This and That…

I’ve spent the better part of the last week nesting so to speak.  I’m back from my summer teaching intensives, and vacation, I’ve packed my freezer to overflowing with processed produce from the gardens my husband created this year.  I’ve cooked and cleaned, and organized and tidied, and tackled paperwork and feel like I’ve generally almost caught up with life.  I spent a couple days updating my sister, the architect’s, website, which I designed and maintain.  I love working on her site, because the projects she does are so far beyond anything I can ever imagine, and many of the before and after shots are pretty remarkable.  I’d like to live in the closet in one of her New Homes.  Sigh.  Yesterday afternoon I tackled a stack of paperwork, bills, and such that reached nine inches high.  The one big task I have left is updating the schedule on my website, which looks surprisingly thin, with only two entries, but much of the next couple year’s worth of teaching venues has come in in the last month or so, and not everything is set or contracted, so there is always the hesitation about committing something to print when it isn’t completely final.  But posting the tentative schedule allows groups to piggyback when appropriate, and that is the heart and soul of what I do.  I hope to have that up to date this week.

One of the things on my list to do was to give a mention to something that is close to my heart.  I don’t normally recommend books, magazines, articles, etc. unless I’m directly involved since I don’t want my readers to think I’m guilty of the grand sales pitch.  I write this column because it amuses me and gives me a voice to things I care about, and I accept no advertising and want to keep it that way.  God knows there are constant requests in my emails for such things.

One of my guild members, Sherrie Miller, whom I’m particularly fond of, approached me a year or so ago, with an idea.  Sherrie was one of my stable of weavers when I wrote the forecast column for Handwoven Magazine.  She is so energetic and talented and her show and tells during the guild meetings are always fascinating and entertaining.  Sherrie was interested in writing a book about some of her adventures as a weaver, she had hired an illustrator, and would I consider looking over the manuscript and if I liked it, would I consider writing a forward.  It took a lot of guts to ask, I’m sure, and I gave her huge credit for even considering to approach me.  The dilemma for me with such things, is how to gracefully decline when I don’t think something is fantastic.  I agreed to look it over, not sure what to expect.  I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing for a very long time, and much like judging a guild show or fiber exhibition, there isn’t a lot I haven’t seen.

Well, I was completely surprised, in the most pleasant way, and adored this little book.  Sherrie is thoughtful and funny, and just about every entry had me laughing and looking at my own studio and projects and  stash and memories of things gone wrong in a light-hearted and refreshing way.  I did write a forward to the book and meant every word of it.  And excerpt appears on the back cover.

“A romp of a good read…I smiled throughout the entire book.  Finding a good storyteller that grabs the passion of handweaving and tells stories in such a personal and spirited way makes Confessions of a Weaver a jewel in every weaver’s library.  Confessions of a Weaver is the kind of book you curl up with in the afternoon, with a warm cup of tea, the cat in your lap, and baskets of colorful yarn at your side.” 

Sherrie has a website specifically for the book but when I checked this morning it seemed to have too many hits and wasn’t working properly.  The book is available on Amazon, for less than $10, and to my great delight, available for the Kindle for $2.99.  What’s not to love!  I noticed there were only 9 copies left on Amazon with more to come.  I’m thrilled for Sherrie.

And so, now I’m to the point in my studio that I need to buckle down and accomplish something.  I have two panels of a felted jacket that need felted sleeves and bands, I have a couple of sewing projects in their infancy, one from the leather I bought last April in my NYC buying trip, and I have five of my seven looms that need to be cleared.  The other two are waiting to be warped.  And whatever I can make between now and the second weekend in November with my huge attic stash of handwoven scraps can be sold at the Jockey Hollow Guild Sale.  I have my work cut out for me and this is where I sometimes get unfocused and don’t accomplish anything.  All projects and deadlines at this point are self imposed and that means I can start anywhere I want and sometimes I don’t really know where to begin.  Yesterday I cleaned and dusted the studio.  That seemed like as good a place to start…

Stay tuned…