I was thinking that my comment to you was going to be how your life is filled with Sarahdipity, but then I got to the footnotes and now all I have to say is that I worship and adore you! SMOOCH!
You are the light that slips through the darkness of my fallow times, pointing out my path forward. I’m so grateful for the gifts of your writings, comics, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and experiments. And for your shared life with Beryl. Since the Whidbey Spin-In, you’ve been an inspiration whose work I admire. Thank you, just thank you for sharing your life, pains and pleasures alike.
Gosh Sue, thank you so much. Your words thrill me to bits.
That Whidbey Spin-in was amazing, wasn't it--so many great people. If I remember right though, the room was so bright that no one could see the images, so it was more like a podcast than a slide show. And maybe that was better because everyone could keep spinning!
What a wonderful voice to come my way in the world of today. Changing our minds is much more important than changing our linens, it helps us grow and expand our world, listen to different tunes and know people we have never known before. It tears down generalities based on ignorance. What a good friend is your Pru.
SO true Martha -- and beautifully put! Exactly how I feel too-- opening up our minds every in all the ways: , to the world, to our neighbors, and the thoughts in our own heads one can so rudely dismiss. (Though I did start a load of laundry today cuz it actually was time to change the linens.....)
Persimmons are my mother’s very favorite fruit. I planted two of the trees in my orchard at the farm last year after waiting for two years for the nursery to get them back in stock, and still, they look like sticks. Barely any leaves sprouted this spring, despite ample nourishment and a sunny location (as sunny as they can have, in the foothills of the Cascades). I hope they live and bear fruit while I my best friend and beloved mom can enjoy them. The nursery is sold out, again.
Aren't they just the most luscious fruit? I ate the last one of my precious four this morning and do hope that your dear little sticks can find a foothold. They are so surprising as well as beautiful and luscious. They won't grow in my town, but 30 miles away and 900 feet down in the Canyon town by the Clearwater river, they apparently do beautifully.
If your tree grows well, you might even be able to try some kakishibu some day!
While I love designing my own shawls patterns, I do occasionally knit from someone else's pattern. I find I learn new ways of using stitches or solving problems as well as getting to knit something that I would have never come up with. I also find looking at other people's designs can serve as a spring board for ideas.
You are so right. Learning from the work of others is both helpful and fascinating. Like climbing into someone else's brain and trying to understand the "why's" of the design choices they made, which in turn can make our own work richer.
Ireland? Learning to knit at 14? Boarding school!? (and why??) And these facts just the tip of the iceberg of facts that have come together to make you so very wonderful! If you got a hankering for putting together a whole bunch of comics into a memoir, I'd read every page. While you adapted well, I am sorry to hear about the gas outage. How terribly inconvenient. Except for the crackling fire. I bet that was MOST lovely. And I'm glad the bobbins didn't become kindling. Now knitting... that I do not know how to do so I am very impressed with your skill at it. I do know how to crochet a chain. The other day I got curious about joining pieces of woven fabric together with crochet. It sort of worked. I need to work on the technique. But I've seen people add crochet edges to woven things so it's an experiment I will explore further.
Gosh Ellen, that'd be a thing, eh? Comic biography. Or maybe they'd call it a "graphic memoir" to make it sound super official! I'm intrigued by your idea of joining woven fabric with crochet -- can almost feel the luscious texture differences. What a grand and compelling idea.
“And what if I then find I’m so immersed in all the things I have been sure I’d never ever do that I forget to be a puddle of dismay about of all the things about which I can do nothing”
So perfectly said dear friend! And the persimmon fruit and colors that blend with them are delicious! Blessed are the recipients of those gorgeous sweaters.
Thank you Carly! And Oh my yes, weren't those colors just mind blowing. I could hardly believe it when I added he persimmons too. Those jolts of color and delight and immersion are such gifts, eh?
Ah, coffee filter paper with Mexican chocolate swirls I think. Lovely weaving by the fire, Maybe a pot of soup on the hob. Though you'd need a hob or hook or something. Your post made me smile out loud.
Oh golly, now I totally want to see/hear your smile out loud.
And yes to a hob! Well, a hob for a pot of soup at any rate -- with a hook of course. Silly me for putting in an efficient wood insert to stuff up the old inefficient fireplace (which didn't have a hob anyway). Unless of course a hob or two (of the other sort) lives in my house, as they could be anywhere!
And what if… I love that as it opens up more doors than closing them.
I went to my hairdresser (a young woman who works from her garage) and said what if… I ended you with half my head in leopard print and the rest closely shaved leaving a teal fringe. I received my small ‘introduction to rigid heddle loom. So excited to get started. Now I just have to find my wool, in my garage. The garage, until just recently, had a ceiling. My wheels are under it as is my dresser and wool and fleece. So next time I say “what earthquake” I will say, earthquake? Stabilize the ceiling. My poor fleece and wheels…
Great Article! Thank you for pointing it out to me. What riches and what an imaginative brain. Madelyn's too. I love how she talked bout the lineage of weavers as well--remembering and connecting to all those from whom we have learned things..
So DID you get the leopard print, teal fringe and close shave????? Or did that delicious hairdresser garage inspiration lead you back into your yarn-centric garage with new inspiration for your loom.....
What then is a lovely little community grows and gathers round the fireside for Tuesdays with Sarah and Beryl. Enchantment, wisdom, tips and inspiration! Gracias amiga!
Isn't it amazing, all those fabulous people? I'm thrilled and blown away every time.
And no, huckleberry and beryl are not related -- other than that HB (as we call her) lives with my beloved Auntie (who, truth to tell, is one of my best friends and is not much older than me...)
Somehow your posts lead to somesort of pondering. Maybe it was something you posted that got me interested in top down sweaters. I am not really a knitter so a pattern was needed. I've always had terrible trouble following sewing patterns or recipes or ... or... on & on. Even if I don't have a clue the figuring it out makes me happy. While my father disappeared into cancer I sat many hours by his bed knitting from a pattern until he was gone. Then I set aside the whole thing & lost the pattern. Now again I sit and knit on that Sitting Sweater again by my mother's bed because conversation is so tiring for her. Thank goodness it's the sleeves which are easy to figure out. As she slowly shrinks into herself, I sit and just as slowly knit the sleeves an hour at a time. The knitting brings to mind reminiscences that I share & they make her smile. My heart calms & fills with pleasure at having the privilege to sit by a loved one's bed and knit.
Oh-you write like an angel. Love to you and your Mom. Mine said, "I never taught you to do that!!!" in her dementia. Although she was a master seamstress. Thank you for your post!
Oh my, what a beautiful beautiful thing, to think of you sitting by your father's bedside, and now your mothers, with your aptly named Sitting Sweater. So moving. And yes indeed, I agree to the importance both of being there, and of having a pattern that is not too complicated for those hours -- especially when you can tell/remember stories as you go.
Yarn was certainly of vital importance to my equanimity in the many months of my husband Dan's illness and death last year (disappearing into Cancer is such a great way of putting it), and then my mother's as well a few weeks later.
Thinking of you and your mum and sending all the best.
I was thinking that my comment to you was going to be how your life is filled with Sarahdipity, but then I got to the footnotes and now all I have to say is that I worship and adore you! SMOOCH!
So glad to hear the Yarn is still Underground!
I'm loving the joy you are finding in unexpected things.
You are the light that slips through the darkness of my fallow times, pointing out my path forward. I’m so grateful for the gifts of your writings, comics, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and experiments. And for your shared life with Beryl. Since the Whidbey Spin-In, you’ve been an inspiration whose work I admire. Thank you, just thank you for sharing your life, pains and pleasures alike.
Gosh Sue, thank you so much. Your words thrill me to bits.
That Whidbey Spin-in was amazing, wasn't it--so many great people. If I remember right though, the room was so bright that no one could see the images, so it was more like a podcast than a slide show. And maybe that was better because everyone could keep spinning!
What a wonderful voice to come my way in the world of today. Changing our minds is much more important than changing our linens, it helps us grow and expand our world, listen to different tunes and know people we have never known before. It tears down generalities based on ignorance. What a good friend is your Pru.
SO true Martha -- and beautifully put! Exactly how I feel too-- opening up our minds every in all the ways: , to the world, to our neighbors, and the thoughts in our own heads one can so rudely dismiss. (Though I did start a load of laundry today cuz it actually was time to change the linens.....)
Persimmons are my mother’s very favorite fruit. I planted two of the trees in my orchard at the farm last year after waiting for two years for the nursery to get them back in stock, and still, they look like sticks. Barely any leaves sprouted this spring, despite ample nourishment and a sunny location (as sunny as they can have, in the foothills of the Cascades). I hope they live and bear fruit while I my best friend and beloved mom can enjoy them. The nursery is sold out, again.
Aren't they just the most luscious fruit? I ate the last one of my precious four this morning and do hope that your dear little sticks can find a foothold. They are so surprising as well as beautiful and luscious. They won't grow in my town, but 30 miles away and 900 feet down in the Canyon town by the Clearwater river, they apparently do beautifully.
If your tree grows well, you might even be able to try some kakishibu some day!
Fuyu persimmon variety, here’s hoping! I’m at 898 ft elevation, so maybe? 🤞🏼Thank you!
While I love designing my own shawls patterns, I do occasionally knit from someone else's pattern. I find I learn new ways of using stitches or solving problems as well as getting to knit something that I would have never come up with. I also find looking at other people's designs can serve as a spring board for ideas.
You are so right. Learning from the work of others is both helpful and fascinating. Like climbing into someone else's brain and trying to understand the "why's" of the design choices they made, which in turn can make our own work richer.
Ireland? Learning to knit at 14? Boarding school!? (and why??) And these facts just the tip of the iceberg of facts that have come together to make you so very wonderful! If you got a hankering for putting together a whole bunch of comics into a memoir, I'd read every page. While you adapted well, I am sorry to hear about the gas outage. How terribly inconvenient. Except for the crackling fire. I bet that was MOST lovely. And I'm glad the bobbins didn't become kindling. Now knitting... that I do not know how to do so I am very impressed with your skill at it. I do know how to crochet a chain. The other day I got curious about joining pieces of woven fabric together with crochet. It sort of worked. I need to work on the technique. But I've seen people add crochet edges to woven things so it's an experiment I will explore further.
Gosh Ellen, that'd be a thing, eh? Comic biography. Or maybe they'd call it a "graphic memoir" to make it sound super official! I'm intrigued by your idea of joining woven fabric with crochet -- can almost feel the luscious texture differences. What a grand and compelling idea.
“And what if I then find I’m so immersed in all the things I have been sure I’d never ever do that I forget to be a puddle of dismay about of all the things about which I can do nothing”
So perfectly said dear friend! And the persimmon fruit and colors that blend with them are delicious! Blessed are the recipients of those gorgeous sweaters.
Thank you Carly! And Oh my yes, weren't those colors just mind blowing. I could hardly believe it when I added he persimmons too. Those jolts of color and delight and immersion are such gifts, eh?
Ah, coffee filter paper with Mexican chocolate swirls I think. Lovely weaving by the fire, Maybe a pot of soup on the hob. Though you'd need a hob or hook or something. Your post made me smile out loud.
Oh golly, now I totally want to see/hear your smile out loud.
And yes to a hob! Well, a hob for a pot of soup at any rate -- with a hook of course. Silly me for putting in an efficient wood insert to stuff up the old inefficient fireplace (which didn't have a hob anyway). Unless of course a hob or two (of the other sort) lives in my house, as they could be anywhere!
Love the colors and the persimmons. And the stitched jeans under it all! Fun.
And what if… I love that as it opens up more doors than closing them.
I went to my hairdresser (a young woman who works from her garage) and said what if… I ended you with half my head in leopard print and the rest closely shaved leaving a teal fringe. I received my small ‘introduction to rigid heddle loom. So excited to get started. Now I just have to find my wool, in my garage. The garage, until just recently, had a ceiling. My wheels are under it as is my dresser and wool and fleece. So next time I say “what earthquake” I will say, earthquake? Stabilize the ceiling. My poor fleece and wheels…
Look at David Xenakis-check Handwoven's recent newsletter post by Marilyn Vanderhoogt (sp) Amazing things you can do with a ridged heddled that I certainly never knew about!!! https://handwovenmagazine.com/author/madelyn-van-der-hoogthttps://handwovenmagazine.com/author/madelyn-van-der-hoogt
Gratefully yours, Newsletter Editor, Northern Colorado Weaver's Guild. Hugs.
Great Article! Thank you for pointing it out to me. What riches and what an imaginative brain. Madelyn's too. I love how she talked bout the lineage of weavers as well--remembering and connecting to all those from whom we have learned things..
So DID you get the leopard print, teal fringe and close shave????? Or did that delicious hairdresser garage inspiration lead you back into your yarn-centric garage with new inspiration for your loom.....
I did, not sure how to add photo to this post (I’m a little slow when it comes to tech stuff)
What then is a lovely little community grows and gathers round the fireside for Tuesdays with Sarah and Beryl. Enchantment, wisdom, tips and inspiration! Gracias amiga!
P.S. Are Beryl and Huckleberry related?
Isn't it amazing, all those fabulous people? I'm thrilled and blown away every time.
And no, huckleberry and beryl are not related -- other than that HB (as we call her) lives with my beloved Auntie (who, truth to tell, is one of my best friends and is not much older than me...)
Somehow your posts lead to somesort of pondering. Maybe it was something you posted that got me interested in top down sweaters. I am not really a knitter so a pattern was needed. I've always had terrible trouble following sewing patterns or recipes or ... or... on & on. Even if I don't have a clue the figuring it out makes me happy. While my father disappeared into cancer I sat many hours by his bed knitting from a pattern until he was gone. Then I set aside the whole thing & lost the pattern. Now again I sit and knit on that Sitting Sweater again by my mother's bed because conversation is so tiring for her. Thank goodness it's the sleeves which are easy to figure out. As she slowly shrinks into herself, I sit and just as slowly knit the sleeves an hour at a time. The knitting brings to mind reminiscences that I share & they make her smile. My heart calms & fills with pleasure at having the privilege to sit by a loved one's bed and knit.
Oh-you write like an angel. Love to you and your Mom. Mine said, "I never taught you to do that!!!" in her dementia. Although she was a master seamstress. Thank you for your post!
Such a thing to be part of-- recording and noticing and being there--and how amazing of her to remember you, and not the sewing.
Oh my, what a beautiful beautiful thing, to think of you sitting by your father's bedside, and now your mothers, with your aptly named Sitting Sweater. So moving. And yes indeed, I agree to the importance both of being there, and of having a pattern that is not too complicated for those hours -- especially when you can tell/remember stories as you go.
Yarn was certainly of vital importance to my equanimity in the many months of my husband Dan's illness and death last year (disappearing into Cancer is such a great way of putting it), and then my mother's as well a few weeks later.
Thinking of you and your mum and sending all the best.
I love it, the freedom to change your opinion and the possibilities of what if?
Exactly. What if indeed!
Such a cozy and pleasant post!
Oh gosh, thank you.