You are remarkably competent! Whether it's the knowledge of how to do it yourself and doing it, or the wisdom to hire people to do something you could probably do yourself but don't want to. And by the way, that tapestry with the grey side triangles and dancing squares... it took my breath away!
Oooh thank you! And now that you say that I realize that I haven't yet written anything about the grey and white wedge weave tapestry -- milkweed and cotton! I so love how that structure works.
Thanks for another great note. It’s good to hear you are enjoying your competence. It feels really good to be able to ‘do’, doesn’t it? Enjoy the warmth and dryness.
I have a tapestry on a box going as well. It’s taking longer than I imagined. I think I chose a too large box. I WILL see it through. I hope you are enjoying the process.
I am. I was wary of too slow an initial box experience and found a nice smallish kombucha box and some nubby, fairly thick yarn that had been waiting for a purpose! Not typical tapestry material, but it's coming along.
The too big box is definitely a thing. Especially if it has a big bottom, as that part sometimes seems to take the longest. So impressed that you are persevering. And the sides can be SO much fun.
The cutie on the slide is my granddaughter! Her first time down a slide and she was super into it. And the thumb thing is the last remnants of the indigo bath. It really bonded well with my thumbnail:-)
Ooo, I picked up some of that Mazama fiber, too. I have other fiber on my spindle just now, so it is patiently (I hope) waiting its turn. I’m even more excited, seeing what you’ve said about it.
Most fiber is pretty darned patient--though I have to say that the Mazama is so soft and silky that once I was spinning it kind of flew off my wrist distaff and my hands had to learn a slightly different rhythm (from my hand-processed non/cormo fleece I mean) to keep up with it. It feels so so good
Kudos to you for your home maintenance competence. It’s always big decisions and not easy to do all on your own. ( Been there, done that). But your tapestry and creative soul bring such joy. Thank you.
Thanks for the home-maintenance competence support. Because as you know, it is a thing making stuff happen. But OH, the good feeling of having something solid and reliable instead of my half-assed fixes is marvelous. It also (says she with a touch of glee), leaves me far more free for creative immersion. And how lucky is that?
So much to enjoy in this post. Always love seeing how you get things done with your great pics and oh so swell drawings! I feel like a kid watching my auntie starting a new project and taking it all in. So kind of you to share it like this. And love all of the links, too! May you and Beryl feel snug as a bug under your new roof.
I use a French Press, but you're tempting me to go to drip just so I can have used coffee filters.
I feel you on the widow thing - I'm still figuring out who *I* (singular) am.
For a few years now there has been a small pine tree growing right beside my driveway, and I've looked at it with a thought of "that will cause trouble some day." The other day I noticed that it was now about 15 feet tall, and thought "in a few more years I'm going to have to have someone come take that down." And that's when I grabbed the chainsaw, took it down, cut it up, and dragged it to the burn pile. But I wonder when I became that person.
Oh wow-- what a great thing: you with a chain saw sawing down and bucking up!!! I'm so impressed that you both have one and can use it. I'm still a bow saw kinda gal and have several serious sawing projects awaiting me. But perhaps I'm ready for a small version of something more powerful?
As for the French Press -- they are the coolest devices and I wish my stomach and I liked the resulting coffee as well as the paper filtered variety. But as you already have it going, I bet you might have a friend who uses filters. The Melita ones would make especially amazing quilts I think!
The rechargeable battery chainsaws are pretty darn good for smallish stuff (under 6 inches) and, best of all, no nasty gas and pull starts to mess with!
Coffee filter book covers - Just Genius! At first I wondered, "What is she up to now?" and now I am scrounging around for my drip coffee pot. (Laughing my various parts off!) Inspire!
this is such a timely post to read - I was *just* down a deep rabbit hole going back to your bookbinding essays on the blog! a forever source of inspiration over the last decade or so. quilted coffee filter covers - what a delight!
Oh goody! How fun is that? And THANK you for the idea that they are, indeed, quilts. Crazy quilts to be sure, but that's a fine thing, no? And now I'm imagining them with patterns....
Thud! I just fell off the no buying fiber wagon. Hard to resist a gorgeous grey combined with a blend of two of my favorite fibers that I have never spun in a blend together. I am envisioning a lovely lave shawls, of course that is mostly what I spin and knit!
Your work is just as important as the roofers and maybe more so. Not only do you entertain us with your adventures, you inspire us to have our own. You let us know that chasing our own "what ifs" is important and worthy of doing. Thank you! And thank you for not getting up on that roof especially in the rain! While you know you can do it, it is better not to risk a fall or injury to your hands (I doubt that they would appreciate the work). Sometimes it is harder and braver and smarter to not do something.
Oh gosh, the Mazama would make an amazing shawl. YUM>
And thank you for your very kind and important words about the value of this work. I so appreciate the reminder-especially your words about the harder/braver/smarter thing of NOT doing something. The heroic thing-- to be still.... What a lifelong lesson.
Sarah, I don’t use coffee filters for coffee but I use them to filter natural dyes. They tend to be clogged with fine plant material. Have you washed coffee filters before you use them?
Yes, I do wash them. The ones I've used for coffee I actually boil in washing soda/calx before I cut them, both to neutralize the acidity a little, and to clean them thoroughly. My friend Jodi has given me a bunch of beautiful colored ones that she's used for filtering pigments. She rinses them thoroughly and then I sometimes soak them in home made (vs store-bought) soy milk: soak a hand full of soy beans in water overnight, grind in a suribachi (a food processor would probably work but I don't have one), then pour off the white liquid. It helps to bind the pigments to the paper though this is probably not necessary with dyes as the paper is actually dyed? I've also dyed some of the filters like cellulose yarn: cold mordant with aluminum acetate and then dip in chalk water before simmering in whatever dye. It worked beautifully !
Just looking at your recent works is inspiring. It is strange in this climate changing world. We are having extremely warm weather and well, probably the windiest September I can remember, my mind wanders to solar dying and creating air movement in my wheel in place of a fan gosh, a few years ago it snowed this time of the year. I am in a little shock. Reading all your inspiring work and almost having to guts to stick it out. Your Gusset has been an inspiring part of my recent like. Holed up in my tiny house ( had the roof fixed last year) unable to walk for 7 months, worried about falling at the drop of a hat… all I can do is weave, spin and crochet… and once a week, I am given more inspiration. I still can’t get in a pool but I am starting up the wheels again, progress. Thank you, your inspiration is amazing.
What a brilliant idea -- spinning wheel as fan! Does the breeze direction change when you switch from spinning s to z?
I agree about the discomfort and weirdness of this constantly changing, unpredictable and often fierce weather. It seems to be everywhere. Solar dyeing sounds like a really good response -- making use of the fierce heat for something beautiful as you can.
But golly, so so sorry about your wakefulness and pain. That's just so very hard.
You are remarkably competent! Whether it's the knowledge of how to do it yourself and doing it, or the wisdom to hire people to do something you could probably do yourself but don't want to. And by the way, that tapestry with the grey side triangles and dancing squares... it took my breath away!
Oooh thank you! And now that you say that I realize that I haven't yet written anything about the grey and white wedge weave tapestry -- milkweed and cotton! I so love how that structure works.
Sarah I love your work....it inspires my dreaming!
Oh gosh, thank you Lynda.
Just adore what you've created with the used coffee filters. Brilliant idea as always!!
Thanks for another great note. It’s good to hear you are enjoying your competence. It feels really good to be able to ‘do’, doesn’t it? Enjoy the warmth and dryness.
Ah, what a long strange trip it's been!
Does your beautiful yarn know how it will warm you? Is that an indigo thumb or a bruise? And who's the cutie sharing your slide?
Thanks as always for inspiration and sharing. I am finally weaving a tapestry on a box!
Happy Tuesday!
I have a tapestry on a box going as well. It’s taking longer than I imagined. I think I chose a too large box. I WILL see it through. I hope you are enjoying the process.
I am. I was wary of too slow an initial box experience and found a nice smallish kombucha box and some nubby, fairly thick yarn that had been waiting for a purpose! Not typical tapestry material, but it's coming along.
Good ideas-- Thick yummy yarn and a not too big box. It is, after all, a pretty big sett! Hope it's fun on the way.
The too big box is definitely a thing. Especially if it has a big bottom, as that part sometimes seems to take the longest. So impressed that you are persevering. And the sides can be SO much fun.
The cutie on the slide is my granddaughter! Her first time down a slide and she was super into it. And the thumb thing is the last remnants of the indigo bath. It really bonded well with my thumbnail:-)
And Hurrah for your bag on a box!!!
Ooo, I picked up some of that Mazama fiber, too. I have other fiber on my spindle just now, so it is patiently (I hope) waiting its turn. I’m even more excited, seeing what you’ve said about it.
Most fiber is pretty darned patient--though I have to say that the Mazama is so soft and silky that once I was spinning it kind of flew off my wrist distaff and my hands had to learn a slightly different rhythm (from my hand-processed non/cormo fleece I mean) to keep up with it. It feels so so good
Kudos to you for your home maintenance competence. It’s always big decisions and not easy to do all on your own. ( Been there, done that). But your tapestry and creative soul bring such joy. Thank you.
Thanks for the home-maintenance competence support. Because as you know, it is a thing making stuff happen. But OH, the good feeling of having something solid and reliable instead of my half-assed fixes is marvelous. It also (says she with a touch of glee), leaves me far more free for creative immersion. And how lucky is that?
So much to enjoy in this post. Always love seeing how you get things done with your great pics and oh so swell drawings! I feel like a kid watching my auntie starting a new project and taking it all in. So kind of you to share it like this. And love all of the links, too! May you and Beryl feel snug as a bug under your new roof.
Oh gosh, thank you Sandy. I so appreciate all of this.
Listen to Beryl. She's very wise, and knows you well by now.
Doesn't she just? You're so right. She definitely has my number. Lucky me.
Such an inspiring journey- fills me with gratitude.
I love Long Thread podcast- so much good to find there.
Also, nice to look back on completed objects.
I use a French Press, but you're tempting me to go to drip just so I can have used coffee filters.
I feel you on the widow thing - I'm still figuring out who *I* (singular) am.
For a few years now there has been a small pine tree growing right beside my driveway, and I've looked at it with a thought of "that will cause trouble some day." The other day I noticed that it was now about 15 feet tall, and thought "in a few more years I'm going to have to have someone come take that down." And that's when I grabbed the chainsaw, took it down, cut it up, and dragged it to the burn pile. But I wonder when I became that person.
Oh wow-- what a great thing: you with a chain saw sawing down and bucking up!!! I'm so impressed that you both have one and can use it. I'm still a bow saw kinda gal and have several serious sawing projects awaiting me. But perhaps I'm ready for a small version of something more powerful?
As for the French Press -- they are the coolest devices and I wish my stomach and I liked the resulting coffee as well as the paper filtered variety. But as you already have it going, I bet you might have a friend who uses filters. The Melita ones would make especially amazing quilts I think!
The rechargeable battery chainsaws are pretty darn good for smallish stuff (under 6 inches) and, best of all, no nasty gas and pull starts to mess with!
Coffee filter book covers - Just Genius! At first I wondered, "What is she up to now?" and now I am scrounging around for my drip coffee pot. (Laughing my various parts off!) Inspire!
this is such a timely post to read - I was *just* down a deep rabbit hole going back to your bookbinding essays on the blog! a forever source of inspiration over the last decade or so. quilted coffee filter covers - what a delight!
Oh goody! How fun is that? And THANK you for the idea that they are, indeed, quilts. Crazy quilts to be sure, but that's a fine thing, no? And now I'm imagining them with patterns....
Thud! I just fell off the no buying fiber wagon. Hard to resist a gorgeous grey combined with a blend of two of my favorite fibers that I have never spun in a blend together. I am envisioning a lovely lave shawls, of course that is mostly what I spin and knit!
Your work is just as important as the roofers and maybe more so. Not only do you entertain us with your adventures, you inspire us to have our own. You let us know that chasing our own "what ifs" is important and worthy of doing. Thank you! And thank you for not getting up on that roof especially in the rain! While you know you can do it, it is better not to risk a fall or injury to your hands (I doubt that they would appreciate the work). Sometimes it is harder and braver and smarter to not do something.
Oh gosh, the Mazama would make an amazing shawl. YUM>
And thank you for your very kind and important words about the value of this work. I so appreciate the reminder-especially your words about the harder/braver/smarter thing of NOT doing something. The heroic thing-- to be still.... What a lifelong lesson.
Sarah, I don’t use coffee filters for coffee but I use them to filter natural dyes. They tend to be clogged with fine plant material. Have you washed coffee filters before you use them?
Yes, I do wash them. The ones I've used for coffee I actually boil in washing soda/calx before I cut them, both to neutralize the acidity a little, and to clean them thoroughly. My friend Jodi has given me a bunch of beautiful colored ones that she's used for filtering pigments. She rinses them thoroughly and then I sometimes soak them in home made (vs store-bought) soy milk: soak a hand full of soy beans in water overnight, grind in a suribachi (a food processor would probably work but I don't have one), then pour off the white liquid. It helps to bind the pigments to the paper though this is probably not necessary with dyes as the paper is actually dyed? I've also dyed some of the filters like cellulose yarn: cold mordant with aluminum acetate and then dip in chalk water before simmering in whatever dye. It worked beautifully !
Just looking at your recent works is inspiring. It is strange in this climate changing world. We are having extremely warm weather and well, probably the windiest September I can remember, my mind wanders to solar dying and creating air movement in my wheel in place of a fan gosh, a few years ago it snowed this time of the year. I am in a little shock. Reading all your inspiring work and almost having to guts to stick it out. Your Gusset has been an inspiring part of my recent like. Holed up in my tiny house ( had the roof fixed last year) unable to walk for 7 months, worried about falling at the drop of a hat… all I can do is weave, spin and crochet… and once a week, I am given more inspiration. I still can’t get in a pool but I am starting up the wheels again, progress. Thank you, your inspiration is amazing.
What a brilliant idea -- spinning wheel as fan! Does the breeze direction change when you switch from spinning s to z?
I agree about the discomfort and weirdness of this constantly changing, unpredictable and often fierce weather. It seems to be everywhere. Solar dyeing sounds like a really good response -- making use of the fierce heat for something beautiful as you can.
But golly, so so sorry about your wakefulness and pain. That's just so very hard.