Post #2074: Dear World…..

Posted on November 15, 2015 by

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I went away to meditate for seven days, and in his remarks closing the retreat, our teacher Norman Fischer said “Kindness is the only response that makes any sense”. And then we emerged from that silence by the lake to find a world the same as we left it, torn apart by violence and riddled with fear. But also still a world that contains the possibility for change, and a hope that we can do better. Since coming home on Friday I have felt that growing in me, an impossible shoot coming up through the cracks on the concrete – a steady and flowering need to do something positive in this suffering world.

And so I will. I will do what I can in this world right now to meet life with an open heart. I’m not entirely sure what that looks like yet – but as I figure it out I’ll post more here.

Category: Me

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Wondering about the dress? It's not quite finished - still needs some details inside and hemming, but I anticipate being done by Sunday.
From underneath the loom. Four of eight towels woven, with pretty consistent warp composition so far (no loose threads or sections, no breakage).
I *had* decided not to make a new dress for my birthday party next weekend, instead wearing one of the many me-made dresses I already own. But somehow I've found my way to cutting out the #sauviesundress pattern and laid it onto some beautiful Japanese fabric from my stash.
The second sock is well underway but not going nearly as fast as the first one. I would like to get this done by my birthday, which is in two weeks, so I need to get my stitches in!
Eight yards of neutral pallette to weave in grey and charcoal. Huck spot patterning is a very meditative weave. This suits my January state of being just fine.
Wound on and ready to weave.
Spent this afternoon threading my loom, and it's all done. Now I just need to wind on and tie up the treadles, which I plan to do tomorrow. I didn't get a photo, so instead, here is a picture of the ramen I made for dinner.
I rescued this yarn over a year ago from a free pile at a house that was being emptied for renovation by a man whose mother had died a few years previous. She had been a spinner and knitter in her lifetime, and there were boxes of bits and pieces from her lifetime as a maker. I matched as many of the hand spun skeins as I could and brought it home, putting it in the deep freeze immediately (which I always do with found/donated yarn - to kill any bugs or bug eggs).
This week has seen a bit more music making than textiles. We are currently hosting Caroline Mark as our songwriter-in-residence at Birdsong, which has inspired a bit more practicing as I get ready for some musical gatherings in the near future.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, our recycling center store is open on Gabriola. I try to go once a week or so to see what garment suitable fabric might be lurking in the back bins. Often, it's just a lot of weird synthetics and furniture upholstery (like today), but I have made several pieces of clothing from thrifted fabrics. There is nothing more pleasing to me than a $2 dress made from beautiful natural linen.
Forty of 240 threads in the heddles.
Today has been a bit of a writing day, between finishing some workplace writing and starting to put my newsletter essay together for the end of the month. I also posted a talk I gave to my Zen community in September to my blog at Red-cedar.ca

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