I will be in Chicago during the week of Thanksgiving. I’d love any recommendations for great places to go and see- especially galleries, thrift shops, restaurants… I will be staying in Andersonville area. And, of course, if anyone wants to meet up… email me at mimik(at)pobox(dot)com.
This is what I did last time I was in Chicago, in August 2006.
WooHoo! Finally, I can let you know about the coolest thing- Sister Diane from CraftyPod called me a few weeks ago for an interview. We talked and laughed for over an hour. It was so much fun! And well, afterwards, a bit nerve-racking. I spent the next few days rethinking everything I said and sometimes wishing I could add (or subtract!) to the conversation. I have been having low grade anxiety ever since, worrying I’d sounding like a complete idiot, but I have to hand it to the magic of Diane- she took all my babbling, run-on ramblings, ums and pauses and put them together in a way that I am ecstatic about! I think audio editing for podcasting must be a lot like quilting- Diane has all these little bits and snippets and goodies and she puts them together into an interesting and better-than-the-original, finished product. Amazing.
Some afterthoughts- On the doll vs softie thing- I think in the end it comes down to this- what I am doing grows out of a tradition of dolls, what softie makers are doing grows out of a tradition of stuffed animals. It took me all day of mulling to come up with that!
On the topic of getting into dollmaking- here are some links for dollmaking kits, patterns and supplies.
My favorite book/author on the subject- Susanna Oroyan’s Anatomy of a Doll All her books are excellent.
Gail Wilson– her dolls are based on antique dolls. You get everything you need and extensive directions. Her website has so much more then dolls though- there is furniture, fabric, dollhouses… a whole wonderful Gail Wilson world. Be careful ‘cuz you might get permanently sucked in!
Susan Fosnot– she has patterns, kits, and teaches workshops.
There are lots of places that sell kits for Waldorf/ Steiner type dolls. One place that I’ve bought from is Magic Cabin.
Judi Ward– I am a big fan of her patterns. They are easy to follow, easy to make your own and she has a most extensive variety of designs. I have learned a lot from making her patterns.
Here is a list of some Dollmaking suppliers that I have ordered from and been happy with. They have all the things you’ll need- tools, patterns, materials, on-line classes, stash enhancers! Doll Artist’s Workshop, Joggles, Dollmaker’s Journey.
I did some antique and vintage doll patterns when I first started. There are loads available on Ebay.
Now, if you still haven’t had enough of listening to me talk, I did another interview a year ago with Carley. Here are links to that- part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
And since we always need a picture, my desk today-
Two more ladies done. I’ve posted a group shot over on flickr.
I’m rather liking this ruffle-edged suit jacket-
And this lady below has a hat that was inspired by someone I saw when I went to pick up my husband at the subway.
Here is what is next- babies, and random hands and legs for more lady dolls.
And the garden… puff of fluff. Butterfly weed is in the same family as milkweed and it is obvious at this time of year.
These chrysanthemums are the last flowers to bloom in my garden. I think they are called “Clara Curtis”.
Aren’t these beautiful? I picked them up when I was walking to mail some envelopes.
Fall- busy crafting season. I am trying to crank up my production to have inventory for the very limited venues I will be showing in this fall. I have a stack of ladies cut out, ready to put together and embellish. The first 2 ladies-
I’ve finished 3 tikis except I forgot to take photos of one of them before I sent it off- oops! This one left today-
And this one is the latest I have finished-
Also, I put my extra school picture atcs in my Etsy shop here.
We had a great swap/potluck-
We laid all our cards out on the dining room table-
and then the hard part- choosing!
these are the ones I got-
I put lots of photos on flickr and wrote up something for Boston Handmade.
I am making little envelopes for my School Picture artist trading cards. I’ve decided to get some use- and laughs- from my old report cards. They sure put all the school issues my kids have had into perspective. School was pretty much torture for me.
That bottom one says- – Mimi must exert greater all around effort- attentiveness, completeness, neatness, accuracy. That was 6th grade (12 yrs old).
This one (below) is from the year I lived in London. I love the Needlework grade- D+. But I really improved and by the end of the year I had a B-.
envelopes-
I joined Facebook a while back- my husband is on it, my kids are on it… but I still haven’t figured out how to use it in my world. At this point I find it very confusing- so many applications, so few that work the way I expect! It takes me a while with these things- it was maybe a year before I realized how Flickr had expanded my art/craft online life. I am hoping that Facebook will also enlarge my community, but I haven’t found the way yet. Any thoughts?
Internet love- I found Elsita’s blog, Rebel, when she left a comment. Then I found her shop. Now I have a new little friend!
I like having a theme when I do something like a group of artist trading cards. I knew I wanted to do a group with faces. As I started putting them together, they looked like school photos to me. That really helped me think about them while finishing up the project.
These are for a swap next weekend with members of Boston Handmade, the etsy street team I am part of. Fun!
making up a title is always a challenge.
I have decided that I should start stuffing most of my dolls with wool- the whole earth friendly, biodegradable thing. It really isn’t a price issue- polyester-$3 a pound, wool- 5.25 a pound. So I ordered up 5 pounds. I bought this wool batt from West Earl Woolen Mill. They don’t have a web site so you have to actually call them on the telephone- eek, so old-fashioned! (717-859-2241) I say, I’d like to order some wool for doll stuffing- they know just what I want. And I got a free calendar!
Okay now everybody, this is what I want- someone to invent/manufacture so I can buy it- recycled scrap wool stuffing. Just figure out a way to take scrap wool and chop or shred it up for us to use- come on now, people!
I’ve been working on some more tikis. They have been my carry around project for a while now, so they are going rather slowly. Here are 2 brown ones. I’ve also got a red one going.
And today, I’ve been working on ATCs- artist trading cards. I will be doing a swap with my etsy group- Boston Handmade. I haven’t made any in more then a year. It is great fun to get back into it. I am remembering why I liked them. They are like little doodles.
ATC- Work in progress. I’m loving how they look all together here on my ironing board.
