Sneak Preview: more new work

I've been busy getting ready for Holiday Market at Cheverly Community Market this Saturday, and thought I'd share a few of the new items I'll have this weekend.

 There's a lot more, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you on Saturday if you're in Cheverly, or on Etsy very soon!

pricklygirl art+craft at Cheverly Community Market on December 13

I'll be returning to Cheverly Community Market -- as a vendor for the first time -- at Holiday Market, 8am to noon on Saturday, December 13. I have been part of Cheverly Community Market since it began in 2008, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the Market from the vendor's side this weekend.

I'll bring unique, handmade modern accessories, including one-of-a-kind decoupage under glass plates and bowls, handknit items for all ages, and small matted photographic prints of some of the gorgeous produce you’ve seen at Cheverly Community Market over the years. pricklygirl art+craft has been featured in galleries in Chicago, suburban Philadelphia, and Silver Spring, as well as art magazines and private collections throughout the United States. My knitwear is a treasured gift and is frequently used in photo shoots, so I'm glad to finally share it with people in person! 

I'll also have some of my award-winning produce photos, which have been shown in Washington, DC, and have been featured in magazines and on websites celebrating the intersection of food and art.

Hope to see you at Cheverly Community Market this Saturday!

I have to step away from the wax and paint fumes for a bit...

Getting ready for Handmade Mart and the opening day of Cheverly Community Market and I think I need either a nap or food. And probably a bath, since I seem to have coated a good part of my left hand and arm with silver wax.

And here's my big confession: I've never been in a craft show before. I'm a little (lot) nervous. Selling stuff through third parties (stores, etsy) is no problem, but the whole people interacting with me thing? That sends me right back to middle school, where I was painfully shy. Funny, since I blog in three places and take thousands of photos of everyone else. What can I say? It's a quirk.

Cheverly Day is this weekend! I was very lucky to be asked to create the program for the 80th anniversary. The book was mailed to every household in town, and contains many, many recollections from friends and neighbors about what makes this a great place to live. Click here to take a look!

We're also getting ready for a big ChvProm on Friday night. The table decoration contest is particularly fierce this year. Can't wait to post photos, but for now our theme is under wraps! All I can say is that many cans of spray paint have

been used.

Finally, I'm very excited to announce that I'm returning to work with Cheverly Community Market this season -- my fancy title is "Digital Outreach Manager"... there'll be a lot of new content on the blog and website coming soon, as well as some cool new stuff!

And...it's almost GROTTO SEASON!

I'm excited about a lot of things right now!

The next three weeks are crazy. Crazy I tell you! Spring break is over for the kids and there are only a five weeks left before summer, and I'm fairly certain that every minute is going to be a whirlwind...

* Cheverly Community Market kicks off an exciting new season with a potluck this Saturday night. Details here. You'll be hearing a fair amount about the Market from me this year...and I'm glad to be part of it again.

* ChvProm is next Friday! This is one event that makes Cheverly a magical place to live. Our group has big plans this year...big plans. I can say no more.

* Cheverly Day is next Saturday. If you've talked to me in the past month, you know I've been sort of preoccupied with getting the program ready -- it's a big one. I think that the very best thing about this program is that there are so many stories of people who live here, why they came here, why they stay. And a bunch of stories of families who have been part of Cheverly for multiple generations. Can't wait for everyone to see this!

* Cheverly Community Market opens the 2011 season on Saturday, May 21.

The thing I'm most excited about? I'll be in my very first craft fair on Sunday, May 22. Silver Spring's Handmade Mart is a juried fair of super cool vendors, and I'm thrilled to be part of it this year. Please come visit me there!

I don't know why I haven't mentioned this here...

Cheverly Community Market Opening Day

this Saturday, 8:00am to noon at the Cheverly Community Center.

(I do the website, the blog and the photography for the Market. I'd love to see many of my friends there. If we're not friends yet, introduce yourself!)

LIVE ALL AGES Rock 'n' Roll Extravaganza This Saturday!

This Saturday morning at 10:00am, join the families of Cheverly Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out for a very special all-ages rock 'n' roll morning show featuring SOUL REVOLVER. Admission is only $5 per person (it's a tax-deductible contribution.) And there will be snacks available for a small fee.

Soul Revolver is Cheverly's very own Beatles cover band, and has played private parties as well as several times at The Surf Club on Kenilworth Avenue. Members are Charles Andrews (bass, vocals), Kelly Fisher (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Brian Jarboe (guitar, vocals), and Brian Youmans (drums, vocals). All four members have some relation to the Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out programs or to Cheverly United Methodist Church, so it's definitely a family affair.

The concert will take place in the historic church's Sanctuary, and we encourage dancing in the aisles!

We hope that many families are able to take advantage of a fun, inexpensive opportunity to hear (and see up close!) live music in Cheverly. This is the second concert in the Music at School series, which benefits the Cheverly Weekday Nursery and Mother's Day Out programs for young children. We bring a variety of music to children and their families in the Cheverly area, allowing them to experience live music performed by familiar people -- parents and other people the kids know. We encourage children to take an active interest in music, and families to pursue more opportunities to expose their children to a wide array of musical styles. In our first year, we've offered performances by classical pianist Naoko Maeda and rock band Soul Revolver. Next year, we will continue to expand the offerings of this exciting new outreach program.

For more information, visit the WDN/MDO website or read about it on your friendly neighborhood blog or its' close personal friend.

My Very Own Personal Fairy Princess

Gratuitous photos of Maggie, because I am soooooo tired.

If you don't already have one of these, you really should get your own personal fairy princess. They're a lot of work and they get awfully messy and can be a little temperamental, but every so often, they rock. Actually, mine usually rocks, but then she spends most of the day not being my friend anymore, with chocolate ice cream coating her front and mud coating her back. Today was one of those days...but she's still my girl.

Why I haven't posted.

We've been having too much fun. Sorry.

Between a baby calf eating Paul's shirt at South Mountain Creamery (Paul seemed to really enjoy that. Huh.), days spent poolside, visits to Clagett Farm, our bi-weekly Cheverly Community Market, and Maggie trying to eat things bigger than her head (I think there's some words of wisdom that I should have told her, but I forgot. Whoops.) the blogging thing has been an afterthought. At best. I have been good about taking pictures though...

Is it too soon to start wishing for fresh produce?

The Cheverly Community Market begins the new season on May 24. Looking out on a cold, dreary day, May 24 seems like an eternity. In fact, the entire idea that May is on the horizon seems to be quite a reach.

We also belong to a great CSA farm, and I really look forward to my weekly trip to the farm, and to learning about all sorts of produce that I'd never bothered with before (I made lots of swiss chard last summer, and it was fantastic.) Last year, Paul learned (from wise old Uncle Erik) that the beautiful brown cows standing in the fields were really only walking hamburgers. Far from being frightened by that idea, Paul embraced it. Every week we'd go get our share, and every week, Paul would proclaim something (loudly) about walking hamburgers. I think he may have offended the sensibilities of some of the groovier farm patrons, but he's right. It turns out that you can buy a share of a cow (or possibly the whole thing) and have at it. I know people who do it, and I can attest to the excellent beef. Still, walking hamburgers...