superette preview

here's a preview of some of the items that ann and dabney are bringing to the renagade craft fair this weekend. click on any photo to enlarge.

baby bibs & tees


passport covers


small, medium and large modular bags


mobile phone accessories


pencil cases

last minute prep

brooklyn or bust

at long last, ann and dabney are headed down to brooklyn for the renegade craft fair this weekend! if you (or any of your friends or family) are going to be in new york this weekend, please go visit them at:

mccarren park
on june 25th and 26th
in brooklyn, ny
10:30am - 5:00pm
booth 79

the park is located right down the street from the williamsburg bridge on bedford avenue. by train it is a couple of blocks away from the bedford avenue stop on the l train, and the nassau avenue stop on the g train.

at some point this week, superette will post a preview of inventory, so please check back in, if you are interested. ann and dabney already have had a lot of requests for certain items, so please know that they hope to start selling to friends and family after the fair.

superette thanks you for all the encouragement and support!

bbq boy

superette tips its hat to its favorite soulpatch-sporting son, golfin’ groom. over the weekend, golfin’ groom participated in a chicken wing eating challenge at st. louis’ famed buffalo wild wings. the challenge: to eat a dozen wings in the restaurant’s hottest sauce in under six minutes. Not only did golfin’ groom meet the challenge, he did it in three minutes – a new record! his picture, featuring his sauce-less chin and bib-less chest, now dons the walls of buffalo wild wings.

congratulations, golfin’ groom. way to go!

ann and dabney make it a hat trick

ann and dabney firmly believe that a day of eye strain, pin pricks and finger cramping merits a good stiff drink. so after sewing for hours on friday, they headed out with ashbloem to the red fez for a belt or two (or three, or four... ann and dabney were soon incapable of counting, especially since shots would appear mysteriously before them on the bar at random intervals).



there was some low- to medium-grade flirting with hot lesbian bartender that went something like this:

ashbloem: pssst. hey, hot lesbian bartender. you're sexy.
HLB: well, hello cleavage...

they also took pictures of themselves in the red fez that lives behind the bar, for no other reason than there actually is a red fez at the red fez.



thanks to terra, ann also had the pleasure of attending a game at good old fenway park on the most of beautiful of sunday afternoons. see the account of their day in the sun on the newly re-dubbed interravision.

new day, new project

as crazy bride's matron of honor, ann's latest project is a bridal shower. ever the modern couple, crazy bride and golfin' groom have opted for a coed event to ring in their upcoming nuptials. here is a peek at their superette-designed (and modified) invitation:

bac

knitters revolt

superette's favorite liberal wingnut recently sent ann and dabney a great website, which they thought they'd pass on. microrevolt provides needlecraft projects and ideas to protest labor abuses and the proliferation of corporate logos. try knitpro while you're there -- a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns. such brilliance should not go unnoticed.

glug glug glug glug

ann and dabney were fine and sober thank you very much until the tonic fairy showed up at about 9:00pm last night. then the poker chips came out. and so did the big gulp gin & tonics. and then not only did ann and dabney fall off the wagon, the wagon was trampled underfoot in a stampede to the limes.

the perfect storm

rarely do ann and dabney experience such natural phenomena as they did this past weekend. boston had been collecting large quantities of energy - in the form of moisture and warm air - for days, and it was only a matter of time before the earth unleashed its fury. a confluence of factors contributed to the atmospheric weekend: boston pride, friend lindsey's birthday; and a wellesley reunion. each one of these things by themselves would have been license for ann and dabney to be naughty. but all combined they became a perfect storm of debauchery, the effects of which will be felt for a very long time.

ann and dabney wandered to the end of their block on saturday afternoon to watch the pride parade. the floats swept through like a huge, pulsing gay hurricane, and left a debris of confetti, rainbow-colored beads, and condoms in its wake.



later that night, ann and dabney hosted a party - the nor'easter of 2005 - for friends in town. freshly made margaritas flowed courteous of new aquaintance boston tara, who arrived as part of a larger entourage with nikki and averill. tara is straight out of boston's central casting. not only has her family owned a series of irish pubs, she teaches bartending at a local school. when told she was too cute to be single, she responded, "i'm wicked retahded when it comes to dating." ann and dabney loved meeting her.

perhaps because of those margaritas, and the champagne, and the gin & tonics, ann got a little grab-assy that night and decided to flirt with all the straight ladies in the crowd. sincere public apologies go out here to both terraism and lucy. mika was also a true delight and every bit the fabulous person that her blog suggests. you can read her account of the party here. likewise, ashbloem's fuzzy recollections and very funny regrets are here.

sunday was a total blur.

monday was lindsey's actual birthday and that afternoon was the calm in the eye of the storm. ann, dabney, lindsey and heloise spent the day at the leo martin driving range, swimming in lake waban, and eating ice cream at white mountain in wellesley. it was one of those glorious, epic summer days where you do exactly what feels good to do, right at the moment you want to do it.



the winds picked up again on monday night with bottles of wine and champagne smuggled into the do re mi karaoke cafe in allston. ann and dabney will let the photos tell the story.





there are just no words or possible earthly explanation for this next photo, but it is surely proof that nature was turned on its head this weekend.



rumbles of thunder could be heard back at ann and dabney's at the end of the night with more drinks and a round of the ever-popular game of "who can store the most change under their boobs?" all the smaller cup sizes wisely sat it out, which left a close contest between dabney, ashbloem and alice. everyone in the room thought that new mom alice was a ringer. ashbloem definitely had the most in quantity, but made the amateurish mistake of going for pennies instead of quarters (ann and dabney blame the move on her blonde roots). so dabney came through a winner with a full $4.30, baby!!! ann was so proud. all of those practice sessions really paid off.

it is now tuesday afternoon, and boston has turned both cool and calm. bags have been packed. friends have flown back home. ann and dabney will spend the rest of the week cleaning the wreck of their apartment and wringing out their flooded livers.

happy birthday lindsey, our favorite little stormcloud.

what's wrong with toe jam?

dabney has recently been in touch with her long lost childhood friend abby polk. despite being thick as thieves in elementary school in florida, amy and dabney lost touch when dabney's family up and moved to vermont before she entered the 7th grade. it was only through the miracle of google that they reconnected last year. now abby, along with her boyfriend sorin, is coming to boston and will stay the night on their way to maine for a wedding. after 18 years, dabney is ultra-curious about the whole person that amy has become and was pretty happy to hear that she is a documentary filmmaker. here she is, with sorin, at her sister's wedding this year.



dabney has many, many memories of abby and the rest of the polk clan. she practically lived at their house while growing up in talahassee. but her all time favorite recollection is the time that abby and dabney conspired to send mean valentines day cards to their male classmates in the 5th grade. they called them things like toe jam. in print. for valentine's day. alas, some traumatized 5th grader ratted them out, and ms. vincent and ms. plott made the two criminals spend the entire valentine's day party across the room with their heads down on their desks. dabney remembers their friends smuggling them candy.

hilda crosby standish 1902-2005

ann drove down to farmington, ct last night. she was headed to a memorial service for friend juniper's grandmother, who died at the young age of 102. juniper's grandmother - hilda crosby standish - was one of those inimitable forces of nature that the rest of us can only hope to be in our lifetimes. a graduate of wellesley in the 1920s, she then attended medical school at a time when only 5% of the student population was female. she traveled to china in the 30s to teach obstetrics at local hospitals. there is a freakin' planned parenthood named after her in connecticut.

perhaps even better than all this is knowing that hilda only stopped driving about three years ago and traveled to iceland with her daughter (juniper's mother) to celebrate her 100th birthday.



if you want to read more about hilda, here's her blurb in the connecticut women's hall of fame.

little brown shorts w/ little blue box

if you thought that ann has an addiction to on-line shopping, turns out you are wrong. the truth is, she has an innocent crush on the new ups delivery girl. consciously, or subconsciously, ann has figured out that if she orders stuff on-line, the ups cutie has to come more often. the latest booty to be delivered was a tivoli audio pal. the former 300 yen (i.e. $3 USD) portable speakers acquired in tokyo last year just weren't cutting it. if anyone talked louder than a whisper, the music could no longer be heard. so just in time for this week's festivities (more on this on monday), superette is now home to this great little gadget.

introducing mr. lunch, or why dogs should be able to cut their own hair

ann and dabney recently looked back at this blog and realized that they hardly make mention of the most important "being" in their daily lives: feidler their springer spaniel -- also known as pooper, poops, little-ness, mr. lunch, and on certain bad days, commander dickweed. this august, he will turn thirteen; that's ninety-one to ann and dabney. despite his youthful physique, his hearing is certainly waning and his eyesight, while questionable to begin with, has diminished probably to very fuzzy black and white shapes. the only thing that seems to enhance with time is his capacity to be sweet. granted, it may be merely him moving slower these days but damn, he looks sweet doing it.

always a fan of enclosed spaces, one of his favorite places to curl up is under the sewing machine table in the back porch while dabney is working away above him.



feidler gets many comments and questions from strangers on his daily walks around the south end. so, to address some of them here: 1) no, it's not a bad toupee; 2) yes, his hair really grows like that; and 3) yes, his mommies really are crazy.

baubles and binkies

today, superette announces a new addition to its phone bauble collection - the phone binky. ann and dabney saw these all over asia during their travels last year and have been dying to recreate them here in the states. not only do these bright tassles dazzle, they're functional too. use its microfiber chamois side to wipe away streaks and dirt from your mobile phone screen.

plus, it's so soft and tactile, it's like a baby blanket for your phone.

hardly over 'under'

today, june 6th, is an unofficial holiday here at superette. to others, it is simply known the season premiere of six feet under, hbo's much-lauded drama following the trials and tribulations of a family-owned and -operated mortuary.



sadly, six feet under is about to be buried; this is their fifth and final season (sniff, sniff). not only does it have inventive writing and a skilled cast, it has unquestionably the best opening credits on television today. see for yourself.

the week's season premiere could not have better timing. being on the road much of last year caused ann and dabney to miss most, if not all, of their beloved friends at fisher and sons. as a result, they have had their tivo on overdrive picking and plucking the individual episodes from last spring. this week, they savored the last minute of season four and are sharpening their knives for numero five. superette will be closed from 9 pm to 10 pm this evening, as a result.

keane was peachy

hard to believe but ann and dabney ventured out for their second concert in one month when they saw keane tonight at the bank of america pavilion, formerly known as the fleet pavilion, formerly known as harborlights. their set was pretty short (it had to be since they've only had one album so far), but they sounded really fantastic live.

dabney has concocted a whole nerd fantasy story about the lead singer, tom chaplin, in her head. despite knowing zippo/zilch about him in reality, she thinks that he was the dorky, shy and perhaps slightly pudgy kid rejected throughout high school by girls, all of whom "just wanted to be friends." he obviously channeled his pain by secretly writing wistful, hopeful lyrics in his notebooks, and has since come into his own as a musician. dabney has a soft spot in her heart for the late bloomers; there is no better back story than the overlooked who go on to overcome. plus, tonight he was looking pretty cute in some hipster black jeans and a white belt. and oh those little pink cheeks on an otherwise pasty british boy. you just want to pinch them.



ann and dabney noticed tonight that the days of power ballad lighter vigils at concerts are sadly over. perhaps it's because less people smoke. or perhaps it's post-9/11 terrorism precautions. but no longer do you see the wave of lights or have to endure the pain of melting thumbs. the lighters of yesteryear have now been replaced by cellphones. so sway with your lighter only upon risk of appearing outdated. swaying with your open cellphone is much more hip.

binion's meets the mfa

ann spent yesterday afternoon at the museum of fine arts. while there, she took advantage of her membership and decided to view the car show, also known as, "speed, style, and beauty: cars from the ralph lauren collection."



ann immediately noticed upon entering the gallery, the remarkable number of men throughout the place ogling each gleamingly waxed vehicle. some bent over trying to get a glimpse of the cars exquisitely-restored interior. one guy who was there with his girlfriend/wife proudly stood next to a ferrari, while she took his photo.

for a moment, ann forgot she was in the mfa at all and thought she was back in vegas: this time without glitzy lights or 'wheel of fortune'-themed slot machines surrounding each shiny set wheels, no interminable ringing and clinking, no second-hand smoke wafting in the wake of a cocktail waitress.

ann even caught herself daydreaming in front of this 1950 porche 550 spyder. she envisioned herself speeding down the autobahn, dabney in the passenger seat and feidler in the middle - ears a-flapping.



undoubtedly, cars are beautiful, crafted, and designed objects. however, she couldn't escape the feeling that these cars were ultimately the playthings of ralph lauren, the world famous designer of all-american style.



here he is at the opening of the exhibit, where he was quoted as saying,"the only problem with having the cars on display [over the next three months] is that I will miss driving them on the weekends." thank goodness he has forty-seven more to play with in his private hangar and a full-time caretaker whose job it is to take each and every one of them out for spin to regularly "exercise" them. how's that for a job?

in the meantime, ann will just have to keep gambling while ogling her own porsche.

gee, nice quilts

superette is happy to be home in cool temperatures and steady wi-fi.

after their arrival and still jet-lagged and weary, ann and dabney with their friend, lucie, attended a lecture and performance by the quilters of gee's bend. you can read a history of gee's bend and the quilters at the tinwood alliance. most of the quilters introduced themselves and talked a little bit about their quilts. they usually began like this, "my name is annie mae. i am 83 and i walked from selma to montgomery. and i thank god i am here with you today..." collectively, the group of women sang, clapped, swayed and told their stories in a remarkably genuine and unrehearsed way.



even after appearing at the whitney in new york, and receiving acclaim in numerous major newspapers across the country, the women were so humble to be there, and couldn't believe their quilts were hanging on the wall for people to look at, let alone admire. it was said that only a few were just now beginning to think of themselves as artists.

the quilts themselves are so much more striking in person. you can see the actual hand-torn pieces and strips taken from scrap work clothes or leftover fabric. instead of the usual log cabin or wedding ring patterns widely seen in this country, the most powerful quilts were those pieced in totally unexpected and surprising ways. yet they still made so much sense at the same time.



the women of gee's bend and their unique quilts are particularly striking when you think about the context of slavery, which sought to strip black people of their property, community ties, dignity and sense of self. it is no surprise that the themes of individuality and improvisation are stressed throughout the exhibit. one woman was said to have removed herself from the local quilting bee in order to maintain her sense of self in her work. those still in the bee played off each other's styles - kind of like jazz.

insta-knit

you know knitting is big when everything-you-need kits are sold in target, the purveyors of cheap chic...