I took a deep breath,
gritted my teeth
and pressed "post"
on an image of a tapestry house by the sea.
It was my very first blog entry
on a brand new website,
and it was terrifying.
as my work has been in cyberspace since the mid 1990s.
My husband-- code writer and web builder--
had thought it'd be a good idea.
"WHY would I want such a weird and public thing?"
I cried.
"And anyway, who would ever look?"
After all, I only checked my email every couple of weeks.
By 2014, however,
web construction (and my attitude) had changed just a tad,
It was time to tackle the newest iteration on my own.
pointed me toward Weebly
(a relatively friendly website builder),
and after a few shitty first drafts
and much angst,
the thing came together--
though committing to a blog took a little longer.
"What is the point?"
"Will I be able to sustain it?"
"Will I be able to stop if I want to?"
"Will I have anything to say?"
"Won't the stuff I do seem boring and repetitive?"
"Will it change my relationship to the work if I talk about process?"
"Will the ideas get shy and stay away?"
at least I think so.
Having taken the blogging path
I can't exactly do the experiment of what would have been happening had I chosen the other.
And probably sometimes boring.
But in a compelling way.
A wide open way.
At least to me.
You know --
the freedom of limitation.
since four years on,
not only am I still entranced by weaving tiny tapestry houses,
but I also seem to have had something or other to say
about my boring, repetitive and oh-so-satisfying work
almost every Tuesday since.
I learn something every time I write--
and if not always from the actual words,
then absolutely from the bliss of all of you coming to read,
and from your shared thoughts and experiences.
have slipped right by me.
I guess it's hard to notice the big picture when I write every week.
But this year I noticed
and thought it would be a grand time to try something new,
something I've been meaning to do since I started selling
"How To Weave A Bag On A Box" comic instruction zines on Etsy.
It was time to move the store
RIGHT HERE!
about new web-based enterprises
as I was four years ago.
a new fiber,
a new pair of shoes,
refurbish an old spinning tool,
make paint,
tackle an unfamiliar comic-diary-binding-method
embrace a plastic spindle,
embark a giant secret project that I'll tell you a little bit about in my next newsletter,
and even do the laundry--
rather than commit to pushing that 'publish' button.
And if you think of it,
you might check back later in the week,
because honestly,
I have both physical and PDF versions of my comic instructions
(How to Weave a Bag on a Box and Backstrap Dialogues for now),
all loaded up
and once I know how the system works
I plan to also make a tapestry gallery too
(need a tiny house anyone? a large colorful tapestry?),
and my plan is to have free shipping to celebrate.
So stay tuned!
Indeed, I feel myself getting braver by the minute.
But maybe some lunch first.
And a little weaving in the sun.
OH yes, but first I'll push the "POST" button.