A Visit With Hitty

Today was the first day of classes here at IGMA Guild School. Such a thrill to be back after the pandemic cancelled all fun last year.

Hitty Jean’s first task was to line and assemble a little trunk. She is looking forward to what comes next!

‘Til Next Time…

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We made it to Castine! Hitty Jean is so excited for her class. First, to unpack…fresh flowers for the table and a cuppa for Great Aunt Doll.

‘Til Next Time…

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What have you been up to? We’ve just been hanging around…

We hope this post finds you all well and safe in these strange times. We are really getting the “hang” of these masks!

‘Til Next Time…

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The Hittys had a holiday celebration at the Hitty Shop earlier this month…it was very exciting to mail letters to Santa. The Hittys wore their best holiday finery, sang Christmas Carols and ate plenty of Holiday treats. A wonderful time was had by all!

The Hitty Shop will reopen in January 2020 with more miniature books, some Hitty sweaters, and hopefully a few little somethings from Jack the Hitty Woodworker.

Happy Holidays, Hitty Friends! We wish you all the best in 2020 ♥️

‘Til Next Time…

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Grab a cup of tea…or your preferred warm beverage (it is cold here!) and let’s have a catch up!  Hitty Jean has so much to share, she is not sure where to start.  How about with this:

Hitty Jean had a wonderful visit to Chicago in August.  She loved the city and had such a nice visit.  She was able to take a river cruise to see her favorite building – the Wrigley Building:

The architecture in Chicago is amazing and Hitty Jean took it all in with frequent outbursts of, “Look at that!!!  The detail!!!  Unbelievable!”

Like this fellow on top of a library – Look at that!  The detail!  Unbelievable!!!

Some of you may recognize this one:

Hitty Jean was beside herself on the day she met this lion outside the Art Institute of Chicago.  Do you know what she was about to see?

Down the stairs….not to the restroom (though an appreciated convenience):

Hitty Jean was finally visiting the Thorne Rooms!!!!  Hitty Jean has read anything she can lay her hands on that has to do with the Thorne Rooms.  What a privilege to be able to see them in person. Here is a particular favorite:

What a special day.  Hitty Jean’s only complaint was that she could not actually go inside the rooms as they were all behind glass.
What a lovely place Chicago is!

After Chicago, there was a whirlwind trip to Martha’s Vineyard on the sailboat.  When Hitty Jean says whirl*wind* she means wind!  She was able to spend a few days touring about.  The Victorian Cottages in Oak Bluffs are always fun to visit:

Hitty Jean discovered the perfect residence on the porch of one of the cottages.  She never did get to explore it though.  Sadly, the weather became so windy that staying on the sailboat became increasingly uncomfortable. Hitty Jean and company departed early and took the ferry home to dry land.
And that is all about Martha’s Vineyard…

In other news, there were some get togethers with friends this Fall.  Do you recognize anyone?  As usual (and despite Mamie’s best efforts), the Hittys were having too much fun to stop chatting and pose properly for a photo:

In October, Hitty Jean and Hitty Sparrow went to visit the Robertson Hittys.  It is always wonderful to visit there as the Robertsons are a busy bunch and always have interesting things going on.

Hitty Kate showed Hitty Jean the new Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood bookshelf in the classroom.  The Robertsons live outside of Pittsburgh (some of the Maxwells are from there too) and Mr. Rogers is a local celebrity.  Did you ever watch Mr. Rogers on TV?  (Bookcase kit is from Robin Betterley Miniatures)

Hitty Robertson is doing well:

Hitty Colleen immediately claimed the sweater Great Aunt Doll had brought along.  (Some things never change!)  She wore it to school to show all the other Hittys:

It was getting close to Halloween and the classroom had a witch decoration hung up that Hitty Sparrow really wanted to bring home.  (Of course she didn’t…)

And now, the Hittys are all home.  Great Aunt Doll is knitting away, Ima and the Hittys are busy making cookies, playing games and enjoying the last of the Autumn weather.  Thanksgiving is very much on everyone’s mind.

It is good to be Home.

‘Til Next Time…
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P.S.- Great Aunt Doll has a couple of sweaters for sale in the Etsy Shop (link at top of page or click HERE)

P.P.S.- Thank you so much for catching up with us.  As usual, you can click on any of the highlighted words on this post for more information.

A whirlwind trip was taken to Hastings on Hudson, New York, for a crocheting class. Do you know about by Pollevie? Ellen is the woman with the magical crochet hook. She is known for her cheerful *Pollevie Wraps* which you can see are colorful and smile inducing:

Great Aunt Doll was thrilled to attend her class. She honed her crocheting skills and started her shawl. She also filled her market basket with the most beautiful yarns from the Observatory Shop, which hosted the class. Here she is, surrounded by one of her favorite things – yarn!

The five hour class went by so quickly! Aunt Doll left with some new skills and some new friends. A successful day! (How amazing is it that there was a miniature replica of the store, just her size?!)

It was fun to explore the area a tiny bit. Found Herbal Apothecary was another Hastings on Hudson favorite. Great Aunt Doll purchased some rose water – it smells lovely and will remind her of her adventure. (Bagels came home with her as well!)

Before the drive home, a stop for a last look at the Palisades. Hastings on Hudson has a bridge with a nice view of these cliffs along the Hudson River. Aunt Doll read about some nice hikes there, but that will have to be another trip.

And now home again, and her crochet hook is busy! Stay tuned!

‘Til Next Time

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Hitty Jean can’t believe that 2019’s Guild School is already a memory. She was fortunate to be able to take Tine Krijnen’s bookbinding class again and loved every minute! Guild School takes place each June in Maine and the Maxwell Hittys stay in the same cottage every year. Pulling up to the cottage, the view was as spectacular as ever:

And the sunset the first night did not disappoint:

Hitty Jean had been wearing her Guild School apron for days. She was so excited when finally class began! Bookbinding is hard work and she had so much she wanted to learn. It was a productive first day:

One evening, Hitty Jean and Great Aunt Doll attended a seminar by Althea Crome. It was about micro knitting. Althea’s samples were amazing! And tiny! (Aunt Doll was too intensely focused to stop for a photo…)

Hitty Jean’s friends came along to Maine for moral support (and to have fun!) Ima made it her job to keep fresh daisies in the jug in the cottage. Everyone enjoyed them…(when they weren’t looking out at the view!)

Back in class, Hitty Jean was learning more about gilding. Gilding books is tricky business. Here, Hitty Jean is making a mess of this poor book’s spine:

Nevertheless, she persisted. It was an intense week. Hitty Sparrow and Ima stopped by one day during break to see her progress:

Despite her ruining a couple of covers, Tine asked Hitty Jean to sit next to her book display on graduation night. Here she is…can you tell how nervous she was? Lots of friendly people stopped by to look at her projects.

Classes had ended, but there was still a day left for some fun with friends. There was a visit to Rockland, Maine, where Hitty Jean met some lobsters:

And a dinner with good friends:

The next day, the cottage was packed up and the car loaded. Goodbyes were said and Hitty Jean had a last picture taken by Castine Harbor:

Another year of Guild School has come and gone. Now Hitty Jean is home again, practicing her bookbinding skills while Great Aunt Doll’s knitting needles click away in the parlor. What fun to learn new things!

We hope you enjoyed our memories of this year’s IGMA Guild School. If you are interested, click HERE for information.

‘Til Next Time…

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It’s hard to believe another Sturbridge gathering has come and gone. We had such a wonderful time with our Hitty friends who arrived from all over the USA and Canada. The Robertson Hittys gifted us with our annual “Tablecloth Pinnys” which are made from tablecloths gifted to us from the restaurant where we go to lunch every year. We take a group photo every year after lunch:

Great Aunt Doll was *supposed* to be directing the photo-taking, but she got a bit distracted:

Dinner was at the Publick House – wonderful as always. Hitty Jean likes to imagine a time when meals were cooked in the fireplace:

Great Aunt Doll and Mamie had lots of catching up to do:

Then came the highlight of the weekend…the Sturbridge Miniatures Festival! Hitty Jean And Ima were captivated by the house on display at Art to Play With’s table. Ima felt so fancy up on the balcony in her new pinny, beautifully hand sewn by the talented Quimper Hittys.

There is always so much to see at this wonderful Miniatures show. A particular favorite was Marie W Evans’ table. Her creations are so meticulously and lovingly made. (Marie is very sweet, too!)

Ima was only persuaded to leave when she found out that Marie has an Etsy Shop she can browse at her leisure.

And now, we are back on the road again. This time in Maine, at the IGMA Guild School in Castine, where Hitty Jean is learning more about miniature bookbinding. The first Castine sunset did not disappoint!

‘Til Next Time…

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It has been almost two weeks since the Maxwell Hittys traveled to visit the Robertsons. Time does fly!

This time, Hitty Sparrow and Ima Robertson we’re making models. (Hitty Kate wanted to help, too!) A puppet theatre for Sparrow and a news stand for Ima. Painting was a messy affair:

Grandma Alice was not impressed! Hitty Kate wasn’t wearing a smock (oops! Off to find one!) and Hitty Sparrow certainly needed to be a bit more careful with the paint. Grandma Alice mostly wanted to be sure they cleaned up when they had finished. (They cleaned up thoroughly so that they would not get into more trouble! Grandma Alice is no fun when she is cross!)

After finishing, it was such fun to take turns with the puppet theatre! Ima Maxwell put on a lively production:

Hitty Judy and Hitty Colleen admired all the detail in Ima Robertson’s News Stand:

Hitty Colleen had a surprise for Hitty Sparrow and Hitty Judy. It was a gingerbread stand! The gingerbread smelled wonderful and tasted delicious! What a fun treat! (I spy a hedgehog who wants some too!)

The Maxwell Hittys brought a set of Raggedy Ann stories for the Robertson Hittys to enjoy. Ima Robertson had never read them before and was particularly taken with adventurous Raggedy Ann. “Wait until you read about the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees!”

Ima found a special place for the books on the book shelf. She will be sure to read them over and over again:

And so…another visit to the Robertson Hittys was over in a flash. It was hard to say goodbye, but we will see each other again soon…at the Sturbridge Miniatures Show! Yippee!

‘Til Next Time…

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PS – For information on the 2019 Sturbridge show, please click HERE.

Judy Brown and Art to Play With Hitty will again be selling wonderful Miniatures for Hitty!

A selection of my miniature books will be available as well! Hooray!

Hope to see you there!