Wedtro.com ad Sarah Arnett

I LOVE it when other wedding professionals find me and are interested in helping to promote my work. Not just because I love the extra promotion, but because really...I geek out on wedding doo-dads and goo-gahs too. I love the dresses, the cakes, all the goods. It's fun stuff. Well at the moment I've been featured on the Wedtro.com blog. Wedtro is a site dedicated to wedding planning in the Louisville, KY area.

I found this dress on their blog too...TO-DIE-FOR. By designer Sarah Arnett. This dress is so must-have I can hardly stand it:

Built for SPEED

I'm still enjoying the power and the finesse of my JUKI Serger. I can finally make sense of all the piles of knit fabrics I've had stashed for years. It's sculpting with overlock, it's ahhhht! Now that the serger is running I can't believe I never had one before...in short, totally worth the investment.

Feeding My Soul

Well hello...I'm back. Sometimes a blogger needs a break and boy did I ever. When waking up from a long, long sleep/hiatus/break to take care of buziness, you often need to feed your soul. And so...I present to you REPRO DEPOT, home of all things, lovely, fabric-y, hinting at colors from your grandmothers house.





I love revisiting sites that make me happy :)

on hiatus...

Hello all, things are so very busy here in muchacha K land, that I have to take a break from blogging. Visit all things muchacha at the website though, as my focus for the next little while will be filling the shop and making some revisions to the site: muchacha K handmade It's all about more sewing, more promotion, and getting moved into the new studio.

I'm also starting the updates and planning for Concord Arts Market, so that site will be hopping too!

I'm at Downtown Crossing today!

I'm staffing the Boston Handmade Downtown Crossing shop today...if you haven't visited, here's a peek:



Photo by Kerry Hawkins Photography.

Jewelry roll fabrics...

For yoooour convenience I have updated my selection of jewelry roll fabrics. As always, I'm happy to embark on a search for THE fabric, if what a person wants is not to be seen here...but I did just add some really pretty options...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/muchachak/sets/72157605406861947/

RSS Feed!!!

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Enjoy!

Favorite things!

These are my favorites from Dawanda.com. Dawanda is a really fun site that I like a lot...it's Europe's answer to Etsy. Basically you can buy really great handmade stuff online. And let's say you have a friend in Germany...and would like to send it to them without having to ship it a billion miles? Find a nice German sellers of handmade delights and have them send it! One of the things I love about Dawanda is that the site is trilingual. You can set the site for English, German or French.

The New Home of muchacha K handmade...

...what? Yes, that's correct. muchacha K is getting a brand new home. More details will come very soon. But isn't that a fantastic, light, airy space? The new place opens in January 2009, and I'll be telling more about my great STUDIO MATES in the near future too!

Midnight Merriment!

Tonight is Midnight Merriment night in Concord. Come out to support local business. There are GREAT places to get unique gifts and delicious food on N. Main St. and thereabouts...all you have to do is show up and browse and shop if the spirit moves you, but the cool part is, that all the shops are open until MIDNIGHT. Yes, MIDNIGHT. This is no small excitement in Concord...although I should mention that many Main St. shop ARE staying open later these days anyway and if you haven't noticed, you should look into it, because they'll stay open later if people are out shopping later. The bottom line is this: if you want a healthier local economy, a thriving Main St., and successful local businesses, and an interesting, more happening community...these are the events you need to support! So...go put your wallet and your browsing eyeballs where your mouth is...go out and have a sparkling good time!

Start Planning for Spring Weddings!

Yes gals, it's that time. If you are having a Spring wedding and you haven't started planning, you'd better get yourself in gear :) And muchacha K handmade can help! Have you SEEN our clutches? Have you SEEN our jewelry rolls? It just so happens they make perfect wedding accessories and bridal gifts. Come visit the muchacha K website, and online shop, or just contact me...you can pick your fabrics (it's your wedding) to coordinate with the wedding colors, OR with your bridesmaids' personalities. Lots of fun...send us a note, we're happy to help!

NH Magazine!!!

Okay how in the heck did I forget to post this the other day!? I was included in a fantastic article about Concord, NH, in NH Magazine. Here's the ARTICLE, and I'm very happy with it. You never know how people will quote you when you are interviewed and I felt very accurately represented. I am also delighted to see the city of Concord's cool hidden treasures a) being recognized and b) surfacing! Concord is chock full of amazing art and talented artists...and delicious food...and it's all just coming to a wonderful blossoming point.

No further than the cutting board...

...this is the shell of a passionfruit, and it's lovely shape and smell have been popping back into my head since it was eaten.

There is nothing subtle...

...about the imagery of Catholic worship. For whatever reason, (no, I am not a tortured survivor of Catholic schools) this is a theme that continually inspires me.

A visit to L'Oratoire St. Joseph (St. Joseph Oratory) in Montreal has inspired me in this vein yet again.

You'll notice that my handbag palette is generally comprised of very bright, bold colors, unexpected contrasts of fabrics prints and colors...currently I've also snuck the Virgen of Guadalupe into my shop, a lovely lady in those same bright colors. Central American Catholic imagery tends to be the most boldly colorful and therefore appealing to me...

Here at the Oratoire St. Joseph the rows and rows of lit votives in candy colored glass are flanked by racks of crutches, symbolic of the many sick, injured and dying people who have trudged up Mont Royal to received the blessing of the church and of God himself. That's dedication...because that hill is enormous. And I think it's that kind of faith and dedication, along with the bright colors and flamboyant imagery, that inspire me...there's something very potent about that kind of perserverence, even if you are not a religious person.

Ever the International Seamstress of Mystery...

I visited Montreal, Quebec this past weekend. What to say about Montreal...it's just so fabulous. One big, bi-lingual, urban adventure, with delicious foods everywhere, fun people...they're so stylish it's ridiculous. Another great things about Montreal...they have a handful of great public markets. You had to know this was heading in that direction, lol...everywhere I go, I visit the nearest market. Ah, my favorite ancient human tradition!

This weekend we went to Marché Jean Talon (Jean Talon Market) a colorful, bustling collection of farm stands, fresh foods, ranging from pastas to meats, people selling soap and knitted hats, cool North African groceries and so much delicious stuff you couldn't possibly eat it all in one visit. We ate everything from wild boar to chocolate covered fruit on a stick...and bought a big tub of olives, and almond and rosewater cookies.

Crafts at the Carriage House

My lackluster setup notwithstanding, my day at Kimball Jenkins selling at "Crafts at the Carriage House" was a very pleasant day. I just didn't have the right "stuff" with me to give my display the levels it needed to be more effective. But enough about that...nice people, tasty food, sold some stuff, all good.

One amusing note: the painting that was behind me! "Mutiny" by Jim Blajda. It evoked speculation all day long about what the story of the painting was, what exactly those stuffed animals were up to...ha...take a look and judge for yourself. Personally, I think they're up to no good!

Thank you to Gigi Laberge for organizing.

A rainbow of fabric flavors...

Very busy these days in the studio...lots of pouches and clutches coming off the sewing machine...and pulling fabrics for wedding orders...

A lovely evening at Butters...

"Before" pics...





...the artists reception and wine tasting at Butters was so lovely. A ton of friendly people, DELICIOUS wine, lovely shop. Butters is located at 70 N. Main St. in Concord, NH. And many muchacha K creations made their way to new homes...

Buy Handmade; Support Hopsice Care

Gigi Laberge is a glass artist here in NH and she is also a regular supporter of local hospice care services. To further fuse the relationship between her art and her desire to support hospice, Gigi has created Crafts at the Carriage House.

Crafts at the Carriage House is happening next Thursday, November 20th from 12-8PM and I will be one of the featured sellers. It's an intimate, personal shopping event, complete with delicious food, and high quality handmade gift items (at great gift prices). We're taking over the Carriage House at the Kimball-Jenkins estate (at the intersection of N. Main St. and I-393) in Concord. There is a $1 suggested donation at the door, for local hospice services.

Gigi's WEBSITE

Kimball Jenkins is a great place to enjoy art and handmade items...come by, enjoy the food and the atmosphere :) I'll have a colorful selection of my fancy clutches available, and some pouches and other items as well.

This is HUUUUUUUGE!

Okay so, I am a member of Boston Handmade, a juried collaboration of artists, based in Massachusetts. Yes, I am based in NH, it's a long story, yes, I'm an anomaly. My point though, AHEM...the City of Boston just gave Boston Handmade it's own STOREFRONT for the holiday season!!!

That's right...a whole shop, right in the middle of Boston, at Downtown Crossing, full to the brim with great art and artisan work...knitted goods, handbags, children's clothing, cast-metal jewelry, beaded jewelry, encaustic works, paper goods, art dolls...TONS of great stuff.

Here is our announcement WEB PAGE for the event...
And here is our BLOG so you can learn more about our member artists and our work...

(necklace and photo by Betsy Baker/Stonehouse Studio, member of Boston Handmade)