Category Archives: progress report

Chicago Living

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Things are slowly settling here although it will take a while more- I go from being energized to hang art and shelves, to just wanting to enjoy what we’ve got so far. Here are some of the latest projects-

We built a plant wall- it is a work-in-progress as we need to find all the perfect plant stands and the plants have to settle in and grow.

We had wallpaper put into our entryway. This star ceiling was after the first day-

And then it was done!

Just how I imagined it.

A beautiful full moon over the lake. This is right out our window.

Meanwhile, in my studio… wallpaper in the entryway there too.

The weather has been beautiful, I’ve been making myself some shirts, and generally slowly moving forward. so far, so good!

And photos from Today

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As you will see, it is still very much a work in progress. The photos are not great because it was a very wet and dark day today.

I have been bringing plants over whenever the temperatures are moderate. I was/am worried about moving them in Chicago winter when the apartment is finally ready. I got rid of the regular size fridge and got a little one.

The kitchen area- I took off the doors of the upper cabinets and will use the shelves as display space. The unit has 10 ft ceilings so I was never going to use them for storage.

I am still unpacking boxes and trying to find places for everything. Yesterday I put up the track and bracket shelves- more room for all my treasures! Mid-photo is my sewing machine, ready to get back to work. Actually, I already made myself 2 smock tops last week. It was sort of a clothing emergency!

You can see that I’ve got a table set up in the middle of the room- our former dining room table. And to the left of that is my flat file where I store my felt and buttons.

And here you can see into the former “sleeping nook” (that’s how it was described in the listing). My IKEA unit is mostly filled up, no surprise!

There will be a lot of rearranging in the next year or so as I settle into the space but it already feels like my place. It is making me so happy.

Studio Makeover

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Some photos of the studio transformation.

All the orange is gone and the trim needs to be painted. I scheduled the movers for 10 days after the closing and Thanksgiving was in the middle of that, so the schedule was very tight.

I will admit that the trim only got painted where I knew I was putting things… The rest is still on the to-do list.

This was halfway through the load in. The movers completely covered the rug with my stuff.

And then I went to IKEA and spent some $. Perfect fit!

And here is the big day when I brought my sewing machine to her new home :-)

Here is a short video of the mess.

An Update now that it is a New Year!

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Happy 2024! Wow, I haven’t been here in a long time. Lots of things happening.

The best thing is that I got a studio in the same building as our apartment which someday, hopefully, we will be moving into 😂 Here is a video of the studio space from when I first first got it in mid-November.

It doesn’t look anything like that now! I will catch up in the next week. I’ve got to get myself back in the habit.

Here is a photo of the de-orange-ifying!

What A Week!

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The last week has been very exciting. I haven’t sat down at my desk until today!

We closed on our soon-to-be new home:

That’s the lobby :-) Our kids all had to come see. We had a little celebrating:

We sat out in the garden and admired the view. Yep, that is where we will be!

Now it is figuring out contractors, doing paperwork, picking colors, etc., etc., etc. There will be loads of mirrors to remove and floors to uncover. But, we are so excited! Putting our lives back together has begun!

I’m Moving so I’m having a Sale!

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I am living in chaos right now- so many boxes and bins!

This was last week maybe? There is a lot less recognizable stuff and more taped up boxes.

I have no idea when I will be back to work. We will be out of the house by the beginning of April and into some kind of temporary situation. Then we wait for things to happen.

Anyway, all that said, I don’t want to put my finished work into storage for who knows how long. I am post here first for my blog friends- a 25% off code at my Etsy shop. MOVING25

The sale will include all the dolls and the Tiny Worlds, but not the patterns. The sale will go on until I am too busy to ship anything else out- sometime towards the end of March. Help me lighten my load!

What’s Going on Mimi?

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It’s summer and it is hot here in Boston. Time for an update.

Things are slow in my studio these days and there is a reason for that. Husband and I will be moving to Chicago next Spring (tentative schedule) now that my 3 kids are all there. It is time for us to sort through all the stuff. We have lived in this house for 34 years and there is a LOT. I am spending less time in my studio and more time culling. Even when I am sewing, my brain is busy thinking about this near future. It has been very distracting. I will be doing the November Paradise City Show, but there is nothing else on the schedule. When the New Year starts, I will probably being packing up my studio. I have no idea at this point when I will be getting back to work but obviously will let everyone know.

Of course now that we will be leaving Boston, I have a bunch of someday items that I want to check off my list. The first one happened this week! We took the ferry to Provincetown and spent a few days. It was so much fun!

Now it’s time to get these kitties dressed. It is very hot here and my studio has got the AC so that will help inspire me 😁

What’s been going on

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Yes I have been working but doing the (kinda) boring stuff. I pulled out all the man skin parts (wow- that sounds REALLY weird) that I dyed way back in January and got to work cutting out all the other pieces needed to sew them together. Then, stitching them up. This is what I’ve got so far-

A pile of fellows in old-fashioned bathing suits, some ready to get kilts, some farmers, and some greenmen. I think that pile is about 20 future tattooed men. Today I started sewing up a group of mermen. After the mermen are sewed up, I will put them all aside for a bit. I’m going away at the beginning of June and I will wait until I return to get back to work on them. Lots and lots of steps…

I have also been putting time into my garden because of course, it is May! It has been a beautiful Spring so far and the garden is bursting. I’ve gotten started planting my dahlias, all my potted plants have moved outside, and I am sprinkling some annual flower seeds around the yard. I love this time of year.

And this week, it’s mermen

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Well, I got frustrated with the ornaments and not finishing anything and not enough time sewing and too much computer work and the state of the world… so, I’m taking a break on the ornament patterns. It’ll get done eventually but I need to be in a better/different head space.

Summer seems like the perfect time to make Mermen. I had body parts dyed so I’ve spent this last week putting them together. First, I pulled out a BIG pile of possible Merman colors and prints. Yeah, that’s not the half of it!

Sewing up some fins.

Also- OMG I got my scissors sharpened today- Bliss!!!

The fins, sewed and turned.

A little bit of stuffing before I top-stitch. Everything is organized in zip-lock bags.

All the fins finished.

Then, a Merman sandwich. All pinned up and ready to sew the tail side seams.

A pile, all sewed up. Now is time to clip the seams and turn right side out. I love that part!

And, tada! All the machine sewing is finished and now they are ready to be brought to life. I am really excited about the African wax print textiles I came into recently. As always I am very excited to find out who they will turn out to be.

Here is a pic from my desk- all the thread colors piling up as I was sewing.

Yes, I am all over the place these days. It has been rough . I hope I can get back to posting more because that’ll mean I’m making more so fingers crossed.

What have I been doing!

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Sheesh, I had to put something up since it’s been a month of no posts. What have I been doing? Well, not too terribly much. I’ve been working in the garden quite a bit. Besides that though, nothing that has added up to much. I am working on making patterns for ornaments/little felt creatures. I decided to start with the ornaments I designed for West Elm back at least 5 years ago now? I thought that would be an easy place to start- silly me! Everything takes forever these days. Anyway, this is what I’ve been working on-

I’ve been playing with sizes and adjusting patterns pieces. Slowly I will get them done… There is a boy and girl fox, a boy and girl raccoon, a lady squirrel, a moose fellow, and a bear fellow.

As always, I have been a little more active on Instagram but it has mostly been pics of my garden. I hope you all are stay healthy, safe, and sane.