Doll

We got to New York on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, we went to the Alexander McQueen show at the Met. I am not a good enough writer to describe how fantastic it was. Just want to say- if you have a chance, definitely go- it is amazing. And, if you go, get there early. We arrived before 11 am and there was no line. By the time we got through the exhibit, there was a crowd and a long wait. The exhibit doesn’t seem designed for the crowd so it can be a challenge to feel like you are seeing everything.

The Met had a bookshop set up outside the exhibit but I was not interested in carrying around any purchases for the rest of the day. I wrote down all the titles that looked good to me and later, checked out which ones are available from my library. I  ordered the catalog to be sent.

And, just in case you can’t make it to the show, here are the books that appealed to me-

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (this is the show catalog)

Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed

Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi

The Corset: A Cultural History by Valerie Steele

Fashion At The Edge by Caroline Evans

Poiret by Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton

High Style

We were staying at a hotel out by the airport. On Friday, the RAT was in front! I have to admit, I love that rat. I thought it was just a New York thing, but it turns out that Unions use them in a lot of cities. It is hard to ignore but unfortunately, once you are booked into a hotel (usually online), you are unlikely to leave because of it. I can see how it works better for places like restaurants.

On Monday, we went to Soho so I could pick up some goodies at PurlSoho. It is always a treat! We had fun wandering around the neighborhood and stopping into Pearl River. After that, we took a stroll on The High Line. I’ve been wanting to see it for a while and we lucked out because not only was it a perfect day, but a new section of the park had recently opened . It was very crowded and we enjoyed seeing how well it was being used.

Before we left for New York, I made myself a long list of places I’d love to go to. Unfortunately, I had to limit my walking. Remember back at the New Year I mentioned my  hip/back issues? I’ve been going to the Physical Therapist and doing my exercises but the body did not really pass the visit to NYC test. It turned out that one day at the museum and I was pretty much done. And that was before Renegade.

We had planned to leave New York on Tuesday afternoon, but we left in the morning instead. I was too tired and sore to do anymore walking. We stopped in New Haven to have lunch with my Dad and brother, then drove up to Springfield, MA. We drove along part of the path of the tornado that hit Central Massachusetts, 2 weeks ago. I’m not sure if it is rude or morbid but I really wanted to see. I’ve never seen tornado damage in person and I don’t believe I could ever have gotten the idea from photographs. I was left with an impression of severe violence. It is a very different feeling from hurricane damage, although the blue tarps that cover damaged houses are the same. It was shocking.

So, now I’m home and trying to get on with things. There is still a big pile of stuff, unloaded from the car. I have to sort through everything, wash what needs washing, reorganize everything that got shuffled. Then, put it all away. I have gardening to do and woolens to wash. And, my studio needs a big clean-up.

Here are 2 things from the market days that I keep thinking about-

- 2 people came up to me and told me their last name was Kirchner. That doesn’t often happen.

- I’m not sure if this happens to everybody, but is sure seems like people love to give me advice! The people tend to be older- my age really ie 50′s or early 60′s. I believe they think they are giving me a compliment. And that they say these things because they don’t understand that selling and marketing online really does work. I have to assume that they think I have never considered or thought of (and rejected) the things they suggest.

Examples: you should do this other (much more expensive) high-end show. I interpret that as- I think you are good enough to get into this other show that I like and understand- unlike Renegade where I don’t know what to make of a lot of this stuff.

and:  Your work would be perfect for this retail venue (I don’t do any wholesale).

and my favorite- You should donate some of your work to Museums. ??? Okay, that one is strange!

I think these guys are going to look fantastic on my table at Renegade!

My favorite flowers in the back of our house are getting devoured by Winter Moth larvae. The trees are also, but I don’t take that so personally. The tree peony managed a few pathetic blossoms and now, my favorite rose, Abraham Darby, it looking completely mutilated. Bummer.

It has been a long while and I’m back in the mood for tikis. I think I made the last one in January 2008.

I am thinking that I will make the tiki pattern this summer. I’ve tried 3 different faces- I will have to decide which one I like best.

It is fun to be working on wool applique after making all the little fox clothes. Mixing it up keeps it all fun for me.

A view from the top-

And the garden is reaching explosion level! I love poppies-

and the allium-

Both the poppies and the allium have self-seeded into all kinds of wonderful places around the garden. And this is just the beginning of the season!

It is looking like Spring, although we might be getting more snow on Friday- April 1, you know.

I’m very pleased with the mustache on this fellow.

If you are interested in joining the Tiny World class on April 30, please email me at mimik@pobox.com.

Ben and I took a mini tropical vacation on Sunday. We drove down to Connecticut and visited Logees and breathed in some warm, humid air. It was wonderful.

an idea, a pattern tweak, becomes something new.

I don’t know if you can tell from the above photo, but I tried out several head shapes before getting to the one that worked in my eyes.

Just like the kitty except that I changed the ears, and the tail, and the nose. Oh yes, and the arms.

I sewed up the boy fox first (although I didn’t know it was a boy at that point). He is made of a woven orange wool. He is smaller because the fabric has less stretch then the knit that the girl was cut from.

I found that I imagine foxes as boys more than girls. It was easier to come up with clothing ideas for a boy fox.

And you really need to see the profile to get the full fox look. Photographing him straight on took a lot of the foxiness away.

As always, getting the point across in the simplest way is the challenge.

I got distracted by this pretty shadow when I was out taking photos this morning.

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law visited on Friday. They had a beautiful weekend to be in New England for a whirlwind visit.

Walk photos-

And on Saturday was the Tiny World class. It was wonderful. There were 6 plus me, sitting around my table.

As always, it was so much fun to see the different directions that people go in. Here are photos from the end of the class- no one finished, but they were close.

If I get better photos, I’ll post them.

wow- I just realized that I will have gone a month without posting a new doll. What a crazy month! It is not that I haven’t been working.

Sage (my intern) and I have been working on a big pile of girls. We’ve got ten going. When I get home from Paris, these are going to get finished up. I also was working on a project that is one of those fun things that I can’t tell you about quite yet… actually, just having a project that I can’t mention is a thrill in itself! And, of course, there has been all my Paris prep. I am making myself a few new skirts and shirts. Hopefully I will actually finish them before we leave tomorrow.

If you are interested, here is the google map I am making with all the interesting suggestions people have made. I sure I won’t get to everything, but I have a lot to choose from.

And the garden is thriving. I’ve got my tomatoes in, using my containers, but this year I tried lining them with corrugated cardboard before stretching the t-shirts. So far, so good.

I am growing Carbons, Pink Brandywine, Copia, Bonny Best, Opalka, and Isis Candy.

Well, see you in Paris!

That week flew by. And now a new one begins. Happy Mothers Day!

My tree peony bloomed- always a treat.

We’ve had some crazy weather in the few days since I took the photos- wild thunderstorm, torrential rain and now some very windy weather. The plant is looking a bit tussled today. The flowers rarely last more then a week so I appreciate them while I can.

On Friday night I went to the MassArt Senior Fashion Show: Current 2010.  I was offered complimentary tickets (not sure how I got on that list!)- it is not something I would ordinarily think of going to. Well, it was so much fun! I have never been to anything like it- there was the runway, the models, the collections. I tried to find photos but there wasn’t much. I did find this one of my favorite dress of the evening. I hope I can go next year- it was a blast!

Saturday, doll club. We did needle felting. I will not be changing over to needle felting any time soon. Sorry about no pics- the photos I took were too awful to post.

And today. Working on- gladiator sandals.

Maybe too much fiddly work. Piled on the table are men in progress, paper pattern pieces, fabric marking tools, trims…

And the desk, looking cleaner then usual.

This coming week will focus on finishing those guys and then I’m off to Minneapolis on Thursday for J’s graduation. Life seems to have suddenly shifted to high speed.

walking around town- it’s Spring!

I wasn’t the only one taking photos.

I love these antique slate gravestones. There are some very interesting geometric and repeating patterns around the words, willows and urns.

On Wednesday, I went on an Arlington “craft crawl” with 3 friends. The first stop was Balich’s 5 &10. That store never ceases to amaze me- all the crazy old stuff they have there. I bought some snaps that were originally priced at 35 cents. That had been blacked out and repriced to .65, in pencil this time. All ready to raise again in another 10 years or so. They also have some of the funniest clothing ever and it is no wonder it never sold back in the 70′s or whenever it was new stock- like the chartreuse and white plaid bellbottoms size 10 girls. I was thrilled to find the peach Rit dye that has been discontinued- 4 boxes! Yes, I snagged them all. Here are some photos from Kerry, since I forgot to take any pics at all. We also went to Playtime and ArtBeat. Never made it to the Fabric Corner so we’ll save that for next time.

I am trying to be on a stats diet- I think once a week is a good idea. No blog or Etsy stats, no google alerts. I’ve been totally addicted and it is not good for me- since I can’t really do much to determine what direction they are going on any given day.

Peter is coming home for the summer next week. That means that I should take advantage of the open floor space that is available for just a few more days. I’m thinking I’ll cut out some clothing and possibly move the quilt to the next stage. Life seems to have switched gears around here and all of a sudden my calendar is filling up and there are travel plans in the offing. Busy!