Dollop of Doily

Hey, folks! Pride month is here, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to promote the custom name and pronoun buttons I make. =]

I opened my little shop in late 2015 because I was having trouble getting misgendered myself, so I started making these buttons and I've made thousands of name and pronoun buttons for folks since. It's so cool to have been even just a tiny part of so many people's journeys like that. I've even got over 100(!) different pride flags made in the Painted style, too, so whatever your flag I've got you covered.

Every year, California’s largest sheep and fiber festival, Lambtown, takes place in Dixon, CA. On the second day of Lambtown, teams of eight compete in a “sheep to shawl” competition, where the teams must start the day with un-spun wool and end the day with a 72” woven shawl. Teams may “warp” a loom ahead of time (where you thread the loom with its foundation of parallel threads), but on the day of competition they must spin their wool into yarn and weave it into a complete shawl.

This year competition was stiff, and very very close, and the winning team finished their shawl with two and a half minutes to spare.

I frequently hear about “needing to keep “politics” out of fiber arts, but art is inherently political.

These were beautiful, masterfully spun, woven, and finished shawls and that in itself is worthy of note.

But watching this team of eight would fight for hours, and pour their love for their community into their art was deeply moving and I am still reveling in the opportunity to have seen this win.

Lark and Bower / Sarah Ward - 2020

During lock down, without a loom or studio, she started stitching small woven patterns by hand, using leftover yarn and a lot patience. What began as a way to keep going became a way of working.

Now, even with her full studio back, she still creates these tiny, time-consuming pieces. They're not made to be worn or sold fast, they're made to be seen, to remind us that weaving is an art, not just something for clothes. She uses waste yarn, old stock, and plant fibers to avoid adding more to the pile of fast fashion.

Posting this here since the author gave permission to give it away for free but the only place I can find it on is scribd which requires a free trial/subscription.