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and....instead of but

11/10/2020

 
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Lots of things happened in 2016 --
not least
that I  built 
my first backstrap loom.
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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.
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For these years have
 asked-- nay, demanded 
so very much --
​not least
the development of
new levels of fortitude--
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-- a massive amount of trust
in some absurdly fragile-appearing 
​threads of connection--
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--and even some heart-expanding joy
when the  threads 
​actually hold.
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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).
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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?"
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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.
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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.
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 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.

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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.

milkweed 'n me

8/11/2020

 
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11.8 grams--
Picture
a week's work.
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Or, more truly,
a week's pleasure--
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day after day
of long white fibers
making themselves known
a strand at a time--
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beautiful  bast
in a small clump
of Aphid-infested plants
my neighbor wanted gone.
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For months --
nay,  years--
​I've been trying
to learn about local bast fibers--
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Nettle, Dogbane, and Milkweed too--
reading the sparse literature--
 mostly about working with Nettles
(thank you Allan Brown for your work)--
watching the odd video
(thank you Sally Pointer),
and trying,
​with limited/mixed success,
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to make friends 
with these glorious materials--
one of which,
this week,
for whatever reason,
​and rather against the odds,
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agreed to work with me. 
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experimental distaff stick (vs baskety thing)--willow whip without bark from last week's post. For more on previous distaff experiments, type 'distaff' into the search bar above.
This is not even supposed 
to be the right season--
not least because Milkweed plants
are essential to the entire life cycle
of Monarch Butterflies

(should Monarch be capitalized? Anyone know?)
and to cut down the stalks

before the butterflies have flown
is deeply irresponsible--
which makes me
​insanely grateful
to my neighbor
​and Aphids.
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Well, truth be told,
I'm grateful, too,
to all the people
who have worked with
​these plants for millennia,

as well as to all the plants
that have helped me,
in turn, to practice
and learn.
Picturewhat was left in the combs after the long fibers were drawn through

And really,
how not to also be pleased--
in the moment
and in retrospect--
by my former self
for her persistence
​and (sometimes painfully)
​ slow acquisition
of knowledge
skills,
​familiarity,
dexterity,
and
dare I say,
patience--
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all of which have helped
​to make me available
for these beauties:
to the obvious long fibers,
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to the 'leftover' medium length ones
that were ready to be re-combed,
drawn out 
into a form of top
wound on a  wrist (vs stick) distaff
​and made into lovely yarn themselves,
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and to the shortest ones
which were just the right length
for a couple of easy-to-spin
​hand carded rolags
and allowed for
absolutely no waste at all --
barring the now composting
​scraped off outer green bits 
and the drying-for-kindling inner stalks.
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How lucky ​can a gal get?
(says she to her future self,
lest she forget, sometime, 
how wondrous and generous
​ the world can be).



--and a sartorial post script--
You might well think my just-off-the-needles
Targhee/Debouillet/Cormo etc tank top is all I've worn this week.
And you might be right!
Also the blue pants. I have to say. Oh my word.
They come from MAIWA --first new pants in years and years.
A gift to my legs and butt, from me.
No promotion thing -- they have no idea-- I am just utterly in love.
Be warned -- there will be patched pants and long term mending
(as needed though none yet despite continual wear), in future blogs...

thoughts on a two apron morning

7/21/2020

 
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How else but with two aprons,
 to pick ​rapidly ripening raspberries
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and carry a garden watering timer
​(aka phone)
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when neither your linen shirt
nor the  hand-me-over-unfinished-skirt
you're wearing underneath
​has a pocket?
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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

a month in textiles and comics

7/7/2020

 
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Oh goody--
back to the blog
after a whirligig of a month.
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Except -- 
this business of typing words--
​ I think I must be rusty.
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​Or perhaps there are just so many
 thrilling and important and true words
written  by people far more eloquent than I--
shining light on our world
​with magnificent clarity--
Picture
that for today,
I'll let the cloth
and
 the comics
(and a few links)
say what I have to say.
Picture
Plantation Slave Weavers Remember by Mary Madison
Picture
Picture
(Listening to Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi 
and here with Yo Yo Ma)
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 Luminist and Storymaker  from my guide, Backstrap Dialogues
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Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
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(Ki/Kin Pronouns from Robin Wall Kimmerer )

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
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And oh yes,
a chemo holiday
​ is an amazing thing.
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a note from my younger self

4/27/2020

 
Picture
Dear Sarah,
I just have to ask--
why are you sometimes so rude to me? 

"
Why oh WHY did you do that thing
back when you were eighteen???"
you moan.
"
It would have been so much better if..."

If what? 
​That's what I want to know.
Picture
I mean --
I'm the one who had the gumption
to learn how to spin
AS you might recall.
Picture
And also weave.
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You know it's true!
Picture
Out The Window; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008
Ok, so maybe I took a few chances--
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Don't Look Back; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008
--didn't always think things through.
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Indigo Bath; hand woven tapestry; 28" x 48"; hand spun wool warp and weft; indigo; ©Sarah C. Swett 2003
It's not like a gal could --or would--plan
to find herself naked and blue
​with nothing but  a few strands of warp
to hold her up.
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Sunlight On The Floor; hand woven tapestry; 36" x 24"; hand spun wool warp and weft; natural dyes; ©Sarah C. Swett 2002
But what could I do?
It  was all so interesting.
​And I was curious.
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Blue Day; hand woven tapestry; 48" x 36" wool, natural dye; ©Sarah C. Swett 2007
I never expected 
the hard parts.
I mean really -- who does?
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Two Recipes for Coffee Cake; hand woven tapestry; 48" x 24"; wool, natural dye ©Sarah C. Swett 2007
And we sure ate well.
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Anyway, you've got to admit
​it HAS been really really interesting.

I mean,
​ what could better --
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Diana's Fire; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008
than to find yourself
​a white-haired woman
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Jane's Picnic III: Toast Marshmallows; hand woven tapestry (detail); 48" x 40"; hand spun wool warp and weft; natural dyes; ©Sarah C. Swett 2000
who gets to play
​with fire and l
ight?
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If you think about it,
all I really did
​ was pick up that strand of yarn--
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Casting Off: A Comic in Seven Tapestries -Pages 2-3; 10" x 10" x 2"; wool, natural dye, cotton/ hemp, thread ©Sarah C. Swett 2009
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Casting Off: A Comic in Seven Tapestries -Pages 3-4; 10" x 10" x 2"; wool, natural dye, cotton/ hemp, thread ©Sarah C. Swett 2009
and follow it--
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Walking The Walk 13" x 10" x 6" Hand Woven Tapestry Hand Stitching, wool, steel wire, stone natural dye
into the night
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The Last Few Pages; hand woven tapestry; 18" x 24"; hand spun wool warp and weft; natural dyes; ©Sarah C. Swett 2003
until one tiny house--
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The Plum Shed; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008
led to another--
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Tiny House Book 2.5" x 2.25" x 1.0" Handwoven Tapestry Spun paper (washi) Coptic Binding (linen) Paper (Handmade by Velma Bolyard (flax, milkweed, cotton; natural pigments)
and yet another--
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Blue Moon; Hand Woven Tapestry (four selvedge); Hand spun wool warp and weft; natural dye; 2.5" x 2.5"
and eventually
I turned into you.
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So no more whining OK?
We have stuff to do.
​
​love,
Sarah

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ps
and don't forget
that I started working in the weft ends too
so that  all of the tapestries in this post
(plus the bazillion others in the archive)

could be woven that way --
 AND so that you could write

TUCKING THE TAILS.

I mean, it's not like the technique is limited 
to the monochromatic/geometric stuff
you're doing now.

Right?

So come on --
let's mess around some more.
It's still so interesting.
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the view from here

4/14/2020

 
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It has been a full week around here.
Not that I went anywhere (who did?),
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but two fresh fleeces arrived from Montana,
and  fleece washing time 
is usually  packed
(especially when scouring delicious fine,
​seriously greasy, Cormo and Targhee/Debouillet),
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​Happily, the results
​ are always worth the effort.
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Clean soft fleece + a pair of perfect spindles 
definitely equals contentment--
both ​for present and future me.
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As it happens, however,
though I'll be drum carding for days
and happily spindle spinning
for months and years,
present contentment sometimes lasts
only as long as the time
between the completion of one satisfying task
and the moment of being
struck/taken over/flattened
​by a brand new and un-ignorable idea.
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Ok, yes, I know --
the coracle/mask I wrote about last week
was also an un-ignorable idea. 
It, however (the pulled warp coracle),
did not grow to be a source
of long-lasting satisfaction,
​while I think this project will.
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What's the difference?
You might well ask
since it is so hard to tell in the moment.
With the brilliance of hindsight, however,
I'm pretty sure that  I started the coracle/mask
as an attempt to relieve
 the persistent, pervasive, fearful angst
of this moment in time,
(no need to explain further, methinks),
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while carving a funky 8-dent rigid heddle
from a scrap of wood I found in the basement,
was pure, self-indulgent  joy,
and joy, a rare and delightful thing,
is perhaps a more useful a source of angst relief
than all the reluctant mask-making in the world,
if only because it wells up from inside
rather than falling on one
like a mildewed, news-laden blanket.

At any rate,
hyperbole aside,
one way or another
making the rigid heddle
led me to a forward thinking,
elementally satisfying place, 
where in fact,
I already rather badly wanted to be:
Picture
that is:
​cross-legged on the floor,
weaving paper and linen
on a backstrap loom.
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Not that I had a vision
of exactly that thing.
I've just been missing the feeling
of working on my backstrap loom,
and vaguely dreaming about
the kinds of things I might make on it--
while still cutting and spinning paper
with persistent pleasure--
and these two things
seemed mutually exclusive. 
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Mutually exclusive, that is
until I saw the tiny rigid heddles
that Kirsten Neumüller has been carving
from a fallen juniper in her back yard,
and was immediately smitten.

Now, I did try to set aside
my instant  longing to make one myself
( "it's just an idea storm-wait it out").
But happily it was un-set-aside-able. 

Indeed, in the three days since I saw hers
the thing shaping up to be a source
of idea-consolidating calm--
an unexpected doorway 
to both immediate and long term pleasure--
like fleece and spindles
with the added benefit
of getting to make a half-assed
yet fully functional new textile tool.
​
And I am a total sucker ​for such things
as you may have noticed.

(If you're unfamiliar with Kirsten Neumüller's work, her beautiful, useful and charming book Mend and Patch: a Handbook on Repairing Textiles has just been translated into English, and though I haven't yet read her  earlier book on Indigo, I can only imagine it is  as good).
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So that was my week
and this is where you find me today:
right  back  doing the things I have been doing,
with a slightly different perspective,
a cool new tool that keeps me planted in place
(except when I need to mow and dig in the garden)
and much less angst,
for which I am most grateful. 

How's your week been?
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the sublime and the ridiculous--our new best friends

3/17/2020

 
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Gee Whiz --
is this wild or what?
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Everything shifting so much
that it is hard to know
​from moment to moment
what to think--
or even how I feel.
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Picture
Sometimes,
​happily,
it is all perfectly clear:
when in doubt
​make stuff.
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Then five seconds later,
my brain has gone racing off
on unhelpful imaginary voyages of its own--
and in an effort to calm it down
all I can do
(short of panicking about toilet paper),
is to remember how useful it can be
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to notice how everything changes
when I shift my point of view
​just a tiny bit.
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In some ways
I've been in training for this time
all my life.

Decades of making stuff
makes it seem obvious
​to turn to the work of my hands
when things are less than ideal--
as well, of course
​as when they are bloody marvelous.
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And spending my early twenties
on a ranch in the middle of the Idaho wilderness
where solitude was my daily companion
and I grocery shopped twice a year 
(cuz, no road...or store...or people
or internet for that matter
since it hadn't been invented),
makes social isolation 
still feel pretty normal. 
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And then there is the last six months (and counting)
filled with the extra special uncertainty
of my husband's pancreatic cancer diagnoses,
and the subsequent,
ongoing
extremely intense, 
and astonishingly effective
(if seriously immune system compromising),
treatment.
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At the same time
none of it is easy,
as you know,
and can't  tell you how helpful
it has been

these many months
to draw that freaking out person
I sometimes am
(hard to believe, I know, but true ;-)
and to have a place
from which I can look back at myself,
and laugh, or commiserate, or whatever,
​ even while whatever it is
is still happening. 
(Some day, maybe, I'll even share
a few chemo side effect comics...
​ but not today).
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Today,
I want to thank you
for your company along the way --
and to say how much I appreciate
​you coming here
and hanging out,
and giving me reasons
to keep sharing
​the light in the shadows.
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And I hope we can keep doing it--
today and in the weeks and months of uncertainty
​that most certainly lie ahead.
For​ while it can be crazy hard

to be in the middle of something
with no idea
 how it is going to turn out,
​(as we all are now),

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it is also wildly wonderful
to have companions along the way
who are also turning 
their prodigious attention
to the making of things
that are perfectly ridiculous.
​
​​And really,
​was there ever a better time?
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ps. And now that I'm about to close
I suddenly remember how much 
I also want to thank you
 for all the marvelous comments
in last week's post,
and say that there is not much to 
 these curled wire hangers
beyond that they are made
from 16 gauge wire
I found in the basement,
that I gently unroll
then twist about with my hands
(and sometimes a cheezy pair of pliers for the tight curves),
until the thing balances--
which sometimes takes a while.

pps.  and one  more quick more thought
​on perfectly ridiculous projects --
weaving a bag on box is a prime example --
and also terrific
if you want to try your hand at weaving
and don't have a loom--
but do have a cardboard box!
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magic medium pullover -- revised!

2/11/2020

 
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That about says it all, doesn't it?
Picture
magic medium version 1; 3-ply hand spun cormo x -- a brown fleece overdyed with indigo-- sport(ish) weight
Did I really need to take all these selfies?
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Much more fun to draw my butt--
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magic medium version 1; Palouse Yarn Company Merino Fine singles;
and natter on about the joys
of a shirt-like sweater
that can be tried on
​at most stages
​of the proceedings
so a gal can make 

a garment that actually fits --
​which means  she'll actually wear it--
than try to smile at a camera you're holding yourself.

Picture
Because wearable, these are.
​I think I made three
before Shelley of The Yarn Underground
and The Palouse Yarn Company
nudged me to write up the pattern 
so others could enjoy it too--
and then she hosted it on her Ravelry page
until I got around to making my own a few weeks ago.
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magic medium version 3; 3 ply hand spun targhee/debouillet--lace weight
After that I knit another three or four more
in different yarns/gauges
and these (eventually) led to the changes in this revision --
but not before I'd thoroughly tested each one.
(note: these are my clothes you're looking at,
not pattern samples

​ so please pardon their imperfections).
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And really, what is not to love
about a lightweight wool  shirt?
Cool when warm, warm when cool,
hypoallergenic, carbon-positive,
renewable, non-stinky, 
and endlessly stretchy without 
the saggy spots of dead lycra --
such a garment is
(unless you are vegan),
a freakin miracle.

Indeed, apparently a bunch of big outdoor companies
have finally figured this out and are using it for lots of stuff.
Wool is the technical fabric of the future!
Who knew?

Well  they they act like they just invented it if they have to,
as long as they keep working with it.
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magic medium version 2; 5 ply handspun targhee/debouillet--sport(ish) weight
In the meantime,
we can go ahead and make
whatever we want for ourselves.
Because we already know how.
And living as we do
​on the cutting edge of technical achievement,
the right garment has always been a thing. 
Nothing says focus and physical accomplishment
 like weaving, spinning, knitting, reading
​and hanging out with dogs,
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magic medium version 1; Quince & Co Finch (fingering)
But gosh,
for all my messing about
with paper and linen,
I don't need to extoll
the virtues of wool to you.
What I really want to do
is  go on and on
about one of the most important features of this garment
which is that (assuming you are so inclined),
since most of it is knit in stockinette in the round,
the literarily-inclined knitter
can scale the heights

 of two of these massively important activities
at the same time. 
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And no commercially made garment
will ever provide a pleasure
to equal that. 
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square bag (hat?) that looks round; 2 ply used coffee filter paper yarn
Oh yes --OOPS.
One more thing.
The Pattern for the magic medium pullover 
can be found both on my Ravelry site
and my web store 
depending on your preference.
​
(Alas, the two are not linked, so the choice is up to you
but if you have already downloaded the pattern
from The Palouse Yarn Company site on Ravelry,
​you should, by now, have already received the pattern revision
so need to worry about any of it).
Picture
square bag that looks round (an enlarged variation of the pattern in the all new Homespun Handknit by amy clarke moore), knit with 2 ply used coffee filter paper yarn
Now, what was I doing?

not boring yet!

12/17/2019

 
Picture
It's astonishing, really,
how much I continue
to love making
these little books--
Picture
​at least once I begin.
Picture
Before I start
there is always
​ the moment
when it feels like a chore.

​"Almost out of pages, Sarah!
Stop spinning
and make a new book.
NOW!"
(so bossy)
Picture
Of course I forget all that
once I actually start tearing and folding paper.
And once I've made or found the cover
I'm immersed until done.

The cover thing has been growing on me.
My first coptic bound diaries
didn't even have them,
the top and bottom signatures
having to do the job.
Then, to save that lovely paper,
I covered the books in scrap cardboard
gleaned from the backs of pads.

It is only in making the last three
that I've been brave enough
to try a thing
I'd been consciously avoiding--
stitching tapestries onto books
not as decorative objects,
but as paper protection.
Picture
My fear
was that tapestry covers

would make the books feel precious--
would strip both the pages
and the act of drawing in them

of the relaxed status
I count on.
 Transforming them
into untouchable artworks

about which I might be
vaguely reverential--
and thus not use--
would do me no good at all.
Picture
At the same time
I was also concerned
that it would be painful
 to watch my precious
 tiny tapestries
grow grubby 
​with dailyness.
Are they not works
​to go on walls?
"Be careful, be careful, be careful."
Who needs that?
Picture
So far, neither concern
has been warranted. 
​(for which I'm hugely thankful),
though I'm not sure  why.
Picture
It could be
that drawing myself
as a cartoon character
every day--
taking a step back,
 seeing this person called Sarah,
 noticing how she behaves
 what she thinks,
​what she has been making

(and of course gently mocking as necessary),
is as helpful and addictive 
as running.
Picture
And since both practices 
are now well established
 I am no longer intimidated
or embarrassed,
or stopped
(injury or  unavoidable circumstances notwithstanding),
by much of anything.
Picture
It could also be
that using a thing I've made--
be it sauerkraut, sweaters,
shoes or a skirt--
transforms it back
from precious object-hood
Picture
into a treat,
so that lacing up my shoes
(oh that moment
when the grubby, familiar cloth
snugs up around my ankle),
or opening up the diary
and watching the marks appear
(so that's what today feels like),
becomes an pleasure
worthy of anticipation--
a daily gift
that cannot be matched
by anything purchased.
Picture
Or perhaps it is merely
the fathomless joy
of surprise:
--how today's run
is different from yesterdays,

--how the thing I draw
is never the thing
​I think I'm going to draw,
--how the same route
and the same apparent image
(me blogging, or weaving, or spinning),
rendered over and over and over
still feels like a miracle,
Picture
or indeed,
--how the word

"and,"
upside down and verso,
looks like the word 
"pug"
in mirror writing.
Picture
ps. those running shoes are now well into their second winter (I have a low pair for warm weather). I waxed them for semi-waterproofedness which is one of the reasons they are so grubby -- the dirt sticks to wax really well.
For more on these running shoes (and others),
Click here

Fancy that -- it was all about yarn!

9/3/2019

 
Picture
​Before it began,
I dreamed I would be able
to spend the month of August
​reading novels,

relishing the dailyness of home,
Picture
and also giving time
to the the myriad tempting ideas

that had been tickling my brain.
Luckily, many of those ideas
​had to do with spinning,
(which allows me to read at the same time),
except when I'm spinning flax,
(which means putting down my book),
or learning new tunes,
(which--usually--means 
putting down the spindle),
or sitting quietly in the shade
listening to the birds
with a cup of tea
(which means neither book nor spindle
​but maybe some knitting).
I had hoped to do some sewing
but then I'd have to put down EVERYTHING else!
Picture
Looking back at my daily drawings
I can see that holding my shoes 
while running barefoot,
is probably the only way
I managed to avoid the temptation 
of attempting to spin and run
at the same time.
Picture
And that it was likewise important
that the juice of the yellow plums
from our tree in the hell strip
is so sweet and sticky
that yarn, concertina,
and the current novel
could not be in the kitchen
while said fruit was prepared
for winter consumption.
Picture
Secateurs, too, 
are not yarn friendly--
though the now dry weld
will someday transform
unknown skeins
into spectacular yellows
(or greens with the help of indigo and/or iron).
Picture
On the other hand,
if she's sufficiently half-assed
while cleaning the house for visitors,
Picture
a gal can sometimes
carve out a moment 
or two
of elemental pleasure. 

​Dust? Whatever.
Water, coffee, salad, spindle and a book
at the same time?
Yes, indeed.
Picture
It will surprise none of you--
certainly not long time readers of this blog--
or anyone who has read
the post before this one--
or has happened to click 
on the word Handspinning
in the sidebar to the right--
Picture
that given a chance to make yarn
(as slowly as I possibly can),
​​or to make something with that yarn,
Picture
I'll take it.
​
Though sometimes
the depth of my entrancement
still surprises me.
Picture
So yes --
though I did not get around
to making myself
a new pair of pants*
from those finally-too-worn-to-mend
sides-to-middled linen sheets, 
or learn all the tunes I dreamed of,
it  has been an exquisite
and deliciously yarn-centric August,
 at home on the Palouse.

I'm so glad
I didn't need
​or want
to be 
anywhere else. 

​
*And anyway,
I have plenty of Sarah-Dippity skirts to wear.
Many of this month's comics
indicate that  I wore the short wool ones
as often as the long one I made just for summer!
Picture
I plan/hope to wax verbose
in future posts
about the specifics 
of my August explorations
(not least, what feels like an improvement
in my flax spinning),
so stay tuned.
Picture
Due to unforeseen vagaries of life, however, 
I may not, for a time
be able to blog quite as consistently
​as I have in the past.
I'll still aim for every Tuesday,

but if  I don't make it
know that I'm probably making yarn,
drawing pictures of whatever is going on,

and will be back to tell you about it.

ps -- Remember, too,
that you can visit the archives
​(links on the right)
if you need more glimpses
​into this yarnish life
because really,
though every inch of yarn feels fresh,
I keep coming back
to the same old elemental bliss.
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    ​Sarah C Swett 
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