I am a taker-on of big projects. You read this blog, you know that. If I’m going to take something on, I don’t want to just taste it; I want the complete experience. It’s an illness, really. Planning such projects is sometimes a stress outlet, which results in some embarrassingly large spreadsheets and some absolutely … More Spirits in Bondage: In Which I Blog About an Obscure Book of Poems
This is a story that begins with a book. N was given this book before she was born, by a knitterly friend of her mother’s. It’s a story about her mouse whose mother knits her a sweater while she waits for her baby sister mouse to be born. The prose is lilting and winsome, and… … More One Book, Two Sweaters
The last few inches of my handspun Lothlorien were completed while watching, for the third or fourth time, all the most obscure DVD extras on the LotR:FotR:EE. Not for the first time, I think to myself that the Lord of the Rings Films are, to a slice of my generation, our equivalent of Star Wars. … More Not Idly Do the Leaves of Lorien Fall
Fox fur is great for trim, and there’s the occasional use of rabbit, or even polar bear, if you are either a hardcore adventurer or made of money. However, the real meat (so to speak) of Inuit sewing-with-skins is done with seal skin. I’ve been longing to try sewing with sealskin for a while, so at … More Seal Skins, Staples, and Sartorial Oscillation: Inuit Arts and Me, Part 3
I didn’t make an amauti last year, but I bought two used ones. One is for spring or fall, and one is for winter. I got the winter one for a great deal at a yard sale; it’s traditional white, has two layers, and genuine oil stains from fixing a snowmobile. It’s kinda big on … More Never Say Never to Nylon: Inuit Arts and Me, Part 2
When we moved north north north a year ago, I was so excited to be moving somewhere that handcrafts were a big deal. To this day, I’m grateful that my knitterly preoccupations fit right into my otherwise very different environment. And I was willing – nay, eager – to adapt further to the landscape, and … More Fine Fox Fur Fuzz Feels Fabulous: Inuit Arts and Me, Part 1
I do miss my trees, most of all during fall. The season of turning leaves reminds me, every year, that there is no way to freeze a moment of perfection, no ownership of beauty, and all things are passing away. But up here, the warm seasons are all so short that I still have seasonal access … More Fall Colours
The race to the Olympic finish was something else. I paced myself carefully those last few days, pulling a couple very late nights to meet a benchmark for the day. The real risk, at the very end, was running out of dark brown. I had decided to do the full length on the bottom hem, … More BrownSands and Ravellenic Gold
It’s all over. The dash to the finish line was a crazy one, and I want to tell you all about it after we have a proper photo shoot. While BrownSands is blocking, though, let’s talk about sports. Because I have been watching a lot of sports. I caught medal events in athletics, badminton, basketball, … More On Sports Metaphors and the It Factor
Just a quick progress update, no time to comment, ‘cuz it’s day 15 and I’ve still got a fair clip to go. The long, placid, enjoyable slog through the body was my weekdays this week. I had finished the body and divided off for the pockets in what seemed like good time, but for whatever, … More No Time, Must Knit
Osborn Fiber Studio 