Lowell

A couple of weeks ago we took advantage of some school vacation days and rented a car for a little trip to Massachusetts to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time: we visited the old textile mill town of Lowell. Have you heard of it?

Lowell was the first planned industrial town in the U.S. Its planners found a perfect location for a mill town (the river drops 13 feet, and a series of old logging canals lent themselves perfectly to powering the mills), traveled to England to learn the secrets of the mills there, and then returned to the U.S. and proceeded to build a mill city of their own.

Lowell is important to the history of our country on many levels: from the perspective of the industrial revolution, our economic development (and a demonstration of economic cycles) as a country, and in relation to the history of the cotton trade. Among others.

Now it's a National Park. And a great one.

The canals and the restored architecture are incredibly scenic.

The Boott Cotton Mill has been restored and turned into an amazing museum.

When you first enter you punch in at the time clock--just like the workers did:



The ground floor houses the looms themselves, and the noise on the floor when just a few of the looms are in operation would be deafening if it weren't for the earplugs provided. I can't even imagine what it would have been like for the workers (who worked without earplugs and lost their hearing, no doubt).

Upstairs you'll find a wonderful exhibit that demonstrates all the parts of a vertical mill (a vertical mill does everything from making the yarns from the raw cotton to finishing the fabric). I loved this exhibit, and the ranger on duty was a wealth of information and enthusiasm (which was great because I was nearly bouncing up and down, I was so excited about this. Fellow textile geeks unite!). S loved working a table loom (my apologies to the museum--we completely filled the warp and you'll need to prepare another loom for the rest of the people who come to visit), and I flipped out over the giant carding machine and all the other fantastic equipment and exhibits.

vertical mill model:


giant carding machine:

examples of the textiles produced at the mill over the years:


Right next door to the mill you can also explore one of the boarding houses to experience life as a mill girl. S was rather intrigued by this part since her beloved American Girl doll, Samantha, had a friend who worked in a textile mill.

When the mills first opened, the owners were trying to create a Utopian work environment, and they hired local farm girls to work in the mills. The girls were very well cared for and were given many opportunities for self-improvement, but the mills were so successful that competition surged. This, of course, put pressure on the mills to drop prices and pay and to increase the number of hours that the girls were required to work. Eventually the girls went on strike because the working conditions were very bad. Immigrants were later hired to replace the mill girls, and the working conditions soon resembled the conditions in England that the planners had hoped to avoid when they opened the mills. See? It's fascinating stuff--or it will be if you visit, at least.

We took a trolley tour of the canals, which included tons of fascinating information about the history of the town, the development of the canals, and lots of beautiful views:

I really want to go back again, I loved this town and the museum so much. I'd also like the visit the Slater Mill Museum someday, too.

We took a little side trip to Boston on Saturday and visited some friends... (does anyone in this photo look familiar?)


as well as some feathered friends. Do you recognize this scene?


here's a hint:

Yup. Make Way For Ducklings, complete with ducklings.

S wanted a self-portrait of herself with the mama. This pose garnered a lot of chuckles from other visitors:

It's a funny photo from the perspective of the iPod, too.

wish you were here

We've spent the week with my family on vacation someplace on the outer banks of North Carolina, where the houses are big enough to hold our entire crew. So far we've been dodging trucks (everyone drives on the beach out here!), admiring the wild horses, building sand castles and sand snowmen, baking (more sandcastles--the beach-themed cake was for my sister's birthday), goofing off in the pool, and I've had so much fun riding the boogie board I've pretty much decided to quit work and move someplace where I can learn to surf. But maybe I'll change my mind again when we get back home.








We're the only ones walking back and forth to the the beach instead of driving, so if you see us, wave!

welcome home

Really, what could be better than to return home from a trip and receive two gifts upon your arrival? Not only did I get a nice I MISS YOU drawing when we returned home from Quilt Market last week, but I also received a very special handmade book:

(Which, if you don't read 5-year-old, is entitled The Pooping Animals. Complete with drawings of cats and goldfish doing, you guessed it, just what the title says.)

So we're all authors around here. (Sorry, no pooping in my upcoming book.)

guess where: #2

I promise I won't make a regular habit of this, but I was so amused that exactly three of you (ok, four now) lovely readers guessed at my previous "guess where" post that I thought we would do another one.

This photo hint will probably help for a few more of you:

P.S. Here is another hint (and an invitation, for those of you nearby who don't need any hints).

P.P.S. That previous photo was taken at my alma mater, Calvin College, outside the art department. Which was my old stomping ground and is, sadly, still located in a windowless basement. I mean, why should light matter when you're making art?

guess where we are?

This will only help about three of you, but here is a photo hint for those in the know:

sewing kit

This Friday I'm leaving town to guest teach at two consecutive weekend sewing workshops in Vermont with Heather Ross. We had so much fun last year, and this year we've got lots of great plans for the groups who will be joining us.

Since this is the first of several upcoming sewing-related engagements for me, I finally took a little time to put together a proper sewing kit. My tools usually live in an old candy tin at the studio, but it doesn't travel very well. So Tsia and I picked up this cardboard suitcase at Paper Presentation a couple of weeks ago. (If you're looking to purchase one on-line, Paper Source carries a nice selection, too.) I cut a piece of mat board to fit inside the cover, wrapped it with one of the fabrics from City Weekend (shipping in September--soon!) and added some colored elastic to hold little tools inside the cover.

I also made a lining for it so the tools wouldn't bang around inside the case--which is exactly what drives me crazy about the candy tin (besides the fact that the tin doesn't latch shut, so that doesn't really help, either). I cut pieces of wool felt to fit the interior shape, stitched them together with a tiny zigzag stitch, and glued the top edge to the inside of the box.

I've got a few sewing projects of my own to take along, but mostly I'm looking forward to helping other people with their sewing. And it will be nice to just hanging out by the pond or the lake when we're not sewing.

We're going to take some vacation time between the scheduled sewing adventures. Heather's husband, Todd, and Tsia will be driving up to join us for some swimming, resting, and a little camping. Some sketchbooks and a copy of Penny Vincenzi's No Angel are coming along, too. And Tsia can't stop talking about how we're going to visit our friends Ben and Jerry. Should be fun!

Tsia is so excited, she drew this announcement for Todd yesterday. She's sounding out the words to spell them, and we're receiving very thorough packing lists on a regular basis. Amazingly, they're quite legible, too. In case you can't tell, this one says "5 more days until we go to Vermont. Me and you and TC."

This morning she spelled waffle ROFL. That one was a bit more difficult to decipher.

a steady diet of beach and world cup

We live on an island, just two blocks from the East River. It's easy to forget how close we are to the water when we're so busy. And it's not exactly the beach, let's face it. Which is why, I suppose, everyone in Manhattan seems to escape the city for the beach in the summer.

After living here for almost twenty years, we finally followed suit and joined some friends in Montauk for the weekend. It was our first visit to the eastern part of Long Island. I can't say I've ever been very interested in the Hamptons (it's such a loaded name, I think) and all the hype surrounding them, but now I understand why so many people are willing to brave the traffic and long travel time. With such beautiful beaches, adorable towns, and amazing food, it's worth the extra effort. We climbed the lighthouse, searched for sea shells, built sand castles, and ate lobster. And watched lots of World Cup.





And we left hungry for more. We'll be back, I'm sure.

could this be the one?

I took a short business trip last week and happened to turn on the TV in my hotel room as I was getting ready for dinner one night. As you may know, we don't have a TV at home. But we watch a few programs on Hulu and generally feel like we know what's going on in the outside world. So how did I now know about Cash Cab?



After living in New York for almost 20 years, you'd think I would know about things like this. I mean, there's a slim possibility that the very next taxi you climb into might start flashing colored lights and put you on the hot seat to answer trivia questions for cash! If you're a New Yorker, you want to know this, right? It's a funny show, particularly watching people's expressions when they first discover they're in THAT taxi.

What else do I not know about this city? I wonder if there's a cash L train?

first contract

At Tsia's school this year, the parents have all been taking turns teaching the kids about our careers. Since the East Village is a creative community, the kids have tried their hands at photography, learned about interior design, built a house from sticks (one parent builds treehouses when his band isn't touring), constructed cityscapes (three of the parents are architects), made jewelry, written books (literary agent), and learned to conduct interviews (journalist). Last week, they learned about contracts from the lone lawyer in the group.

I love how this career was presented. The parent introduced the children to the idea of contracts by negotiating with his daughter, who wants a computer. He left himself plenty of wiggle room (as lawyers are wont to do) while convincing his daughter that she shouldn't fight with her little sister. Of course Tsia came home from the experience wanting to negotiate her own contract, and she promptly sat down at the dining room table to fill out the contract template that came home from the lesson--even signing my name for me.

Anyway, last week Tsia and Todd sat down together to complete the census form, and they agreed that they will always complete their census forms together. The even wrote a contract to ensure that they're legally bound to do this. So they produced Tsia's first contract: copy below.

I wish I had my camera handy when they were negotiating and completing this form; it was really precious to see them leaning over the paper together, concentrating on the wording and signing their names. Tsia said she'll never move out (much to Todd's horror!), but I'm all for flying her home someday if she's living in Paris.

Nothing like a tradition and a little civic duty to hold a family together.

Wish me luck. This week it's my turn to talk about designing sewing patterns for children's clothing.

favorite memories of our break

A list of things I want to remember from our Christmas break:

Sketching at the Metropolitan Museum with Tsia and Heather. Tsia and I officially declared it "frilly girly day" but neglected to warn Heather that tutus were involved, so we'll have to re-schedule another sketching event soon so Heather can wear her yellow bumblebee tutu.




Celebrating a low-key Christmas with dear friends. An icy walk along the East River on Christmas afternoon, building a tiny snow bunny (not the blonde skiing kind, mind you), waving Merry Christmas to a friendly tugboat as it passed us. Later, lobster, steak au poivre, and flying bunnies (a long tradition I'll explain sometime) at the apartment of more close friends. There's nothing like Christmas in New York, and I mean it.





Watching Tsia do a "flamingo dance" (costume found in my parents' admirable collection of dress-up clothes) after we attended a performance by Noche Flamenca the other day. Really breathtaking. (Noche Flamenca, that is. Tsia's dancing was more amusing than breathtaking, I'll admit. It involved lots of bottom-wiggling.) If you get a chance to see this group, I highly recommend it. I'm entranced by the way the performers watch each other so intently (much of flamenco is improvisation, so they need to be closely in tune), and I admire the tremendous physicality of the dancing. The singing always vaguely reminds me of one of my favorite musicians, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, which may seem far-fetched, but apparently the roots of Flamenco do have some ties to that part of the world. We'll have another opportunity to watch flamenco at Tsia's school tomorrow.


Travel with my little one, who is really a wonderful kid. I'm lucky to spend time with her and her sweet disposition. We have fun together.



Spending time with my family, particularly my two youngest sisters, one new brother-in-law, and my parents. 2009 was quite a year for our family in many different ways. I'm glad we had a chance to spend some quiet time together to close out the old year and look forward to a new year.




Meeting the editor of an upcoming digital fiber-craft magazine at a terrific yarn store/cafe near my parents' home. Nothing like wielding pointy tools for change, and the yarns look as scrumptuous as the food!


Paying a nostalgic visit to Dad's office, which was always an adventure when I was little and got to play with the drafting supplies.





Admiring the architecture at the University of Wisconsin. Many of the older buildings are so beautiful and grand.




Dropping by to see where our favorite Babcock Hall ice cream is made. Saying hi to the friendly cows (I had no idea a single cow can give 5 gallons of milk in one milking, and here's the proof that I don't make this stuff up.





Returning home to one adorable husband and furry cat.

* * * * * * *

I have one resolution for 2010: I want to celebrate spontaneous ordinary events. Calendar holidays have always felt too forced and stressful to me, so this year I will celebrate the everyday, the little events, and the uneventful. And I plan to make them into events of their own. So here's to the new year!