unrecorded dreams

It never fails to amaze me—

—that pausing to take a photo—

—or video—

—while smack in the middle of doing a thing—

—is not only possible—

—but also gives a person the chance to notice—

—the visceral vibrational signature of whatever has captured their attention—

—even as it is happening.¹

How can it be that this technical tool of the distant future that also happens to be part of the way we live now (and might someday be recalled with nostalgia in the way we now remember eight track tapes and wind up victrolas)² —

— is the obvious thing to use for drawing attention to the difference in twist energy between the two brands of cotton kitchen twine used for this rug’s warp?³

It also amazes me—

—how pausing to draw a comic—

—allows a person to fully feel the visceral pleasure of certain moments—

—and allows those moments to be better understood —

— because they have been drawn after the fact.⁴

Most amazing of all, however, are the moments between the picture taking and the drawing—

— when a person finds herself so happy with the new swath of cellulosic satisfaction that she can’t figure out if it would be more delicious on the floor (where it will please her toes and Beryl’s butt)—

—or on the improvised chaise (where it will delight both of their butt),⁵—

—so sidesteps all decisions and lets the newly released runner swoop them off to the land of unrecorded dreams.

1. I was not so delighted by the crash of the warp bar hitting the floor, but being an amateur videographer with only two hands (and not wanting to drop either scissors or phone), I didn’t have much choice…

Also—it’s wild to me how the phone focuses and picks up sound in ways my eyes and ears do not, so that when looking at them afterward I can appreciate subtleties I’d otherwise have missed

2. for better, worse and everything in between— even as it does make it possible for an amateur videographer like me to balance my phone on top of my mug, which in turn is balanced on top of a freezer-paper covered brick (the twining weight), so that while the camera is recording my hand movements I can admire the indigotin sticker my daughter-in-law found, and think with glee about future blue since this amazing woman I’m lucky enough to have in my life is growing some indigo plants this very year. As it says on the Grand Prismatic Seeds link above, “dye nerd alert!”

3. Half way through warping I ran out of the cotton twine I had on hand so bicycled to the nearest Hardware Store to get more, only to find when I got home that the new stuff had way more twist. This difference was obvious from the first and I could/should have waited to check out the other hardware store(s) to see if I could find something else, but I wanted to keep going so didn’t. Unsurprisingly, the twist difference had a noticeable effect on the warp tension all the way through (the more tightly twisted warp less stretchy so able to hold the tension better and therefor always slightly tighter), but nonetheless I tried to ignore it and kept going. Now that it is done I cannot see the difference. It may show up later when I wash it and if so, I’ll let you know. Either way though, next time I’m going to try to start with enough of one kind. Perhaps I’ll eve use proper rug warp. Or seine twine. Or not, since I really like the way the soft cotton twine feels under my fingers, and adore bicycling to the hardware store to get my warp….

4. And —Tra la! My long time website, A Field Guide To Needlework, is back up, live on the web. It’s now mostly an archive where you can see almost every tapestry I’ve ever woven (35 years worth), and check out 12 years of blog posts (or just one or two as, ahem, there are hundreds).

These posts are searchable by topic so if you want to know what I was thinking about milkweed in 2020, or when I started working with paper yarn, or see pictures of me making and mending my running shoes ten years ago, or read about/ see whatever other non-tapestry thing was capturing my attention at the time, that’s the place to go. Having it live again also means all the links in some of the older Gusset posts will work again.

I’m still not utterly convinced that this website is a thing I want to keep in the world for a whole lot longer (it’s not inexpensive to keep a website up and running—either for me or the environment, what with all those energy-sucking servers), and have much cogitating to do about my responsibility to the work of my past vs the work of my present—but it is there for now and for another year at least while these thoughts stew around.

Also! I now also have a new Webstore where once again you can purchase my comic textile guides. It’s not fancy or anything, but it is there and I think it works.

5. This irresistible window seat is actually an old wooden trunk full of photo albums with a couple of quilts for cushions and a wide pine board for a backrest—a lovely spot to read or knit or survey the plants in my tiny new garden. Beryl’s bed is right next to it.