a starry mix of sassy thoughts
You know you love them. I love them too. Remember them from this post?
The lovely Dayna from just let me know that she will be carrying a selection of Sophie Digard Necklaces as part of their Spring 08 offering. Be sure to sign up for so you will be the first to know.
**Don’t forget today is the last day to sign up for the 200th Post-O-Rama Giveaway!
I just wanted you to know that Chris March wasn’t the first to make an article of clothing with (although he did an amazing job). wasn’t the first either I’m sure, but he was the one that inspired me back in the summer of 1987. I was in the check-out line a the grocery store, and there it was staring back at me. It was love at first sight. On the cover of Cosmo, was a black dress covered in safety pins (if anyone has this cover or knows where I can get it please let me know). I was on a mission. It took me almost a whole summer to cover the dress in rows of safety pins, but I did it. So, without further ado…
My junior prom dress. It was a jersey tube. I stitched straps onto it and wore a vintage bolero over it. I still have it. Maybe someday Iz will wear it, or take all the pins off and make her own. (Thanks Evie for finding the photo!)
**Don’t forget tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the 200th Post-O-Rama Giveaway.
Do you remember sewing with your mom or grandmother or aunt or a good friend? Or maybe it wasn’t sewing, but knitting or gardening or cooking? Doesn’t a smile just start to sneak up on you as you remember the embroidery sampler, the scarf, the doll clothes, the vegetable garden? I find that I remember these things with my mom (sewing, gardening crafting), my grandmothers (painting, fashion show lunches, needlepoint, cooking), aunts who stitched, crocheted, photographed, read books, listened to music: the loving people in my life that were so passionate about their craft it seeped through every aspect and into mine? Sifting through their “tool boxes” as they baked in the kitchen. Smelling the oil paint, trying on thimbles, reading the climate maps on seed packets, fingering the embroidery floss and loving the colors, staring at bookshelves, loving the wonderful art books they found inspiration in. Maybe that’s one of the wonderful reasons sewing and these other arts are so comforting to me? The act of focusing on all these activities is so zen like, but how much of it is due to the love in how I learned to do it?
Each month at LuckyStitches I offer a class for kids and their parents to come in and sew a project together. This month, we made bucket hats.
Perfect for Spring. Especially since we keep having storm after storm and more snow (although today it was rain).
Everyone learned how to adjust the pattern to their measurements.
Cutting always takes practice.
Sewing circles takes practice and some advice from mom.
Making sure tootsies can reach the pedal, make for a tear free sewing experience.
Ages 7 and 10 – these little LuckyStitchers, along with their mom, made their very own hats. Together.
**Don’t forget to sign up for the 200th Post-O-Rama Giveaway by leaving a comment on that post by Friday.
I keep finding out about cool people and places in the Hilltowns of Western Ma. Authors, TV people, Artists, Illustrators, Fashion Designers and so many more. has been helping out at over the past year. . Founded by the original all girl rock band, Fanny member June Millington and Ann Hackler , in California in the late 60s, it now resides in Goshen, MA. Lucky, lucky us. But even luckier are all the young women that are able to attend the rock ‘n’ roll camps and the adults that get to explore rock ‘n’ roll through their amazing programs, and not to mention their shows.
Having a 3 year old girl who LOVES music, we hope that when she reaches the ripe age, she’ll be attending rock ‘n’ roll camp. So, my lovely Rob has been working on a . This new space is a state of the art sound recording studio so the rock’n'rollers that attend can record their art like all other rock’n'rollers. And what’s even more exciting is the that starts on March 8 to help fund the building of this studio. That’s THIS Saturday people!
The rundown of auction items is SO amazing. Here it is! Which you should check often as items are always being added.
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie will personalize/autograph a white Fender Standard Stratocaster according to the winning bidder’s wishes. That means that the instrument will not be autographed until the winner lets Bonnie know how to dedicate the signature. The guitar comes with a Fender gigbag. The guitar itself has an alder body; maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 3 pickups, 5-way switch, and a whammy bar. Players will appreciate a fast neck and that fabulous Strat tone; everyone on the planet appreciates Bonnie Raitt.
Ani DiFranco
The woman who helped to redefine “indie music” is donating and autographing a brand new Alvarez RF8C acoustic/electric guitar. This is a cutaway model with a built-in preamp—very sweet tone, both acoustic and amplified and very nicely set up. And even more special is the Ani DiFranco autograph parallel to the bridge…definitely not something you will find at the local guitar store. Wow!
David Bowie
David Bowie signed leather jacket from the TV series “The Hunger”
Melissa Ferrick
Melissa is donating her beautiful Takamine 1998 Limited Edition “blue moon” model. This is also an acoustic/electric guitar. The instrument features a spruce top with Palisandro back and sides. It’s visually stunning—from a rosette handcrafted from abalone and exotic woods to fret markers that mirror the waxing/waning moon. The guitar comes with a gigbag. The guitar has been furnished with new strings, but Melissa’s own old strings will be enclosed with the guitar. It is in very good-to-excellent condition, with only minor scuffing on the top from use and some very minor surface scratches on the sides of the lower bout. Currently is missing the battery compartment door for the preamp, but that has been ordered & hopefully will be replaced prior to auction. There is some fret wear, but there are many hours left on this fine instrument, which has retained much of the creative karma of its former owner.
Terri Lyne Carrington
Terri Lyne is a remarkable talent, so it’s no surprise that she is donating a very exciting collection of items, which will be broken into at least two auctions, if not three:
1) Zildjian stick bag with…items 2,3,4
2) one pair of autographed Zildjian sticks;
3) one pair of Yamaha autographed sticks;
4) one pair of Zildjian brushes
5) autographed TLC CD “Jazz is a Spirit”
6) autographed concert flyer & program
7) autographed publicity photo and 
autographed Zildjian Oriental “trash hat top hat”
Indigo Girls/Amy Ray
Every now & then, an Indigo Girl fan might come up on an autographed CD. But very rarely will anyone have access to these personal Indigo Girls items provided by Amy Ray and Emily Saliers to benefit IMA:
• Amy Ray’s handwritten lyrics/notes to “Starkville” signed by both Emily & Amy. This battered sheet of paper with blue ink scrawls in Amy’s own hand tells the story of songcraft, as ideas and images flow into lyric and verse.
• Emily Saliers’ original chord and vocal harmony notes for Get Out The Map, also signed by both Emily & Amy The lyrics are typed, but the chords are handwritten (and scratched out & rewritten)
• Special Promo CD release of “Cold Beer and Remote Control” autographed by Emily & Amy
Diana Jones
Diana is a fascinating person, and she is one of this country’s best songwriters, having won critical acclaim and songwriting competitions as well.
Two signed CDs
• Imagine Me
• The One That Got Away
Gail Ann Dorsey
Most people will recognize Gail Ann as David Bowie’s amazing bassist/vocalist. She has also worked with artists as diverse as Bryan Ferry, The Indigo Girls, and Jane Siberry(Issa). She has also released CD’s of her own work, and proving that her heart is as big as her talent, is contributing these items to IMA:
• Pedalboard used on early Bowie tours—It’s a Digitech RP100, in very good condition, with her patches still labeled, and autographed, manual & power supply included.
• 2 Signed CDs “I Used to Be”
• Publicity photos & signed picks (as in guitar picks)
Gwen Stefani (at the request of Gail Ann Dorsey)
• The Sweet Escape Doll “Yummy Gwen” – autographed
• The Sweet Escape Doll “”Red Carpet Gwen”–autographed
• The Sweet Escape Doll “Harajuku Girl” autographed
• The Sweet Escape Doll “Orange County Girl Gwn” – autographed
• DVD Live “Harajuku Lovers Live” autographed
• 2 Autographed CD’s “The Sweet Escape”
(DVD & CDs have parental advisories for Explicit Content
Allison Miller
Drummer Allison Miller’s name might often be attached to a performer she’s worked with: Ani DiFranco, Natalie Merchant, Norah Jones, Melissa Ferrick, Toshi Reagon, Mimi Fox, Alix Olson, and Betty (and have you listened to ‘The L Word” lately??), but she is an artist in her own right as well, releasing her own CDs. Recently featured in Modern Drummer magazine, Allison is contributing several items to IMA:
• Autographed Remo drumhead
• Autographed sticks
• Handwritten tenor part for “Miriam’s Shuffle”
• Autographed CD “5 a.m. Stroll”
• Autographed publicity photo
• Autographed copy of Modern Drummer with a feature story on AM
Ann Hackler
• T-shirt with original artwork and autographs from women’s music luminaries.
In addition to being IMA’s Executive Director, Ann is a visual & musical artist in her own right. She contributes this self-designed T-shirt featuring her artwork of a woman playing cello (like Ann!) with this quote from Virginia Woolf: “If newspapers were written by people whose sole object in writing was to tell the truth about politics and the truth about art, we should not believe in war, and we should believe in art.” Original artwork with Virginia Woolf quote “
The front of the T-shirt features the word “BELIEVE”on the front pocket and autographs from women’s music celebrities such as Mary Watkins, the late Kay Gardner, Cris Williamson, Tret Fure, Margie Adam, Robin Flower, Libby McLaren, Nancy Vogl, Deidre Mccalla, June Millington, and Jean Millington. This item is one of our most precious as there is only ONE in existence, and it can never be re-created.
Jennifer Baumgardner
Jennifer Baumgardner is an author and activist who served as an editor for Ms. Magazine in the mid-1990s. Her work has also appeared in Harpers, The Nation, Glamour, Elle, and numerous other magazines. She co-authored Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and Politics and Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism with Amy Richards, and last year, published Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics.
• Her own personal galley of her book “Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics” autographed. While most of us can buy a hardback or paperback, only a handful of galleys are produced, typically for the author, editors, and perhaps a reviewer.
• A copy of the DVD she co-produced with Gillian Aldrich, “I Had an Abortion”
• Poster from a lecture given at Mt. Holyoke by Jennifer & Manifesta co-author Amy Richards, autographed by both.
Vater Percussion/Caitlin Kalafus
• 5A Hickory drumstick brick … some autographed by Caitlin Kalafus, who won a contest at NAMM for World’s Fastest Drummer. She’s quite amazing for such a young player
• 5A HIckroy drumstick brick, unopened, unautographed
• Pair of Vater sticks, autographed by Steward Copeland, drummer for the police
• Pair of Vater sticks, autographed by Virgil Donati
• Pair of Vater sticks, autographed by Atlanta alt rock band Sevendust
Wolfe Video
• Ultimate Lesbian Library DVD Collection
This is beautifully wrapped in a purple gift basket and includes such classics as Desert Hearts, Claire of the Moon, Some Prefer Cake, Radical Harmonies, Everything Relative….20 titles in all, with a value of $575!! This is a mind-boggling set that anyone would be delighted to have!
(Wolfe was also intending to donate a Lily Tomlin memorabilia set, but apparently some items were lost due to damage to the box in transit….we have an Edith Ann doll, but sadly there’s no sign of the autographed book, pendant, DVDs.
New item added
• David Bowie signed leather jacket from the TV series “The Hunger” S(auction date tba)
March 8-March 17
• Bonnie Raitt guitar
• Wolfe Video Collection
• Terri Lyne Carrington gift set #1 (stick bag, sticks, brushes, auto pgm; auto CD
• Baumgardner #1 DVD I Had an Abortion
• Stefani auto DVD & CD
March 14-23
• Indigo Girls Gift Set
• Allison Miller Gift Set #1 (auto drum head; handwritten tenor part for Miriam’s Shuffle, auto CD)
• Stefani “Yummy Gwen” doll
• Stewart Copeland/Vater auto drumsticks
• Dorsey pedalboard and CD
March 20-29
• Ani DiFranco guitar
• Stefani Red Carpet Gwen” doll
• Virgil Donati/Vater auto drumsticks
• Tret Fure meal/house concert package
• Terri Lyne Carrington gift set #2 (auto cymbal, auto sticks, auto CD, auto publicity photo & concert program)
March 28-April 6
• Melissa Ferrick guitar
• Baumgardner #2 (galley & auto poster)
• Stefani Harajuku Girl doll
• Sevendust auto drumsticks
• Allison Miller gift set #2 (auto sticks, auto publicity photo; auto copy of Modern Drummer
April 5-April 14
• Ann Hackler T-shirt
• Stefani & Dorsey autographed CD gift set
• Diana Jones auto CDs
• Fanny/June & Jean items
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