17 Days of Green – My Big Green Day Job

I am a full-time fiber artist. I have a day job.

For me, these two are not mutually exclusive. The trick is finding just the right match.

I found my perfect day job at Dartmouth College, home of the Big Green.

My Dartmouth Athletics all-access credentials.

I work in Athletics, doing various jobs, mostly in Alumni Gym – checking id cards, giving directions, selling hockey merchandise – plus other odd jobs, as assigned.

Luckily, knitting is an ingrained motor skill for me now, like walking or breathing. So I can knit on the job, without impacting customer service.

Sometimes, I do both jobs while kneeling on a physio-ball, just to keep it interesting:

Kneeling on an exercise ball is a great workout. My best is 18.5 minutes without falling.

I love the Dartmouth campus. As a former West Coast kid, I never tire of the federal-style buildings, the stately old elm trees, the paneled-wood libraries:

Arborists work magic to keep Dartmouth's stately elm trees alive.

Dartmouth's Sanborn Library & the Baker Library Tower.

Inside Dartmouth's Sanborn Library - the classiest free wi-fi in all of New Hampshire.

I love the copper verdigris of the Lone Pine weathervane atop Baker Library Tower.

And Dartmouth has tons of great traditions, like the Homecoming Bonfire, and Winter Carnival (to name just two):

The Dartmouth Night Bonfire is always spectacular.

Cupcake snow-sculpture on the Dartmouth Green, Winter Carnival 2012.

But I’ve especially enjoyed the “other duties as assigned.”

In October 2010, Ke$ha held a concert in Leverone Fieldhouse. I helped with crowd control, limiting backstage access.

Kesha rocked Dartmouth's Leverone Fieldhouse, 26 October 2010.

At one point, Ke$ha’s manager handed me a $20 bill, instructing me to “Bring back as much baby oil as you can buy, and hurry!”

Turns out, baby oil helps body glitter stick better. Who knew?

Backstage, with one of Kesha's many wardrobe containers. Note the glittered green turf!

In May 2011, I was delighted to give Guy Kawasaki & family a tour of our athletic facilities. Let me tell you, Guy is the very embodiment of enchanting.

Guy's tour of Dartmouth concluded with a visit to Memorial Field.

What a treat! And all thanks to my Big Green day job – which can also be very
silly at times (depending on my co-workers!).

And that does seem fitting, since Theodore Seuss Geisel was a Dartmouth man himself. He would have been 108 today. Happy, happy birthday Dr. Seuss!

Felt Hat Kits Make Great Gifts

Are you a knitter? Do you have a favorite knitter in your life? Felted hat kits make great holiday gifts!

Each kit comes with knitting and felting instructions, yarn enough for one hat, and a bit of satin ribbon, for lining the finished hat.

Each hat uses two skeins of yarn, and I’ve got a full selection of gorgeous colors:

Just select the color/s, choose your payment type (PayPal, personal check or credit card), and send me an email (ccmhats AT gmail DOT com).

Felted hat kits cost $45 (which includes shipping in the US). Additional skeins cost $10 each.

There is such tremendous joy in making something yourself. Consider giving the gift of fiber-love this year… your favorite knitter will thank you!

Visiting Artist at Sandwich Home Industries Cancelled

Felt Hat Demonstration at Sandwich Home Industries, October 2008.

Felt Hat Demonstration at Sandwich Home Industries, October 2008.

For the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of demonstrating how to make embroidered felt hats from oversized hand knits at one of the oldest craft galleries in the country.

Located in bucolic Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, Sandwich Home Industries is a flagship gallery of one of the country’s oldest crafts organizations, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.

Peak Fall Colors Along the Middle Sister Trail, Mt. Chocorua, NH, October 2008.

Peak Fall Colors Along the Middle Sister Trail, Mt. Chocorua, NH, October 2008.

This year, as last, we timed my visit to coincide with the Sandwich Fair, and possibly a nice hike up nearby Mount Chocorua.

Unfortunately, this year I was diagnosed my first-ever case of pneumonia just days before the demonstration.

So, I apologize for the last-minute cancellation.

Embroidery Demonstration on Llama & Wool Felt Hats, Center Sandwich, NH, 2007.

Embroidery Demonstration on Llama & Wool Felt Hats, Center Sandwich, NH, 2007.

But I hope to see you for a felt hat embroidery demonstration in Center Sandwich next year!

(If you can’t wait that long, consider a visit to my home studio in Canaan, NH during the Veteran’s Day NH Open Doors Event 2009.)