At Yellow Dot Shop, my new focus is on Art and hand-made items. The photo above was taken during a foggy morning by the Potomac River last week. The fog helped to bring the middle ground into sharper view. Moments like this have to be caught while they last.
When I was moving out of my Winter-time shop on Mt. Vernon Avenue, I decided that it was too much to store and carry all those books, records and CDs. If you carry a collection, you have to commit to it, and are suddenly buying more items, then storing them in your husband's renovated basement, which he is not pleased about. You have to carry all that weight to the market. Not worth it! The only books I still carry are new history books by local authors including my own book on Scottish migration.
In its place, I now have framed prints by myself and other local artists, and shirts printed with my own designs. Mosaics can be found on the website.
My card collection has new cards by Alexandria artist Todd Healy, who is known for his drawings of Alexandria scenes, and hand colored prints. I also have beautiful photo greeting cards by Steven Halperson and Nina Tisara. Yellow Dot's collection is ever improving!
Tartan Day April 5th
If I'm lucky, they will fit me into a full schedule of speakers at Alexandria's Lyceum in Old Town on the Tuesday evening. I will have a table with my last 12 books, and I may get a few minutes to give a short talk. Otherwise, it will be a buffet meal, local wine and beer, and dignitaries from the US and Scotland, including our congressman, Don Beyer. I am starting the book's second edition, so people can add their name to the list for the next book's new images and information.
Visiting Scotland
I will be in Scotland this Summer in July. I plan on visiting Kilmarnock, which is featured in my book, and some of the libraries which were so helpful to the project. I plan on visiting Dean Castle, the former stately home of the Boyd family who lorded over Kilmarnock for over 400 years. The castle is STILL closed due to extensive renovations to the stone work. I have learned that the company doing the work went out of business, so the project has been on hold. I have found buildings all over Scotland closed for the same reason, to remove concrete from the mortar which was improperly added in the 1960s. So, many of Scotland's buildings have frustratingly been spurning my attempts to visit. That includes the house on Dumbarton Rock, Watt Library and Museum in Greenock, and the Burrell Art Gallery in Glasgow. Also the Titan Crane at Clyde Bank has been closed for the housing estate being built next door. Hopefully, Scotland will finally decide to be open for business.
An exciting excursion is being added to the trip this year, to the Outer Hebrides! I plan on visiting the Harris Tweed Shop on the Isle of Harris and Lewis, Scotland's most western island. It is quite a moon-like landscape, treeless but beautiful, and I can't wait. I plan on bringing back hand-woven fabric, to make hats and purses to sell at the Shop.
Here in America, "A Scottish Migration to Alexandria" has almost sold out, with only 12 books left. I have a number of possible talks coming up this spring and summer on the book, and I am planning to print a 2nd edition. More images of the Gregory family and letters appeared, which I would like to add to the new version.
New Scarves at Yellow Dot Shop
I recently got a new shipment of gorgeous, cotton, hand printed scarves from India, where they are block printed and sewed.
Cherry Blossom Pins
Two-inch pins with art by Ellen can be found at Yellow Dot Shop. The Cherry Blossom Festival is in Washington, DC from March 20th through April 17th with a parade in the city on April 9th.
Sneak Peek
Ukrainian style Easter Eggs are in production for the Shop! Most years, I get out my egg dying kit which I found in an antique shop in Dumfries, Virginia. It has tools to draw on eggs with wax, and batik layers of color. If you've known me since the 1990's, then you may remember the blown and painted eggs that I made then, and sold from the coffee cart that I worked at with my friend in Washington, DC. Well, my egg dying never really went away, and now I will be selling eggs again. This year the eggs are made of wood, plastic and one real egg. Some are painted and some are batiked. All can be seen at Old Town North Market on Sundays, from 11am to 3pm until Easter Sunday, April 17th.
