Friday, November 28, 2008



Becky was next to me at the Wellesley show.
Click on the link
She makes wonderful bags.
Check out her clever display.
The bags on the mannequin have long wrist straps
and are positioned to look like a wonderfully full skirt.
Can you just see the skirt twirling around!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A favorite poem and song from my youth.
I remember singing in the car...
Isabel and I read this poem every year at bedtime in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Enjoy your feasts.
Happy Thanksgiving.
xo
marnie
ps. off visiting relatives...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Have you ever heard the expression:

Use it up, 
Wear it out,
Make it do,
or
Do without.

An old Yankee saying
that will be put into action more and more these days
as the economy shrinks and people try to spend less.

I am famous for doing all of the above.
Remember the threadbare rug post...
I like to see how little I can spend... 
of course, I also have very expensive taste...
I reconcile these two sides of my personality somewhere in the middle.
I buy good quality clothes but not too many.
I wear the same outfits over and over.
I have been wearing the same two winter Loden coats 
since I purchased them in 1985 and 1989!



So when it came to my fabric scraps
they were just too pretty to throw away
So I made these wonderful little needle cases.

You stick you needle through the little pillow 
inside the case
presto - no lost needles, 
no punctured fingers 
Keep this handy case in your needlepoint bag or sewing basket.

Monday, November 24, 2008

I am back
from my exhausting weekend
of shows

Sales were off significantly from last year -
not a surprise
but I got a lot of orders for my new monogrammed frames.

Here is a satisfied customer holding her purchase.
My sister Jeanne helped unload and load and sell all day.
Two other sisters and a cousin and a few friends stopped by during the day.
It was fun to visit with everyone.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Mary T's tent sale is
today
Friday, November 21st
123 Hurlbutt Street, Wilton, Connecticut

check out pics from my prior post
to see all the goodies.
If you live or work near Wilton, Connecticut drop by
you may find a treasure.
Tell Mary that Marnie sent you.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

by Thomas L Friedman
November 16, 2008

"to fight a global financial panic like this, you have to go at it with
overwhelming force an 
overwhelming stimulus 
that gets people shopping again"

I hope people are out shopping on Friday and Saturday!


My next two shows are in Massachusetts

Friday, November 21st the Christmas Fair at the Ephipany Church in Winchester and on
Saturday, November 22nd in Wellesley
see flyers below 

Stop by, Say hi.
Introduce yourself if you read the blog.



Monday, November 17, 2008

tee shirt scarves

as seen on design sponge


I made a bath mat using the same technique.
The mat has gone through the washer and dryer dozens of times
and it has held up beautifully.
It is wonderfully cushy under foot.

Fiber from our old tee shirts - really!
Start from the bottom and cut a 1/2" strip and go 'round and 'round
from the bottom of the tee shirt to the arm pits
then start cutting the next tee shirt.


The only suggestion I would make
 is to stitch the ends of each tee shirt strip together.
This would eliminate the little ends that you see sticking out.

The strip cutting exercise is not as tedious as you might think.

Good present for the holidays because:
1) fast - you don't have much time left
 2) cheap - everybody is conserving their $
 3) recycled fiber - green - you will be so with it!
 Hits all the themes of this season

I used a size #19 round needle

Saturday, November 15, 2008

These boys had the table next to me at my recent show.

Noah and Toby U------
hence their business name: NUT Ties
the boys attend a school that requires them to wear a tie everyday

cute kids
capitalists in the making
they wanted to make some money and came up with a tie idea
(I am guessing their Mother came up with tie idea)

busy organizing the table
goofing around
they lost focus after awhile

their mother stayed out of site
it was their gig 

I got all the details - their pitch - how they got started -
they sold some of their toys on ebay
invested the proceeds in the business
selected ribbon for the clip-on bow ties
ordered long ties from a tie manufacturer
and now they are hustling ties at holiday boutique.
The ladies who shop cannot resist these cute kids.
I think sales are pretty good.

10% of their sales go to a scholarship fund at their school 
 then they split the balance 
 each boy must save 50% of their share 
and 
 can spend the other 50% however they wish. 

A fun way to put math lessons to work.
profit $100 - $10 = $90 / 2 = $45 
$45 / 2 = $22.50 for the piggy bank and $22.50 for stuff

Friday, November 14, 2008


First show of the season

It was only fours long, an evening gig, a bit of a drive,
but I got to stay over night with one sister
and had lunch with another sister and my father.
So even if sales were not terrific, I had a good visit with family.

More shows next week; 
gotta get to work.

Thursday, November 13, 2008


Check out the faded oriental carpet
on the cover of this month's domino.


Now check out some of the carpets in my house.

Makes me feel almost stylish!

I love the faded worn look and have them all over my house.
Most of them came from my grandmother and grand aunts.

The carpet pictured above was on my Aunt Mary and Aunt Alice's sunporch,
maybe that's why it is so faded.
Now it has a new life in my living room.

The "good" rugs were scooped up by someone else.


The rug, desk, chair and picture frame all came from my
Grandmother.  She even needlepointed the chair seat.


The rug above has a big hole, 
but it is on my side of the bed so I am the only one who sees it regularly.

I mentioned my wedgewood-like tin with the Greek goddesses,
there it is on the bookcase.


I love my cozy house
and all the old stuff from family and my treasure hunts.
This rug came with d.h., not sure of its "provenance".
 
 I found treasures at auctions estate sales or antique stores
 that I will showcase another day.
Of course, one person's treasure is someone else's junk!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

image from decorno                                  
half-full or half-empty                                    
i'm a half-full gal                                    
call me pollyanna                                    

fact  
swissmiss reported on 11/10/08 via noah

"according to Technorati 2008 State of the Blogosphere, of the 133 million blogs the site tracks only 7.4 million have been updated in the last 120 days.
125.6 million abandoned or unloved"

so when you don't know what to write,
when your blog energy gets sucked out of you,
or you get sucked deeper into the blogworld,
or fear you will discover too many more ways to waste time

don't give up
don't turn off the blog
just rest, refresh, renew

ciao m

Monday, November 10, 2008

DH worked for a major tv network for 25 years
and then decided to take a leap and go out on his own.
He worked with many talented people on this production
which will air on PBS in Connecticut, channel 10,
on Monday, November 10, 2008. 


Background.
A theatre arts class at our local high school
created an original play about the Iraq war 
derived from interviews, letters and essays 
written by Iraqi civilians and American soldiers serving in Iraq.
The school principal deemed the production to be 
too controversial 
and 
all performances were canceled.

An article about this production and subsequent ban 


The students received thousands of supportive messages, 
including some from soldiers serving in Iraq.
With the support of many other arts organizations, 
this original work was 
finally performed at The Fairfield Theatre Company in Connecticut, 
The Public Theatre in New York City and
the Culture Project and the Vineyard Theatre, also in NYC. 
This past summer the students reunited to perform this piece for 
 Connecticut Public Television.
If you live in Connecticut you can view the
production on Monday, November 10th at 9:00PM on PBS, Channel 10.

click below for a clip

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Saw these gloves on swissmiss
called Freehands
the knitted fingerless gloves below seem to be less bother

and you can pull the hand warmers down over your knuckles 
if you are really cold

Tuesday, November 4, 2008



YES WE DID

I AM SO PROUD OF OUR COUNTRY

Tuesday, November 4, 2008


TODAY'S THE DAY


CHANGE IS GOOD

Sunday, November 2, 2008


The excitement is building, but we are not there yet.

our mail box

written by Paris-based Diane Pernet - 
she has a terrific post on the OBAMA energy from Chicago headquarters  -
 check out the mix of people - so much enthusiasm - 
2 days to the election

our cars with stickers

I have never been so involved in a campaign.
  I have never donated before,
 never put a political bumper sticker on my car, 
never worn a button, 
never canvassed voters, never registered voters,
never dialed for a candidate; 
this year is different
I am so excited and so happy that I have been involved.  
You can still help by dialing to help get out the vote. 
Go to OBAMA.com to get started.
BE PART OF THE CHANGE

my bag

Isabel's statement

Our enthusiasm is a family affair
we have all been involved.

Saturday, November 1, 2008


Friday night dinner made easy

I have written about my friend Charlotte at Appleseed Farm
many times since this blog's inception.
Charlotte developed her idea of a pie in jar
into a successful business,
called Pour-a-Pie.
She earned the 2008 County Living Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award.
To my delight, two jars of Charlotte's famous pie in a jar
arrived at my doorstep a couple days ago.
Thanks Charlotte.

I was exhausted after a fun day in NYC 
with college friends who now live in Chicago and Massachusetts


My perfect solution to a long day. 
I ordered pizza and 
 simply poured the cherry filling into the pie crust.
A wonderful almond smell wafted out of the jar.
Friday is the night that I can cheat. 

delicious pie and pizza with my favorite Brigham's ice cream

even diet coke - which I never buy.

finished product
Pie and ice cream 
while I wait for the trick or treaters.
Only one this year and a whole bowl of candy!
We live on a windy, woody, street with no sidewalks.

delish!