On making magic carpets: the Longthread podcast

On making magic carpets: the Longthread podcast

Way back when my book was brand new, so sometime in early 2021 most likely, Longthread media recorded a podcast interview with me. They re-released it this week and I had a listen in the car a few days ago. It is always reassuring to find that you sound reasonably intelligent and like you know something about your subject. While I do know a lot about tapestry weaving and my own history and I suppose I am of at least average intelligence, giving interviews does often lead me to wish I’d had a little more sparkly brilliance somehow or at least remembered to say something I forgot to mention. That feeling of regret can be pretty strong. But in this case, the interviewer was excellent and the resulting chat I had with Anne Merrow is fun to listen to.

Bhakti Ziek, A Tenuous Thread

Bhakti Ziek, A Tenuous Thread

I had the great joy of seeing Bhakti Ziek’s show at Form & Concept Gallery in Santa Fe this week. The show is a retrospective of over 50 years of her weaving life.

Bhakti’s work is full of narrative. The large installation piece that anchors the show, Wheel of Life: The Passing on of Knowledge was her thesis project at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1989. The work uses various dye techniques and a lampas structure. Each panel is 44 x 33.5 inches. There are many stories behind this work including a reference to her father who was a cello player. The piece’s main narrative about Christian monks in 552 AD who relieved China of some of their silkworms by hiding them in their hollow walking sticks thus ending China’s silk supremacy. The story of this work has a spy-thriller feel to it.

The biggest leap I ever took

The biggest leap I ever took

Ten years ago I left my job as an occupational therapist to be a full time artist and fiber art teacher. In that moment I didn’t know I wouldn’t return to healthcare. All I knew was that the job I thought was my perfect forever-job (pediatric outpatient OT), was ruled by a boss and a system I couldn’t stomach any more. I had only been at that job a year though it was my 17th year working as an OT.

The Mirrix Chloe loom. A review.

The Mirrix Chloe loom. A review.

I’ve been playing with the new Mirrix Chloe loom for several months now and I’ve had a lot of people asking me about it in my online courses and on social media. The Chloe loom is the new version of the Saffron Pocket Loom. The Saffron came out with in 2020 and I reviewed it HERE.

The Chloe loom uses the square bars that are standard on Mirrix’s bigger looms for a lap-sized loom with one tensioning bar in the middle.

I use the Saffron loom a lot for samples and teaching and honestly, I didn’t see any need at all for a new version of this loom, but I will admit to all of you, that…

The beauty of online learning demonstrated by a duck named Marty | Zollie

The beauty of online learning demonstrated by a duck named Marty | Zollie

I like learning new fiber skills. Sure, I made granny square afghans like all geeky kids in the 1980s, but I hadn’t crocheted much of anything since. Then Gist Yarn’s amazing team started a sister brand Zollie and I wanted to try one of their kits. Marty the duck was the one for me!

I knit a lot and I’m used to following patterns and of course searching YouTube for whatever weird abbreviation or odd stitch someone is asking for. Since my crocheting was rusty, I was off to a questionable start when one of the first skills was to make a magic ring. But then I realized I was not alone. This kit is not only gorgeous, it is not simply a kit. It is an online class that comes with all the materials and tools needed. As a maker of online courses, this presentation of a class seems like a genius idea.

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Spinning for tapestry weaving: Moreno and Mezoff

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Spinning for tapestry weaving: Moreno and Mezoff

Moreno and Mezoff. I think we might be a force to be reckoned with!

Jillian Moreno is so many things, but one of her outstanding skills is her teaching ability. She is an author, editor, creative, and someone who makes things happen. She wrote Yarnitecture but did you know she also wrote two books about knitting before that? She has so many tricks up her sleeve for helping newer spinners make the yarns they want to make.

This week we experienced that magic at a retreat she and I taught together in Taos, NM which we called Spinning for Tapestry. We played with different breeds, ways of spinning and plying, and color as we made some excellent and not so excellent tapestry yarns.

The participants came from all over the US and Canada and we greatly enjoyed our time at Mabel Dodge Luhan House. I’m quite sure we all went home a few pounds heavier and happier from the marvelous food.