Thanks to everyone who jumped in on my Halloween sale! It was great fun and got me feeling excited about starting into the Holiday season.
And here are some strange postcards for this November 1, All Saints Day-
I found them in a desk drawer when I was clearing stuff out of my parents’ house. I think my Dad probably bought these postcards in Mexico, in the early 60’s.
And one more thing-Â here is a link to a bat graph- obviously I should have put that up yesterday!
I am going to be listing the three tattooed ladies on Etsy around 3pm (ET) this afternoon. Yesterday I cut out 6 more. I’m having fun with these ladies!
I didn’t want to post just that announcement- so boring and no pictures. So here are some photos of a few favorite vintage fabrics in my collection- I know, I probably should have ironed them…
What is that cloth called with the texture of little squares? Waffle weave? This (above) is a remnant with a small amount of this very cute border and a lot more of the square dots.
Below is a silky fabric- maybe rayon? I’ve never tried testing it. It is an unfinished dress as far as I can tell. From someones wip pile.
And this little piece is a real favorite- I keep it hanging in my studio. I can imagine a tablecloth, but much more fun would be a little girls’ puffy skirt.
I hope to post more fabric photos, every once in a while. I’ve got some great ones! They have come to me from 3 places- my mom’s stash, my doll club, and from a friend who bought a house that had an attic full of a former seamstress’s collection. She had a sale where you could fill a bag for $10. So many treasures!
I will be at the South End Open Market on October 18 with my pals of Boston Handmade.
On Oct. 17, I am doing a Tiny World class- yes, there is still space available- info here.
I am working on a new pattern-
Kitties! I am working on a pattern for this kitty that will include clothes to make it either a girl or boy kitty. I find this pattern writing thing to be very difficult, in case you are hearing some screams coming from my window.
We had a great time on our quick trip to Portland for family weekend at MECA. Friday was a perfect fall day. We drove up the coast and did some beach watching and walking.
They have great rocks in Maine.
We stopped in Wells at Camp Wool. Thank you to the kind person who clued me in about this place via my comments. Unfortunately, no website yet.
There was lots of beautiful wool, although I am glad I had been to Dorr first. There was lots of beautiful colors and textures here, but not the basic skin colors that I went up to Dorr Mill Store for.
Yes, I managed to find some goodies to spend some money on. The lady here told me about another store- Wool and Goods in Rollinsford, NH. Another expedition! I am going to put a list together (in the next few days) of places to buy wool fabrics in New England. If you know of places, let me know and I will add them.
Portland is a great town- amazingly good food and resaturant scene- even made it into the NYT! I look forward to spending more time there in the next 4 years.
Tomorrow- what is ahead this month.
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
drum roll please!
Angela Recada step forward!
Thanks so much to everyone that posted and entered- There were 82 entries all together. The random number generator picked #49 and that was Angela!
and another thing!
Check it out! To celebrate the Handmade Portrait, I’ll be giving away this tiny world- all the details are here.
Well, okay, I will put them here too-
Embed the Handmade Portrait video on your blog and email the link to your post to mimi.kirchner.giveaway@gmail.com by 5 p.m. ET, Friday, September 4, 2009. I will pick one lucky person using a random number generator.
If you don’t know how to embed a video on your blog, no worries, it’s simple. Here’s how:
-Click the symbol that looks like a sideways V on the video player at the top of the Storque post.
-Copy the embed code from the “embed” tab.
-Paste the embed code into the html of your own blog post.
-Send the link to your blog post to me at the giveaway gmail address above!
So what are these “make-do” things anyway?
I first heard about a make-do when I got interested in doll-making and was immersed in learning everything I could about vintage and antique cloth dolls. The same people who were talking about the dolls, were interested in all kinds of historical needlearts. The definition I came away with was- a make-do is a pincushion made from a household object that is no longer functional for it’s original purpose- Like a sugar bowl without a lid, a damaged candle stick, a goblet stem with no bowl, or a chipped or cracked cup.
I have been making mine, which I call tiny worlds, in teacups, most of which come from the thrift store. I am also lucky enough to have friends who think of me before they throw out something that I might use- Lucky me! My tiny worlds are made on wool balls, covered with wool fabric and then most of the detail work is done with embroidery and wool felt. It is a wonderful way to use up little pieces and scraps around my studio. And it is so much fun to imagine who lives on the miniature landscape.
I didn’t start out with teacups though. My first make-do was made from a broken goblet. Excuse the photo please- that blog post was from my early blog days, more then 5 years ago! Here are some links to other ones I’ve made and also to a basic tutorial on how to make one for yourself. If you’d like to try your hand at a tiny world make-do, the pattern is available here in my Etsy shop.
This one is a tiny house, hiding under the flowers-
And I made this one in an eggcup-
It is tall!
I have put all these latest tiny worlds into my Etsy shop today. And, come back soon- there is another give-away coming… details tomorrow!