moving to Somerville and looking for Tips

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I'm moving to Somerville from Burlington, VT. I was thrilled to see this live journal community - makes the move considerably less daunting. I was hoping people might have good advice for me. I'm interested in joining any sort of existing craft clubs (knitting, sewing, beadwork, ribbon embroidery, clothing, felting, etc.), cooking clubs (I make wonderful challah, apple pie, chocolate chip banana bread), belly dancing classes (I saw some other posts on that subject that I need to check out in more detail) and I'm also looking for a teacher for beginner Celtic Harp. I'd be interested in starting little craft or movie or cooking or even costume clubs (i'm a face painter) if there's an interest. I love meeting new people and I hope this move will prove to be a fantastic decision.

Thanks! Dinah

Comments

[yourenotwithme.livejournal.com]

Hey there! Good luck with your move. I am moving to Somerville myself at the end of the month, but just from down the road in Cambridge.

Anyway, a cookbook club is starting tomorrow (with monthly meetings or so...TBD) on Yelp. Here is the link for more info. http://www.yelp.com/events/boston-cook-book-club

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

oh that sounds great. thanks!

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

You sound like an awesome addition to the community!

As far as I know there isn't a costume club in the area. If you're really interested in starting one, I'll totally come and bring food.

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

great! i'll let you know! thanks!

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

I can't help with clubs (though I am also a face painter!) since I am a weird recluse

but um....

can I have your wonderful challah recipe?

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

::laughs:: absolutely. will you give me a recipe of yours in return? should i email it to you or just post it here? (what's your email?)

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

yay! punkstara @ gmail.com

give me a genre and I'll email a recipe in return :D

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Oh my lord we have lots of belly dancing classes. Or maybe I'm biased because I've been part of the community for a few years. ;)
Well, more in Cambridge, but it's close and convenient by T. Check Helade (http://www.helade.com/classes.html#Massachusetts)'s list. From that list: I've heard nothing but good things about Najmat (http://www.najmat.com/), she's a great dancer, and I've seen her students make some amazing improvements. Amira Jamal (http://www.amirajamal.com/) is also great for American cabaret style, and her student, Nadira (http://www.nadirajamal.com/)--also teaching--is a wonderful dancer.

If you wanted to make the trek to Salem and like goth belly dance, Aepril Schaile (http://www.aeprilschaile.com/) is wonderful. I know Jemileh (http://www.jemileh.net/) has been cutting back on teaching, but she's worth seeking out, as she really knows how to break things down and help you understand...and she's funny as all hell, in that sarcastic way we have here. I also adore Sabrina (http://bellydancersabrina.tripod.com/) in Quincy and Melina in Newton (probably two of my all-time favorites), but I'm not sure how far you're willing to go, or what you're looking for as far as style or teaching practice.

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Um...oops. Messed up Melina (http://www.daughtersofrhea.com/melina.htm)'s link.

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

oh that's awesome! maybe i'll see you at some classes!

[rivenwanderer.livejournal.com]

Mind's Eye Yarns (http://mindseyeyarns.com/) has knitting and spinning groups.

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

oh neat! the two or three times i've tried spinning were...interesting. i'd love to try again!

[amethystmoon.livejournal.com]

Welcome!
There is a craft studio in Porter square (near Davis) called Spark Crafts (http://www.sparkcrafts.com/) - they have classes in beading, knitting, sewing, etc., but my experience is they're kinda geared to the Martha Stewart-y crowd.
As someone else mentioned, there is Mind's Eye (http://mindseyeyarns.com/), and while I don't know if they have classes in it or if they run any clubs/groups/informal gatherings, I've also seen them dying their own yarn.
While not in Davis, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education (http://www.ccae.org/) has all kinds of groups and classes. (there's the BCAE (http://www.bcae.org/) as well).
The Somerville Library (http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=SVILLE) hosts a weekly needlework group Monday nights at the Davis Square branch.
There at least used to be knitting groups that met on Sundays at both Porter Square Books (http://www.portersquarebooks.com/) and True Grounds (http://www.truegrounds.com/).
The Northern Lights Costumer's Guild (http://noel.pothole.com/) has some of their meetings close-ish to Davis.
keemao was trying to get a sewing group together in this community at one point, I don't know if that's still happening.
And myself and at least one of my soon-to-be-roommates in the area are crafty and tossing about the idea of small crafty gatherings.

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

I think there's also a knitting group at the library, but I've forgotten the details. Ask about it if you stop by for the needlework group. =:)

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

thanks for all the great tips! if you do have a craft club, please let me know, and i'll do the same. it'll be great inspiration to finish the gazillion projects i have started!

[aki.livejournal.com]

I'm from my EJ myself - always nice to see another Vermonter in the area. ^_^

I'm no good for pre-existing clubs, I'm afraid, but if you wanted to start a TV series watching (i.e. pick a show, watch it weekly, obsess about theories.... damn I miss Veronica Mars) I'd be in for that.

Hrm. Maybe I should just organize one of those...

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

let me know if you start one - i'm definitely in. did i mention i make killer amaretto fudge? otherwise i'll start something when i'm settled in and let you know. ::grin::

[revelry13.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to wish you good luck with the transition! I moved to the area from Burlington last year, so it's nice to see some home area folks making the move down. Welcome! :)

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

Oh cool! it's great to meet other vermonters. i'll probably be going back and forth a bit, at least for some holidays, and i'm always willing to carpool if you're interested!

[cmouse.livejournal.com]

I wonder if there would be critical mass for a beading get-together of some sort (not the Martha Stewart-y sort).

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

count me in! any time after september 1st.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

What kind of sewing you interested in?

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

Let's see...i think i covered most of mine down below. how about you?

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

I do custom corsets (mostly club wear) as well as wedding gowns and anything else that people can think up :)

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time I worked at a day care center and learned that, at least back then, I was a lot better at face painting than I thought I would be and had a lovely time at it. If you end up organizing something that would be beginner-friendly, please send an email (my username at lj).

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

i hadn't thought of 'teaching' face painting, but you're right - it could be a ton of fun! i'm picky about my paints - i buy the expensive stuff online from snazaroo.com - a british based company i think. great paints, blend well, totally non toxic (so the kids can lick it off their lips to their hearts content). if there's enough of an interest i'll happily set something up, either for contributions towards the cost of paint, or maybe we can just use up the gazillions of bits of colors i have left over in a thousand different trays! anyone interested in playing would always be welcome to come over and use my paints and share techniques. i do an awesome spider man. haven't quite mastered batman yet...but dragons are always fun!

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

Heh--ever since the facepaint convention down in CT that I went to in March, I've been a total Snazaroo convert. :)

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

This strikes me as a novel idea for a party/get-together; just get people together and have fun painting each other up. =:) If you ever do something like it, let me know. Likewise, if I end up organizing something myself I'll ping you.

[findyourfloor.livejournal.com]

Welcome! You sound like a really neat person. I'm sure you'll make tons of friends. I'd also love to get involved in face (and body!) painting.

[silencespeaker.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome and all the great tips. As soon as I'm officially moved in and settled I'll be sure to post again to start some craft/sewing/beading/costume/movie/tv /cooking clubs. maybe a different theme every couple of weeks?

and if anyone starts one on their own, count me in!

as for types of sewing and crafts that i do, i'd say cross-stitch, needlepoint, embroidery, ribbon embroidery, knitting, crochet, general clothing mending, cutting up t-shirts, ribbon pillows, quilting, some felting, some work with fabric paint, painting, face painting, learning simple wood burning, basket weaving, beadwork, making jewelry, face painting (and yes i'm totally into the body painting too), and i'm sure a thousand other things i can't remember at hte moment. anyone know how to make stained glass? i want to learn!

also, is anyone interested in henna? i know a bit (i worked with a lady at the saratoga county fair) but i'd love to play and learn more. i'm definitely up for arranging events if there's an interest. we can either pool for supplies, or just make it a potluck.

and i'm always willing to trade recipes - as long as i get one in return! email me at either green_priestess@hotmail.com or dinahrgoldberg@gmail.com. Thanks, and i hope to meet some of you soon!

Knitting/craft groups in Somerville

[somervillemarty.livejournal.com]

Besides the Monday night knitting group at the West Branch library, the groups at True Grounds (http://www.truegrounds.com) and Porter Square Books (http://www.portersquarebooks.com) that amethystmoon mentioned do still meet.

The True Grounds group meets every Sunday from 4-6 p.m. (It had stopped for a while, but I'm trying to get it going again. Please feel free to stop by anytime during those hours.)

The Porter Square Books group is called "Knit One, Read Too," and it meets the second Sunday of every month from 1-3 p.m. (They are also starting a monthly reading group (http://www.portersquarebooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=localbestsellers) that has its first meeting on Sept. 15, if you're interested in that.)

If you're not on Ravelry.com (http://www.ravelry.com/), you might want to join to find out more about knitting groups. Check out the Boston Yarn Party forum there.

The Boston Stitch 'n' Bitch Yahoo discussion group was formed largely as a place to start and/or find out about Boston-area knitting groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snb-boston/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snb-boston/)

Boston is a really crafty town. Did you check out Magpie (http://www.magpie-store.com/) yet?

There's also a farmer's market in Union Square on Saturday mornings that has had some craft booths in the past, though I don't see mention of it on their web site: www.unionsquaremain.org/committees/farmersmarket.html (http://www.unionsquaremain.org/committees/farmersmarket.html) In general, ArtsUnion (http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/programs/artsunion/) has a lot of artsy/craftsy stuff going on. In May they had a Swap-O-Rama-Rama (http://www.swaporamarama.org) (they called it the Sew What?! Market), which I'm guessing will be an annual affair.

Also, Tufts University has a crafts center (http://ase.tufts.edu/crafts/center.htm) run by students that is supposed to do outreach to the community. They have a room with clay and a potter's wheel, some woodworking equipment, a small loom, knitting and sewing supplies, and some books on various crafts. I think maybe candle making too. There are students there who live in Tufts Crafts house and some of them are supposed to be available to help people out and teach them how to do the crafts. (I wouldn't necessarily trust they'll be open the hours posted on the web site, though -- I'd try to contact them before going there.)