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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Woodstock Woman Brings/Finds Fun to/in Northport


Saturday arrived, the day of the furoshiki wrapping demonstration at Dog Ears Books, and so did the snow! Someone in the bookstore commented that it was like one of those glass paperweights that you shake up to make the snow fall, except that we were indoors and the gently falling snowflakes outside the glass. I like the photo below, looking out from inside, because there is another OPEN flag across the way and lots of cars on Waukazoo Street, showing that Northport is open for business and fun.

Marjorie came early with the beautiful wrapping cloths and good, clear instruction handouts, too.



She also brought delightful homemade sugar cookies. She’d found a cookie cutter in the shape of Michigan’s lower peninsula, and each cookie sported an additional decoration to locate Northport on the map. Charming!


Okay, it must be admitted: The laughter started immediately, as we all wanted to get at the cloths and make our selections before the demonstration even got underway.


But finally everyone sat down and prepared to be attentive, and we quickly learned three different ways to wrap something as simple as a book or CD.




Isn’t this a pretty presentation?

There’s a more complicated wrap for a wine bottle, which Marjorie demonstrated with what I could find in my recycling bin, namely, a root beer bottle. The wrapped bottle looked particularly whimsical to me, and Marjorie says each wrapped bottle tends to take on a different character, depending on size, shape and fabric used.


A couple more people came after the first scheduled demonstration was finished, and Marjorie obligingly repeated her instructions. As I have already indicated, there was a lot of laughter in the bookshop on Saturday, several people expressing relief that they had chosen not to drive to Traverse City on such a wild winter day. Whatever the weather, we do know how to have fun in Northport, and women everywhere tend to laugh a lot when we gather together.


One group, leaving Dog Ears, was headed right around the corner to Sally Coohon’s Dolls and More for more shopping, craft-making and fun.


Marjorie and Walt make their home in Woodstock, New York, but they spend a couple of nice, long stretches in Northport, Michigan, on summer and winter visits to Walt’s mother. Unsolicited, Marjorie gave Northport quite a nice little rave during the course of her presentation. She loves all the art galleries that are open in summer, but even in the quiet winter months she finds plenty to keep her happy from Dog Ears Books to Dolls and More to the Pennington Collection, with a break at Brew North while Walt works out at the Northport Fitness Center. I loved hearing her say how much she found to enjoy and keep her busy in our little village. Thank you so much, Marjorie, for bringing your enthusiasm and ideas to share with us in Northport!

8 comments:

Dawn said...

Looked like so much fun!

P. J. Grath said...

It really was, Dawn. I'm not a crafter (?) myself, but I appreciate the talents and enthusiasms of those who are.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and post..makes me feel like I might have been there..Hugs

P. J. Grath said...

Marilyn? Jan? Someone else? I’m glad you were able to enjoy the event vicariously and am sure you were with us in spirit!

Gerry said...

I like the idea of cloth wrappings. Nice oversized napkins wrapped around excellent treats. No muss, no fuss.

You do know how to have fun over in Northport.

P. J. Grath said...

The cloths can be any size. Some are the perfect size to be used as cloth napkins. If you look closely at a couple of the pictures, you'll see Marjorie wearing one as a scarf and another (same pattern) serving as a small tablecloth under one of the little Christmas trees. All manner of possibilities, endlessly up-cyclable!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Pamela, and thank you to everyone who stopped by on Saturday. I had a fun time.

Marjorie

P. J. Grath said...

We all had fun, thanks to you, Marjorie. Maybe this can be an annual event, with new people coming in each year, as recycling and upcycling--in beautiful, stylish ways--become more and more popular.