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  • Blog 2014-2021

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
Erin Maclean
7/21/2020 01:38:31 pm

❤️ this! Especially the last 4 paragraphs. But all of it.

morgan clifford
7/21/2020 01:58:44 pm

This is so great, as always. You are the bestest Sarah. Wooshing love (do you watch Pluto on YouTiube?).

Cedar link
7/21/2020 02:03:46 pm

Hope the squash didn,t crosspollinate, loving your work, your blog, your world as you share it, am doing the fringeless course and loving it, have made shift, very lovely also made silk felt and cut into shift type spinning......ah, the creative highway my favourite roAd
...

Lori link
7/21/2020 02:26:47 pm

Thank you so much for your posts and insights and sketches and your vibrant view of the world. Your blog notifications in my inbox are always a bright spot in my day.

Bethany Garner link
7/21/2020 02:45:49 pm

Loved seeing the wedge weave... and I am with Erin - ❤️ this post..insightful and of, so great to read all of your posts. Especially the closing ppps. of today's!.

Deb Thomas
7/21/2020 02:50:59 pm

Your blog is so inspiring, always. I love your linen shirt, your linsey-woolsey shirt, all your tiny books. I also love the tiny chair, and agree wholeheartedly with ppps. Oh, and I'm loving my English concertina. Thank you for introducing us ....

Jodi link
7/21/2020 02:51:57 pm

I am continuously amazed at how well the coffee filters hold up, considering what the ones I send you go through before you get them. Love this blog post. And that tiny char.

Deb
7/21/2020 03:00:36 pm

Love seeing wedge weave!

Marina
7/21/2020 03:02:17 pm

As always, a delight, thank you for these notes.

Mandy
7/21/2020 03:15:22 pm

Hope we get to have a pattern for the ‘ hand-me-over-unfinished-skirt’ !! - please 🙏🏻
Love your blog posts. Always inspire

Trudie
7/21/2020 03:34:50 pm

Thank you for your insights, wisdom and inspiration!

Michiele Elliott link
7/21/2020 03:41:32 pm

You have always been one of my favorite tapestry artists. Your last statement delighted me and brought a weary smile.

PJ
7/21/2020 03:45:14 pm

Hi Sarah, like everyone else, I always look forward to and love your posts. Today I want to thank you for the link to NPR regarding the First Nations. What a wonderful win for them.
Also hoping between the raspberries and coffee filter yarn making you have time for playing your concertina. 💕 pj

Shari Raso
7/21/2020 04:09:34 pm

. . . laughing out more than once while reading today's blog post . . . still grinning . . . thank you, Sarah!

Manuela
7/21/2020 04:14:49 pm

As always, humble and brilliant all at once! And yes, Fuck Trump has to be said.

Rebecca link
7/21/2020 04:35:00 pm

I love it!! Thanks for the punch at the end, but the whole thing is a delicious romp. Thanks for making me smile Sarah.

marj mercil
7/21/2020 04:41:30 pm

you are such a inspiration, very much enjoy your writings. good to know some people are on the same page. My husband loves you too!!......FT!!!
Marj

Susan
7/21/2020 05:14:17 pm

Isn’t it amazing how much the little bowl said! When I hold my wedge weave vessels, I wonder where it is going to lead me.

You are so inspirational. Love your blogs! Thank you!

Velma Bolyard
7/21/2020 05:32:25 pm

indeed, fuck the fucker, fuck it. i never spoke that word until i was in my twenties, i seem to use this adjective all too frequently in this crazy current world. but i digress, the books are amazing amazing amazing. wedge weave is something else. wonderful.

Heather Bungard-Janney
7/21/2020 05:33:21 pm

I had never heard of or seen wedge weave! That looks nifty and I have no idea how you did it.

Charlotte Spani
7/21/2020 06:07:20 pm

Thanks so much for this post and all your others, for that matter. It lightens my day. You always inspire me to do more weaving which is so stress relieving. Yes!!! Fuck Trump!!! If ever there was a human being to despise, it is definitely him! Though referring to him as a human feels wrong.

Mare Parker-Otoole
7/21/2020 06:12:38 pm

Your blog always makes me smile. A rare thing in life these days. You make the world such a rich place.Thank you.

Mare

Cedar link
7/21/2020 06:49:40 pm

I gave you my wrong blog ....mine is www.sheepthrillsyarn.blogspot.com. You might enjoy it....

Jacquie Tinch
7/29/2020 03:31:31 am

Nothing after 2018? What a shame

Robbie
7/22/2020 12:28:08 am

The wedge weave is fantastic, and couldn’t agree more about Trump. Love your ramblings...

Donna Hudson
7/22/2020 05:35:59 am

Along with everyone else...Love your blog and look forward to Tuesdays! Hope there will be a new skirt pattern...and so agree on the Orange Toddler - may he be gone in 100 days!! Thanks for brightening my day.

thecrazysheeplady link
7/22/2020 05:37:36 am

Yes! To it all.

Joanne
7/22/2020 05:45:11 am

You absolutely make my day! The everyday becomes special, hilarious, and/or beautiful. Thank you for sharing yourself.

tracy
7/22/2020 10:39:44 am

I've certainly had the same pocket problems! Guess I should actually USE my aprons; haven't worn one in years. LOVE the shirt!
And certainly with you in relation to your last line. Find myself frequently flipping my finger when his picture pops up.

Debra G Zuk
7/22/2020 12:10:26 pm

Dear dear sarah....you are very special!!! I love your blog. I don't usually leave comments but there are two subjects that are urging me to comment on.

Yay for the American Natives of Oklahoma. Imagine that....the courts making the government do what it said it would. Wow..shocking!!!! Although what was done to the Native Americans can never be made right at least this time the right thing was done.

And lastly, yes FUCK TRUMP. Let's face it, that asshole brings out the worst in everyone including (and maybe especially) us old hippies that made it through the Nixon years. Nixon looks like a saint in comparison.

Anyway, thank you for getting that out there! It really needs to be said.

Weave, knit and create on......peace and live...deb zuk

Cindy
7/22/2020 02:33:22 pm

OMG Sarah, I absolutely love your blog. I love your spunk, I love your wit and I love you shirt. I have the perfect handwoven cotolin yardage for it. I've been too afraid to cut it but now I'm inspired.
After Velma's Idaho class, I've been slowly accumulating kami-ito so I need to gather up my courage to weave. I do love it on my Japanese spool, tho.
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with all of us.

cheryl
7/22/2020 02:41:43 pm

absolutely adore you for that ppps! indeed!!!

David
7/23/2020 08:24:55 am

Yes. Yes. Yes. Also yes.

PPPS: YES!

Hugs to you and yours.

Kantu
7/23/2020 05:59:00 pm

Sarah, your blog ALWAYS makes me smile. Love your wonderments and wondering about. Makes perfect sense to me. And so does your opinion of the lump of orange golem in the White House.
Be happy. Always.

Valerir
7/24/2020 09:14:58 am

Thank you, as always, for your weekly post and inspiration. I have some unintended tomatoes growing where my chickens must have left some seeds. Your ending comments were especially appreciated.

Vicki Stone
7/24/2020 08:28:42 pm

I know it's your blog, and you're not forcing me to read it. nevertheless, it hurts me when you say "fu-- Trump"

Sue
7/25/2020 08:12:28 am

Clicked onto the link for small tapestry sale. Lo and behold all sold! So sad.

Sue
7/26/2020 08:08:46 am

Love your posts. Love from across the Pond. Especially like the pps!


Comments are closed.
    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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