Textile Teachers – Knitting
When I was seven, my mom arranged for me to have knitting lessons with an older lady, Mary, who lived up the street. Every Saturday I went at two o’clock for an hour’s… Continue reading
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Family Textiles: A Tale of Two Shawls
It was the best of textiles, it was the worst of textiles, it was the age of silk, it was the age of wool, it was the epoch of respectibility, it was the epoch… Continue reading
Color Switch
I make mostly crib-size quilts. It’s too hard to manipulate big hunks of material through my regular-size machine. I have enough trouble keeping pieces lined up – when I factor in batting and… Continue reading
Another Day, Another Dyestuff
In spite of last year’s drought, we have a lot of plants thriving in the pasture, so I have been trying some natural dyeing. A few weeks ago I tried rudbeckia (or black-eyed… Continue reading
Trial by Fiber, Part Three
Note: It all started with “Paper or plastic?”, didn’t it? Before that, wise minds knew what was best – it was bad to cut down trees, so plastic was the better choice. But… Continue reading
Trial by Fiber, Part Two
Note: Previously, I posted the beginning of the court room drama that plays in my head whenever I start to think about my responsibilities to our environment. I see myself as the harried Defendant, Textile… Continue reading
Trial by Fiber, Part One
Note: Lately I have been doing a lot of reading on our use of resources – in the books The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner by Fred Pearce,… Continue reading
Textile Family Tree
It’s Mother’s Day! I would like to thank and honor the wonderful women who raised and influenced me. My dad’s mother had seven children and something like 37 grandchildren and 73 great-grandchildren. She… Continue reading
Rudbeckia Dye Results
A few days ago I clipped a lot of rudbeckia blooms in hopes of creating a beautiful natural dye. Here’s what I knew about natural dyes: the most common results from dye plants… Continue reading
Back on Track
After a fun month of traveling and having visits from relatives, I am settling back into my usual routine. I’m caught up on the basic chores – the house is all clean, the… Continue reading