I am really loving receiving your posts, Sarah. I love the combination of quirky cartoon-like art and the textile art explorations. Have you ever made a doll? That's my long-term fascination.
Gosh Erika, your dolls are marvelous. So compelling. And all deliciously textile-centric (though how not?). I have indeed made dolls myself -- from very simple woven dolls for my book Kids Weaving, to more complicated variations on a pattern Mimi Kirchner has on the Purl Soho website. I've not made any for a while, but when the dolls I have are marvelous companions.
I have been breathing in the light too, Sarah, now that fall has actually descended on Tucson. All day long I have been happy, just looking from time to time from my loom to the window, or walking my two walks. Lunch even tasted better. There is something about the quality of light in mid to late September that speaks to the soul, and I was so glad that you heard it too.
As for the fair? Too many people for me. And deep fried Oreos???? Surely not!
Thank for sharing the light and reminding me that typewriters are another way to write!
Oh my... you have brought to mind a fond childhood memory of the fair that came to the small town I grew up in. They called it "Dogie Days". I think dogies are small calves or something? Ok, I had to look it up and it turns out a dogie is an orphaned calf! My god, how sad! Why in the world did they call this event "Dogie Days"?! Anyway, it was a fun time in an otherwise very sleepy small town in Texas. (Sleepy makes it sound more charming than it was but we're allowed to do that with memories...) Otherwise, the light in your photos is indeed worth all the attention! Aren't we lucky to notice such things!? Have a wonderful time at Pacific Textile Arts!! Sounds pretty wonderful to me.
Oh golly Ellen, I love reading this and imagining your "sleepy little town in Texas that is not as charming as that sounds," which somehow makes it sound even more charming because real? On my jaunt of California I find myself particularly attracted to some of the very small towns in eastern Washington like Dusty and Washtucna. Sleepy indeed. Or so it seems from the outside. No idea how it would be to live there. Perhaps deliciously peaceful. Certainly beautiful (if, that is, one is a fan of the Channeled Scablands).
In spite of the ease of correcting my many typos - I really miss those old typewriters! I had a large black one which required a LOT of pressure to move the keys and and make it print. It finally went to a friend with "business machines" - he put it in the window where I could see it!
How lovely that your typewriter gets to sit in the window to both watch the world and be seen. And yes to the extra effort on the keys. My two feel very different from one another and I choose which one to play with depending on how strong my fingers feel...
It’s always a joy to read your writing. So love how you meander through your thoughts and writing. It’s stream of consciousness which always closer to the truth of our lives.
Thank you Sara. And isn't it odd that something so clickety-clackety can also be calming? Not sure I understand it, but I do enjoy it. So glad you did too.
I'd love to see any recommended videos you have for making cordage! The first time I made nettle cordage it was a huge success and I felt I'd found a wondrous 'thing' - but success has eluded me since... Very much enjoying your posts and the light you share.
Pretty much anything by Sally Pointer on YouTube will get you going (just type in Sally Pointer and Cordage and you'll have a wealth of information. I also have a post on my old blog: https://www.afieldguidetoneedlework.com/blog-2014-2021/making-cordage-a-tutorial-of-sorts. Funny how your hands know what to do sometimes, and then suddenly don't, isn't it?
Hi Sarah, Ha..ha..ha! Lucky you didn't need HOT CHAPS! Your big pink friend can get very nasty! Please take care when getting near display animals! Im a AVIAN VETERINARY SURGEON..I GETB IT ALL THROUGH MY DOORS! because I see a patient at a job site or in the office doesn't mean I want it living in my Apartment!! The customers try that too!! Blessings THE affair looked like fun!
I played your typing video as I scrolled down to read the footnotes to your post. Funny how a sound (that you can hear but not see happening) can conjure up a memory......like Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman typing their final post in All the President's Men as images of the end of Nixon's administration become the visuals as the typing sound itself continues. Interesting mind experience.
Such powerful things, sound memories. And how fascinating to have conjured Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Now I want to look this up and remember it. Not even all that long ago, was it?
Savoring September light, lengthening shadows, hazy filters, flirty little clouds at dawn and dusk. It's especially delicious for retired teachers who get to stay home and follow the light and elementally lovely endeavors: walking in the woods with the dogs, making raisins, prunes, plum jam and chutney and tortes, iris leaf cordage (thanks for the video!), homegrown indigo ice dyeing. ... I was checking out Pacific Textile Arts in Fort Bragg (close enough to me were I a crow, but otherwise circuitous) and couldn't find your campfire event. What fun. I see the Jackie Wollenberg class is next month, and full, of course. .... Will Beryl be traveling with you? Happy trails!
OH, what a yummy list of autumnal activities. Thanks for that.
And yes, Fort Bragg isn't really close to anything. It was twisty and windy and circuitous no matter what direction you came from. But once there, Pacific Textile Arts is an amazing resource. Golly -- a wealth of knowledge and possibility. The event wasn't on the website because they were deliberately trying to keep it small, but glad you got to see the other things just in case!
I am really loving receiving your posts, Sarah. I love the combination of quirky cartoon-like art and the textile art explorations. Have you ever made a doll? That's my long-term fascination.
warmly,
Erika
www.transformativehealingdolls.com
Gosh Erika, your dolls are marvelous. So compelling. And all deliciously textile-centric (though how not?). I have indeed made dolls myself -- from very simple woven dolls for my book Kids Weaving, to more complicated variations on a pattern Mimi Kirchner has on the Purl Soho website. I've not made any for a while, but when the dolls I have are marvelous companions.
Thank you so much, Sarah! Your words mean a lot to me. I would love to see your dolls some time.
Erika, I'm really enchanted by your work, and inspired to play with needle felting again.
Thank you! Yes, it is magical, Barbara Jean.
"there is a crack in everything..." Leonard cohen
I have been breathing in the light too, Sarah, now that fall has actually descended on Tucson. All day long I have been happy, just looking from time to time from my loom to the window, or walking my two walks. Lunch even tasted better. There is something about the quality of light in mid to late September that speaks to the soul, and I was so glad that you heard it too.
As for the fair? Too many people for me. And deep fried Oreos???? Surely not!
Thank for sharing the light and reminding me that typewriters are another way to write!
"Lunch even tasted better." Thanks for that. And it's so utterly true.
Also true is that deep fried Oreos are a thing I've never tried and can't quite imagine trying but somehow am entranced by anyway. I mean -- really?
Oh my... you have brought to mind a fond childhood memory of the fair that came to the small town I grew up in. They called it "Dogie Days". I think dogies are small calves or something? Ok, I had to look it up and it turns out a dogie is an orphaned calf! My god, how sad! Why in the world did they call this event "Dogie Days"?! Anyway, it was a fun time in an otherwise very sleepy small town in Texas. (Sleepy makes it sound more charming than it was but we're allowed to do that with memories...) Otherwise, the light in your photos is indeed worth all the attention! Aren't we lucky to notice such things!? Have a wonderful time at Pacific Textile Arts!! Sounds pretty wonderful to me.
Oh golly Ellen, I love reading this and imagining your "sleepy little town in Texas that is not as charming as that sounds," which somehow makes it sound even more charming because real? On my jaunt of California I find myself particularly attracted to some of the very small towns in eastern Washington like Dusty and Washtucna. Sleepy indeed. Or so it seems from the outside. No idea how it would be to live there. Perhaps deliciously peaceful. Certainly beautiful (if, that is, one is a fan of the Channeled Scablands).
In spite of the ease of correcting my many typos - I really miss those old typewriters! I had a large black one which required a LOT of pressure to move the keys and and make it print. It finally went to a friend with "business machines" - he put it in the window where I could see it!
How lovely that your typewriter gets to sit in the window to both watch the world and be seen. And yes to the extra effort on the keys. My two feel very different from one another and I choose which one to play with depending on how strong my fingers feel...
In Glasgow deep-fried Mars Bars can be had but deep-fried Oreos? Really! I have to say my stomach churned. Otherwise a delightfully light essay 😉.
Deep fried Mars Bars vs Oreos? It'd be quite a contest. I can't actually imagine either one in my stomach. But still -- wow. Humans. The things we do.
It’s always a joy to read your writing. So love how you meander through your thoughts and writing. It’s stream of consciousness which always closer to the truth of our lives.
Gosh Cynthia, thank you. So appreciate your words.
The typing video was strangely calming. Thanks for your posts - they always bring me back to center.
Thank you Sara. And isn't it odd that something so clickety-clackety can also be calming? Not sure I understand it, but I do enjoy it. So glad you did too.
That pig is indeed RADIANT, Charlotte! :)
I'd love to see any recommended videos you have for making cordage! The first time I made nettle cordage it was a huge success and I felt I'd found a wondrous 'thing' - but success has eluded me since... Very much enjoying your posts and the light you share.
Pretty much anything by Sally Pointer on YouTube will get you going (just type in Sally Pointer and Cordage and you'll have a wealth of information. I also have a post on my old blog: https://www.afieldguidetoneedlework.com/blog-2014-2021/making-cordage-a-tutorial-of-sorts. Funny how your hands know what to do sometimes, and then suddenly don't, isn't it?
@sarah Thanks so much! It's great to have these links, I appreciate it. x
Hi Sarah, Ha..ha..ha! Lucky you didn't need HOT CHAPS! Your big pink friend can get very nasty! Please take care when getting near display animals! Im a AVIAN VETERINARY SURGEON..I GETB IT ALL THROUGH MY DOORS! because I see a patient at a job site or in the office doesn't mean I want it living in my Apartment!! The customers try that too!! Blessings THE affair looked like fun!
Soooo lovely! Your observations and drawings and pictures and meandering insights. Love it all!
I played your typing video as I scrolled down to read the footnotes to your post. Funny how a sound (that you can hear but not see happening) can conjure up a memory......like Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman typing their final post in All the President's Men as images of the end of Nixon's administration become the visuals as the typing sound itself continues. Interesting mind experience.
Such powerful things, sound memories. And how fascinating to have conjured Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Now I want to look this up and remember it. Not even all that long ago, was it?
Actually, "All the President's Men" was released in 1976, a date which also doesn't seem that long ago to me, but it's more than 40 years ago !!!!!!
Reading (and seeing) this loveliness was a good way to begin my morning. Thank you.
Savoring September light, lengthening shadows, hazy filters, flirty little clouds at dawn and dusk. It's especially delicious for retired teachers who get to stay home and follow the light and elementally lovely endeavors: walking in the woods with the dogs, making raisins, prunes, plum jam and chutney and tortes, iris leaf cordage (thanks for the video!), homegrown indigo ice dyeing. ... I was checking out Pacific Textile Arts in Fort Bragg (close enough to me were I a crow, but otherwise circuitous) and couldn't find your campfire event. What fun. I see the Jackie Wollenberg class is next month, and full, of course. .... Will Beryl be traveling with you? Happy trails!
OH, what a yummy list of autumnal activities. Thanks for that.
And yes, Fort Bragg isn't really close to anything. It was twisty and windy and circuitous no matter what direction you came from. But once there, Pacific Textile Arts is an amazing resource. Golly -- a wealth of knowledge and possibility. The event wasn't on the website because they were deliberately trying to keep it small, but glad you got to see the other things just in case!
You got me at Sally Pointer! Beautiful post 🔥