oh yeah, the rest of our lives!

So, despite the blizzard yesterday we had our second trunkshow. It was lovely. Katherine First came and played her fiddle. It was a wonder.

Today we have been layin low, cleaning the house, walking the dogs, trying to get everthing ELSE in our lives back together!

Most importantly for me, it's time to work on the LOOP IT UP SAV book!
I've been doing some research and thinking about it, and I think that we will make a small edition of hand made books (me and the kiddos) and then print an edition of oh, say 100 which can also come with us to ACC Baltimore.

Here are a few wonderful things and then I'm going to have to sign off for the day:

1. Brandi Carlisle who we LOVE in 526 sings, "just when you think you've had enough, your dreams come true."

2. James!



3. Peter Doliber, director of my YMCA and dear dear friend/ visionary just wrote to me, "both respect and esteem are built. But I am way more concerned with respect."

4. Isolina says, "we may not be able to love you enough to fill the void... but shit, we'll try."

5. Bub and Lu sleep on. soon i will to.

suddenly december

It was been a while!




I have been...

- packing up the house and prepping for MA

- moving materials around at the YMCA

- running around like mad, making up for a stolen phone - yes, the night before the long drive.... naturally

- driving up 95 with Riva and Lucy (cayewah's pup) for 9 hours, stopping in with Joellen and Jason for the night, driving 10 more hours thru the rain and fog

- Arriving in Northampton. Florence actually.

- Snuggeling

- Binding quilts and embellishing mittens



- doing trunkshow # 1 - went very well (here is Lulu, we did the show at his house)



- making doggie jackets




- knitting (basking in loving admiration for the importance of making)

I'm up in MA, taking good care.
Making, trying to keep my dogs and myself pretty warm.

Everything is going very well. We are most certainly on vacation, despite the ever epic lists. The days are less full and the freezing-ness is making me drink more tea and wear thicker socks.

...and the persuit of happiness

This incredibly beautiful op-ed piece by Maria Kalman was recently in the NYT.


http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/

certainly worth a look!

we are making making making here. almost time to hit the road!

Here is the set up of the wonderful thanksgiving block party that we went to!
the 1200 block of e. 49th street was blocked off and the table was made up in the middle of it all!



can I please move to your neighborhood?

Taylor KNITS!

My Sweet little neighbor Taylor came over tonight, for spaghetti, Michael Jackson and, as it turns out, KNITTING!







(every day of your life, for as long as you live............)

another day

Pam and I have this on going discussion about how when your dog wakes up in the morning their mind is filled with nothing except, "oh my... another day...." -- none of the worries or other complicated thoughts that creep into our heads shockingly soon after awakening. Somehow, in these days off, I am trying to be like that too.

so here is what happened in this day (with out any particular effort, plan)











and tomorrow will be another one.

don't want to think about what i don't have. just wanna worry bout what i got...

look at this cute thing that Jill found on swiss-miss.com!

I'm listening to the nields, slowly resurfacing from finals week + the compiled madness of it all.

Today is to be the beginning of a (hopefully productive) pretty exciting work week, before Riva and I head to MA. Pamy is flying back to the USA from France right now, so little Wiley will be heading back to the isalnd soon. I will be missing him! But it is going to be incredibly good to see Pamela! Lexi got back yesterday too!


Today, after we go out for a nice long walk will be a YMCA work day. We are planning to bring LOOP to two more locations in January... I need to start that process. Today, I'm planning to swing by the Gadsen Elementary School and the Hodge Memorial Daycare center. Both are near the YMCA and would be great places to build a materials center and give classes! (fingers crossed, about all that...)

Also, these next few days are for the making of as much as possible. We are having TWO holiday shows.

The first is DECEMBER 5 at Sarah and Hosie's
The second is DECEMBER 13 at the WICKS!

Every day is for the making of as much as possible, but especially the next 5.

one of the beautiful Gee's Bend Quilters said, "take what you have and make what you want."

running around, seeing things

We were really lucky to see a Nick Cave performance, right here in Savannah!
Here's to copious making!

How to Make A Very Good Nest

an instructional video by Topo Wiley

go to : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsmAFTpuvbk

or search Fibersforce videos on youtube!
(you won't be sorry!)

Uncle David comes to the Y

After much persuading from Cayewah and me, our good friend David Frank came over to the Y today and did a little spinning with the kiddos!

radical cuteness ensued!




I'm working, a little more every day of "Lovingkindness: a cookbook"
tomorrow equals pocket pies!

pictures to follow.


.... there is a road that meets the road that goes to my house.... (the decemberists... july july july)

here we go: another week

And take it slowly
And easily
And lovely

Good Things: Right Now!

I feel like I have long talked and thought about the concept of "good things ahead". It is a reassuring way to get ourselves to carry on, and feel okay about it.
This past week has been a pile of those good things coming to actually pass.

Maybe I already told you, but Loop It Up Savannah got its grant! This makes it possible to go on and grow and do good work in more parts of Savannah, as well as continue what is already happening!

In the light of suddenly being funded, I decided to apply to the American Craft Council School to Market Program to do an artist book about LOOP, and everything that has happened to us in the last year. It will be a coloboration with all of the kids and families and community members.... should be very wonderful. It will include curriculum and all that good stuff.

I am overwhelmed and happy because I feel like this projet is the key, and I'm about to embark on something that I have always wanted to do!

ALSO: of import my friend Audrey just (today!) opened a beautiful little store called "The French Knot" - it is a "stitch boutique!" how completely wonderful. everything is set up by COLOR. I am in LOVE and I know that Pamela and Lexi will be too when they get back here and see it!

well, off to write some -- ooh la la-- financial and expansion plans.....

Halloween, and 87 degrees!

We found ourselves at Lynsey's horseshow today. Halloween, 87 degrees at least.
this little piggy (Brummel Dominic Zoltner) was so good the whole time!





"I love you so much I could eat you mumma"

we've decided to try to do a book about LOOP IT UP, and bring it to the American Craft Council Show this year! 1-2-3 GO!

I've, yet again, avoided the halloween shenanigans...... it is a little insane around here. Everyone is running around half naked. I sometimes block out what halloween feel like now because it was so much better as a kid and that is what I choose to remember.

Tomorrow is homework, making, CLEANING OUR HOUSE!

One Day in Savannah GA

Great news! We got the Loop It Up grant from the Hodge Foundation!
What a thrill it was to open the letter--- adressed to

Molly Green Lieberman
Cayewah Easley
Loop It Up Savannah
c/o the west broad street YMCA

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!
so onward, to good work and constant making!

we got another one...

... it happens.

Ghandi said : we must be the change that we would like to see in the world

this is, of course, a very big project.

saturday can be a good good day.

Today has been lovely.

I work up to Jilly cleaning the house. De-dogging is a very important piece of the week for us--- we're again up to three.
And to a chilly, surprisingly autumnal morning! Riva and Topo and I took a nice long walky-walk in which we did not break into a sweat! probably the las time THAT happened was last winter in Massachusetts!

We went to the farmers market, the bean, brighter day....... all the best places for a saturday morning.

In cool weather, there is nothing better than cooking and making.... here are some pieces of dinner:



now; off to sew a little.
LOOP IT UP on Monday!! LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(we saw where the wild things are last night... it would appear...)

a very sad day

Vandell Bivens, father of three of our most beloved kids at the YMCA died in a shooting that happened downtown last weekend. this is what the other kids made for them.

somedays are so full of the unbelivably good and the unbelievably bad.

the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

one hundred million lights on the darkest night

"I don't believe in the wasting of time.




and I don't believe that I'm wasting mine" - Fiona Apple said that

overload blues

I wish I could just walk out these blue doors and have a second to just stand there.
School can be so terrifying sometimes.... especially on top of the rest of it. (this might be why you are supposed to do school BEFORE you do the rest of it...)
hmmm.

missing my pamy, missing my lexi, missing my cayewah wah wah. wondering why on earth i am up at 3am feeling overwhelmed by school!

when i grow up i'm gonna be happy and do what i like to do

ingredients: