

my bathroom smells amazing thanks to the continued work of longwinter's soapy wonderland...she has been working very hard the past few weeks and you should all be waiting with baited breath for the reopening of her shop!  get in line now... :)

as for me...i am back in the unionsuit, and just finished a cup of hot cocoa.  the day is looking great already.  thanks for coming to visit, yesterday, my girlies!

keeping it real.

i vow in 2009 to keep it completely real for you folks. 

thank you for a great year, filled with so many surprises and blessings.  holding our neighbors in gaza in the light -- choosing prayer and hope  to soothe the anger and disgust that so desperately wants to break out right now.  continuing the work, one word at a time. 

always a miracle.

our newest family member.  welcome welcome, marhabebbik yaa khetiti faye.  tkouni farhan bach bghiti inshaallah.  may you be happy, and have all that you want, god willing.   khala mary and habibi nabil love you. 

mary christmas.

when i was in kindergarten, a few days before christmas my teacher mrs. reynolds set up the easels, brought out the plastic cups, tempera paints, and brushes and let us all have at it.  that was during the time when we all wore old men's button up shirts backwards as smocks...if only i could look half as cute as any kid does in a paint splattered backwards men's button up shirt. sigh.  anyway, on that day, i was painting a picture and i asked my teacher to help me write out 'christmas.'  she told me the letters and i painted them, leaving a space for what i knew came before.  after i had finished this masterpiece of a long word, mrs. reynolds moved on to other students to help them.  i happily, confidently, went on to put the only word i had learned how to spell all on my own (and knew frontwards and backwards) in front of christmas.  mary christmas. 

after arriving at my mother's house yesterday for the holiday, i did not take one photo.  not one.   i just had to soak up every moment of niece mya's first real christmas--the first during which she was really able to open gifts.  luckily other family members were at the ready with cameras and i will be able to grab a few of theirs to share with you.  until then i can at least share these photos of gifts, now given.  the above three items were for my brother in law, sister, and father.  the neck warmers are quite simply stockinette stitch with three strands of yarn on the round, and finished off with 2x2 binding.  the hat for dad--well, it's hard to make a hat without the person there to check sizes!  it'll do for those cold days of snow blowing, dad, and you are too sweet to say that you love it :).  i took head measurements yesterday--and i can't wait to knit a more properly fitting one.

and mya's hat!  this is called the 'dopey hat' in the bernat 'learn how to knit' book from the mid 1960's, but i like to call it an elf hat, as little niecey is certainly not dopey. again, three strands of yarn, knitted on size 10 needles. 

...and...the stump desk!  i picked up this desk in the late summer from a fellow freecycler, wanting to re-finish it for niecey's first birthday in early september.  but in the momentum of show season, i did not get it done...and so it became a christmas project.  i am happy with how it turned out.  the woman from whom i picked up the desk said that she had originally gotten it from the mill store, and it was built for a 2 year old sized child.  niecey's feet still dangle from this, but luckily she will grow.  i sanded the desk down (it had been painted a few times already), primed it, and painted it with oil-based enamel paint.  that green?  it's the green used for john deere tractors.  i love that.  the paint brand is farm-x, or something to that effect. 

and as a gift to myself on christmas eve day i took an hour and a half and cut my hair and took a shower, always a joy and relief.

today we await the arrival of our newest family member.  dear sister smiled through a whole day of mild-moderate christmas contractions.  prayers and patience for a new life. 

mary christmas and a new baby new year.

eve-ing.

happy christmas eve!  i am happy, firstly, to report that gus is looking to be on the mend.  the meds are making him a bit tired and sluggish, but he is keeping his food down and eating well--notice the blurred action above as he furiously works to ingest every last lick of the broth he is drinking. ( he is getting a tad spoiled, i think...boiled chicken and ground turkey every day??  back to kibble for you soon, my friend).  i love this dog so very much, and i am glad to see him feeling better.  we are back to snuggling on the couch and that's good news!

last night i finished packing up the last of my holiday baked-good bags for neighbors and friends.  those who are out of range were sent some items earlier this week via usps, and hopefully they will arrive to you within a couple of days after christmas...?  hopefully.  extended holiday cheer. 
so i packed up the goodies in lunch bags (double layered, my favorite), closed up with wooden clothespins decorated with felt hearts (god bless my glue gun), and finished with some little cards i cut from gemini green cardstock.  here are the items that were hiding inside:

buckeyes :: inspired by best pal lisa, an ohioan and osu football fan

candy cane cookies :: an annual must with the mommykins

almond biscotti :: inspired by a desire to have something a bit less sugary and to include almonds--a favorite

peppermint bark :: inspired by a recent post by soulemama.

(what i have now named) salty bark :: um, one of those really simple recipes that is a tiny bit ghetto but oh so good.  a sleeve of saltines, butter, sugar, chocolate, walnuts.  yup.

and here i am!  i have almost made it to christmas day.  this sweater is encrusted with dough.  this morning, i woke up at 6:00 am, delivered packages, and knit a gift, all before 9:00 am.  now time to make lasagna to bring to mum's tomorrow, finish up a few crafty gifts, wrap, and hopefully trim my hair, which is quickly turning into full blown hockey hair.  or maybe i'll just wear headwraps all winter.  i've done it before.  ...and...most importantly, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest niece, due any moment! 
may your time of togetherness, family, and celebration be warm and joyful in the coming days.  i can't wait to share our own family stories with you, and  i hope you will share yours with me.  be well.

snowing, knitting, and diarrhea.

yesterday morning, as we awaited 'the storm of 2008' to hit, i knit this hat for nabil.  he was feeling sad that i had yet to make something for him, having spent hours and hours with me while i have worked on knitwear for others.  i was touched and flattered that he wanted a handknit hat...and of course, how could i say no?  so in just about 3 hours or so, i knit this one up, and he has been using it to keep his shaven head warm.  a very fitting gift for the first day of winter, and what a first day it was.  happy winter to all.

the snow started to fall, as predicted, a bit past midday, and continued on steadily all afternoon and all night.  gus was showing the first signs of stomach upset, and nabil and i took him up the street for a very brief potty outing and run in the whirling, swirling snow.  for a man who grew up in a hot climate, he has done remarkably well appreciating the snow, and tolerating its less lovely qualities--of which there are more than a few.  but after a lovely dinner with our neighbor margaret last night, with the lights turned low, the pellet fire roaring, and the twinkle lights brightening up our christmas twig, nabil and i snuggled under a blankie and watched the world whip and snap around us, marveling at our good fortune--warm and secure within the confines of our very own home.  how blessed we are.

the aforementioned stomach upset turned into an all-night affair for poor gus.  on the worst night of the winter thus far, we trudged every hour out through the thigh-deep snow, jumping into snowbanks to avoid the wings of the plow, to allow gus' stomach to empty itself, helplessly, in the middle of the street.  we are no stranger to diarrhea with gus--retired greyhounds have very famously sensitive systems, thanks to a steady diet of d grade meat on the tracks and the constant stress of confinement.  and so i did my best to give gus my love and support and to make sure that he was warm and protected and able to go out when he needed, sure that by morning he would be feeling better and able to eat breakfast.  breakfast came--boiled chicken and rice as the diarrhea diet commands...and went,  immediately, vomited out.  and blood came too.  so off we went to the vet's office, where gus broke my heart as he exuberantly kissed and nuzzled everyone despite his tired bloodshot eyes and slow gait.   the vet believes it is colitis and that he will be better in a jiffy after a few days on medication, which he took this afternoon willingly.  gus we love you.  be well soon, we need to make you a christmas costume!

shipping and 'tree.'

well.  i have been shipping away!  the above packages were what i brought to the post office on thursday night.  my secret love affair:  the automated postal center.  i forgo the lines at the post office during daylight (or even reasonably early evening hours) and head to the post office when the moon is high, driving through the deserted streets of my little city to the brightly lit post office, where nary a soul remains.  there i stand with my bags and piles of parcels, just me and the apc machine, swiftly and surreptitiously sending my little handmade items out into the world, never once worrying about the cranky line behind me nor turning to apologize--i save my lengthy transactions for the moments when i bother no one.  again i will say it--i love you, automated postal center.

***

with all most pressing orders shipped off, the bulk of the knitting finished, and a husband with a day off yesterday, i found myself unexpectedly un-committed.  nabil and i headed out in the morning with trusty gus to willard beach, where nabil dramatically and emphatically wrapped his face in no less than 10 swirls of a winter scarf...bemoaning the 'cruel and horrible' cold.  as a moroccan, nabil is genetically programmed to blame all of life's great treachery on cold.  vomiting?  must have been the cold.  hemmorhoids?  you sat on a cold surface, didn't you!?  fever?  surely you stepped out into a mildly cold breeze one sunny afternoon.  marital problems?  your house must be too cold.  on a hot summer day, please roll up the windows of the car, rendering us all crispy and burnt, for fear of a cool breeze.  yes, we are in the company of moroccans.  courant d'air, the bane of all existence. :)

little tangent there.  i could write volumes on the moroccan fear of cold, but i'll save it for another time.  there was that one instance in which i went to the hammam (public bath) and then to the beach afterward, and nabil's family was sure i was going to die.  (death from the cold!) ...  if only they had stood with me at the bus stop in high school with january maine wind on my cheeks.

ANYWAY.  after this wee walk with gus, nabil and i decided to look for christmas trees.  we had been thinking of a vintage aluminum tree for a long time, as we found the electric color wheel my grandparents had used in the 60's.  alas, since we were unwilling to pay more than 15 dollars for a vintage tree and thus unable to find one (hmmm, i wonder why?), we decided to look at some real trees and see if we could find something suitable. 

we didn't. 

it didn't feel right.  i couldn't justify it in my head.  the trees were cut down for a mere two weeks or so of beauty.  and i couldn't think of a way to make a real tree all ours.  so we left the tree place and came home. 

on our way, i looked out the windows of our wee saturn, scanning the damage from this past week's ice storm.  trees have been given new shape as limbs have fallen everywhere, and piles of brush line the roads.  the wheels began turning.

i came in the door, grabbed the hacksaw, and headed to the woods at the dead end of margaret street.  the neighbors had kindly left a beautiful pile of fallen limbs, wild and full.  there was my bare, beautiful christmas bough, fallen from grace.  perfectly imperfect.  for the rest of the day, i set to decorating . the snow started to fall.  and i listened to christmas music.

those silvery jangles?  moroccan bellydancing belts that nabil gifted me with.  our moroccan-american christmas bough, in all of its glory.

hello old friend.

growing up as a non-skiier in maine, the snow and i have had an historically tenuous relationship.  upon learning that school was cancelled: "dearest snow, i can't live without you!  how fluffy and robust you look this morning...have you been working out?  please, don't leave me!"  two hours later when the snow stopped falling, the temperatures dropped, and it was time to go outside and shovel the thousand mile long driveway: "snow it's totally over.  i don't know what i was thinking--who in hell told you that we would work?  your psychic was wrong, dude.  and eharmony doesn't have a clue.  didn't they notice how i mentioned that i love ocean swimming?  no..no.. i am not a polar bear.  it's over, snow."

...and then a few weeks later, when it was time for christmas...."snow, i am sorry!  forgive me.  i was experiencing a momentary lapse in reason.  snow, please look at me when i am talking to you.  do you see me here?  look at my sad eyes!  snow, i didn't mean it--it didn't mean anything--snow please. can't we work something out?"

...and on the morning of final exams..."dammit snow!  where the hell have you been?  i have been trying to call you for days and your cell has been off.  no...no...i keep getting the 'please enjoy the music' 'message and then barry manilow comes on.  SNOW!  oh, really?  well, i don't remember saying that.  here, i brought you some white roses.  snow...okay, okay.  here, i am totally vulnerable here-i stayed up until 4 am studying and eating hannaford brand tortilla chips and pretzels.  (they were kind of stale, too).  i need you snow.  there, i said it.  i need you."

now that i work from home and no longer have school nor a 1,000 mile long driveway to shovel, snow and i are okie doke with each other.  this morning he is back leaving a few beautiful inches on the ground.  welcome back, old friend. 

perhaps you can tell--?? i am a little punchy.  i am caught up in christmas creation!  (aka: eating chocolate chips, normally absent from our cupboards).  this year i have three specific treats planned--i'll share photos and recipes when they are made.  i did buy all the makings...so i am a step ahead!

crafting is happening in full effect.  i was up until 2:30 making.  i love it! 

and last night i felt grandmother mary ella gibson with me as i taught myself to crochet, and finished up a new project which is to be a gift.  i really feel that i can hear her when i study her knitting books, despite never having known her voice.  i just know that she is smiling with me as i continue to learn, giving encouraging words.  the project i worked on last night was from this book, and no, brother in law heath and dad, you can breathe a sigh of relief--i did not make either of you that ear warmer.  heh heh.  if you ever get the chance while out thrifting, take a gander at some old knitting and crocheting books--the photos are priceless.  sigh.  hoping that your christmas creating is finding you well!

updated...there's still time!

whew!  having officially finished the rockin' 2008 craft fair season, i am happy to share with you my new (& classic!) designs, printed on super soft, sweatshop free, fair wage american apparel t shirts.  hooray!  i worked feverishly today to iron, photograph, and update the shop for those who would like to purchase readymade moth designs for christmas.  and yes :: there is still time to order!  i am accepting orders through saturday, december 20th, and heading to the post office every day, where all orders will be shipped via priority mail, free of any extra shipping charges to you, dear hearts. 

and so here are some of the new designs that came with me to the shows, and are now available to you!

'no gas no guns' (unisex and women's)

'strength' (unisex and women's)

'cloud, lightning, heart' on royal (women's only)

red and brown saadiyya carryall

striped saadiyya carryall.

...and there are others to see as well there!  go see and tell me what you think!

thank you for your amazingness.  as we head into this last week before christmas (how did that happen?), i am buckling down to creating for family and friends.  more fun to come!

holiday bliss 2008.

forgive me if you are tiring from seeing photos of craft shows...yesterday marked the end of the 2008 holiday show season for me, so new sorts of images will be on the way! (likely to include me covered in flour, with multiple oven burns on my forearms.  does anyone else have this terrible oven burn curse??).  in any case.  yesterday was the holiday blissful revolution show at the northdam mill in biddeford, maine.  oh how i love this venue.  this sprawling mini-city of shut-down converted blanket mills is home to artist studios and gorgeous lofts of the most wonderful industrial sort.  in an alternate dimension, i would love to live there among the many uber awesome who have already nested.  it pushes me to really get to work on setting up my dream basement studio!

the day was good.  dear mum came with me in the morning to help set up and offer support--thank you mum!  it makes everything so much nicer to have mum there.  it's true--a peanut butter and jelly sandwich always tastes best when it comes from your mother's hands.  and thank you to my lovely neighbor with her gorgeous ceramics for the chats...it was great to meet you!  i also met (for the second time!) beth of longstocking design, whom i had first chatted with at the valley street dog park one recent cold morning as our pups ran out their energy.  little did we know that we were both busily creating our own silkscreened goodness.  i love the smallness of the world.

i was also overjoyed to see happy moth designs customers return from shows past--it is the greatest compliment to know that the designs are enjoyed and for customers to come visit, noticing the new designs.  i had the chance to catch up a bit with meg and lytfi, which was wonderful.  and my sister, who visited me in the afternoon bearing a giant hot sugary beverage (BLESS YOU DEAREST SISTER CARRIE!!), had the chance to speak with meg about the yoga classes she teaches at portland power yoga.  if you are looking for a yoga center, check them out!  meg would certainly be my instructor of choice--lytfi and meg are warm and genuine.  it was so nice to see you both. many congratulations are in order for megan as well, whose littlest babe has been born!

folks are so kind to take note of the neatly piled shirts...and i gladly shared with them that indeed, i watched the entire first season (not just one show, the whole season) of the office when i was folding those shirts.  it's a semi-obsessive labor of love.  thanks for your appreciation.

at the end of the day nabil and our good pal soran came to offer support and enjoy the spirit of the day.  soran is such a good friend--we love you soran!  thank you for coming.  and you see that newspaper on nabil's leg?

....

moth designs had a little ad in there!  the 'guide to the seasons' edition of the portland phoenix includes this little color advertisement for moth designs, sandwiched right between loving anvil and boom chick-a-boom, two lovely ladies with whom i am proud to be shown.  don't forget to visit the brand new loving anvil shop in biddeford on washington and main, and to visit the lovely molly of boom chick-a-boom at her website.  our crafting community is full of smart, beautiful, lovely people--i feel so lucky to know you!