Doll

I’ve been trying to organize my various numbers to figure out taxes. Ben (husband) has been having fun with those numbers- he’s that kind of guy. Below is a map of all the places in the US that I have sold something on Etsy, total. I opened my Etsy shop in March 2006. Ben collected the zip codes, son Julian made the map. Thanks guys!

And I’ve sold to 24 countries-

Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

He made me up some other charts like the curve of my Etsy sales but I won’t bore you!

Today is a messy weather day. We started out with pouring rain last night. It changed to snow in the night. We woke up to an instantly recognizable pinging sound on the windows- sleet.

We call this slop. It is heavy and messy to shovel.

What is that expression- “start as you mean to go on”- that is it, right? So the first thing to work on is my biggest goal- making more real life connections. I am inviting Boston area crafty business people to meet-up with me in Davis Square. The first meet-up will be Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Starbucks at 10am. If you can’t make it but would like to be notified about future meet-ups, send me an email (mimik(at)pobox.com). At some point I will start a google group or Facebook page or something. I need to come up with a catchy name- any ideas?

We had our first cardinal at the bird feeder- so pretty in the snow!

some photos from my walk today. Hope everyone had a great day!

This seems to be the time of year where very little posting happens here- too many secret projects. I looked back through some other years and yep, pretty quiet around here.

But, there is a lot going on. I don’t like post without photos near the top so I’ll start with the wildlife adventures-

Yikes! Mouse in the house! Mango assumed that Santa made an early visit, just for him. Our neighbor says about mice- there is never just one… I am hoping it came in when I brought the plants in from the porch.

And, we have rearranged the living room and put up a bird feeder. This is my view as I work on the computer now-

We got snow from the big East Coast storm although not as much as a lot of other places. The kiddos are trickling in for Christmas. Peter has been home for more then a week- sleeping mostly or at least when I am awake he’s sleeping. Julian came home last night, just after the snow stopped. Pick-ups at the airport in snowy weather are becoming a new Christmas tradition. Eleanor is due in on Wednesday. I guess we should assume that means we will be getting more snow then.

I’ve got lots of projects going- enough that I am making myself crazy and they will never get all finished. Hey, another Christmas tradition! I want to try out this bleach pen technique, inspired by this post at Angry Chicken. I had a heck of a time finding a bleach pen. Then I did some tests. Now I am super nervous about the actual project- Silly me!

I am doing some baking and major mess making in the kitchen. We got the tree on Saturday before the snow came. It is not decorated yet. I no longer do Christmas Tree- someone else can do that job. I can be very Grinch-y around Christmas. It is a very stressful time for a maker. Especially when you also have a family that expects to have a Christmas. I find myself screaming in my head to everyone in my vicinity – If you want a f…ing Christmas, help out a little around here!! I keep it to myself though. My problem. Breathe.

Very soon I am off to the Boston Handmade Downtown Gallery. I’ll be working there today- 11 to 3.

I am having a 20% off sale of everything in my Etsy shop, starting now and ending at midnight, 10/31 wherever. Just write “blog” in a buyers message, or send me a convo with that information and I will refund 20% of the selling price (not shipping).

Okay, now that you are back, let me explain. When the market was canceled 2 weeks ago, I was left with a vague feeling of letdown. And, a pile of dolls with nowhere to go. There is no greater disincentive for me to get to work then having many finished dolls looking at me. I’ve got to get those guys moving out and get the energy going into new work. So, I thought I’d give this a try!

It’s not as if I am not working. I am just not finishing anything.

I am working away on the pattern- tweaking, testing. Today I worked on photographing the steps. Mostly done with the kitty part.

Next, the clothes.

And some more tattooed ladies-

and now for some nature photos because Hey! It’s autumn and everything is very pretty right now!

We had to pull all the pots off the front porch when we had a few nights with frosts. That always seems to happen right before the brugmansia is about to bloom. Now it is in the enclosed part of the porch, looking beautiful and giving off a most exotic fragrance. When we open the front door, it perfumes the house!

Fall! The last things blooming in my garden- chrysanthemums and dahlias. I love how all the blossoms on the mums are facing in one direction.

Walk in the neighborhood. It is surprising what you see when the leaves start to go.

And my class on Saturday- so much fun! There were 5 of us all together.

This is the Haunted house!

And here is the table with all the felt and wool-

The market on Sunday was canceled- we were having a nor’easter here in Boston- wind, rain, cold… I was not sorry to miss standing under a tent from 7am to after 4pm. And then it snowed! It was the right call. Still, I’m left feeling a little deflated- all the anticipation and hope that comes as I prepare for a show. The next show I am scheduled to do is the South End Holiday Fair- Dec. 12 and 13.

it was a beautiful fall day today.

these are all puffballs-

I will be doing a tiny world class on Saturday, October 17. There is room if you are interested. Info here.

Yesterday was a perfect fall day. Blue sky and sunny. The air was cool and crisp and there was a prediction of gray and rain on the horizon. We walked in the woods.

Hen of the woods-

woohoo! I won Crystal’s giveaway and my prize arrived in the mail today!

love this little detail-

Crystal is my good friend and fellow member of Boston Handmade. Thanks Crystal! This sweet little pair will live in my studio and keep me company while I work.

Several people asked me about the dyes I use. Firstly let me say that I am no dyeing expert. I am pretty bad at it and almost always end up with splotchy fabric… well unless that is what I want. Then I get a solid color. I know this going into the project so I try not to be too focused on a perfect result. I use Cushing dyes- an acid dye for wool.

Other stuff I’ve been doing.

It was a sad day today- after listening to Science Friday and watching the video, I knew that my tomatoes were infected with late blight. I pulled them all up today. Ah well, I got a pretty good crop and will look forward to next year.

Over the weekend, I redid the faces on two dolls- ones that many commenters said looked sad. At the time (last month), I couldn’t really see it. Now, with fresh eyes, I decided I needed to change them.

Old Face

New Face

Old Face

New Face