Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Art of Mimi Kirchner

Mimi Kirchner is a wonderful doll artist. I'm not even into dolls as a rule, but I'm a regular visitor to her blog. Every post is an inspiration. She works with lots of wool (love that!) and salvaged materials (love that too!). If you like her stuff, check out her Etsy shop.
Below is a wonderful little video showing Mimi at work in her studio:

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Studio Time

"You're a businesswoman, a wife, a mom, a world traveler, and you're knitting socks. You've got it all."

A friend recently said this to me, and I loved it. It's a little off, since I haven't been out of the United States yet, but hey, I like it! Actually, what he said was that I am knitting him some socks, but I'm not, so I edited it. I may have to start on those socks now though, just to show him how much I appreciate this quote! Thank you Scott Langford of the Grand Rapids Press.

We were talking about having a lot of interests. I've always envied those who have a driving passion for a particular hobby, job or interest. It must be so much simplier and rewarding. Concentrating on one thing would enable you to really become expert in that area.

I'm a dabbler. I hate being pinned down and want to do it all. Right now, I'm trying to clean out my sewing room, and this tendency of mine is causing problems. I can't get rid of that soldering iron and such because I intend to make some collaged pendants under glass. How about the rug hooking supplies? Well, I'm still intrigued by that too. The journaling/drawing stuff (and there is a lot of it!) has to stay because I actually use it often. The sewing stuff must stay. The knitting stuff stays, but I can definitely get rid of all the acrylic yarn. I've become a yarn snob I fear, and I love the natural fibers. The vintage fabric stays, too. And then there's all the vintage book pages and ephmemera which I'm actually starting to use...working them into my drawings. The scrapbooking stuff....well, maybe I need to face reality there.

The good thing is that much of the supplies will be moved to the shop, where I'm setting up a little studio (in the picture above). When I'm done, sewing supplies will be at home and much of the rest of the artsy stuff will be at the shop. I only want to move what I will actually use though, and what inspires me. The rest will have to go to the charity shop.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Rainy Days at the Lake...

are really just an excuse to relax! I left the shop in capable hands and went to Michigan for a few days to kick back. I did a lot of swinging and knitting on the porch since it was raining much of the time I was up there.

I finished a pair of Monkey socks. This is a lovely pattern available on knitty.com for free.

We rounded up the kids from our house and Hill's (and well, OK, yes the adults went too!) and we hit the Driftwood on Round Lake for some ice cream. This little shop has not changed since I was a kid...love that.

Old school...no soft serve here. And your sundays and splits come in glass not a paper cup.

A bunch of Harbins and Hills out for ice cream.

Another rainy day activity...painting rocks. Hey, gotta work with what you have at hand! I remember doing this as a kid too.

The sun finally came out so we were able to hang out in the lake. This is my sister and my cousin enjoying the day.
And finally, a little rainy day trouble!