And now,
it is out in the world --
Hurrah!
As often happens,
while writing words,
I was also pursuing
(or following -- never quite sure),
an elusive idea
that was ever dancing
just out of reach.
it is out in the world --
Hurrah!
As often happens,
while writing words,
I was also pursuing
(or following -- never quite sure),
an elusive idea
that was ever dancing
just out of reach.
Linsey-Woolsey (wool warp, linen weft) on a backstrap loom. Shuttle by Bluster Bay Woodworks
Reader of this blog that you are,
there is a good chance
that now, months later,
you will put two and two together,
and give the name linsey-woolsey
to the un-namable and mysterious idea
flitting ahead back then.
But of course the path winds ever on
(to paraphrase Bilbo),
and on the heels of my
post-article June and July
Linsey-woolsey weaving
and an August experiment
with striped L-W yardage pictured above,
a Four Selvedge Linsey Woolsey tapestry
has begun growing on my loom.
(note: the utterly heavenly shuttle in the photo above
is from Bluster Bay Woodworks,
I found it at Blue Flag HandWeaving in Sandpoint Idaho --
sometimes a tool is so utterly pleasurable
that it's impossible not to share...)
there is a good chance
that now, months later,
you will put two and two together,
and give the name linsey-woolsey
to the un-namable and mysterious idea
flitting ahead back then.
But of course the path winds ever on
(to paraphrase Bilbo),
and on the heels of my
post-article June and July
Linsey-woolsey weaving
and an August experiment
with striped L-W yardage pictured above,
a Four Selvedge Linsey Woolsey tapestry
has begun growing on my loom.
(note: the utterly heavenly shuttle in the photo above
is from Bluster Bay Woodworks,
I found it at Blue Flag HandWeaving in Sandpoint Idaho --
sometimes a tool is so utterly pleasurable
that it's impossible not to share...)
Luckily,
just as I began to think
(as I often do)
that all these ideas
and permutations of ideas
were JUST TOO MUCH
I found
upon opening my copy of Ply
an article by the magnificent Judith MacKenzie
on the astonishing William Morris.
(yes, adjectives galore -- and well deserved, both).
just as I began to think
(as I often do)
that all these ideas
and permutations of ideas
were JUST TOO MUCH
I found
upon opening my copy of Ply
an article by the magnificent Judith MacKenzie
on the astonishing William Morris.
(yes, adjectives galore -- and well deserved, both).
There is so much to remark upon
about the wonders of William Morris
that I'm glad I don't have to
as Judith already wrote about him,
so I will confine myself
to a couple of long sentences,
about how his open-minded curiosity
and willingness to try just about anything that caught his interest
(often as not teaching himself seemingly archaic skills
as the rest of the Victorian world
went zooming forward on its capitalist,
industrial and mechanized way),
never ceases to thrill and inspire me.
Embroidery, natural dyeing, worker's rights,
block printing, fiction writing, architecture,
stained glass, font design,
socialism, fabric design, book printing,
hand woven tapestry,
the Icelandic language (so he could read the sagas
and then travel there)--
well I'm already breathless--
and there is still more--
but I'll let you find that out for yourself
(assuming you're not already a fan),
while I end this sentence
by saying that somehow,
when my own curiosity
and the siren song of an idea just ahead
seem JUST TOO MUCH
(for heaven's sake Sarah,
milkweed? A woven recipe? shirts? Comics?),
I think of Morris,
who, I believe, would have no problem
with any of it--
and certainly not the combination
of fiction, tapestry, hand spinning and natural dyes,
as happened the Rough Copy series I wove a few years go.
about the wonders of William Morris
that I'm glad I don't have to
as Judith already wrote about him,
so I will confine myself
to a couple of long sentences,
about how his open-minded curiosity
and willingness to try just about anything that caught his interest
(often as not teaching himself seemingly archaic skills
as the rest of the Victorian world
went zooming forward on its capitalist,
industrial and mechanized way),
never ceases to thrill and inspire me.
Embroidery, natural dyeing, worker's rights,
block printing, fiction writing, architecture,
stained glass, font design,
socialism, fabric design, book printing,
hand woven tapestry,
the Icelandic language (so he could read the sagas
and then travel there)--
well I'm already breathless--
and there is still more--
but I'll let you find that out for yourself
(assuming you're not already a fan),
while I end this sentence
by saying that somehow,
when my own curiosity
and the siren song of an idea just ahead
seem JUST TOO MUCH
(for heaven's sake Sarah,
milkweed? A woven recipe? shirts? Comics?),
I think of Morris,
who, I believe, would have no problem
with any of it--
and certainly not the combination
of fiction, tapestry, hand spinning and natural dyes,
as happened the Rough Copy series I wove a few years go.
Rough Copy 5: There Was Nothing; hand woven tapestry; 40" x 30"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2010
I bring these tapestries up right now
in this breathless and wordy way
because of William Morris,
because I am once again weaving words,
and also because three of the 13 tapestries in the series:
in this breathless and wordy way
because of William Morris,
because I am once again weaving words,
and also because three of the 13 tapestries in the series:
Rough Copy 4: Receipt; hand woven tapestry; 82" x 24"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2010
Numbers 4, 5 and 12 pictured here,
Rough Copy 13: There; hand woven tapestry; 54" x 34"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2012
will be in Aptos California
at The Cabrillo College Art Gallery
from 30 September through 25 October 2019,
and I wanted you to know
so that if you're in the area,
(and in the mood),
you could pay them a visit.
I'll not be able to get there myself,
and the tapestries themselves
tend to be annoyingly close-mouthed
(or perhaps merely bashful)
when they return from such outings,
(unless someone buys them
in which case I never ever know),
so I rely on the kindness of others
to hear how it went.
at The Cabrillo College Art Gallery
from 30 September through 25 October 2019,
and I wanted you to know
so that if you're in the area,
(and in the mood),
you could pay them a visit.
I'll not be able to get there myself,
and the tapestries themselves
tend to be annoyingly close-mouthed
(or perhaps merely bashful)
when they return from such outings,
(unless someone buys them
in which case I never ever know),
so I rely on the kindness of others
to hear how it went.
In the meantime,
it is time for me
to slow down this verbosity
and weave the word
Salt.
It'll take all afternoon.
it is time for me
to slow down this verbosity
and weave the word
Salt.
It'll take all afternoon.
