Meeting Mimi

By luck and happenstance, we ended up meeting one of my all time favorite artists this summer, Mimi Kirchner, the doll maker.  I have been admiring her dolls for years and dreamed of seeing them in real life.

 Ben, Etta and I got to visit her studio and see her work in progress, what a treat.  Inspiration and creative tidbits everywhere. 

We carefully chose one doll to take home with us and that was not an easy decision.  We finally settled on a tattooed man with a perfectly curled mustache (now I dream about getting a tattooed lady to accompany him!)  Thank you Mimi for welcoming us and for the opportunity to see your dolls up close! 

Shooting the Breeze with Grandpa

Around Town

 

Blown away by this exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Craft.  Nikki Mcclure's artwork, from the infamous calendar, come to life.  Seeing her paper cuts and her process (Ben especially loved the bowl of x-acto blades) was moving to say the least.  Also, filled with a little hometown pride since she lives and works in Oly!  (Our friend Kat helped curate, yay!)

Stopped dead in our tracks when we came across this knit mural!  Love this town.

Weddings and Babies

Here are some of the craft projects I have been working on this summer.  So many gifts for happy couples and new little ones.  Here is Elliot's welcome home banner, created by friends and family at the baby shower.

A completed mobile of various creatures.

A pillow for the bicycle touring couple, Denise and Chris.

For Al and V, married in the NYC courthouse (still need to mail this!)

Mt. Rainier by sunrise for Mose and Samia.

 The seaplane pillow for Chauney and Chris, who wed in the skies above the Puget Sound.

 Baby sweater using my favorite hooded pattern in Vintage Baby Knits.

Many varying onesies have been created (I especially love how this one turned out.)  Shirts and dye are from Dharma Trading Co. and felt is from Gossamer.  

Last lazy days of summer

Had some last minute summer fun before the leaves begin to turn again.  We discovered a quiet creek side campsite with a joyful pack of friends.

Enjoyed a house party complete with fresh greens, live strumming and a preview of the new You Are Plural album!  (Thanks Jen)

Finally soaked in the front yard pool, a new rubber ducky made it even more enjoyable.  (Thanks Cassandra)

Got a little bit of use out of the tandem bicycle, still waiting on the baby seat!

Hung out with Etta's best bud Wren in the grass while snacking on fresh fruit.  What could be better!  Now we can gracefully accept that September is approaching.

Goodnight Moon

Between writing a dissertation and having her own child, Etta's Aunt Anna knit this glorious sleep sack from a pattern on Ravelry.  Etta is cozy every night, thank you Auntie.

Yurt Camping

 We took Etta on her first camping trip at the coast.  Ben reserved the yurt 9 months ago, before we knew exactly who would be joining us.  We were glad it was Etta.

 This is our third summer of yurt camping, a different state park each time.  Fort Steven's State Park was this years choice. 

Etta takes in her first view of the Pacific ocean.  

(I knit her hooded sweater using a pattern in this book.)