Too Hot to Sew, Dreaming of Snow

I've been bemoaning the extreme heat because I have some projects that I want to finish and the thought of covering myself in fabric while sewing is Too Much.

So, while we wait for it to cool off, Piper and I are hunkered down in the one air-conditioned room in the house. This is her, dreaming about traipsing through the snow after a chipmunk, I think. (I tried to capture her funny dream-twitching-and-running, but she got wise to me and woke up.)

Hmong handwork

I bought this pouch when I was traveling through Thailand years ago, and just dug it up while packing/unpacking. Isn't it beautiful? It's all done by hand, too. I remember the women sitting on the deck of this guesthouse where I stayed, dressed all in colorfully-embroidered black with bells sewn on to their hats, sewing by hand all day.

Mushroom Chronicles & Annie Dillard

Two more baby mushrooms have sprouted up next to the one I found yesterday!


"It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get."

                                                                     - from Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Guess Where This Guy Lives?

This morning, when I went to the basement to throw in a load of laundry, I found this little guy growing in front of my washing machine. I found it really funny to have a little mushroom in the basement, though I imagine it's not a very good sign for the house and its foundation.

rain outside the window sounds so nice, and tomorrow brings sun

My wise friend Meg said recently, "You stopped banging your head against a wall, and a window opened up behind you."

YES.

Thank you to whomever opened the window.

Tiny Acorns...(oops -- I mean Pine Cones!)

...at DeCordova on a misty Sunday.

Class & Making

I've been following this for a little while, and chatting with friends about it.

http://www.trueup.net/2011/q-a/fabric-and-diversity/#comments

It's reflective of much, much bigger problems we have as a country, obviously. And, in addition to class, the subject brings in issues of race, gender, age, etc..

I'm interested in thinking about these questions, and also:

Where is our fabric made, and by whom?