Not only are the Man and I moving to a slightly larger apartment, but my blog is moving!
You can now find me over at my wordpress hosted blog (http://digthisbird.wordpress.com/). Same blog, but I just can’t waste the money on the GoDaddy hosting anymore. Please update your links!
Renewal for my domain is coming up in February, and i’m thinking it’s time to free up the cash that usually goes to this site.
That being said, I’m going to move this blog over to either WordPress (which I already use to write this) or blogspot. Anyone have opinions on either??
~Robin
It’s up!
What’s up?
The Clay Biddle Design Etsy Shop!
That’s right. I’ve decided I’m so bad at time-managing my own projects, that I should go ahead and get my mother’s business into the 21st century!
Tile Gift Set
So go check out the new shop and buy something!
~Robin
(PS- did you notice the picture taken with my fancy new camera?? Still learning it, but so far I’m loving my Canon Eos Rebel T3 D1100!)
So while I’m at my mother’s again, learning how to use my fancy new DSLR (Canon Rebel T3!) and helping dear mummy get an Etsy shop online, I’ve taken a break to hunt through Etsy for some awesome Chevron-patterned items.
Since my mother is an interior designer, I’ve done nothing for the past few days but look at design blogs. Ever since the advent of the Jonathan Adler Age of Modern Design, the chevron print and its variations (see: Missoni Flame Stitch items for Target) have been on the rise. I love that a little bit of chevron print can go a long way to adding some serious punch and attitude to a room.
This time around I decided to try my hand at making a Treasury of some of my favorite pieces from around Etsy (and how fantastic is that hot pink pillow???):
 Pattern Letterpress Statione… $8.50
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 personalized note cards stat… $13.00
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 The FLEUR Clutch in Apple Gr… $68.00
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 Bird PIllow. Yellow chevron … $33.50
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 Chevron Decor set of 5 Itali… $30.00
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 NEW Chevron Square Monogramm… $56.00
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 Chevron High Waisted Skirt $32.00
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 Going to the South West – na… $70.00
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 Big Chevron – Hand Carved St… $9.00
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 Icy Blue Chevron oblong clut… $35.00
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 Pair of 2 Chevron Stripe Des… $64.00
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 Hand Block Printed Yellow Ch… $6.00
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 Brass Chevron Necklace. Geom… $26.00
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 Chevron Dinner Plate – Aedri… $23.00
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 Yellow and White Chevron Clu… $25.00
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 Drum Lamp Shade in a Pink an… $65.00
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Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.
~Robin
You’d think, living in The City that Never Sleeps, I’d have more exciting weekends than I usually do. Honestly, I usually either laze about with The Boyfriend, or go out to see in family in CT. This weekend I actually managed to get out and do things.
Friday I got together with two of my bestfriends since middle school, and went to see an off-off Broadway play created and directed by a school friend of ours, Jeremy Bloom (and his creative collaborators Brian Rady and Laura Dunn). The play was The Orange Person. I’m always wary of off-off Broadway, but I was pleasantly surprised by this show. It was low budget, but quaint and welcoming like a well staged Williamsburg loft. The story itself, while an original premise (the story of a boy born bright orange in a small Texas border town), was pretty predictable. And while I found the actor playing The Orange Person himself a little over-the-top in his acting and singing style, the rest of the cast was pretty fantastic. The real standout was the girl playing The Orange Person’s mother, who I believe was Catherine Sullivan. Her voice went from giving Adele a run for her money to ghostly and ethereal. I will be first in line to buy her album if she ever creates one.
Horn of Plenty Table at The Orange Man.
Catherin Sullivan looks on as Brian Rady ends the show
And it was awful nice that they offer $5 bottomless wine before the show starts.
Saturday night I took over a couple couches at The Belgian Room in Alphabet City for a late celebration of my birthday, and got to see my favorite Kallie of Happy, Honey, and Lark (bar was too dark for any pictures).
But before The Boyfriend and I headed downtown for that, we spent our afternoon at Petco. I cried a little because I desperately wanted to adopted this cat Chippie whose personality reminded me of my dearly departed Smudge, and Tom reminded how allergic I was to Smudge after 18 years, and how much I detest cat hair. Nevertheless, It makes me so sad knowing that there are so many lovely cats and dogs in NYC that end up being euthanized due to lack of funds or space to keep them happy and healthy.
So, moving away from that topic, we got Fish!
Boyfriend introducing the fish to their new home
The Fish inspecting their reflections
The Fish are as of yet unnamed. I’ve suggest Laurel and Hardy or Morkam and Wise, while Boyfriend insists on British naval battles or admirals. Clearly we are at an impasse. Our little 15¢ Comets seem to enjoy their fancy-schmancy feng shui aquarium, complete with live plants and tiki gods!
Tiki God you make me shake you make me shiver
Certainly better than that sad tank at Petco where they keep 200+ comets all together.
~Robin
Last weekend I went out to Connecticut to help my mom put together her booth for the 1st ever ASID of CT Interior Design tag sale. Loads of designers either consigned furniture or had tables displaying their wares for cash/credit and carry sales. I inventoried Mom’s couple hundred of hand painted tiles, boxed them up, and brought them to Christ Church in Greenwich.
Our booth at the Tag Sale
DigThisBird's little section of our booth
Prints and Chickens
I have a feeling the sale would have been a lot more successful if the weather gods hadn’t decided that we should get 6″ of snow, 2 days before Halloween. Nevertheless, it was great to get out and about with other designers!
Hi, my name is Robin, and I’m a crochet addict.
My apartment is filled with more yarn than its small size can hold. The Boyfriend constantly asks why we need so many afghans. The majority of my Christmas gifts are new crochet projects. And I spend far too long every day looking at crafter’s crochet blogs. Really, nothing matches vintage style quite like crochet.
Yes, your grandmother probably crocheted, but that doesn’t mean it’s old-fashioned. Sure, my dad may have a drawer-full of his mother’s starched doilies, but nothing warms me and my sisters like the afghans our grandmothers made us.
I love getting inspiration for colors and patterns from both bloggers and Etsians alike. Here are some of today’s favorites.
Red and White Cotton Granny Square Blanket by Rocket and Bear
Rocket and Bear has some of the sweetest, coziest crochet on Etsy. The designer and craftswoman Lucy is based out of the gorgeous town of Bath over in my favorite country on earth. And not only is everything she crochets gorgeous and cozy and fun, but her product photos are beautiful.
Organic Applique Cotton and Bamboo Flowers by My Little Palatte
I love the sweet applique designs by this crafter based out of Singapore. She’s got them for every theme you could need. I imagine her fingers are rather sore…
The Dolly Granny Square Afghan by The Sunroom
Aileen, of The Sunroom, has some pretty epic afghans, all featuring an amazing riot of colours. I discovered her Dolly Afghan after seeing a few other bloggers featuring their projects from her pattern. Wow is the only word, other than Epic of course. You should also check out her Heavenly Mirasol afghan when you swing by her shop.
Crocheted Snowflakes from Katrinshine
One of my dearest friends since middle school has an incredibly crafty Austrian mother. One year she decorated their Christmas tree in a hundred perfect stitched, perfectly starched, Crocheted Snowflakes. Ever since then I’ve been enamored with delicate but sturdy crochet snowflakes. These snowflakes here come Katrin’s Etsy shop, based out of Italy. Maybe this year’s tree will get some crocheted ornaments…
Queen Anne's Lace Scarf from AlwaysBeCreating
And here is the scarf that got me picking up a crochet hook in the first place. I saw this pattern online and was determined to make one for myself. That was 4 years ago. And while it’s still a beautiful scarf, I’m pretty obsessed with massive color palates for blankets and pillows.
I may even have to start selling some on Etsy, as we’re running out of storage space!
All my posts so far have been about my father’s side of the family. Maybe it’s because I’m living in New York now, in what used to be a very German area, that I feel a particular connection to my old German family. But I realize I’ve been neglecting some other quality family photos that come from my mother’s side of the family.
Example:
Great Granddad and Yale Drama
The dashing fellow in the center was my Great Grandfather, Robert Chesterfield, looking very serious indeed in his cast photo. I have no clue what play this was for, but clearly being at Yale ca. 1900 meant that it called for men to dress up like women.
Those are some BAD wigs.
After helping my mother this past week with her “family” business, I thought it would be a good time to show you a different, older, family business:
Osceola Grocery in The Bronx
Great Grandfather August was first generation American, after his father August and his mother Elise immigrated from northern Germany in the early 1860s. Growing up, he spent some time in Osceola, Nebraska, with his uncle, living in a sod house. This lovely old New York grocery store was where you can now find yourself stuck in god-awful traffic on the Major Deegan Parkway in the South Bronx.
153 Lincoln Ave may now be a heating and sprinkler company, but the original building and window molding is still there…
So glad that every where you go in New York you can still find little remnants of Old New York.
No, not the English word and number puzzle show, but a proper countdown! 1 day to my birthday, and 3 days until the ASID CT Interior Designer Tag Sale!
Tuesdays are teaching days (I teach an after school mythology class once a week), which is why you will probably never see me post then.
But Wednesday tend to be the day I go out to my parents in CT to get some REAL work done! I’ve come out this week (despite tomorrow being my birthday) to get everything together for the ASID Tag Sale this weekend, which I will be helping my mother with. So far today has been a day of heavy lifting (boxes full of tiles and glass bottle and books) and cataloging everything mom and I will be bringing to Christ Church.
In my parents barn, We’ve been unearthing some really great tile pieces my mother has forgotten about and will have for sale this weekend.
Fish Backsplash by E.C. Biddle
Off to put price tags on bottle and wrap the matted prints in plastic!
Hope to see some readers there on Saturday!
ASID CT Tag Sale
Christ Church
254 East Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT
Saturday Oct. 29th
10am-4pm