Lilly Marsh Studios

Not a weaving or textile post but this brought me to tears this morning, on so many levels. This has been the hardest winter of my lifetime (granted, a pretty privileged life) and today is the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring. And there is Yo Yo Ma, an Asian American who has been so generous to us in this country with his music, playing with James Taylor, an New Englander if ever there was. It has taken all of us to get through this time, and all of us are deserving of respect and dignity.... all of us, black, brown, Asian, and white, deserving of our place in the returning sunlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgO7BqAeeYk

Hey, look! Battenkill Fiber Mill and MJ Packer were featured in New York Makers! I weave a lot of MJ's yarns and love them!!

Our continuing series on Elizabeth Zimmermann is on Episode 3, Studio Craft Professionalism and Instituted Identity, just released at Yarns of Yin Hoo. We are discussing Elizabeth's early business efforts, and early attempts at professional exhibition with both the Wisconsin State Fair, and the Wisconsin Designer Craftsman organization. Have a listen and then head to our Ravelry thread for further discussion:-)

Episode 2 is up at Yarns at Yin Hoo Podcast ! In the first episode we situated the state of Mid 20th Century North American knitting as it existed in the publications of the period. It was a different world from today's knitting. Episode 2 introduces Elizabeth and we talk about how her life shaped her work, and how it began to shape us. Join us at the podcast http://www.yarnsatyinhoo.com/ and at Ravelry for the post listening discussion (and the Baby Surprise Knit a Long...!) https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/yarns-at-yin-hoo/4106083

Starting a sheep dog means seeing the instinct is there ....

oh, wow, Ursula Le Guin is one of the primary reasons I am able to be a professional weaver. Back in the early 80s, she gave a talk I heard on PBS through a group called San Francisco City Arts, and her topic was how difficult it was to be a both a working creative professional, and a housewife. She knocked me flat by naming all my struggles in trying to combine raising toddlers and learning a craft, and she said it was exactly her own struggle as a writer. I went from th...inking I was just lazy and unfocused, to understanding how badly we are served by the social and cultural values and expectations of such terms as 'artist' 'craftsman', 'professional' and 'domestic'. As a culture, we like the 'pure' idea of those terms but in truth we all live in a messy, soupy, complex blend of all of them that is the beating heart of our creative, productive work. I never really got into her fiction but her non-fiction and essays are just kick ass. This post has inspired me to pull "A Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination" (2004) and "No Time to Spare: thinking about what matters" (2017) from my shelves for re-reading. "How rich we are in knowledge, and in all that lies around us yet to learn. Billionaires, all of us."

Oh, I'm so disappointed over the my technical difficulties at the Roundtable last night. I could catch just enough of the discussion to hear that it was exactly the kind of thoughtful and knowledgeable conversation on our mutual passion for textiles that I would have loved. Our internet turned to mud...possibly due to the debate traffic on our cable modem? There is serious investigation and upgrading of the internet happening around here this week

Our round table discussion on the value of textiles is coming up on Thursday, 7 pm! Justin Squizzero of The Burrough's Garret (historical weaving), Evee Erb, who combines sculpture, painting and textile work, Tegan Frisino of Comfort Cloth Weaving, and myself will be discussing our work. We represent a rather broad swath of hand made textiles and the discussion should be fascinating. I know the pre-discussion between us has been!! Check out the events page at https://pro...fessionalweaversociety.org/roundtable/ and check out the participants: https://www.theburroughsgarret.com/ http://eveeerb.com/ https://comfortclothweaving.com/ https://lillymarshstudios.com/ See more

An exciting round table discussion on The Value of Textiles is coming up on Thursday, Oct 22 this week!! The four of us will be covering a lot of ground on weaving from our various viewpoints :-) Join us! https://professionalweaversociety.org/roundtable/

I love my work....sett sampling is a little tedious at the best of times but, holy cow, the weaver learns a whole lot from the process. These are are a first batch of sett samples and color play for Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home . They have their own sheep and alpaca, and I'm weaving scarves and blankets for their gallery. Sampling means I'm setting up a short warp, and then modifying it every few inches. I am definitely changing wefts (easy peazy) but also changi...ng structures, beats, color combinations in both warp and weft, and, even re-pegging a dobby chain, or re-threading from a straight draw to a herringbone. But then the samples become little catalogues of detail and effect that are completely specific to this fiber, in this yarn, in this color, and in that structure. David Orland and Ted Bayles' book, Art and Fear, says that you learn how to do your work by doing it. You do the work, and then you let it teach you. I'm happily going to school on these samples :-) BEST BOOK ever, by the way. I've owned at least 10 copies and must have given away my last one, again. Time to rebuy it :-)