Our little family has been busy flitting here and there on many a weekend during these last couple months. It's gymnastics competition season (yup, we do that) and this season seems to involve more far-off travel than last. Much to my luck, this weekend's meet dropped me into Erin's neighborhood, where we were able to get together. Yay! She and her daughter Kate, and Eva and I drank coffee (well, the girls didn't have coffee) and talked in a cute coffee shop with a subdued owl theme. Fun, of course. It's so cool to read someone's blog and then get to realize that they talk in the same voice that they write. As lovely as you would expect.

There were presents--pincushions! Because let's face it, we all could use another pincushion. There's always room for just one more. The photo up top is my present from Erin--adorable Last Minute Quilted Gifts pincushion and Denyse Schmidt fabric to boot! I don't have a decent photo of the one I made Erin, but she does. :-) The half-square triangles were scraps I had left over from my mini quilt, and the other fabrics were more Pop Garden.

Eva was funny on the way to the coffee shop. I was asking her what she thought it would be like to meet another kid whose mom had a craft blog. She said they could talk about their moms' Material Obsession. Indeed.

I've been thinking a lot about blogging today. Do you go through periods of doing this? I do, but I have a known reason this time. Smile Politely, Champaign-Urbana's very quality online magazine, did a post on this little blog for their Top of the Blogs column. Smile Politely keeps its reporting largely local and it's a real source of info for what's happening (that I care about) in this college town that's more complex than it looks from afar.

It was the first time I've ever really been interviewed, at least, when the interviewer wasn't asking me things like, 'What's your favorite color?' Joel was nice and I didn't get The Tough Questions, in fact he didn't really ask all that many questions—I did a lot of rambling. Seriously. I'd like to chalk it up to nerves, but I think I might actually talk that way. I brought him the simple patchwork coasters you see above. Elie thought that was weird and might make a person feel odd, and maybe it did, but I hope not too much. But, that's what I would do if I had a meet-up with you, right? I'd make you a little something?

Back to the interview. More odd than being interviewed, was being interviewed about blogging. I've been blogging for over three years now, and I really love it. But, what I love is not the blogging itself, but the incredible community of crafty people that I have gotten to know through blogging. Thinking back and talking to Smile Politely about how I started blogging made remember just what it felt like to stumble into craft blogs and be amazed by the beautiful work and comraderie that was happening here. I think about how much fun it was to wake up to my tea, open screen door, and computer that first summer and just sit and click through the craft blogs, following links from one place to another until I was just lost in it. Did you/do you do that? I feel a little sad that I take it for granted now. I have not reached the end of the internet. Maybe on the contrary, there is just so much out there that it can be a bit overwhelming to explore.

In the beginning of the article, I tell Smile Politely why I didn't start blogging, and that's all true (although Elie says it makes me sound like a wallflower, which I am not). But I think I missed a key point. Until finding craft blogs, I thought blogs were largely about being a mini-wonk of your area, about expounding on your opinions, and really enjoying confrontation and argument. I don't really enjoy these things. The few times that this blog has felt at all that way have been uncomfortable for me. So, finding a community, a craft community no less, that supports itself and encourages its members so much has been a truly lovely thing. I like you. Whether you're an old friend or a new visitor, thanks for being here.

Please do stop by the article if you're interested, and drop me a comment if you'd like—here or there. I'd like to hear from you.

We went off to the Third Sunday Market--an antiques/junk fest--today. It was a beautiful day for it. I always enjoy the market more when I have a mission, and my mission of the day was crochet potholders. I want to acquire a collection so I can do this with them. I came home with four. I did not buy anything from the stacks of feedsacks, even though it was very tempting. It's just the beginning of the season and they were marked up too high, IMHO. We also bought a glass juicer because the orange plastic one I got second hand in college finally broke. There was a stall with some of the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen. The dealer had a serious eye for color. Wow.

I wore this shirt I made on Saturday to the market today. (Another top from ISBN 9784834725506) I didn't think I would finish it this weekend because I hadn't bought buttons, but then I fished these white ones out of my vintage stash. All different, but all the same size. Fun.

Actually, I know exactly what you've been up to, all you folks who have been able to have a December and keep your blogs going. Hooray for you! I have enjoyed seeing all your Christmas, Channukah, and Solstice posts so much.

Eva made me the little mushroom for a Christmas present. In a totally non-biased parental way, I think it is the best. She actually did it one Sunday morning while I was still sleeping, but then she couldn't keep it a secret and she woke me up with it. Handmade cute present! Best wakeup evar!

OK. I am actually really happy to be back, But I will try to tone down the enthusiasm and use fewer exclamation points for the rest of this post.

We went away for Christmas and Channukah and visited the vast majority of our family in New Jersey. I ate soooo much good stuff, including pot roast, which I haven't had since before I was a vegetarian, which I no longer am. I am going to buy a slow cooker (crock pot :-)). Also, I found it liberating to call and order my favorite pizza ever whenever I wanted to from the place down the street. Why not? (In case you're wondering, it's floppy crust, fold in half, slightly burnt crust.) I also had the yummiest cottage cheese at Elie's sister's house. They get it fresh from a farmer and it is all whole milk and oh yum. I wish I knew a farmer like that.

And speaking of yummy, check out my new yarn. From my dad and mom I got yarn and Anthro gift certs respectively. I burned through them in one very enjoyable morning. Projects to come!

Love,
Dorie

Just had to pop in between working and sightseeing to say Hi. I'm enjoying London. This evening I just happened to walk by a window where the fantastic chrochet coral reef was being displayed. What luck! I flipped. It is fantastic.

This tile stoop is on my way to the place where my training is. I think it's so sweet.

And what fun we had there.

My sister lives in San Francisco, and we finally saved up enough airline miles to go out and see her. It was great! We got to meet her boyfriend, Brian, who is awesome, and we stayed in cute her place with windows that latch and a living room with a picture rail. (I love old places!) My dad was out there too so we got to see him and my stepmom. We had a day of nature stuff (Mt. Tam), a day of sightseeing (Alcatraz and Chinatown) and a day of shopping (just my sister and I).

Thanks to Bitter Betty and Futuregirl, I knew some good places to hit for crafty purchases. I went to Britex. Holy crap that place is amazing! So much nice fabric, and a wall of Liberty. I had to ask one of the Britex people if it was really Liberty, like it looked, and she was so funny and understanding. "Oh, yes that's real Liberty. You may feel the Liberty...you may caress and admire it." "Can I take photos?" "Yes, if you'd like, I'll take your photo with the Liberty." Really, they are so nice there. I think six different people asked if they could help me, and the store was quite busy.

Then to Japantown, which has so much stuff, but you'd never know it because it is all inside! I bought some Japanese craft books, including the popular Girly Style Wardrobe. I want to make Eva a little linen jacket and then force her to wear it. (Impossible! My child doesn't like layers.)

I also ate all the delicious food that I could. Oh, man. I have a new food love--Burmese! It's like blending the best of Thai with the best of Indian. My sister took us to Burma Superstar and I am forever grateful. Their food is the best, and their logo is also really cute, which never hurt anybody.

Ah, it made me miss city life. A little. Not too much. Actually it made me want to travel more, but I guess travel does that.

And the winner is...Bitter Betty! Yay for you! You will be the recipient of something I did not make this weekend, but will make in the near future. I am excited about it.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by and saying hi--it was nice to see who is out there!

On Saturday Eva and I trekked out to Indiana with the knit night women to the Greencastle Fiber Event. It was fun, despite being a very chilly day (we ate a picnic lunch in the "hospitality tent" while it was sleeting). Most of the goings on were indoors and involved purchasing natural fibers in various phases of processing. We bought fluffy roving, hand dyed woven wool fabric, and Eva spent her allowance on gross-out silk worm cocoons that still have the rattling dried worm insde. One smart vendor had a needle felting kit out where you could try it, so we came home with one of those too. They use cookie cutters as a guide for where the wool should go. Eva has made a sheep from the kit plus a flower from a cookie cutter we had at home already. We also got to see animals, and I almost impulse bought an angora bunny or two, but then my better judgement got a hold of me.

We went to Jersey where our family lives for a week at Christmastime. It was an especially nice visit. This year both my mom and a dear old friend are relocating to the area where I grew up, where my dad and Elie's mom already live. That fact made it extra hard to leave and return to Illinois. It felt like all my people were just starting The Big Party but I had to go. It's easy to think of the great way that life could be if I lived there: there would be casual weekend lunches, and grandparents who could make it to school programs, and all those people who know the back story. And less stillness.

When Elie and I were getting ready to move out here & I was feeling apprehensive, my mother told me when her mother told her, which is that sometimes you have to get out from under your big family (Elie and I both have these) in order to let your little family grow. I think that's been very true for us, and we've grown bushels. I really do like the place I'm in now, our funny little routine, and our dear friends. It's a bona fide life. I like the stillness we have because that's when I get to do this and stitch a little that. It's a good home.

An speaking of homes, Elie did this to the kitchen today. Move over sketchy in-kitchen powder room with louvered doors, hello pantry.

Love you. Have a coffee by the beach for me!

Forget Black Friday, the start of "the season" for me is the day that the box of Florida grapefruit shows up on my porch. My dad sends me a box every year, and the last two years he's bought them from a smaller, family grove near where he lives. They are the best I've ever tasted. Really. See the lady in the orange shirt? I met her when I visited last March. She was cutting up tangelo tastes.

This year the rinds are a little thick, which makes me think that maybe I'll candy them. I saw Martha Stewart do this years ago on TV and I've wanted to try ever since, but you know somehow it just doesn't make the top of my list. I'd do orange rind too and get some dark chocolate and make orangette (or naranjitas as I am more likely to think of them).

Christmas is coming eventually. I'm making some stuff. Hanukkah is next week already. Too early. Thanksgiving is gone, but today I felt a little bit thankful to go back to work. Not sure how it happened, but Eva didn't have a proper playmate all of the last three days of the break. By the end of Sunday I had forgotten how to do anything fun. I needed to go to work and Solve Some Problems. My work is fun though. On Wednesday, someone brought in rock band and we rocked out the conference room during lunch. Today I had noontime yoga and it was so good. Problem solving, un-harshed mellow, and a little mental space--all things to be thankful for.

It's harvest time again. I didn't grow up in a farming community at all. I grew up on the Jersey Shore, so the yearly corn harvest in Illinois is still a very novel experience for me. I mean, I had no knowledge at all about farming processes before I moved out here. I was so surprised to see that there really were farmers who looked just like the farmers in picture books, complete with overalls and feed hats, and that these farmers kept their grain in actual silos. These things had seemed a little too mythic to be true.

But they are. Every year some time in September I start to see a few fields cut down, and a few trucks full of corn, and a combine or two on the local roads, and I know we've begun. Then I hear our neighboring grain elevator start up, and I come out to a fine layer of corn chaff on the car in the morning and I know we've really begun.

I learn a little more each year. Like only last year did I realize that the pile about a football field in length and a couple stories high out by the high school was a pile of corn and not gravel as I had assumed. They're building the pile again right now. Last year it stayed there until March or April when the weather began to get warm and all the fermented grain got stinky. Then they took it away. See, I know a lot of the general process now, but I still don't know very much of the "why". Like why is some corn stored on cobs and why is some of it loose? Why is that big pile of corn sitting outside? Is it experimental? Is it animal feed? Does it all get fermented? Why?

I do know that these are detasslers. They're all lined up at the farm store on Main Street. Doesn't big farm equipment look wicked? Even with mechanical detasslers, farmers still hire high school and college kids to work as manual detasslers in the summer. Our babysitter tried it this year. It's really hard work, but it pays well, and really, if you're a kid in a small town there aren't too many summer jobs to be had. Interesting detassling article here.

That's it for the Jersey Girl Farm Report '07. Even more insightfull next year, I promise.