i am somebody

i wonder if i was one of those kids… sitting in front of the tv… enthralled with jesse jackson… and repeating this awesome affirmation… and realizing that i am somebody…

 

found via… racialicious

it’s halloween… it’s halloween… it’s time for scares… it’s time for screams…

i’m not a big halloween person… but, i do enjoy listening to this song…

and watching the halloween episode of this show…

and this movie… (of course)

and taking spooky photos with my fella…

happy halloween y’all…

(and remember it’s daylight savings!  we get an extra hour… whoo hoo!)

which color leather?

i’m in the midst of thinking about and beginning to make my christmas gifts… and well, i’m just stuck on which color leather to choose…  i’d rather not say what the leather will be as several folks i know who are often recipients of gifts made by me read this blog… (okay… per request… and, so you may help me- thank you- what i’m making is a case/ bag type thing… i think that’s all i want to giveaway for now though)

so, please help!!

(dark brown, purple, teal, burgundy, or yellow?)

(grey, navy blue, or that other color which name i cannot remember…?)

(thank you!)

lately…

i’ve been enjoying…

cooking in our kitchen…

reading natalie and luke’s blog and wishing we lived closer to eachother…

candle pin bowling downtown in our lovely little town…

knitting… knitting… and knitting!  (i’m working christmas gifts and a sweater…)

taking long hot baths in the best tub ever…

my new phone… it’s true… i really do love it!  (yikes!)

everything elly makes…

the wallpaper in our “blue room”…

these hats made by the lovely martha…

these holiday cards from natalie of owls go hoot…

being lactose free…

watching this movie…

being a little bit more “girly” these days…

autumn in new england… (with this song playing in my head all autumn long…)

we’re still here…

autumn hit me with a bang… and i’m still completely bowled over…

work began… (again)

we moved to an old/ new home…

every weekend has been busy with people and places and things…

but, i just wanted to pop in and say hello… because, well… we’re still here… just not very often…

it’s september…!! already!?

these cool evenings have me excited to start knitting again!

i’m finding inspiration everywhere… and am making myself finish (at least) one thing that i began last fall… and then, of course, i’ll start something new…

but, anyway… i’ll leave you with some favorites from the lovely tara-lynn (i hope she doesn’t mind my ’stealing’ her photos!)  go buy her stuff… here!  she’s totally rad!

i’m also loving ysolda’s little owl… and i think i’d like to knit this pattern sometime soon…

and, i think i’d like to knit this up too… although… i think i want a pullover instead of a cardigan.

have you seen cirilia’s (at berroco) patterns?  they’re named after my so called life characters, folks, and occurrances… i think i need that book… (i need the rayanne and the danielle)

anyway… i’m going to unwind from yesterday and today (it’s back to school… you know!)… watch a few episodes of this… and try finish knitting a scarf i started last year… and, yes, it’s of the moss stitch variety!

*and… my friend mayumi opened up a shop and (whoa!) i totally love everything she’s making!  especially these two items!

*there’s a giveaway too… (p.s.  if you don’t see your comment, it’s there… i just haven’t edited out your address yet!)

i can’t believe it’s september already… dang!

and… yesterday was maria montessori’s birthday!  whoo hoo!  (i think she was totally amazing!  it’s true…)

one drop…

remember when i was reading danzy senna’s book where did you sleep last night?

i’m reading another great book right now…bliss boyard’s one drop: my father’s hidden life– a story of race and family secrets…

this summer i seem to be reading a couple of amazing books that hit very close to home one way or another… this book is all i can think about… wanting to go back and try to trace my family history… remembering moments when i could have been… just white… or, just black… or, something else altogether.

one drop is another one of those amazingly important books… and, not just for us multiracial folks… and not just for folks who have roots in this country… but, for everyone…

please read this book… and, if you haven’t… read this one too.

*school starts tomorrow (the kids don’t come for another week)… it’s a week of teacher stuff… i’m not ready to go back… all i want to do is stay home and read…

oh fabric…

this is the fabric that started it all…

i saw this fabric and fell in love… and, just like that… my fall collection came together… and, from there… i was able to gather all of the beautiful vintage cottons and silk… and, while i walked around the fabric store (warehouse, rather) with bolts in hand… the song, indian summer played in my head… and… well, that’s what i’m working on for you now!  a small indian summer collection of simple shapes that you can layer and wear all year long!  (it’s coming soon… in october!)

and… don’t forget about the giveaway… in which you get a few goodies… but, also, a chance to pick out something from the indian summer collection in october!

we (massachusetts) lost out senator today…

the county lost a great lion of a champion…

senator edward kennedy will be greatly missed

(photo from here)

“What we have in the United States is not so much a health-care system as a disease-care system” – on health care reform for which he campaigned throughout his life, 1994

it’s a giveaway!

this giveaway is a little different…

twenty 30 readers will receive a postcard (with a little note on it) and a friendship bracelet (made by me)! and one lucky reader will win an item from the indian summer collection (which will be coming out in october… i’ll show sneak peeks towards the end of the week!)

all you have to do leave a comment (here or, in my email) telling me about your favorite thing you did this summer!  also, please leave me your mailing address… i’ll be sure to erase your address before i post it on the blog.  again, your mailing address will not appear on this blog!  you have until next sunday wednesday, 2 september 8pm to leave a comment and i’ll start sending them out after that!

there are lots of different friendship bracelets… most are made of cotton floss and others are made of liberty of london scraps and other fabric scraps!  there are long ones… braided ones… chinese staircase ones… and flat ones…

and there are some awesome postcards… i got them all at the big indian shop!

happy week to you all!

i can’t wait to hear about all the fun things people have been doing this summer!

this giveaway is helping me gear up for the release of my little fall collection… while listening to this song… and, hoping we’ll get an indian summer this year…

please remember to leave your mailing address in the comment if you’d like a postcard and friendship bracelet! (this will not appear on the blog… i promise!)

i’ve too many things i need to do… so, blogging makes sense!  (i start back to school/ work in a week… we’re moving in a little over a month and need to pack and clean and pack and clean… i have a little collection i’m working on that i’d like to finish for you…)  but… anyway…

clayton took this photo of me (and the other photos in this post too) … sometimes (usually) i make a weird face at the camera…

i made myself a dress before our vacation… it’s just like the liberty tank i made myself but longer!  the fabric is a lovely vintage cotton and the lining is a pima cotton that was on mega sale because it had a little black mark on it.  (there is a full length view over here)

so… we’ve been back from vacation for a week… you can see photos here, if you’d like.

some of the highlights…

tofu hoagies in west philly… getting drinks with aliene, leya and dustin, aimee, and mb… eating a ton of good foods… accessory shopping… brunch with katie… seeing my old friend and former roommate… spending lots of time with clayton (!)… hanging out in brown county indiana… watching clayton sail (and trying it out myself)… watching old salem family 8mm films… the george eastman house… wegmans… helping my mum purchase a laptop from a local shop… having lunch at my nana’s… visiting my cousin and her husband and having their dog sing this song for us… making a mad dash to a wedding… having fun with clayton’s friends… coming home to a bat in the house… typing my nana’s memoirs… thinking about and planning for this inspired by this song… a visit to the big indian shop… and a party at frank and vivian’s house…

whew!

there’s a giveaway coming up… so… stay tuned!  (here’s a sneak peek!)

right now…

i’m typing up my nana’s memoir… (but, shhh!  it’s a secret… she doesn’t know about it! my mom’s totally in on it!)

(see my nana’s shoes?  i have the same pair… but, a different color!)

we’re back…

whew!  we’re back after two (plus) weeks of vacation!  i have so much catching up to do… so, i’ll leave you with a few photos… a link to more… and, a promise that i will post again this week!

(all of these photos were taking with my new phone…)

v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n

i had hoped to write a long post about all the sewing i did this weekend… but, it’s getting late and i still have so much to do before i head off to philadelphia… then, indiana and syracuse…

so, instead… i’ll just say i sewed like a mad woman to get orders done… so they can be mailed out before i leave!  (the total… four tops, one dress, and two baby blankets!  phew!)

i’m pretty sure i will not be blogging for the next two weeks so… on that note… have a lovely august and and lots of fun!  see you upon my return!

where did you sleep last night?

rarely do i feel so compelled, as i do now, to tell you about a book i’m reading…

have you ever read a book that just broke your heart?  have you ever read a book in one (or, two sittings) and could do nothing else until you finished it?  and then, once you’ve finished that book… you’re left feeling so empty because you’re done and what do you do with yourself now?  have you ever read a book that was so good and moved you in such a way that it seems like your soul wrote that book?  have you ever read a book that changed you… your thought pattern… your way of existing within this world?

i have… actually, there are a few… but, today, i want to tell you about one that i’ve not even finished yet.

my sister sent me danzy senna’s newest book as a birthday gift.  where did you sleep last night? a personal history.  we’ve both read her other two books… caucasia and symptomatic… and silently love danzy senna.  i think we see ourselves in her writing… in her books… and, when you’re a multiracial kid… that’s a big deal!  so, in my bubble that is western mass i hadn’t heard she wrote a book about herself… and her history… so, when it arrived in the mail i was surprised and pleased and overwhelmed.

it took me several months to pick up the book… and, i did so today… and, i’ve only just put it down because i feel so compelled to tell you about this book.

but, the thing is… i don’t even know what to say about it… because it’s just that good and just that important… and, well, it’s just so personal.

with every chapter my heart breaks a little more… i’ve, already, fought back tears in public three times, laughed out loud a couple of times on the bus, and seen my own childhood and my own self reflected in this book.

i’m not going to draw out all of the comparisons and similarities… because, in reality, i think i could do that with any half black/ half white kid who grew up with a single white mother… (yes, just like our president).  but, it’s so much more than that…

really, to understand what i’m trying to say… you should just read this book!  i’m serious, you really should!

this book is the true… heart breaking work of a staggering genius…  (i am, if you’ve not guessed it, not a fan of dave eggers at all… i think he’s a pompous, self- indulgent turd… but, that’s another story for another day)