Ninety Nine Nouns I mean—this collection of woven words. Except how can it be finished? There are only 94 in the box and one on the loom. That isn’t enough. Is it? Of course I’m not counting the blank ones I wove last April but if I did I’d have 98 which is so crazy close that it seems super silly to stop when all it would take is one more.
When I read this I wondered if amen was a noun-- and apparently it sometimes is, ifnot as usually used. But it also has two syllables and all these are only one... Maybe next time?
Five is a four letter noun and could be added up to the existing ones... or you say you are still searching for the right words and with only so few spaces left it's too difficult to decide... ?
I would love to share deeply on how this newsletter touched me (and it did; oh yes, it did!!). But my brain is singing 99 Bottles of Beer and I must depart before I curse you, dear Sarah ❤️
EEEEK! So sorry. I Hope that song has long departed from your brain and equally that me writing back now doesn't put it back in. My cello teacher always said that singing Amazing Grace would take stuck songs away--though sometimes it just replaces them which may or may not be helpful.
So so glad the post otherwise struck a cord... So so love thinking of you.
There is a certain charm to being done with something. It creates an opening for something else to become and then be done. Then again, you could always weave just one more four letter word and not bother with the asteriks. ;-)
That's it exactly Ellen. And for me the 'trick' is to relish that open space and not instantly fill it when having such a moment of openness feels "weird" ...
And yes-- a gal could well say "to hell with asterisks!"
An excellent one to be sure -- though perhaps the beginning of a different series with more than four letters and more than one syllable! She would certainly appreciate it.
Ah - the feeling I encounter almost daily and in so many aspects of my life: when is it enough? Amended to: is it enough for now? So little is absolute, it's enough when I get to a place where my head will stop wrestling with that question - a true place of satisfaction/release.
And it has been a wonderful ride, your words, your weaving - thank you.
I feel your angst over if you can be done with the nouns! I must say...why 99? Adrian Monk would have a fit and make you change it to an even 100! And I thought "last" should be last, but didn't think it is a noun...until you settled that in your footnotes! Thank you for sharing the Off She Goes video. That sounds so nice! And I have never heard of a Whiplstix, so thanks for that little video example! I must dust off my clarinet some time and play that and my piano. I think it would make me happy, as it does for you. And now, I wonder, what next weaving adventure will make Sarah happy?! 😀🤔
Ha! I chose ninety nine just because the phrase ninety-nine nouns sounded so nice in my head--and for no other reason! It is also lovely to think of it not so much as an absolute number, but as an order of magnitude i.e.: LOTS. More than ten and more than fifty but not as many as a thousand..... Which means it could really be any size at all, but for now, as Elizabeth said above, so little is absolute even as what I have done is enough for now -- because some kind of other weaving adventure awaits -- not least the completion of the bigger tapestry still on my loom!
Dare I suggest at this late date ..... plus. Plus can be a noun. (I had to look it up to be sure I was on solid ground about this.) And it might suggest a hint to mentally add to the list, if one likes. 😃
I so enjoyed your conversation with the Nearly Wilds, although I wasn't able to catch it live. I do have a question about your natural dyes. I was just visiting with your Miss Havisham's Cook trio, and again marveling at the deeply saturated colors (as well as the stories they hint at, of course.) What did you use? I've done some dyeing with cochineal and madder and home grown indigo, coreopsis, cosmos, marigolds, but I've yet to get the reds of my dreams. The cochineal gave me a gorgeous magenta, and the madder, an orange. Maybe if I overdyed? And your greens?
Thank you BarbaraJean! The reds were all cochineal, madder, or a mix of the two. Indeed, I think I've had the best luck with blending strong extracts of orange-leaning madder with magenta-leaning cochineal rather than messing around too much with pH or complex turkey red procedures. It is important with madder root too, to get rubia tinctorum (if you can) rather than rubia cordifolia, as the former contains alizarin and the latter does not .
Years ago I would extract the color from each dye stuff separately (simmer at appropriate temps as per whatever dye recipe you have), then make various blends in half gallon jars for a variety of hues/values. I filled giant spiral notebooks with the results of my experiments so they were at least somewhat repeatable. Later, when dye extracts became available, I did the same thing only beginning with the extracts rather than actual plant/insect material (mostly because it is so easy, though I adore working with the actual stuff too).
Pondering, reflecting, imagining ONE last lovely 4 letter word. That’s a noun. Like word. Also not one of the nestled in the box 90 something. It should name infinity and celebration and creativity. It should sound sensational like music on your tongue. It should be blissful and stupendous. Or perhaps trip or time because we have had a lovely time on this word trip. But perhaps you need to make up a word? Then it can stand for whatever you want.
Dear Sarah -- Your note about nouns made me think of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (it's a theme.) But she talked about how many nouns there are in the English language vs indigenous language, which is predominated by verbs - where things are in the process of becoming, rather than a static object. I'm probably making a mess of her beautiful observation, but your piece reminded me of her. Sorry to miss your talk the other day. Thanks for including the email address. I hope you had a blast.
The last word is "Amen".
When I read this I wondered if amen was a noun-- and apparently it sometimes is, ifnot as usually used. But it also has two syllables and all these are only one... Maybe next time?
Sarah, I love this ❤️. That’s all the can say. Thanks for letting us in.
Sally K
I’m mean, “that’s all I can say…”
Weave some typos next…
Five is a four letter noun and could be added up to the existing ones... or you say you are still searching for the right words and with only so few spaces left it's too difficult to decide... ?
Five definitely fits the bill. As does four. As, indeed, does nine, which once seemed perfect: to make the 98 and 99th words both nine!
This has been so fun. You have brought us to a point where we have many paths of contemplate. I call that success!
Gosh thank you Sandy!
I would love to share deeply on how this newsletter touched me (and it did; oh yes, it did!!). But my brain is singing 99 Bottles of Beer and I must depart before I curse you, dear Sarah ❤️
EEEEK! So sorry. I Hope that song has long departed from your brain and equally that me writing back now doesn't put it back in. My cello teacher always said that singing Amazing Grace would take stuck songs away--though sometimes it just replaces them which may or may not be helpful.
So so glad the post otherwise struck a cord... So so love thinking of you.
Thanks for taking us with you on a walk! Word.
Ps- ‘ooqs’ is my favorite.
It makes me ridiculously happy to hear this
There is a certain charm to being done with something. It creates an opening for something else to become and then be done. Then again, you could always weave just one more four letter word and not bother with the asteriks. ;-)
That's it exactly Ellen. And for me the 'trick' is to relish that open space and not instantly fill it when having such a moment of openness feels "weird" ...
And yes-- a gal could well say "to hell with asterisks!"
How about finishing with a five letter word! Beryl.
An excellent one to be sure -- though perhaps the beginning of a different series with more than four letters and more than one syllable! She would certainly appreciate it.
Ah - the feeling I encounter almost daily and in so many aspects of my life: when is it enough? Amended to: is it enough for now? So little is absolute, it's enough when I get to a place where my head will stop wrestling with that question - a true place of satisfaction/release.
And it has been a wonderful ride, your words, your weaving - thank you.
You are so so right about that. So few things are absolute, and it behooves me to remember this. Enough for now is really the best. Thanks.
I feel your angst over if you can be done with the nouns! I must say...why 99? Adrian Monk would have a fit and make you change it to an even 100! And I thought "last" should be last, but didn't think it is a noun...until you settled that in your footnotes! Thank you for sharing the Off She Goes video. That sounds so nice! And I have never heard of a Whiplstix, so thanks for that little video example! I must dust off my clarinet some time and play that and my piano. I think it would make me happy, as it does for you. And now, I wonder, what next weaving adventure will make Sarah happy?! 😀🤔
Ha! I chose ninety nine just because the phrase ninety-nine nouns sounded so nice in my head--and for no other reason! It is also lovely to think of it not so much as an absolute number, but as an order of magnitude i.e.: LOTS. More than ten and more than fifty but not as many as a thousand..... Which means it could really be any size at all, but for now, as Elizabeth said above, so little is absolute even as what I have done is enough for now -- because some kind of other weaving adventure awaits -- not least the completion of the bigger tapestry still on my loom!
Dare I suggest at this late date ..... plus. Plus can be a noun. (I had to look it up to be sure I was on solid ground about this.) And it might suggest a hint to mentally add to the list, if one likes. 😃
Great word for sure. Perhaps best if/when I decide I do need to add to the collection. Then the new stuff can begin with plus.....
👍 love that plan! Hugs to you and Beryl!
I so enjoyed your conversation with the Nearly Wilds, although I wasn't able to catch it live. I do have a question about your natural dyes. I was just visiting with your Miss Havisham's Cook trio, and again marveling at the deeply saturated colors (as well as the stories they hint at, of course.) What did you use? I've done some dyeing with cochineal and madder and home grown indigo, coreopsis, cosmos, marigolds, but I've yet to get the reds of my dreams. The cochineal gave me a gorgeous magenta, and the madder, an orange. Maybe if I overdyed? And your greens?
Thank you BarbaraJean! The reds were all cochineal, madder, or a mix of the two. Indeed, I think I've had the best luck with blending strong extracts of orange-leaning madder with magenta-leaning cochineal rather than messing around too much with pH or complex turkey red procedures. It is important with madder root too, to get rubia tinctorum (if you can) rather than rubia cordifolia, as the former contains alizarin and the latter does not .
Years ago I would extract the color from each dye stuff separately (simmer at appropriate temps as per whatever dye recipe you have), then make various blends in half gallon jars for a variety of hues/values. I filled giant spiral notebooks with the results of my experiments so they were at least somewhat repeatable. Later, when dye extracts became available, I did the same thing only beginning with the extracts rather than actual plant/insect material (mostly because it is so easy, though I adore working with the actual stuff too).
I've purchased extracts from Earthhues (https://earthues.com), MAIWA (https://maiwa.com) and Botanical Colors (https://botanicalcolors.com/shop/). Hope this helps!
Thanks a bunch!
Pondering, reflecting, imagining ONE last lovely 4 letter word. That’s a noun. Like word. Also not one of the nestled in the box 90 something. It should name infinity and celebration and creativity. It should sound sensational like music on your tongue. It should be blissful and stupendous. Or perhaps trip or time because we have had a lovely time on this word trip. But perhaps you need to make up a word? Then it can stand for whatever you want.
Dear Sarah -- Your note about nouns made me think of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (it's a theme.) But she talked about how many nouns there are in the English language vs indigenous language, which is predominated by verbs - where things are in the process of becoming, rather than a static object. I'm probably making a mess of her beautiful observation, but your piece reminded me of her. Sorry to miss your talk the other day. Thanks for including the email address. I hope you had a blast.