Summer Thrifting

Here are some thrift scores that I've been meaning to share for some time. Most of these were purchased over a month ago, before and whilst I was on vacation.

Groovy retro-atomic glass, maker unknown:



A solid glass juicer, I've been coveting one of these for quite awhile!



I was *SO* excited over this next find...a flawless, lazy-susan appetizer caddy! My inner Donna Reed heart skipped a little beat when I found this. $4.99!



And...the piece de resistance...drum roll please...



A *FULL* set of Pyrex refrigerator dishes in the Butterprint pattern. My prrrreeeeeecious! I found these in an amazing vintage shop in Saratoga, New York. So much vintage goodness, it could make you weep. (And I almost did, when I made myself walk out of there with only two purchases!)

It's a little gross how excited I get about vintage dishes, isn't it?

I'll have more to show soon (clothing for once) - plus I'm thrifting with Abbie this weekend, wahoo!

Purple Works in Progress

Apparently, the yarn shopping gods have decided that purple is my new favorite color.

When I was on vacation at Silver Bay, I started knitting a wild pair of Jaywalker socks (Rav) with Heart&Sole in Spring Stripe by Red Heart. I've just passed the gusset on my second sock, so these little babies are well on their way to being done.



Purple has also popped up in another one of my WIPs.

For the first time ever, my Stitch n' Bitch group is doing a knit-a-long. We are all making the Pseudo Shibori Scarf (Rav) from Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin.

I needed to pick out some new yarn for this project, so I visited my trusty source, Riverslea Farm . There I fell in love with this:



Hand spun, hand dyed, Border-Leicester/Alpaca blend. Drooly-drooly-drool.

Here's a detail shot of the scarf in progress:



I'm smitten with those little bits of blue and pink that peek out from the purple. The scarf is knit in a six-row repeat that shapes the garment on the bias. I am super excited to rock this with my green/grey polka dotted coat in the winter!

Are you working on anything fun, dear readers?

Meeting Amanda (and Jean, and Brandie)

One of the very first blogs to earn a permanent place on my blog roll was SouleMama. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that I've been reading SouleMama, for almost as long as Geek+Nerd has been around, maybe since late 2005? Anyways, in internet years, that's EONS!



During all of that time, Amanda has been raising her little family only about an hour away from me. Once she had a show at Edith and Edna (which is gone, sniff, sniffle), that I missed, and there were book-signing events that passed by, but each occasion the timing was never right for me to drive up and have a chat.



So when Amanda came out with her second book, Handmade Home, I made sure my calendar was clear to attend one of the book-signings.

Guess what people - She's every bit as lovely as one would expect!

Amanda, I admire you for the beautiful art and crafts that come from your hands, for the imaginative way that you raise your family and for your obvious zest for life. But - most importantly I admire you for taking all of those things, bundling them together and sharing them with the world via SouleMama. Your writings and photographs have inspired me to go do something with that scrap bag in my closet, to take a breath when I need it and to find happiness in the everyday, the little things. Not only do you lead an inspiring life, but in your quiet, gentle way, you have encouraged me to go live one too. Thank you for taking time out of your days to give me, (and thousands of others) such a generous gift!

And if I was a less nervous fan girl, I might have articulated some of that in person. I think it came out as "You're so inspiring...uhhh...I love your blog drool."



An added bonus to the day I met one of my Flickr contacts, Jean aka Beetgreen and super awesome Brandie. It was so lovely and to chat and knit with you both!

Here's a little bit of happy for all three of you -this is one of my favorite Gene clips - good luck with your tap lessons!

Old Dogs Apparently Can Learn New Tricks aka Sarah finds her inner "B-Girl"

Break-dancing, breaking or hip-hop dancing is very new to me. Although it has been a street art-form for nearly forty years, hip-hop only entered the dance studio culture about ten years ago. By that time, I had already finished my formative dance training.

I took a two hour hip-hop intensive during last week's session of Taking Healthy Steps, one of the many programs I help out with at Boston Ballet. Boy was I SORE, but I discovered, that I really like it!

I'd like to share a bit of what I learned during the class.

"Top-rocking" is the most basic footwork that one can start out with. I found this YouTube video for an example:



There are all sorts of variations on this basic footwork that you can use to transition between "power-moves," such as flips and flares, floorwork, and "freezes."

I learned a few freezes, which I was pleasantly surprised that I was strong enough to do.

The simplest freeze is called the "Candlestick"



This is much like doing a shoulder stand in yoga, except you want to create angles with your legs, instead of straight lines. Pointing toes in hip-hop is a no-no!

Secondly, I learned to do the "Frog"



This is HARD!!!

Lastly, I was surprised to discover that I could pull off the "Spider"



I couldn't resist half-pointing my toes, (old habits die hard), but I'll work on flexing them, HAR HAR! One thing at a time right?

If you've made it this far, and enjoyed the post, leave a "B-Girl" name suggestion in the comments! Maybe if they amuse me enough there will be a prize for my favorite... :)

**ANOTHER PREZZY SPOILER FOR RENEE - NO PEEKING!**

NO PEEKS, AGAIN, RENNY - DO NOT READ BELOW!



Okay, now that Ren is hopefully not reading anymore, this post is going to be re-titled

CRAFTY FAIL...INTO CRAFTY 'HELL YEAH'!

Ren's birthday is shortly after Christmas, so I thought I would include her birthday gift in my Holiday Handmade Crusade. Of course I wouldn't want her to know that her birthday present was very nearly a crafty fail.

My second attempt at copper enameling was a complete FAIL!



FAIL!!! This pendant was supposed to be pink in the center, with a halo of light green around the edges. The green enamel completely disappeared. Those polka dots, which look questionably like period stains, (sorry for the gross imagery, but that's all I could think of when I saw this come out of the kiln), were clear pieces of sparkly glass. My husband, who taught copper enameling at the Bay for five summers straight, and was sitting next to me watching me do this, neglected to tell me that clear glass reacts unpredictably during the enameling process. I blame him, HA!

However, I had to pay for this piece of crap that I created, so I needed to figure out a crafty way to salvage the situation.

Origami paper to the rescue!



There ain't nothin' that Mod Podge can't fix!

I cut out a myriad of teeny-tiny flowers from washi paper, before deciding on this combination. I am so in love with this necklace, I almost considered keeping it. I'll be good though, and give it away! I hope Ren likes it!

And she'll never know it looked like a period stain!

:D

**CHRISTMAS SPOILER - RENEE NO PEEKING!**

NO PEEKS RENNY - DO NOT READ BELOW!



My sister and I are avid, avid fans of a certain British sitcom.

In fact, my Craftster user handle is "StoliEdina" after one of my favorite scenes from Absolutely Fabulous, the series...



LOOK EDDY! STOLI EDDY - STOLI!

Once we graduated from calling each other "GEEK" and "NERD," (hence the name of this blog), and graduated to more grown-up past times, (drinking copious amounts of gin and red wine on my sister's porch), our new partner in crime nick names became "Pats" and "Eddy."



Who do you think is Pats? And who do you think is Eddy?



So, while I was on vacation, I employed my new found leather tooling skills to make special friendship bracelets for myself and and my sis...



They were so fun to make - I hope that she loves it!

New Crafty Techniques!

On my most recent visit, to my beloved Silver Bay, I finally got to take advantage of the craft shop!

The craft shop at the Bay tends to focus on crafts that need some sort of expensive equipment, like a kiln or a loom, that the average jane crafter probably doesn't have kicking around her house. The customer goes in, chooses a project, then pays for the materials after the fact. Easy peasy!

I tried out two new to me crafting techniques while I was there.



This little whale brooch didn't look so cute the first time it came out of the kiln! The pooling effect you see is created by pieces of glass laid over the enamel. I wanted the pooling, but the first time it came out the glass pieces stayed beaded on the surface like some sort of whale acne! Luckily, the enamel chipped a bit, earning me a second chance to touch it up and a second round in the kiln. Hence pooling. Yay for cute whales!

The second craft that I tried was leather tooling. I discovered that I LOVE IT!



Those are my initials in the middle - pretty snazzy, eh?



Every mark that you see on the cuff is created by individual hammer taps. Once I got the hang of it, making the repetitive pattern settled into a nice rhythm, and I could zone out while working. It was actually kind of peaceful, much like knitting. And all of that banging with the mallet was stress relieving, HA!

Mike and Sylvie

"L" is for the way you look at me,



"O" is for the only one I see,



"V" is very, very, extraordinary,



"E" is even more than anyone that you adore can



Love is all that I can give to you.



Love is more than just a game for two.



Two in love can make it!



Take my heart and please dont break it.



LOVE was made for me and you!



Congratulations to my brother Mike and my new sister-in-law Sylvie. I love you both SO SO MUCH and I hope that you have a long and happy life together!!!

This is my time

"For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance."
Ecclesiastes 3

For as long as I can remember dance has always been a part of my life.

Last Waltz on Bastille Day, Robert Doisneau



At three years old I took my first dance lessons in a studio above the gym where my sister Ren practiced gymnastics. I have vague memories of being taught by a fellow named Mark, who in my mind will always be wearing blue tights and hair all askew like Jean Simmons.

One day Mark showed us a video clip of British ballerina Margot Fonteyn dancing a solo called the "Black Dahlia".

Margot Fonteyn



At the beginning of her solo, her long, black tutu was pulled upwards around her face, and slowly she would let the layers of tulle drop around her as she started to dance, just like a flower opening. The effect was beautiful, and it has stuck in my mind to this day.

I tried to copy the dance at home by tying my dress-up Dracula cape around my waist and pulling it up over my head. Needless to say the effect was more comic than beautiful! My mom and my sister used to hide in the kitchen rolling on the floor in laughter as I subjected all of the neighborhood boys (I was the lone girl in the neighborhood) to my "performances".

And that was that. I was hooked.

Raymonda, circa 1997, I'm fourth from the left, 13 years old.



My love of dance escalated to training seven days a week in high school. I dreamed of dancing for companies like American Ballet Theatre and Boston Ballet. When I was seventeen I faced the hard realization that that destiny is for a chosen few, and my curvaceous genes were standing firmly in between me and a career in classical ballet.

So I began to teach and choreograph, and I hung up the pointe shoes and focused on more forgiving dance forms; modern, jazz and contemporary.

Then my life went crazy for a couple of years, which I won't go into right now, (if you know me personally or have been reading for a long time, you'll know what I'm referring to). However, throughout everything, when the figurative shit was hitting the fan over and over again, the constants have been my family, my friends and dance.

Professionally, these past few years have been extraordinarily difficult ones. I have gone through one workplace heartbreak after another and have come close to financial destitution. Sticking by dance has come at the expense of so much sacrifice.

At 17 years old, I realized that I would never dance for Boston Ballet.

Two days ago I accepted a full-time staff position with Boston Ballet. Yesterday, I started moving into my office.

Salary, benefits, paid vacation, the works.

Words cannot even begin to express how I feel right now. My entire life from my first dance lesson above Kelly's Gymnastics to pressing "SEND" e-mailing my resume to Boston, absolutely sure that they would never call me back has been leading up to this moment. I cannot believe it. My luck has come around.

This may be corny and philosophical but I just want to say, if there is something that you want to do in life, you should go and do it. I have been told that I needed to get a "real" job, I have looked at my bank account and wondered how I was going to eat, I have cried and cried and cried because I thought maybe it was time to not just hang up the pointe shoes, but chuck dance all together.

I only have one life, and at the end of the day this is what I want to do with it. And here I am. What are YOU doing? Is it what you dreamed of when you were 3 years old? 10 years old? 16 years old? Do you go to work every morning thinking "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life!" I hope that you do! But if not, why not go after your dreams? It's never too late. That's so cheese ball and cliche, but I believe it.

Wow this has turned into one of those epic posts...

I want to close with this quote from Merce Cunningham, a famous choreographer who just recently passed away. He lived until ninety and blazed a trail through the dance world until the very end. His words are wise and closely sum up how I feel at this moment...

"You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive."
Merce Cunningham