Ultimate Birthday Card and/or Virtual Quilt

Every year I attempt to think up something new and different to do on my birthday (which is coming up soon) It is the only day of the year that is a complete sentence and a military command. If you guess, I will send you an ultimate birthday card.
Two years ago, I invited a couple dozen folks to come and make collages. Each person made two 4" x 5" collages--the first depicted their birthday wish for me and the second, their greatest strength. The picture above shows all the collages.


I made color copies of the collages and cut their wishes into warp and their greatest strength became the weft. I wove strength into wishes and arranged the woven blocks into a 20"x 24" virtual quilt which I framed and hung in the entryway to my apartment. Not all, but many of the wishes have come true.

I am waiting for inspiration to strike for this birthday. I will let you know.

Oh yes, I still weave although it has been a while since I have let you into the studio. I seem to be called to the task of cleaning, preparing for a new year---the year of the Rat.

The Gift of a Little Bag

I just cut and pasted the following directly from the "Small Steps" website. Although these are not my words, I feel moved to include them in my blog. A new friend, Sharmila, told about this amazing project, and now I am telling you....

Think about it..

Do you want to make a difference, but do not know how? Do you think that only big steps and big actions can only make a difference?

Think again!

Everyone around us can talk about problems. How many of us can think of solutions? Out of the ones who can talk about solutions, how many of us are ready to take a step forward and execute those solutions?

If you believe that environment needs solutions, and you are ready to join us in this move to clean the environment around us, read on.

Join us in taking simple solutions, join us doing those little things that make a difference...join us in taking ...Small Steps!

So what is the problem?

Every day millions of plastic bags are disposed and destroyed, polluting our environment. Be it for shopping, for carrying our belongings or simply for getting items from the nearby store - we have seemed to live with plastic bags, and cannot do without it. Is there a way out of this mess? Can we do something about it or we keep destroying the environment around us?

A simple solution

Carry a shopping bag always with you...
We have designed a compact little bag for you!

What can a little bag do?

• Every single bag can effectively prevent dumping of 200 throw-away plastic bags.
• Every single bag can provide a meaningful job to women who are empowering themselves.
• Every single bag can educate a whole family about environmental issues.

10 million handmade bags!

• We are making 10 million bags
• Yes, by hand!
• Creating 1000 jobs for 1000 people for 1000 days.

It is not only about making a better world,
It is also about changing ourselves,
Learning new values,
Taking responsibility,
Loving our mother earth.

Go to: www.smallsteps.in
"And get one of these great little bags. Get a dozen. I just love mine! The only thing better than having a little bag is giving a little bag to someone else. It is a perfect gift."
The words in quotes above ARE mine, and I really mean it. Bonnie

First Sign of Spring

In my urban patio setting here in Northwestern USA, it is not too early to find the volunteer hearty Wood Hyacinth getting a jump on the season. Apparently squirrels do not care for their taste as they devoured all of my crocus.

Here are some other volunteers, those big aromatic purpley blue hyacinths. They are not as far along as the wild variety. (also squirrel proof)

Happy Ground Hog Day!
(February 2nd)

Celebrated by the Druids as the festival of the lactating sheep. Herd animals have either given birth to the first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders. It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year. It is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her season to prepare for growth and renewal. Brighid's snake emerges from the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, (the origin of Ground Hog Day), and in many places the first Crocus flowers began to spring forth from the frozen earth.

According to lore, if the groundhog emerges from his burrow on February 2 and sees his shadow, he will be frightened back into his hole, presaging another six weeks of winter. A cloudy day -- and no shadow -- means winter will end early.

The results so far:

Shubnedacadie Sam (Nova Scotia): Spring

Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania): Winter

Wiarton Willie (Ontario): Spring

General Beauregard Lee (Georgia): Spring

Balzac Billy (Alberta): Spring

Buckeye Chuck (Ohio): Spring

Staten Island Chuck (New York state): Spring

Malverne Mel (New York state): Spring

Woody Woodchuck (Michigan): Spring

Ms. G. (Massachusetts): Winter

It was cloudy here when I went out to take the pictures on my patio. I did not see my shadow. I vote for Spring!

Who Wove This?

An important aspect of my textile design education at RISD (which I am only now starting to appreciate) is the weaving had to have a purpose beyond being fun & satisfying. Before the industrial revolution, Handweaving was vital to civilization. Weavers & dyers were revered for their mastery. Now people are more likely to say “Do folks still do that?”

I know I come back to this question time and again. At RISD, we wove to design for the textile industry---not as an end in itself, wove to develop a design sense as a means to earn a living as a part of the huge textile industry. Now fabric production is removed from our sight and pretty much invisible and mysterious to the average person—like milk coming from cartons.

I’ll never forget the day back in the mid 60’s when my cousin Judy came by while I was weaving. She looked at the weaving, looked up at me, then back to the weaving and back at me—and in an incredulous voice, stammered, “This is…CLOTH!” I don’t think she ever realized until that very moment how cloth was created. And I don’t think she was unusual in this.

Even though I strayed from the beaten path---away from New York and industry---to become a studio weaver, my training at RISD haunted me for years. The weaving had to stand for something—had to mean something---exist beyond the finished product---had to support me---bring me fame and fortune (and I don’t know where this came from)---had to be useful, to boot. This is a mighty tall order for a scarf.

Over the years, I have come to realize weaving also has the power to heal a broken spirit and a broken heart. And in healing my spirit, I know the power of weaving to heal-- on many levels.

What you get out of weaving equals what you put into it.
So---What thoughts are you weaving into your cloth?
Do you weave with intention?
Why is it some days nothing seems to go right?
And other days it’s like someone else’s hands are throwing the shuttle.
When you cut a weaving off the loom, do you sometimes look at your weaving in amazement and think, “Who wove this?”

A Day Made---Before I Even Get Dressed

I am pleased as punch to receive this award from Laritza at YorkSett Arts & Crafts! Now I pass it on to ten bloggers who bring me happiness and inspiration.

BUT if you are a hyper busy individual and this award feels like an annoying chain letter, I promise happiness will not be snatched away if you tuck away your award and do nothing more than take a look at my blog and the others who are on the list.

The easiest thing would be to send the award to the very same blogs I sent the "nice award" to some months back because they do make my day. In attempting to expand my circle, know that every blog I subscribe to brings me ever increasing happiness and inspiration. I don't have time right now to give a detailed review of the selected blogs, but I know you will find a little spark in each one . In no particular order, check out the following:

1. Virginia A. Spiegel
2. Textillian
3. NZ flax weaving
4. Pleasant and Delightful
5. Karma-Free Cooking
6. Talking About Weaving
7. Leigh's Fiber Journal
8. Rosemary-go-Round
9. Fiberewetopia
10. Unravelling

Thank you all for making my day!

Best Laid Plans

Yes, today is my First Blogiversary and I planned (only in my mind) to roll out my new improved blog. I do have several new ideas to implement, but they will come in dribs and drabs instead of a big splash. Weaving in general is about structure, and my goal is to add a little structure to Weaving Spirit.

Tomorrow I leave to teach a 3-day workshop on Whidbey Island on Turned Weft Ikat. As I was putting together my show and tell, I unearthed the hanging pictured above. My mother had it hanging in her home for about 20 years and then relegated it to the closet. I came upon it last year when I was helping her clean out said closet. I wove it in 1962 while I was a student at RISD. The assignment was, of course, ikat. My fascination with circles was evident. I easily spent 100 hours tying and untying half inch segments of warp. It was most painful, and I was never pleased with the results. I sure learned a lot though. One of the things I learned is that I didn't ever want to do this process again.

Of course, one should never say never. The memory of those 100 hours was burned into my consciousness, however, and when I returned to ikat in the mid 70's, I had figured out an easier way.

Thank You
I will take a moment here to thank all the people who have visited my blog this past year and the many people brave enough to make a comment. Blogging has brought me more satisfaction than I could have ever imagined. My special thanks to Sara Lamb for mentioning me in her blog in the winter of '06. It was this mention that sent me to her blog (my first blog experience) and the rest is history. I look forward to another year of blogging: the ever widening spiral of creativity .

Picture Fixing

While it is easier in the long run to take pictures with a solid background, most often I find I am snapping a picture like this--on my not too attractive ironing board cover.

This picture is my latest bamboo/cashmere scarf. I delivered it last night to the fellow who last gave me 10 cashmere sweaters.


I have discovered, however, with not too much trouble, I can doctor my pictures. Actually, I quite enjoy the process. It is much like playing a computer game except in the end I have something to show for the hours spent. The picture above is still a work in progress. I believe I can make the edges of the cloth a little smoother.

I am using the program Photoshop Elements 2 (quite an old version). You can now purchase Photoshop Elements 6. Corel puts out a program called Paintshop Pro which is quite similar and actually comes with the newer computers. Here is a site that sells both. The older versions are surprisingly cheap, and even the latest versions aren't very expensive.

I have yet to master "layers" which would make it much easier to alter the backgrounds. I think part of me likes enlarging my picture until each pixel is a 1" colored square and having the power to alter a picture pixel by pixel.

One important tip: Always save the original picture, and do all of your changes onto a copy.
I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences.