nothing finished

Posted on June 23, 2007 by mimik

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-

It is poppy blooming time in my garden-

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-

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

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

tiki 3

Posted on June 14, 2007 by mimik

or 3 tikis-

It is really hard to get a good picture of something red. I thought it was me, but I did a google search for a solution, and it’s not just me. Everything in the photo is perfect except the red thing, which is over-exposed and kind of glowy. Weird. So, I’ve got a bunch of slightly off photos to show.

Here is a work in progress shot- flat man!

You can see the puffiness from the quilt batting. Here is a back view-

I thought this one was was good, in terms of color-

and some details-

side view for the sexy tiki profile-

I might try taking more photos tomorrow, but I’m not holding out any hope. The dark red/purples are especially bad… geesh! I have a Canon 610, if anyone wants to give me any advise.

That is all the tikis for now. I’m thinking about curlers… and bathrobes… hmmm.

tiki 2- the greenman

Posted on June 13, 2007 by mimik

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-

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.

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.

tiki

Posted on June 10, 2007 by mimik

Tweedy wool, soft, squishy… combined with tiki- that makes me laugh. So-

A perfect addition to any sofa. We had to play a bit-

details- I appliqued the wool in place and embroidered outlines. Shiny button eyes.

and with latest arrival to our house- this wonderful creation from Wawaya– all the way from Japan.

I made my tiki to fit a 6 inch x 14 inch pillow roll insert. Using an insert seemed like such a great idea, but I don’t love the way it fills the doll- I have much more control when I use stuffing. So, I guess I will just have to make a few more to get it perfectly right!

This is the kind of house I live in- I wanted to photograph the tiki. I’m thinking that I need a tropical drink with a paper umbrella (of course!). Hmmm, we had a birthday party once, tropical theme in February, kid was 9 or 10 (she’s 23 now), we must have some. Yup, I found them!

It’s Saturday

Posted on June 9, 2007 by mimik

Here I am at my table on Thursday night in Jamaica Plain. Thanks so much to Betsy for taking a picture I am actually willing to post! Go to Angela‘s blog to see some of the great publicity we got and she added some description of the event.

And some blog goodness-

I going to do this swap over at Bitter Betty’s Blog. I’ve been wanting to try printing up some fabric and this will be the perfect incentive. You can sign up until Tuesday.
Some fantastic creations I’ve been admiring lately-

These creations at Malotashop. I found my way over here by following a trail from someone’s Flickr favorites. You just never know where you’ll end up on the internet.

Creative creatures at The Fabric of Meditation.

I got my nasturtiums and zinnias in the ground this morning, before it started to pour. I’m hoping the rain will give them a good start. My tiki is finished now, but the weather is too bad for taking pictures. Hopefully I will be able to show him tomorrow.

all the news…

Posted on June 6, 2007 by mimik

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-

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.

garden in early june

Posted on June 5, 2007 by mimik

I took these photos over the weekend-

The tree peony flowered through the hot weather. There were so many buds this year that the blooming lasted longer then usual. The ones still blooming last weekend were on the lower branches. Also, this is the first time I remember the tree peony bloom time overlapping with the herbaceous peony.

The regular peonies are all in bloom right now-

the buds are wonderful!

Baptisia, or false indigo-

Gas plant (dictamnus)-

and the shady greens-

And the roses are starting! The garden seems to have been happy with our crazy winter weather because it is thriving now!

Paper Bag Swag- month 4

Posted on June 1, 2007 by mimik

I’ve got Month 4 done of my paper bag swag project. You might be thinking that you haven’t seen one of these for a while- well, you are right. We had a one month “vacation”… ahem. Well, Amy and Ellia had good excuses. For the rest of us, not so much. It was just life, taxes, school, kids, travel, etc. Anyway, hopefully we are back on track. Theresa will keep us in line! Two more pages/months to go .

I was working on Cathy’s book this month. Her theme is inspiration, but I’ve got to tell you something- I just did what I felt like doing and then thought about how I could fit it into the theme… that is a real art confession. Of course, personal history and nature, very inspiring!

Playing with the idea of an old sepia tone photo in fabric-

The garden coming to life in April and May-

this says it all- Spring into Summertime, April into May-

I put a few more detail photos on Flickr-here, here and here.
Swag!

And a side view. I’m going to have to find a big box for this!

Kristen, it’s going in the mail today!

had to add one more picture…

doll gathering plan and misc.

Posted on May 26, 2007 by mimik

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.

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.

We have lots of Jack-in-the-Pulpits growing around our yard. I love them.

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.

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

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone who has a holiday!

postcard- people reading

Posted on May 24, 2007 by mimik

My latest postcards-

These took me way too long. You can see I was working on them on May 1. When a project drags out, with too many interruptions, a lot of the fun and energy goes out of it for me. After a while, all I can see are flaws. Too much rethinking of things that don’t need rethinking! I originally did some of the faces with machine stitching. I wasn’t crazy about that. One went into the trash as unsalvageable. The guys have stitched glasses. It wasn’t working for the women. I ended up doing them with a couching stitch. Much better and more control.

I will try to get some good photos or scans to show. I’ve already taken at least 100 pics that I’m not happy with. That’s my last frustration- I can’t get decent photos… either bad light or bad angles… so often I look at my photos and realize everything looks warped, even though they are perfectly square. Something else to work on.

Okay, and about the workshop/gathering. There is one planned for August 4 in Northboro, MA. First priority to members of my doll club. I am try to put together something for Saturday, July 28 or 21, closer to home. Sorry it is taking me so long- I am not good at this sort of stuff.

Doll

the art and craft of Mimi Kirchner