Category Archives: personal

nothing finished

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I haven’t been doing a lot of sewing. Lots of other things have been distracting me- all that life stuff… Now let’s see, what have I been doing?

I have a project for which I need a certain color of wool. I happen not to have enough of the particular color. Oh goody- an excuse to go thrift store shopping! I decided to use this as a reason to go check out a number of Boston area thrift shops that I haven’t been to before. Okay, that has been REALLY fun! I now have at least one new favorite- Urban Renewal.

On Father’s Day, we visited the rose garden on the Fenway. The roses were amazing. Now I’m thinking I need to plant more roses in my garden. This one is called Sally Holmes-

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It is poppy blooming time in my garden-

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I am actually thinking a lot about the garden these days. For about 5 years I had sort of lost interest and was in maintenance mode, but I am considering some major rework. I am thinking garden design thoughts.

Did you see this link over on Craftzine? I rushed over and got me some-

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And now for some actual artwork- this is what I’ve been working on in my attic-

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wip- hopefully I will have something to show soon. Happy weekend everybody.

tiki 2- the greenman

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I’ve made another one. I just couldn’t help myself. When I make one, I think of all kinds of ways to do it better and so have to make a few more. That is why I am so often doing my artwork in series.

Here is where we were this morning-

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working drawing on the right. My tiki face, flat, on the left. I embroidered the features and stuffed the nose like last time. But this time, I used a piece of thick quilt batting behind the fabric. I did a running (hand quilting?) stitch around the features and now they have a bit of puffiness.

I didn’t use the pillow insert this time. I stuffed him with wool scraps and poly stuffing. He has got a nice heft to him. He’s slightly taller then 14 inches and about 6 1/2 inches across.

Here is a close-up to show some of the embroidery.

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It started to rain just as I went out to take photos. These aren’t too bad though. I kept thinking of the old Jolly Green Giant commercials when I was sewing him up!
And speaking of green… did you see Ellia‘s posting about dreams (versus reality, I guess)? I loved it. I remember my college interview, so many years ago. The woman who interviewed me asked what I saw myself doing, 10 years in the future. The question came as a shock to my 17 year old self. Growing up in a time of constant nuclear fear/threat, I don’t think I really believed in 10 years away. I told her I could see myself in my own shop, selling my work, whatever I was doing at that point… sound familiar Ellia? Anyway, fast forward to now. I was thinking only recently about how Etsy has given me that little shop, a place to sell the stuff I make. Funny really.

all the news…

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first, do my duty and promote…

Tomorrow, June 7, I will be participating in the Jamaica Plain First Thursday, with Etsy Boston. I will be there with Jessica, Amy, Betsy and Betsy, Elizabeth, Angela, JHill Design, and MuchachaK. Come and see us if you can- we will be there from 5 – 8. I’ll give you a magnet if you ask- hehe, bribe!

Second, the fun report. Yesterday, I drove down to Newport, RI and met up with Kristin! It was a beautiful day, a perfect day to spend out of the studio. We walked around, admiring flowers, trees, old houses, the sea views. We ate a wonderful lunch and admired sailboats. We talked blogs and blogging, family and gardening. I wish we had had many more hours- we were just beginning to scrape the surface of all that being part of this internet blog/craft community involves. Last year I went to a doll conference. If I could have my fantasy networking venue, I’d be going to a craft blog conference this year! It is so refreshing to talk to someone who understands why we do this!

Third- work in progress-

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It is a wool tiki doll. It was one of those itches that needed scratching. I kept seeing images and thinking, hmmm, that would be so much fun to applique! So, finally. Here is the flickr mosaic I made with the doll and also some of the inspiration.

Fourth- if you are interested in the gathering/workshop, there are still spaces. Enough people are interested that it will be happening-yeah!- and there is still room.

doll gathering plan and misc.

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Okay, I’ve got it all worked out. I am going to have the first gathering on July 28 at my house in Arlington. The second one will be on August 4 in Northboro, MA. If you expressed an interest, hopefully you have received an email from me with all the details. If you haven’t gotten the email, or you think you are interested but didn’t say anything before, email me at mimik(at)pobox(dot)com, or leave a comment with your email. I’ll send you the details and you can let me know if you’d like to be there.

Here is the bag that Eleanor made when she was home- isn’t it fantastic?! Blue stripe corduroy, Indonesian batik, brown piping.
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My other tree peony is blooming now. Unfortunately it opened just in time for some really hot weather, so it won’t be blooming very long.
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We have lots of Jack-in-the-Pulpits growing around our yard. I love them.

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Yesterday morning, Ben and I went to the Arnold Arboretum. Lots of lilacs were blooming, although I never managed to get any picture that gets across how amazing a hillside covered in lilac looks.

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Lot of the trees are not yet in leaf. Strange when the temperature was above 90 degrees!

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone who has a holiday!

gone missing/ miscellaneous happenings

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I know I haven’t been here much lately. It’s been busy! I am now the mother of a college graduate!!! Yeah me! well, and congrats to Eleanor, yah, yah, yah (hehe). The house is full with everybody home for just a few more days. Having everybody home makes for appointments, messes, commotion, and projects.
Eleanor is working on a bag based on this one. Among other things.
The grass has been mowed and I turned the compost- which is actually one of my favorite things to do… weird, eh? I’ve been trying to get some gardening done, but I haven’t put in nearly as much time as I need to. My very own tree peony is blooming now. It only last about a week max, doesn’t bloom every year, but is so beautiful when it does. This was from last week-

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and the weekend-

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Now it is all raggedy looking. It actually lasted longer then usual because of the cool wet weather. This week and through the weekend I hope to get some plant dividing done, my tender plants (dahlias, salvia, canna) into the garden, and summer seeds planted (nasturtium, flowering vines). Memorial Day is the traditional safe from frost date in this area. Last Friday, temperatures in the 40’s, this Friday is suppose to be around 90!

Another silly project- when I saw Meatcake making the rounds in the blog world, I knew we had to make one while Julian was home. Last nights’ dinner-

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It was delicious! After turning the compost though, I was sort of too tired to really get into the decorating. Maybe next time.

busy times

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It is busy time here. First of all, I am excited about getting a doll making gathering organized. I am searching for a good venue in my local area- Arlington, Cambridge or Boston. If anyone knows of a good place, I’d love to hear about it. The specifications are- room for about 12 people, work tables, decent light, plugs for sewing machines, clean, and not too expensive. Accessible by public transportation would be a plus.

I have started listing the baby postcard originals in my Etsy shop. It will be happening in dribs and drabs over the next few days.

I went on a garden trip with a dear friend this week. We went to Snug Harbor, on Staten Island NY to see the blooming tree peonies. It was a perfect day.
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I love how the flowers are protected from too much sun- parasols.

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Hopefully something will get done this week, although it will be another hectic one. #1 son is coming home from college in St. Paul tomorrow. On Thursday we are off to NY for daughter’s college graduation- yippee!

gathering

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So, I have this idea that it would be fun to get together with a group of people over the summer and make my dolls together. I’m thinking it would be one day, a Saturday probably, although it doesn’t have to be. I would bring some of my patterns, my tools and some bins of wool. People could bring their own supplies too. The participants would chip in to pay for the venue and what ever of my supplies each person uses. That would keep the cost very low. Possible sites would be on Cape Cod, Northboro MA, or somewhere in the Arlington/Cambridge area.

The reason I want to do this is so I can consider the whole teaching thing. I’d like to figure out what people are interested in, how to approach talking about it all- just to help myself feel more comfortable about teaching. I figure if I don’t charge anything, we can all keep our expectations low and have fun!

Who might be interested? Be specific about time over the summer and also place. I’d be happy to have teenagers participating. You can leave a comment or email me at mimik(at)pobox(dot)com.

weekend doings

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The Etsy event on Friday was night was really fun. It ended up feeling more like a party then a buying event, but that was great! I really enjoyed being at Jessica’s studio and getting all my stuff together, seeing everyone elses’ artwork on display- great!

Here is Betsy on one side of me. Sorry I don’t have a better picture of her work. You can see our promo bags in the lower left corner. There was stuff left over, so if you order anything from me right now, you’ll be getting some of the promos in your package.

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On the other side was Holly– see her amazing photos!

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Here is my display- geesh, the one picture that was out of focus!

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And here is the work of our generous host, Jessica! These little mini-quilt type pieces were my favorites.

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In the front part of the studio we had Elizabeth and her amazing fabric creations- most made with Amy Butler fabrics- so beautiful!

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Betsy– so sophisticated polymer jewelry-
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Sorry, Angela and Amy– I didn’t get any decent photos of your set ups. I’ve been enjoying Angela’s blog since I discovered it, so you can go check out her work there (love the new owl note cards!) and at her Etsy shop. My husband and son came down with me, helped me carry stuff- Thank you Thank you!- manned the door and then walked around the neighborhood to enjoy the other open studios and gallery events. We all had a great time.

update- girls in California

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Were you wondering what ever happened to these lovely girls? Well, they are out on the West Coast and showing off at Mahar Drygoods! This is my first foray into wholesaling my dolls and I am thrilled with how they look and are described on the website. There is a lot to be said about having someone else rave about your work! I am so happy to be part of Robert Mahar’s beautiful online shop. He works with many people whose work I admire- when he inquired about my work, I knew I wanted to be one of his artists. The room decor section is my favorite. I am sorely tempted by these prints by Jen Corace.