Are you laughing at me?

for serious. are you?

I can still see you.  jerk.

pardon my French. 

J'aime ta moustache

but are you laughing now?

If rabbits ran trains.

Yall.


I am plum tired.




When I am near such fatigue, my expressions are increasingly southern and dip deeper into the accent I like to call Late Night E. Kingston Latta Park Screen Porch circa 1990s Charlotte.

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So, if you are a regular checker of this blog-

First things first- I am obsessed with you. So, this drawing is dedicated to YOU. yes.

Secondly, if you are a regular checker, you would know that I entered a competition where you make a squirrel to live in a tree at The Brooklyn General Store.

This store is like a candy shop but with fabric and yarn and too many sweet things to mention. 

*Giant squirrel in window alert.

The winning prize was a gift certificate. 

and a small blue felt 1st place ribbon.

So, guess which squirrel is wearing that precious little gem?... !!

I found him there.

This weekend I trekked to the store to freak out over their fabric selection.

fabric lovers/yarn lovers/anyone who spends their money on supplies knows how wonderful this gift is.

Wait though. Look Here (<--Brooklyn General Store website) 
at how hilarious some entries were and how they set these guys up.

clever.

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Yes the F train was under construction.

Yes we detoured via bus.

Yes we realized it was not stopping at anything familiar. So we got off. and walked in the direction we knew...

AND walked. and walked.

AND P.S. I never go to NY without hauling something or every.thing in a backpack or trash bag. you name it.

So this time. the hike was in the sun with backpacks...

Shoutout to my sister for only losing her mind 2 times. no seriously the hike was Long. But we got there.

And I realized this:   being rich is hard.

because I was rich with this gift certificate. It blew my mind.

(this fabric floods your eyes even more in real life.) 

 If you have Sewing Store Disease, you know what I speak of when I say it is normal to go into a sewing store and leave poor as dirt with fabric you maybe dont need but.. well.... it had little carousel horses on it and therefore I needed a couple yards ASAP!!!... so. um. I can put it in the corner with the other fabric I had to have.

***Note: I seriously use almost everything I buy pretty quickly and if I haven't yet, that is because it is for something amazing and I am saving it.***

 that carousel-print fabric is on cards for friends, my backpack patch, a scarf. need I go on? no.

WHAT?! this is real. I got it. I know. I know. Come now.

Back to the winnings~

 I was being super selective in the fabrics I was getting until I realized I had a ton more to spend and the whole event turned into an episode of Supermarket Sweep.* 

*(supermarket sweep!!! ah memories-  of middle school summers and paper plates and white bread sandwiches... memories just hurl out of me when I get going) 

I was almost stressed over how to best spend the money, and I had to get everything this one time so I could really see the fabric. Ordering online isn't the same when you have to touch everything.
And, sewing people. fashion people. we. walk through aisles and displays and touch everything we semi-like. 

It's innate.

It's like shaking a cantaloupe. but I realized when I lived in Orlando. they don't do that everywhere.....yeahh.so.

I keep looking at all of it and smiling.

Because I desperately needed vintage trim and fabric with mini lizards on it.

My bags were heavy with fabric, but we aced the return trip to Harlem because as my sister said, 

We. Are. Finishing. This.  

So we found the detour bus and subway transfers and rode back with the loot.

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In time for our show's last night... the closing performance of Old Kent Road Theater's piece that was part of the Bushwhack Series.

at The Bushwick Starr.
A really great space for work.

If you missed it, Sad! it was so neat. and one of my favorites of the OKRT shows. 

Agnes the seeing eye dog aced her role. I saw it 2 nights. She smiled her brains out at certain parts.

Go Agnes.

And the rest of the team. 

The OKRT cast always impresses me with their commitment to the piece and their authentic and raw performance. I love reading the shows, making the work, and then seeing it all come together with the breath added to it.

There were other experimental theater groups that performed in the series. 

One performer was a giant squid puppet. 

so I may or may not have had a crush on him. 

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Agnes has a detachable head ok. It is so she can fit under tables, on subways, in train nooks etc. 

Also important:

This weekend was brought to you by Leslie, Nick, Cole, Kristin, Dave and the Williams brothers.

Those are friends who support shows I am a part of and go out of their way to host backpacking artists. Thank you guys. Dearly.

~~~~~

I feel very solo sometimes.

*henri cartier-bresson photograph, sigh

but I am ridiculously backed by an army of supporting players

Who love my creatures like I do.

and my creatures love them back.

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sos

It works.

RIDING BAREBACK BESIDE A TRAIN...

It works. 

my squirrel won.   

~happy day~

he is hanging out in a tree at the
Brooklyn General Store. 

what a clever store to have such a contest.

Little blue ribbon boy. Yay.

He was in a handmade squirrel contest.

Because like I have said before ~ I have friends that let me know when contests scream my name.

Thank you Sarah Hand. :) 

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We had a chat the night before he went into the mail. He was worried about doing his best.
I told him he could do it. Be himself.

and he felt braver the next morning. because the sun will do that for you.

and, he did his best. 

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In other news:

ME: "I will see you this weekend."

NY: "OK. Let me know when you get here. "

Going to the Brooklyn General Store to see the canvas squirrel in a tree with other squirrels.

This is my second time I have made a squirrel in haste to get to NY by a deadline.

I would do it again too, in a skinny minute.

and.

Old Kent Road Theater presents:

Agnes Bidet

in

Are We Bourgeois, Mon Amour?  

Going to see Agnes in her show this weekend

Agnes is a seeing eye dog finishing out her run this weekend at

The Bushwick Starr.

We are part of their Bushwhack Series.

Her head shot

Buy tickets if you are in NY and love to see things: http://www.thebushwickstarr.org/

 

and.

Can you tell that I just thought, "hey I should make more use of the linking tools and re-live some old posts that way"...

In that case. here is a link to one of my first. and favorites.

P.S. I like to call this section of the blog-

OLD PICTURES THAT NEED TO BE SEEN:

Just a glimpse into what it looks like when you get sleepy really late at night. Working on a creature.

does it fit here? ... no

are there rules here?... no

am I cool?....Heyyyyy  wait. yes.

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I think if it looks the way a music box sounds, then it must be beautiful.

Your world is what you make it.

I wished for curtains like these.

So I made them.

And, then there were four.

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I took the diamonds off the soles of my shoes and tossed them around our sweet home.

Currently, the mantle theme is Alice in Wonderland.

And I never have enough sequins.

well... there's that rabbit.

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I'm pretty sure the best place for everything charming is the bar display in the middle of the kitchen and dining area

Suddenly Spring.

Wine labels are my guilty pleasure... I bought that bottle just to display.

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Oh. Look. More curtains. 

Buy fabric regardless of what it is sold as. Buy it if you love it. 

and turn it into what you wish it were. 

and combine.

be all inclusive.

no one likes a pretentious party.

Once upon a head board...

Some birds broke free.

And again. 

Your world is what you make it. 

And, what you make in it.

And you are 

who you think you are.

I love that I threw some thread here one day and realized. Oh. boy. That actually goes...So there it stays.

AND. very importantly. Use shutters to hold your glasses. When you have 4353453 pairs of magic shades. 

Or as I call it:

It is summer whenever the heck you say it is. 

and write notes to people you love. 

One day, some red pen on a post it will mean more than you know.

(my dad knew) 

P.S. Sometimes, the best things in life ARE free.

But Vogue isn't.

So I guess these angels cost a subscription. to Vogue... and the newspaper. 

Oh, do come back. 

And tell your friends. 

See my site for more TREASURES. 

web.me.com/abernathybland

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