reminder of some things coming up

Posted on November 23, 2016 by mimik

This weekend, THIS is happening!

If you are in the Boston area this weekend, it would be amazing if you could stop by! And the other event, coming up soon- Dec. 2, 3, and 4-

CraftBoston Holiday! I’m making myself a bit crazy about this one. It is a kind of show that I’ve never done before, and I need a whole new booth set-up (fancy, that is). Yep, stressed. If you go here, there is a way to get $3 off the entry ticket. And of course I am working to produce the most inventory that I can. It’s all a test because no matter what, ya never get it all figured out and ya just keep trying something new. And, Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

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little birds baby

Posted on October 4, 2016 by mimik

Because it’s the pumpkin time of year!

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red-headed girl (lady)

Posted on September 15, 2016 by mimik

with skeletons, of course!

And all 5 ladies together-

2 more snowy owls

Posted on August 26, 2016 by mimik

This owl is wool (body) with cashmere wings and tummy, alpaca face. Not as all-over soft as the last on but with some lovely pet-able bits.

And, last one-

Super soft, almost all cashmere except the face. He/she is made up of various shades and textures in white.

I am working hard in my studio right now, doing all the work that will eventually lead up to great bursts of finished pieces. In the past few weeks, I have spent 3 full days dyeing fabrics for tattooed people. I have cut out great piles of people body pieces, fish, owls, swaddled babies. I have started sewing up some of the men because I am working to fill out my inventory for my trip to Nashville at the end of September. Having a show on the calendar is inspiring me! I’m focused on the making and I can’t seem to make the time to put any of the most recent pieces into my etsy shop. As always, if you see anything go by that you are interested in, let me know and I can send details.

Handmade Wardrobe weekend

Posted on July 26, 2016 by mimik

Have you heard about Sonya Philip‘s project, Summer Stitch Fest? It is all about making a handmade wardrobe. She is hoping to get people sewing, knitting, whatever, next weekend, July 29, 30, and 31, then posting online with the hashtag #summerstitchfest16. I am planning on participating and to warm up, I pulled out everything I’ve made so far this year and photographed it to show you. I tend to make a bunch of stuff when I am going to travel or have an event and then nothing for a long while. All the pics are things I made right before I went to LA in April.

The simplest first- a linen scarf. I actually made 2 but I couldn’t find the other one today! These are super easy to make. The one I couldn’t find is made of a drape-y shot cotton. I bought 2 yards, cut it down the middle the long way, zig-zagged the edge with a variegated thread and done! This one is seamed in the middle because I only had one yard but I wanted this color.

Next is my favorite skirt pattern, Oliver & S Everyday skirt. This is the 4th one I’ve made. Easy, comfortable, pockets. I love it.

Next, a linen shirt. I bought this linen at IKEA, a while back. I think it was meant for curtains but it makes an excellent shirt! This shirt has a pocket because I want pockets in everything. This is the second shirt I’ve made of this pattern. This and the next things are all made from patterns that I drafted from favorite clothing that wore out a long time ago.

And 2 smocks/dresses. I wear this style most of the time, with long and short sleeve shirts, over jeans or skirts. They both have 2 side in-seam pockets.

I think this one looks a little like a Brownie uniform!

I could only find one photo of me wearing any of these things. Here I am in LA last April.

Hope to see you posting your handmade wardrobe next weekend!

Red-haired girl

Posted on May 6, 2016 by mimik

I am not usually drawn to purples but sometimes, there I go.

Here she is with her clothes off and all her things. Her body is dressed in “underwear” and her shoes and socks are all part of her legs.

Liberty cotton floral patterns- love them. I gave her a little shirt under her dress because her “underwear” was showing and I just didn’t like how that looked. She has a guaze-y silk kerchief and a wool felt purse. Her clothing looks late-Spring or Summery to me.

I have listed the other 2 girls into my Etsy shop and I hope to get this one listed by the end of today.

I’m a winner!

Posted on May 2, 2016 by mimik

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I feel my head swelling as I write this!

I am so honored to have been named a winner of the Academy of Handmade awards– category, Textiles: Wovens. When I received an email telling me that I had been nominated, I was completely surprised and I really didn’t know anything about the organization- Academy Of Handmade. (Here is a list of all the 2016 nominees.) Luckily, when I was out in LA at Craftcation, I met people who are involved with it and I think I have a better idea now.

It is an online and in-person support group for micro handmade businesses like mine. You have to apply to be a member, there is a membership fee, and it is mostly West Coast based at this point. It seems to be a formalized version of my Crafty Biz meet-up. (Their faq page.) I would guess that it is incredibly helpful to people who are near an in-person chapter. I get so much from my monthly meeting up with people who are doing a similar maker biz thing.

Speaking of which, Merriweather Council, my friend and former Crafty Biz meet-up fellow (we miss you since you moved Danielle!) was a winner too! She also won the award for Handmade Community Superstar which she totally deserves!

some fabric printing and other news

Posted on April 23, 2016 by mimik

I said in my last post that I got excited about the block printing. Yesterday, I cleared off my table and got to work-

Of course I am jumping in to the middle of the story here because I wanted to put in a picture. The tale starts when I got back from California and thought, Oh what fun! I can go to the Art Store and spend a bunch of $$$ on some fabric inks… Hmmm. Then I remembered that way back in 2007, I did some fabric printing for an online swap. And, I was blogging then so I could go back and read the 2 posts about what I did- so helpful! It took me a lot of searching to find where I’d put all the various supplies. And, unfortunately I didn’t note some specific info that would have been helpful, like the proportions of fabric medium to pigment. But, onward.

I ironed my fabric to give myself a grid pattern to work on but I still managed to mess up the pattern. Whatever! I wish the lighter color of the flowers was more opaque but Whatever!

There is no point in being a perfectionist on a project like this or I’d never even try. Here is the scarf/shawl, edges zig-zag finished and washed although obviously not ironed. You can see the back and the front.

This was my inspiration for the flower block- from my walk along the beach in Ventura.

I hope it doesn’t take me another 9 years to try it again.

And some other news- I will be teaching a Tiny World Pincushion class in Cambridge, MA on May 14 and 15 at Gather Here.

Are you on Periscope? I will be spending some time with Lilla Rogers on Tuesday afternoon– join us, it’ll be fun! I believe that Lilla saves all her casts to YouTube so hopefully I can post a link afterwards if you miss it.

Lastly, here is a beautiful video interview with Georgina Haynes from LAIKA who I had the pleasure of spending some time with last summer in Portland, OR. It gives me chills and heart tugs to see the puppets come to life.

LA trip report

Posted on April 21, 2016 by mimik

I had an amazing time in LA. What can I say? Leaving Boston with snow on the ground and going somewhere with palm trees will always work for me! First stop was the Craftcation Conference in Ventura.

That beach was about a block from the hotel. There were teenagers playing volleyball on the sand, people who actually said “gnarly” completely seriously, all the plants we could never grow here- it really, most definitely, is not Boston. It was great!

The conference was excellent. It is described as “4 days of creative business classes and hands-on craft and food workshops”. It sounded right up my alley and I’d talked to someone who’d gone in 2015 so I was pretty sure it would be a good time. The thing is, when I step out of my house, I never know what I will learn and what will stick with me. What ended up being the best part for me? Socializing with my peers. Just hanging out and talking with other people who have creative lives and businesses. I don’t get enough of that, ever. It is one of the perils of being an introvert and working by myself. I actually met amazing 2 people who live right here in Massachusetts- Funny how I have to go all the way across the country to meet my local peers! Hi Crispina and Jenny! Of course I loved all the other parts too. I made a simple shirt with Sonya, talked about designing a wardrobe with her too, embroidered with Robert, and did block printing with Lisa. I have gotten all excited about the block printing so more on that later! But, here is what I did in class-

Mine is the yellow flowers-

and blue-

These fellows came out with me and got to meet lots of Craftcation attendees.

Okay, that was the first part of my California trip. I will show-and-tell more soon.

and the last!

Posted on April 6, 2016 by mimik

One last dog- a girl, and all the knits!

She is made of a tweedy brown sweater, she is wearing a Fair Isle sweater, her skirt and shawl are cashmere. She is #14 dog of 2016. That was a very big litter of pups!

Doll

the art and craft of Mimi Kirchner

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