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idea interrupted...

3/10/2021

 
Picture
hand woven tapestries: four letters, four selvedges, tails tucked, wool warp, wool words, used coffee filter ground yarn, natural dyes; each approx 3" x 5"; ©Sarah C Swett 2021
One of the lovely things
about being a creature of habit--
Picture
--is that I get to follow ideas
from their first glimmer--
Picture
--on into half formed experiments--
Picture
moth; four selvage hand woven tapestry; wool warp and words, used coffee filter ground weft; weld and cochineal; 3" x 5" 2021
--and if I'm lucky,
further still--
Picture
hand woven tapestries: four letters, four selvedges, tails tucked, wool warp, wool words, used coffee filter ground yarn, natural dyes; each approx 3" x 5"; ©Sarah C Swett 2021
--until eventually they flit away
of their own accord.
Picture
hand woven tapestries: four letters, four selvedges, tails tucked, wool warp, wool words, flax, milkweed, dead leaves and used coffee filter ground yarn; natural dyes; each approx 3" x 5"; ©Sarah C Swett 2021
A drawback to this persistence,
is that I am a teensy bit inclined
Picture
37 hand woven tapestries: four letters, four selvedges, tails tucked, wool warp, wool words, flax, milkweed, dead leaves and used coffee filter ground yarn; natural dyes; each approx 3" x 5"; ©Sarah C Swett 2021
to overdo.
Picture
 Which means that on this occasion,
it is I who need to flit away--
or at least pause this beloved series
( all 37 of which are now on the 2020 and 2021 archive pages)
while I attempt to rest.
Picture
Or rather,
(since I'm terrible at resting),
while I do the myriad stretches and exercises
prescribed for the future existence
of  my yarnish ideas.

Luckily, so far
there have been many wonderful things
to read--

like the gorgeous essay by 
my brother Benjamin C Swett
What I Wanted to Tell You About the Wind
in the Spring 2021 Orion Magazine:
(also myriad others in this unputdownable issue)
and
Carson Demers' book, Knitting Comfortably
(delightful, eye-opening, and occasionally mortifying
when I see how casually I've treated my poor old body)

as well as watch:

like Rebecca Mezoff's beautiful (and informative)
tribute to the work and life of inspirational tapestry weaver  James Kohler
on the tenth anniversary of his death
and
the webinars organized by Fibershed
(I just watched this one that Redbird did on Dog Bane
that hopefully will be available soon as a recording),

and oh, so much else.
Picture
fool; four selvage hand woven tapestry; wool warp and words, used coffee filter ground weft; indigo, weld and cochineal; 3" x 5" 2021
Along with reading and learning
I shall also practice hand rest and rehab
which so far means
learning to use a mouse with my left hand
and doing a little studio spring clean
in order to clear both my head
and some space
for whatever parenthetical idea(s)
eventually take pity on me
(naturally using only large muscle groups
which are, truth to tell,
in far better shape than my small ones).
Picture
And perhaps you,
if you are so inclined
(and are not so foolish
as to have taken your hands and shoulders
as for granted as I),
will feel free to weave
a few of your own precious words--
those that you've shared in the comments in the last two weeks
or which are quietly rattling around your brain.
Because how not?
So many wonderful ones await.

And though this comes under the heading
of shameless self-promotion and blog support,
if you are interested in the word thing,
or at least attracted to crisp stacks of tapestries,
with no ends dangling in any direction
(ideal for tapestry Post Cards)
I cannot not recommend
the Fringeless Four Selvedge warping class
I did with Rebecca Mezoff,
and
my little zine Tucking the Tails .

Or if you're truly ambitious
 don't have a loom
and don't want to make one
there is always that other
goofy and miraculous four selvedge technique
Weaving a Bag On a Box.
Imagine a list, or  poem
going around around and around a bag
that can be carried around and around
wherever you go....


But enough of that.
I already have more bags than I can use in a life time.
My oh-so-ergonomic broom awaits.
And it's time for some more stretching.

Never a dull moment--
though wouldn't one or two be grand?
Picture

Wintry ways...

3/2/2021

 
Picture
Listening to the snow melt...
Wow-
it's March!

How are you doing?
Picture
Me--I am well,
(how happifying is that?)
And the snow is melting!
Picture
It's amazing to be back here--
 familiar and strange
at the same time.
Picture
I mean
after three months
there is so much to say,
and also, nothing at all.
Picture
For while listening
to other people express essential ideas
with perfection and beauty--
Picture
Bone; Hand Woven Tapestry; 3" x 4.75"; warp--wool; weft--hand twisted milkweed, used coffee filters (paper yarn); indigo; 2020
--I've been spending my days
with one word at a time.
Picture
Four Selvedge Tapestry--so much easier to unwind the supplementary warp when you can spread it all the way across the room!
I mean--
quag.
Isn't it lovely?
What a thing
to get to balance
(or try at any rate)
on its delicious
q-centric
syllable.
Picture
And really,
does a person really need
entire sentences?
Picture
Even my inner Storymaker
has been mostly OK with it.

She is all about words to be sure,
usually ready to cram in
as many as she can
(Verbs!!! Adjectives!!!!!
Parenthetical Asides!!!!),
but it turns out
that reading dictionaries
studying etymology,
and debating the merits
of this word
or that
is wildly entertaining.
(OMG--a double ff-- YES!)

Almost as satisfying
as having chopped
the ice dams
off the roof.
Picture
Now it could be
that writing this essay
back in December
for my friend Debbie Lee's
monthly blog: Witness Wilderness,
was all the Storymaker needed.
Picture
thaw; handwoven tapestry; hand spun paper (used coffee filters), wool; natural dyes (weld and Osage); 3”x 5” 2021
Or maybe she has just been biding her time,
waiting for the thaw
while the Luminist blissed out
on quiet(ish) winter days.
Picture
Either way,
we're decidedly out of shape
for this blogging biz
and it might take a while
 to fully emerge
from our wintry ways.
Picture
Though I suppose that is
what spring is all about, eh?
Picture
seed; handwoven tapestry; hand spun paper (used coffee filters), wool; natural dyes (madder); 2.75”x 5” 2021

and....instead of but

11/10/2020

 
Picture
Lots of things happened in 2016 --
not least
that I  built 
my first backstrap loom.
Picture
Though probably not directly connected,
this elemental tool 
has helped to see me through
some of the other world-rocking
​ events and emotions of the last years--
the reverberations of which,
(as you might have noticed yourself...),
have yet to settle down.
Picture
For these years have
 asked-- nay, demanded 
so very much --
​not least
the development of
new levels of fortitude--
Picture
-- a massive amount of trust
in some absurdly fragile-appearing 
​threads of connection--
Picture
--and even some heart-expanding joy
when the  threads 
​actually hold.
Picture
So it is with a peculiar kind of curiosity
that I remembered, just now,
that it has been just over four years
since I first leaned back against 
my needlepoint strap--
and to spend some time thinking about
what has happened to me
​since then.
Picture
Backstrap Dialogues p. 34
Of course it was tapestry
that started it--
the desire to begin weaving
with a single word
and follow it, letter by letter,
wherever the unfolding idea chose to go--
a deeply unsettling thing 
for a person given to weaving
from  carefully composed cartoons
(and thus even more worth pursuing).
Picture
The idea of plain plain weave, however
never crossed my mind.

Well, not until
the very second warp anyway.

And then --
well then I was a bit of a mess for a time.
A happy mess to be sure--
bounding back and forth
between delicious, weft-faced text
and luminous, drapy, open cloth--
yet also thoroughly confused
and bemused
by my new divided attention.

Luckily, I blogged about it at the time.
​(three 2016 posts: One, Two, Three),
then wrote  Backstrap Dialogues,
in order to dig even deeper
into what felt, in the moment
like uncertain direction.

"Who am I
to enjoy both of these?"
Picture
There were days, indeed,
when my head
felt as divided and divisive
as this country--
a place where "and" was not a thing--
my internal state
 as seemingly unreconcilable
(and sometimes downright cruel)
as the national mood.
Picture
Backstrap Dialogues, page 9
Four years,
many many many yards of cloth
and more miles of yarn
than I can even begin to count later, 
much has changed--
​and much has not.
Picture
 As thrilled as ever
​by the breadth of possibility
inherent in the simple tools,
I now don't think twice about using

un-sized, super fine singles as warp.

Picture
Backstrap Dialogues, page 12
And in endless, in-depth conversations,
Luminist and Storymaker--
though sometimes not as polite
as they might be--
have, over time,
come to realize how
interdependent they actually are,
and to make space for
techniques, ideas and materials
one or the other
might once have disdained 
(or, more truly, never even considered:
coffee filters? wedge weave? milkweed?
tapestry book covers? nettle baskets?).
Picture
Two Blue Houses (detail in process); hand woven tapestry; balanced plain weave weave; milkweed; backstrap loom
Though not always been a cakewalk 
(as you might imagine),
even my tradition-bound inner Storymaker
has begun to concede
that tales can be told 
in many ways--
narrative, light and local materials 
coexisting
in a single swathe of cloth.
Picture
And​ at least some of the time, 
​in a single human as well.
​
(Or heddle -- Margaret, with her sweet, bemused smile,

is pretty much up for anything--
the more untried, the better).
Picture
Two Blue Houses (detail in process); hand woven tapestry; balanced plain weave weave; milkweed; backstrap loom
I can only hope, now,
that the same might soon (someday?) 
be said ​for this entire country.
Picture
For I do so hope,
 along with the 
unmitigated joy,
brought by final ballot counts,

that civility, kindness
​and attempts at being helpful
might be possible 
in our government
and amongst ourselves.
Picture
Two Blue Houses; hand woven tapestry; balanced plain weave weave; milkweed; backstrap loom; 38" x 1.25"
Or, at the very least
that we can remember
that taking turns
is a thing.

Pretending to be calm

11/3/2020

 
Picture
And when pretending isn't enough--
Picture
Twenty Tiny House Series:Willow Wand #1; hand woven tapestry; willow wand warp; willow bark, hand spun paper, indigo, natural pigments 3" x 2.5"; frame: cardboard box, used coffee filters, flour paste
there is always tapestry.
Picture
Willow-wand warp anyone?
It's weirdly compelling
(doesn't even require a loom).
Picture
And though Rebecca doesn't cover
these materials in her wonderful new book
The Art of Tapestry Weaving,
(officially launching today!)
she does provide instruction
on all  of the techniques I used.
(well, not the clamp and scrap wood support part,
but maybe I"ll talk about that
​some other day on this blog).
Picture
Twenty Tiny House Series:Willow Wand #1 (detail); hand woven tapestry; willow wand warp; willow bark, hand spun paper, indigo, natural pigments 3" x 2.5"; frame: cardboard box, used coffee filters, flour paste
Today --
Picture
Magic Medium --formerly white, now pinky red thanks to cochineal and madder
well today--

​all I knew for sure--
Picture
Cochineal dyebath
is that
color is marvelous--
Picture
weld + indigo
​and nature is generous--
Picture
magic medium with madder and cochineal; somewhat slanted with cochineal
(​when we let her do
the things 
she does so well)--
Picture
and that however things unfold--
Pictureself portrait with laundry and suspenders

I'm grateful
that my pants 
won't
​fall down.
Picture
Backstrap Blankets; backstrap strips sewn together; hand spun wool; walnut; indigo;
Also,
​ perhaps even more important
than the coverage of my derriere--
Picture
I'm so glad
that as we move through this time

and into a future
in which simple tools
are essential--
Picture
and the boxes we need most
are not even close to square
(thank goodness)--
Picture
Twenty Tiny House Series: Willow Wand #1; hand woven tapestry; willow wand warp; willow bark, hand spun paper, indigo, natural pigments 3" x 2.5"; frame: cardboard box, used coffee filters, flour paste
that we go forward
​together. 

Triumph of the Unexpected

10/20/2020

 
Picture
Milkweed fiber (gathered green); winter squash shell
When I was 12 or 13
I learned to sew clothing.
It was a bribe from my mother--
"If you do such-and-such
without complaining any more
you can also take that class
at the fabric store."
Picture
Naturally, I totally went for it.
I mean, I was longing to sew properly:
​
--to master 
zippers and waist bands,
 the matching of plaids,
the smooth fitting of sleeves and facings,
the interpretation and adjustment of patterns

--to have real projects
and a proper reason
to  work with the sewing machine


--to understand the fabric itself
and know intuitively
​how to make the perfect choices

​--to make the garments of my dreams
Picture
As for the other half of the bribe--
(the thing I was being bribed to do),
well, I was a kid and well used to
enduring things I disliked
 while looking attentive
 and absorbing the necessary
 to regurgitate later
​in an acceptable form--
all while truly focusing 
on the pile of possibility
waiting at home
on the card table
by the sewing machine.
Picture
dogbane cordage; milkweed cordage; indigo
It is a useful skill--
pretending to be attentive I mean--
if not nearly as useful,
as the one that came
from the sewing class.
Picture
Milkweed cordage four selvedge (Fringeless) warp
I say  "the one" 
because though I went on to make
many many garments over 
the next few years,'

my sewing skills
never grew beyond the serviceable.
Indeed, though I continue to
make, wear and mend 

a large portion of my current wardrobe,
the shaping of my favorite fitting garments
is accomplished with knitting needles
rather than darts.
And matching plaids?
Maybe in my next life.
(And really, who but a thirteen year old
would think that she could
totally understand sewing
after six lessons 
in which she made
one lopsided
if beloved
​ skirt?)

And as a reader of this blog,
you'll know well
that true understanding of cloth
is as elusive for me as ever --
​thank goodness.
Picture
Milkweed cordage for warp and weft
No, the skill I revere--
the one I rely on
more than any other,
find myself using,
 and (hopefully) honing
every
single
day--
Picture
Milkweed cordage (white); untwisted willow bark (green); boiled willow bark cordage (brown)
 is noticing:

--the light on my laundry
--that empty winter squash shell
(baked and scooped)
sitting by the compost bucket
--the rhythm of the first half
of this sentence (if not the second),
--the glint of a strand of fiber
lifting from a drooping stalk

--the gut-settling satisfaction
of said strand twisting
 almost of its own accord
then settling into a warp
--the awkward feel (and lovely look)
of untwisted willow bark.
Picture
making weft in the moment..
It's not just noticing though.
There are the added bits
of noticing that I noticed--
then noticing what I noticed--
and then believing it all--
that make this useful.

And that is was what I learned
from sewing class.

Actually, it wasn't  in class
that  all that noticing occurred.
In class I was concentrating 
(​of course).
The noticing happened
when I was at home
alone
​with the materials.
Picture
Milkweed Tapestry #1; milkweed, willow bark
There I stood by the card table,
(still wearing my scratchy

pink and grey herringbone school uniform
with the matching pilled pink polyester shirt,
falling down blue cabled knee socks,
and thick, brown leather shoes
with the slitted flaps to cover the laces),
my hand on that pile of possibility:

-- slightly rough
blue cotton cloth,
-- pattern pieces carefully cut
(notches and everything),
with the crinkly paper
still pinned in place
-- unsullied spool
of coordinating thread
--empty bobbin 
--sharp, new, orange-handled
Fiskars sewing shears,
my first private pair
which no one else
(on pain of who knew what)
was allowed to touch
FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER--

​and I thought:
Picture
Paper Peplum #1 (detail): hand knit used coffee filters (Melita, bleached) plied with mill spun linen singles; wire; apple wood; Milkweed Tapestry #1; Milkweed; Willow Bark
"This--
 is a thing I like--
more than anything
--
this cloth--
this idea--
this almost--
this about to--

this liking
and it is mine."
Picture
Paper Peplum #1: hand knit used coffee filters (Melita, bleached) plied with mill spun linen singles; wire; apple wood; Milkweed Tapestry #1; Milkweed; Willow Bark
Bombarded as I was then
(with adult's ideas
of what I should do),
and as we now are
(with images and ideas 
and material dissatisfaction),
noticing remains, I think,
a hard skill worth honing --
even if following the results 
sometimes get me in a lot of bother,
not least, sitting out in the cold woodshed
for days --nay weeks--
scraping away at stemmy stalks
all for a few grams of fiber
for I don't know what.

And today,
instead of writing a sensible and useful critique
of my milkweed tapestry experiment
to go with the photos 
I couldn't resist taking this morning
​because the light was so lovely, 
I've ended up following
a wild hare across the moor
and into the past
and now I'm going to spend
the rest of the afternoon
trying to remember
what those shoes with the flaps are called
(do you know?)
PictureVessel of possibility: Milkweed; volunteer Winter Squash shell

Then again--
I don't' yet know how I feel
about the milkweed tapestry
(or even if I like the tapestry itself
as much as I liked it half way through),
and today,
as back then,
I can notice best
when I'm all by myself.

So thank you
 for reading all the way down--

though I suppose you're not here
for my material consistency
or word/image coordination anyway.
​

And maybe, indeed,
you have a card table moment
of your own.

Keep your skirt on, Sarah!

9/29/2020

 
Picture
So how many photos
does a gal have to take
of her backside
Picture
before she finally decides
that enough is enough?
Picture
I mean honestly --
all I wanted was to show
that the reason
​for the long narrow tapestry
​with the endless slits--
Picture
--was nothing more
than a desire to wear this skirt
(photo below)
without the bunchiness

​of a belt.
And now  I can!
Yet for some reason,
though it feels great on the inside,

my inner model and inner photographer
were not communicating this morning,
and every photo of the outside
is badly lit,
out of focus,
has me posed in front of
the only distracting object
on an otherwise empty wall, 

or my hair is in the way. 
And each time I checked out the photos
and said to my model,
"fix the elastic on your braid!"
did she do it?
Nope.
​
Ah well.
​We all have our little skills.
Picture
At any rate,
the skirt is old favorite
that was designed, alas, 
in that sartorially awkward moment
when retail clothing companies decided
that a "waist band" should sit
somewhere below one's belly button,
yet I've always loved it'
so awkward photos aside,
 it is delightful to be able to wear it
​without tripping over the hem
and/or displaying an unnecessary
​amount of stomach.
Picture
Why it took me so long
to think of this solution
​I've no idea,
as the fit of this
otherwise heavenly garment
has been annoying me for years.
Picture
But I guess brains,
like cameras
do not always focus
on the thing
that in hindsight
one might have preferred.
And since ideas
have their own pace
​ and agenda,
I can only be happy 
that this one showed up at all.
Picture
As you can probably tell from the safety pins,
I just cut the tapestry from my loom yesterday.
and wove in the the ends before supper.
After a quick bath
(a thing I do with all wool weft tapestries,
especially if it is a thing I'm going to wear --
though now that I think of it,
I'm not sure I've ever
woven an 'accessory' before),
I squeezed it in a towel,
laid it flat to dry,
and by this morning 
it was ready for a nice steamy iron.
Picture
 I was pleased to remember
to weave slits/buttonholes at either end
so the suspenders (braces)
could also work 
with this pair of pants
(extra satisfying when structure and function work together),
and am always happy
when Tucking The Tails
keeps stray weft strands
from sticking out hither and yon
on either back or front.

 I'm not, however, entirely happy

with the bulges/folds of the tapestry fabric
above the tiny house center panel
where the front straps veer off to my shoulders
(clearly visible in the photo above),
and I believe next time I'd either 
weave two separate straps 
that literally cross in the back,
or make that center panel wider
so there was more of an H
and a shallower shoulder angle.

This last would also make
a useful design space--
room for an entire landscape perhaps,
or, as in many Coptic garments,
a face looking ever outwards
watching your back,
and noticing 
where you've been.  
Picture
So many ideas--
I want to try them all.
Woven words?
(Logger World is traditional 
though what a place for haiku...)

Or a person could use a backstrap loom
and a rigid heddle
to weave a long narrow strip
of needlepoint canvas
then embellish it
with.... anything at all. 

And what about
warp faced pick up?

Oh dear. Off I go.
Please--
save me from this idea storm
and try one or two yourself?
What better way
to show off your glorious work,
and saying what you have to say
than by wearing your heart
on your shoulders?

And now that I think of it
this 194 grams of milkweed fiber
​(and some willow as well),
are calling my name--
really loudly.
Perhaps they, too,
have a sartorial plan
 (not yet revealed),
that will allow them to travel
exciting places
like --
curbside pick up
at the grocery store.
Picture

surprised by a tapestry

9/15/2020

 
Picture
I didn't mean to start this tapestry--
and when I did begin,
I wasn't thinking
​about the air.
Picture

Back then
(all of four days ago),
the wind was blowing 
in a different direction,
and I was merely amazed
to be working with wool at all --
​much less weaving
it into a long narrow tapestry
with absurdly elongated slits.
(My ubiquitous wool sweater
steadily takes shape
on spindle and knitting needles,
but that is for evenings and lunch breaks;
regular studio time
has not been 
wool-centric
​for a while).
Picture

​So the whole thing
came at me sideways.
I mean -- 
this is a cordage moment--
​right--
and even if I was to
weave a tapestry,
milkweed
(or maybe willow)
would be
the obvious choice.

These fibers, however,
have other fish to fry
(or wrists to encircle)
and are not interested
in adapting themselves
​to a weft faced form
at this time.
Picture
​"Well," thought I,
having already
(somewhat precipitously),
built a pipe loom
and wound
a continuous warp.
"what about
coffee filter yarn?"
Picture
Alas, no.
The coffee filters
did not care for
the freshly wound
wool/silk warp
(nor, methinks,
for playing second fiddle
to milkweed--
though that is 
mere speculation
for  while
they feel free to tell me
what to do,
these fibers tend to be
somewhat sketchy
when it comes to
​ explaining why).


(note--for more on continuous warps and how to wind them,
this blog post: Long Warp/Short Loom,  has info)
Picture
At any rate,
in the midst 
of my connundrum
(should I unwind that warp?)
some lovely, fine wool skeins
cleared  their collective throat
from their comfy place on a shelf.
This gathering of skeins --
my "purse spindle project"--
​is a graded color progression
of Merino, Cormo, Polworth fleeces
I carded a couple of years ago--
and ever since
have spun and plied on the go
 with my Jenkins Kuchulu
(the aforementioned purse spindle),
whenever my dear  friend Rochelle and I
have met for tea--
historically at a local coffee shop
and these days
(carefully distanced),
shouting enthusiastically
across her back yard.
Picture
The plied yarn
is approximately 5500 yards/pound
so each little skein
represents many chat hours--
Picture
--enough that the
collective twist energy 

had apparently reached
 a critical level

and the skeins
were unwilling--
or unable--
to wait patiently
on the shelf
for another moment

(ever had that feeling?)
Picture
And of course once I began,
it was clear that the fiber
usually does know best.
 I'd forgotten
how familiar
and forgiving 
wool can be--
pure pleasure--
which is a fine thing
​on a series
of icky days.
Picture
Soon enough
(no surprise
to you who know me
​though I had not planned it),
a little way up
​the color progression,
there appeared a tiny house:
encased in smoke
and with lights on during the day
as is the case right here--
​and in much of the rest
of the western half
​of the USA just now.
Picture
It's  horrible --
the fires I mean,
not the house.
​Even those of us
not in immediate danger 
of losing our homes to the flames,
know every dry leaf
​to be potential danger.
We long for rain
to clear enough air,
and ease the worry
about friends, family
and perfect strangers 
​in Oregon and California--
and wish we could
 open windows--
or go outside 
for an autumnal breath,
or even a walk.
On top of 
"everything" else,
it sometimes feels
like just too much.
Picture
Except, luckily,
though being 
somewhat crazy 
is absolutely "a thing"  these days,
working with magical
and opinionated materials
can help to turn
potential madness
into more of a
focused frenzy.
And when one can
share that frenzy,
and the utter
over-the-top-ness
​of bloody everything
with dear friends,
it is easier to remember
that up above 
the grey sock we're living in,
acres of blue sky
await.
Picture
So on we go,
up the warp
into the blue--
in all the ways,
soon.
​
Right?
(don't forget, my USA friends,
to order your absentee ballots soon!!!!)
Picture
And as we work our way along,
it's a fine thing
​ to have support--
from our compatriots
and from lovely books
like this  one
by Linda Ligon--
filled with stories
ideas, connection
and inspiration --
 a place where
tiny house tapestries
(blue skies and all),
might even
run into
​themselves. 
Picture

books with fibers caught in their pages

8/25/2020

 
Picture
Milkweed Cordage (last year's, field retted); Wild Dress by Kate Fletcher
Since it'll probably be a whole week
till I next have a chance
​ to go on and on about Milkweed
(a whole week!!),
​what better way to begin
talking about  a few of
​the books I've been reading

than with ​a photo of cordage in progress
shading the pages---
Picture
especially since
one of the many great things
about making cordage
​(vs other methods of bast fiber yarn construction),
is that I can twist and read
at the same time.
Picture
Cormo wool (drum carded); Hepty Spindle; The Invisible Sex by J.M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer & Jake Page
Same goes for
spinning well prepared wool
with a familiar, lightweight spindle.
Picture
Picture
Indeed, 
reading and yarn making

are inextricably linked
in my odd little world.
Reading/knitting too,
though I don't seem to have  any photos
of that blissful activity--
even if I  have (and wear),
a great number
of  the not-very-complicated
but perfect-to-knit-while-not-looking
 garments, that result. 
Picture
Picture
How lovely, then,
to dive into Milkweed
with someone who has spent
far more time than I 
(at least so far),
exploring its mysteries. 
Aimee Lee's
Making Milkweed Paper
is actually a reference I've had for ages,
her work an unending inspiration.
Click the link with her name
and check out all her work.
The knitted books! The icons!
The Hanji dresses.
OH, be still my heart. 

And to slip from those
ethereal garments,
to Kate Fletcher's thoughtful 
and curious essays
 in Wild Dress--
is a mighty thing indeed.
Even better to be making a garment
while turning the pages.
Picture
Last year's unevenly field retted Milkweed being stripped from mildewed stalks
Then again, 
if we're going to bring everything
back to the integral role
of woman the maker,
who can resist the engaging prose
of The Invisible Sex,
or ignore the pleasure
of wrapping my mind
around the elemental--
nay the central role--
of first cordage makers in pre-history--
probably female and mostly ignored by (male) archaeologists--
while ​physically twisting fibers myself.
Cuz some ways of being a human female
never change at all.
​I could hardly put it down.
Picture
How satisfying, then,
to remember that
I don't just make cordage--
I weave with it too,
and so turn to 
Anatomy of a Tapestry.
(no book weight necessary
as it has a spiral binding so opens flat!)
by Jean Pierre Larochette
and his daughter, Yadin Larochette.

Picture
I mean -- actual woven illustrations,
 exquisite drawings,
 wide ranging understanding,
rock solid information,
irresistible charm, and deep knowledge--
I am beyond proud
to know them
and really really glad
​to have this book.
The sections on preservation, conservation
and restoration are a gold mine indeed,
and I anticipate a few--
--erm--adjustments--
to the way I've been storing my work.
I love them so much.

Real Reviews!
Rebecca Mezoff
Elizabeth Buckley
Picture
Sue Lawty's exquisite book,
Earth Materials
also has a 
satisfying binding --
indeed, the whole book
is  lovely to look at,
the pages yummy to the touch.
Her work, be it with
fiber, pebbles, lead--
​or anything else for that matter--
broadens my work
and the way I think about it
in a most satisfying way.
Picture
Picture
Picture
When I've needed
to take a brief step back
from textiles
(hard to believe, but sometimes true),
I've been re-delighted
with the imaginary,
decidedly un-sentimental--
even pointy-- elven worlds
created by Sylvia Townsend Warner--
one of my all time favorite authors.
I'm so very happy
that some of her
hard-to-find work
has been recently republished
​by Hand Held Press.
​

Given half a chance,
I'd probably order
half a dozen other books
from this small publisher.
Indeed, I bet I eventually will.
Picture
But back to tapestry --
because seemingly
somehow
everything  eventually
returns to tapestry 
in some form other--
if only as  metaphor--
though not in this instance--
there is one more book
I want to mention --
at least one more that I now have
in my physical possession:
the magnificent
The Art Is The Cloth 
by Micala Sidore
Picture
This book is a treasure trove of tapestry--
as full of interesting and compelling work
as this page is with hyphens.
Fuller, actually.
(Is fuller the word I actually want? Not sure).
At any rate,
there are many thigns I could say
for there are  many tapestries 
and kinds of tapestries in the book
and I do not have the room to cover them all
so will stick with this elemental truth:
it is  fun.
To turn the pages, 
see what magical tapestry world
Micala will share with us next,
to watch myself caught
by delight and admiration--
to notice what I notice--
to surprise myself
with the works
​that hook my eye and heart--
Now that is a treat indeed. 

Proper Reviews:
Rebecca Mezoff
Elizabeth Buckley
Ramona Sakiestewa
Picture
Picture
Well, now I've almost worn out my mouse batteries
putting links into this post
so it must be time to quit.
Except that while I'm in the mode
 I want to add a short list
of wondrous  and soon-to-be-released
Tapestry/Textile books you can pre-order.
Once they are physically in my world
getting milkweed, coffee filters
​ and wool fibers caught between their pages
I'll talk about each one again,
but in case you like to do
​a big old book order all at once,
and then have them trickle in
like little unexpected treats
​for your future self,
here are a few you'll want to have on your list.



Books to Pre-Order:

​The Long Thread Special Issue  by Linda Ligon
(lucky me to be in this one too--and I can hardly WAIT to see the rest of it)

The Art of Tapestry Weaving by Rebecca Mezoff 
(This book -- I've had the privilege of reading early drafts -- a thorough and glorious resource--
just wait till I have more room to talk about this book!!!!!)

How To Weave A Navajo Rug and Other Lessons from Spider Woman 
by Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas.
(Two fifth generation Navajo weavers writing about their work and generously sharing techniques and family stories with us all--THE people from whom to learn stories, techniques and understanding.)



Books Mentioned in the Blog Post:
​

Wild Dress by Kate Fletcher
Making Milkweed Paper by Aimee Lee
The Invisible Sex by J.M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer & Jake Page
Anatomy Of A Tapestry by Jean Pierre Larochette and Yadin Larochette
Earth Materials by Sue Lawty​ 
Of Cats and Elfins and Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Art Is The Cloth  by Micala Sidore

thoughts on a two apron morning

7/21/2020

 
Picture
How else but with two aprons,
 to pick ​rapidly ripening raspberries
Picture
and carry a garden watering timer
​(aka phone)
Picture
when neither your linen shirt
nor the  hand-me-over-unfinished-skirt
you're wearing underneath
​has a pocket?
Picture
Picture
Not that I couldn't remedy that.
A nice patch pocket on the skirt
would be the work of a moment.
​
And the shirt
is a continual work in progress--
the fact that it already has
a teensy tapestry pocket on one side
no reason to neglect the other.

It's just that I wear the shirt so often--
 like every day I'm not wearing
  the linsey-woolsey one--
that I just haven't gotten around to it.

Picture
Yes -- it's hard to tell from the drawing
that I'm wearing the linsey-woolsey shirt.
But it is  only short-sleeved shirt I have,
so not a tricky deduction.
Besides, it was just a few days ago.

Also, though I occasionally
bend the absolute truth in my comics
(for narrative clarity only),
I generally aim for sartorial veracity--
if only because I love my clothes
and am oddly attached
to the idea that  future me
might like to enjoy seeing them too
(while remembering what. weenie I am about shopping).

It also helps with the laundry.
("I seem to have worn Sarah-Dippity Skirts
in almost every drawing for this entire diary--
definitely time for a bath!")
Picture
But I digress.
Paper pockets
were the topic of the moment.
And they might actually be
a compelling experiment. 
Though the coffee filter yarn
is itself pretty fragile,
especially as singles
(I can't imagine using it for warp for instance),
it seems to stand up remarkably well
 tightly packed in a weft faced plain weave--
at least to the wear and tear 
of life as a diary cover--
growing soft, pliable,
and almost leather-like
​(if a little grubby),
with daily use.
Picture
And true shifu,
(woven from hand spun washi)
has been used for clothing for centuries,
so the idea is not totally outrageous --
except of course, that washi
(and the resulting kami-ito)
is often specifically made
for strength and longevity
while coffee filters are (usually)
single use items.
Though expected to withstand
 boiling water and soggy grounds, 
they are definitely not​
as intrinsically strong as washi.
But who knows?
In case you haven't noticed,
my life is a constant work in progress --
my chief delights arising from
​experiments with the materials at hand,
no matter the source.

And as we all learn daily,
you never know 
what is going to happen.
Picture
Indeed, I'm super excited
about watching the evolution 
of this diary I just made.
Not only do I get to play
with the wedge weave tapestry
I wove last May.
(2-ply vs the singles of the last one)--
Picture
​but I also got (and get) 
to see how the dog bane binding cordage
(made in the fall of 2018),
behaves with constant handling.
It's pretty rough right now,
but super strong
even if I did have to punch
​extra large holes in my signatures. 

Picture
Now what was this post supposed to be about?
No idea. 
Undoubtedly something
satisfying and insightful
that would rock all our worlds--
though nothing could equal
the roller coaster ride
of real life just now--
my mind growing, I hope,
as strong and flexible
and welcoming of change and possibility
 as dog bane cordage.
So a bit of paper-induced absurdity
never hurts alongside, say, things like
the recent groundbreaking
 Supreme Court Decision
that almost half of Oklahoma
falls within a Native American reservation
!

So I'll just end with this photo--
because it makes me happy,
and is a good reminder
to enjoy the hidden richness
in even the simplest
of moments.
Picture
​ps. Tiny chair carved by Linda Ligon's grandfather in about 1915 --
and though this chair didn't start
Thrums Books , Long Thread Media,
and the once-upon-a-lifechanging  Interweave Press,
Linda did, and all three make (and have made)
the world a better place for textiles
and their makers.


pps. Squash plant--a volunteer,
​grown by itself from a bit of compost,

whose contributions to my world
are blossoming even as I type.

ppps.  Because it has to be said:
​Fuck Trump

mille prickles on a continuous warp

7/14/2020

 
Picture
It's been a while
since I've woven on
a continuous warp,
Picture
​and had forgotten
​ how delightful
it can be
​t
o slowly swirl
​an emerging tapestry
​around the top and bottom beams
Picture
as the prickly plants
gradually emerge,
a letter at a time.
(The names I use for the plants, that is,
​since I do not know what they call themselves). 
Picture
The length of the thing
means there is time and space
to notice unexpected words,
Picture
​ like so many blackberries,
​among the thorns

I'm attempting to immortalize.
Picture
Nothing like a nice,
slow ramble--

or amble--
for noticing
 little details.
Picture
It has also been fun,
just after writing
Tucking The Tails,
to find another place
where the practice
of working in the ends as I go
adds moments
of enchantment
to weaving:
getting to glimpse
the elegance
of letters in reverse
out of the corner of my eye--
to admire grace of their shapes-- 
to relish the confusion of
of thinking a 'd'
is a 'p'
and trying to figure out
what word I had
 inadvertently written.
​
And how not to delight
in the dignified nod

of two 'r's
(distantly socializing as now is normal)
as they pass by, 
one going up, one down?
Picture
I'm weaving the letters
with naturally dyed wool.
The colors were a surprise
as at first I thought 
I'd write all the words
with black and charcoal fleece,
and I really appreciate 
the indigo and madder,
weld and lobaria pulmonaria,
insisting that they, too
​ get to promote
 the loveliness
of some of the sharp things
in my world.
Picture
The two-ply used coffee filter yarn
also had its way with me,
​thank goodness.
For though it is almost
too thick for a sett of 8 epi
(and anything but smoothly even),
it is a pleasure to touch,
to tap into place,
​to think about,
to make,
and to photograph. 
Picture
Using the two fibers together
does take a little getting used to--
 the extreme difference
in how each packs into place
 a little disconcerting
especially when I'm trying to count passes--
but I'm getting pretty good at eye-balling
how much the wool will pack down
in relation to the paper,
and the juxtaposition
of warm brown beads of coffee filter
against the smooth fuzz 
of fine spindle spun wool,
is a continual source of delight. 
Picture
Even if you're less
easily amused than I,
how not to adore
the exuberance
​of an 'e' coming to life?
Picture
I am hoping to fit
two more prickly things
onto the last few inches of the warp

and though am not quite sure there is room,
( the shed will be tiny no matter what
and I haven't even gotten to 
my list of local burrs),
I'm still going to try.
Picture
And luckily (hopefully)
I can soon put on another warp
for  apparently
my beloved PVC pipe loom
loves a good continuous one
as much as it loves four selvedge--
and there are so so many more
weirdly wonderful prickles
to investigate,
a letter at a time. 


ps. And in case you care about such specifics
 the warp is that merino/silk,
I wrote about back in May.
As you may recall
it didn't race my motor 
in the cloth samples I was weaving then,
but it does make a glorious warp
as I had hoped (3 ply for this tapestry),
​and I'm delighted that I have plenty more.
<<Previous
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


    Picture
    Click for info on
    my four selvedge
    warping class
    with
    ​ Rebecca Mezoff  
    fringeless


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