harvesting & processing 🍃

cheap & cheerful activities

• Visiting a new-to-me public library. This one has a “Library of Things” and one of the “things” you can check out is a kayak! (Turns out you can also borrow a kayak through my local library which I did not know until today!)

• $5 Tuesdays at the local cinema. They even have recliners!! The A/C was pumping, the popcorn was oh-so-salty — a dream 😇.

• Hanging at the “public pool” (a portion of the Green River they flood seasonally for swimming & have done since 1930!) with my friend and her kiddos 🌊.

• Riding my bike very slowly to get an ice cream cone 🍦

• Wrapping my neck in a bandana with ice cubes in it. Word of warning, though — this seems to sometimes (temporarily?) stain the clothing underneath it? Maybe it’s my sunscreen getting involved?

• Taking any/all classes at the YMCA. Even when they’re doing HVAC repairs, they still keep it nice & cool in there, praise be.

• Using the library’s free museum passes to go to Mass MoCA :) — We found a new portion of the Laurie Anderson exhibit and it was so unhinged. Highly recommend!

wearing

As you can see, I’ve been pretty fixated on “fairy camo” (my working title for this flower dyeing project I’m deep in right now, with big thanks to Nicole for suggesting the name!). I have a lot more to say about the process and what inspired it, but for now, this is how I’ve been dressed lately — fairy camo, Josh’s Gramiccis, my thrifted dad sandals + these socks and perhaps my favorite addition to my wardrobe so far this year, this $5 necklace from a garage sale.

reading

Bluets - Maggie Nelson — Maggie Nelson is one of my favorite authors of all time. Reading Bluets out loud with a group was a highlight of my summer :)

Girl’s Girl - Sonia Feldman — Sometimes an author’s language lights up my brain in new ways, Sonia’s did that for me. This was such a nostalgic (Sims!) and honest look at that young, queer porousness of friendship/desire/love/lust, but written with the benefit of hindsight, so it felt mature. I really, really liked it and I think you should read it, too :)

Slow Productivity - Cal Newport — A great listen while I sewed! The TL,DR is: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, obsess over quality. Worth the read to see how he illustrates & deepens those concepts, though.

Cherry Baby - Rainbow Rowell — This was the first non-YA Rainbow Rowell novel I’ve read. The perspective felt really raw (in a good way), but the character’s romantic choices kind of stumped me? Or we learn that she was sort of an unreliable narrator to begin with? Fun read, good writing (as always from Rainbow Rowell), slightly frustrating. Would still recommend.

Down to Earth - Julia Turshen — The premise was promising (queer romance between a bougie NYC mom & an upstate farmer), but I needed more — more depth, more from the language, etc. Still, I’m never mad I picked up queer lit 😇

I’ll leave you with these pictures of these precious babes, Sky & Bea, who we got to visit in person recently! :,)

I recognize summer’s merits — the produce is unparalleled, the flowers are out of this world. People are out and about with smiles on their sleepy, sun-kissed faces. It feels like a months-long celebration, and I take so much pleasure in seeing how much other people love summer. But for me, it’s physically challenging — heat flares my chronic conditions and I often need to be indoors on those peak summer days. So in an effort to make the most of it while honoring my body’s limitations, I’m doing what I always do — finding my way with textiles 😇 .

I’ve been wanting to sew more complicated garments for years, but I’ve been procrastinating. In fact, this year I avoided garment sewing by working on literally anything else (I even went as far as learning how to upholster a whole Victorian chair, you’ll recall). But something came unstuck around the solstice, and I finally got down to business. I gathered my inspiration and materials and got to work.

With each of these projects, I’ve gotten a little more confident and a little less grouchy about the process. I’m learning when I can cut corners to save energy (e.g., just cut the pattern out without tracing it first! It’s fine!). I’m letting myself get creative when I make mistakes, and in so doing, finding a new level of self-compassion, and so far, I don’t think the results are suffering :)

what I’ve made so far

My first button down
Pattern used: Paper Theory Agnes PJ top
Skills built: buttonholes, collar

I’ve been wanting to sew a button down for years, but I kept dragging my feet. I used a pattern I already had printed, even though I wasn’t super excited about some of the design details (namely the batwing/grown-on sleeve). I used Merchant & Mills linen I bought a few years ago for my birthday, and ended up getting matching cotton buttons to match (I love them!). I’ve ended up loving the shape and fit of this! The linen is drapey enough that the sleeves look perfectly nice. An educational project and a pleasure to wear.

Matching shorts for my PJ top
Pattern used: Matchy Matchy Sewing Club Weekend Chore Shorts
Skills built: practicing cutting crossgrain (I ran out of fabric lol) & patchworking the pattern pieces, making drawstring casing (really just buttonholes)

My original plan was to just make the matching shorts for the Agnes PJs (since I also already have that printed & have made it about 4 times), but I didn’t have enough fabric. Instead, I used the Matchy Matchy pattern because it’s designed to be cut from a patchwork of many panels. Even still, I had to cut on the crossgrain & omit the back pockets to eek this out. I enjoyed this sew a lot! The pattern came with printed labels for each of the pieces, a real pro move that made putting it together a lot more seamless (errr.. seam-full? but straightforward). So far they’ve been super comfortable, the rise & inseam are exactly my preferences.

An Apron Dress
Pattern used: Tessuti Romy Top
Skills built: overall-style straps “epaulets”(?), practicing bust darts

At first I thought I was making a top with a deep hem, but then I cut a dress and really liked the shape of it, so I decided to leave the hem raw (couldn’t afford to lose the length, and I liked how it made the dress feel less precious) with just a straight stitch to keep it from fraying toooo far. I found the buttons in my Oma’s stash which has made it feel extra special. I’ve worn it a ton so far and I love the way it fits.

A dupe of my trusty If Only If nightgown
Pattern used: Olive Flora Dress
Skills built: using a rolled hem foot (I finally bought one of these - worth it!), creating a channel for a drawstring from bias tape, making self fabric cording

My original nightgown was a Christmas gift in 2023 & I’ve worn it to death, so I sourced some voile from our local fabric shop & got to work. I traced just the bust area (neckline & raglan sleeves) from the pattern and eyeballed the rest. Instead of finishing the neckline with bias tape, I hemmed it with the rolled hem foot and then made a channel about an inch down from there for the cording. I finished the sleeves with bias binding because I got overwhelmed by trying to smock it like the original (though my sewing machine seems capable of this, which is cool!). Another one I’ve loved wearing and have already managed to stain — such is the fate for all my whites, I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pants for dance camp!
Pattern used: Thread + Sprout Dance Pants
Skills built: altering a pattern (lowering the rise & lengthening the inseam)

These pants were a bit more voluminous than I wanted, so when I was between sizes, I took the lower of them, and took out 2 inches from the rise (which meant I needed more inseam, so I added 4 inches there). I didn’t have enough fabric for this lying around, so I used a 10 year old IKEA duvet, saying “this will just be a toile”. Much to my surprise (as evidenced by the barely finished seams, I used pinking shears because I wasn’t even expecting these to be remotely wearable), I loved the fit. The one thing I didn’t take into account during my pattern modifications was how to adjust the pocket location with the rise adjustment, so I just omitted them. Next time, with nicer fabric, I’ll try to figure that out. And I’ll add a drawstring! I also dyed these with flowers I grew in my yard! I have so much more to say about this, but I’ll save it for another missive :)

A beach coverup from a tablecloth
Pattern Used: Fold-back Collar Dress from Zero Waste patterns: 20 projects to sew your own wardrobe - Birgitta Helmersson
Skills built: practicing zero waste pattern cutting, buttonholes, binding hems.

I have so much respect for how clever Birgitta’s designs are and her commitment to zero waste pattern-making. For me, this was more of a process than outcome project. I initially wanted to use this tablecloth for a Carleen-inspired short sleeve button down but I couldn’t make sense of how the pattern pieces should be laid out. It was really interesting to cut and assemble a pattern in the zero waste methodology. I made some small adjustments to make the garment more wearble for me (like adding some little pleats to the sleeves so they weren’t straight rectangles).

Dana’s Nana’s Towel Coverup
Pattern used: As implied - Dana’s nana is responsible for this brilliant idea. :,)
Skills built: sewing with towels!

In the queue

• Rose Raglan Button Up

  • Currently cutting: a toile from the same poplin as my apron dress

  • Once I get the fit right, a final edit from this gorgeous striped fabric (a word to the wise: ships from France & may have some duties to be paid — whoops!)

• A Francli Craftwear-inspired “ditty bag” from the oilskin leftover from my wool-stuffed vest. Mine will not be nearly as beautiful as theirs, but the concept feels very applicable to my life (ie throw a bunch of crap in a bag & take it to the river)

• More Romy tops/dresses made from vintage tablecloths (see moodboard)

• BF Parker Pants? (need to buy some poplin for this)

Now that we’ve broken the seal, who’s to say what will happen? Stay tuned…. :-)

First, a humble request — my dear friend, Norma Jean, was very recently in a tragic accident. Norma is, in short, the most magical being I’ve ever met. If you feel called, would you consider contributing to this fund for her medical expenses? We are connected through the net we are making to hold her in this crucial time. I love you, thank you.

worn in June

read in June

A Brain that Breathes - Jodi Wilson — I’ve been craving more perspectives on our relationships with technology/stress/our bodies/the world. Most of the content felt fairly self-explanatory to me (stare out the window more, take mindful breaths and pauses, etc), but I valued the Wilson’s specific perspective.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? - Dr. Julie Smith — Clearly on a bit of a self-help kick right now, this is (I think) intended as a tool kit for times when you perhaps can’t access a therapist. I appreciate the author’s framing of “low mood” as something that we inevitably experience sometimes, and her acknowledgment that just “thinking positively” is hollow advice.

Upward Bound - Woody Brown — This was written by the first nonspeaking autistic person to graduate from UCLA. I was completely taken with it. I then read some of the discourse about it online and felt very confused/sad/naive. I don’t know if Woody’s mom is ultimately responsible for writing it, but everything about the book itself has stuck with me and made me question my understanding of language and communication, and that feels like a good thing.

Leave Your Mess At Home - Tolani Akinola — I love a family drama with character growth and resolution! There were some heavy topics in this one, but they were handled with care, and the prose felt smart and fun to read.

Rules for Ghosting - Shelly Jay Shore — This quote from Anita Kelly on the book jacket was what sold me: “Part romance, part ghost story, part Jewish family epic…”, obviously I devoured this & loved it.

The last three books I picked up from the librarian recommendations when I was picking up other holds, what a joy! Deep appreciation for librarians 🙇

A final thought: Maybe we can all listen to Norma’s music wherever we are and beam her all our breath and love and hope and grit? May she be held <3

Around the time Flora started following us on our nightly walk around the block, we also made our yearly pilgrimage to Brimfield. We woke up at 4:30am to arrive by sunrise, and made our bleary-eyed way through the fields. We never find what we’re looking for at Brimfield, but I’m starting to see that as its magic. The right things find you if you’re paying attention. We came home with postcards of 1800s Greenfield, fabric, trims, and a spectacular glass beaded purse. Josh also wandered off and secretly bought me an abstract silver brooch I’d been eyeing earlier in the day :,)

Flora found us exactly one year after I left a job that burnt me out. A meaningless detail, perhaps, but I think it speaks to something deeper. One year ago, I took a big leap towards meeting my needs, clarifying my desires, and honoring my boundaries. I stopped muscling through things just because I could. I started making space for my own desires instead of shrinking them to seem flexible. I’ve had enough practice since then to discern my desires from expectations (my own and those of others), and I keep practicing. I’m grateful Flora found us when she did, and whoever becomes her long term home is a very lucky family.

working on

I finished my upholstered Victorian chair! After working on it for so many weeks, it’s hard to see it with the fresh eyes I feel it deserves, but I’m pleased to have finished it, and it’s very comfortable to sit on :) I’m working on a matching ottoman as well because there was a crumbling one up for grabs at the upholstery school.

I also finished my wool-stuffed cotton oilskin vest (finally)! This is another one of those projects where the critical part of my brain says, “well, that’s just a vest…?” & I struggle to give it the credit it deserves. It was many years in the making and involved procuring a sheep’s fleece and processing it by hand to create wool batting & then self-drafting a vest pattern. Was it worth it?! Hard to say, but I did learn a lot!

We painted the built-in unit our friend Nick made for us! Now I need to either upholster the top or sew cushions that can be removed — I’m undecided on which to choose — upholstering feels more durable (and less prone to shifting around) but cushions would be easier to change up if we got tired of the fabric choice. What do you think I should do?

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My dear friends Nicole & Christian celebrated their 15th anniversary this month! I had the best time celebrating with them. As a nod toward Nicole’s love of horses, I made this throw pillow replica of a penny square from a 1911 patchwork we found at Brimfield a few years ago (see? Brimfield working its unpredictable magic once again).

what I wore in May

I didn’t manage to get clear pics of the outfit, but I wore my wedding suit that Cara Marie Piazza overdyed with our dried wedding flowers, to Christian & Nicole’s party! At the last minute, I sewed up a little navy bra top like the one I made for my wedding, out of scraps from a dress I made in 2023.

yard update

We installed shade cloths! They’re working! The pergola area is 100% nicer to sit & eat lunch in :) We got all our seeds and starts in the ground (and in pots) before the end of May! Hard to know what will flower/fruit/etc, but crossing fingers for many bouquets of flowers :)

reading

The Vacationers - Emma Straub — Easy listening while I sewed!

Tart - Slutty Chef — I listened to this after learning it was narrated by Charly Clive (Katie in the show “Rooster”, which is the only show I’ve watched recently), but this was not nearly as juicy as it could (should?) have been, given that it was written anonymously, lol.

American Fantasy - Emma Straub — I hate to say it, but I didn’t like this one! Maybe you will if you really like boy bands? Or cruises? Idk, she kinda lost me with this.

Yesteryear - Caro Claire Burke — I was expecting to read this buzzy book like 1 year after it came out, but the interlibrary loan gods were on my side! I tore through it and had many thoughts which I promptly voice memo-ed to friends who had already finished it. A book written for exactly my demographic.

A Year in Creative Practice - Jacqueline Suskin — I typically keep this on my beside table and I find myself referencing it most at seasonal inflection points, so I was really drawn to it around the equinox. I find this text so relevant no matter when I pick it up. It’s reassuring, concrete, and compassionate. One of those I’d recommend to anyone looking to cultivate more care & curiosity around their creative practice.

The Prince and the Dressmaker — Jen Wang — Extremely touching genderqueer YA graphic novel, highly recommend :,)

That’s all from me for now! I’d love to know, what are you growing/reading/making/wearing?

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What I’m getting at is that I can finally feel some momentum gathering. I’m optimistic that this is the summer I finally start sewing some real clothes (read: button downs and maybe even branching out to knit fabrics, using actual sewing patterns). I won’t get ahead of myself, though. For now, here are all the little projects I worked on in April.

Daydreaming about

Maintaining and improving our land come withs high highs and looooow lows. When it works, it’s amazing, but most of the time I feel way out of my depth. I’m trying to stay open to how it all unfolds, and be gentle with myself about all the physical labor it requires (that I can’t always muster). This year I plan to install a shade cloth on the pergola because our yard has almost no shade in the summer, and we’re even planning to attempt a really basic outdoor (cold) shower setup this weekend (pray for us, y’all hahaha).

Dressing “well” in the summer is truly a mystery to me, especially when it’s 80° & 80% humidity, but I’m going to keep at it! This year, I’m hoping to sew more structured pieces like button-ups, and some floaty linen things that barely skim the body.

I’m a longtime fan of Merchant and Mills, and I recently picked up their publication “House” which is so inspiring. We’re considering splurging on some of their beautiful linens to make soft toppers for our couch, roman blinds, and cafe curtains. But how in the heck do you decide (see the swatches we bought below)?! They’re all so beautiful.

That’s all I’ve got for ya for now — hopefully next time I’ll have finished the chair (?!? trying not to jinx this) & gotten a better moodboard/plan together for some slightly more ambitious summer sewing :).

But during one of my Classic Summer Colds last year, I laid in bed yearning for access to a more physical creative practice while my body refused anything but horizontal rest. One thing led to another and a fugue state few weeks later I had cataloged more or less my entire wardrobe, including shoes, accessories, and bags — a whopping 200+ items1.

I digitally cataloged my wardrobe because I hoped it would spark creativity. I hoped it would help me remember the clothing I couldn’t see due to small closets and seasonal storage. I also just wanted to try something I hadn’t tried before. Some 8 months later, I’m here to say that while it didn’t change my life in any radical way2, it is surprisingly fun & really quite useful. I personally use Indyx (ofc, not sponsored, use whatever app you like!), and there’s a lot I like about it.

The ‘Selfie Calendar’ — this feature3 was so motivating for the first couple of months (see the month of September below). I wanted to see all those little rectangles full of Tiny Me in my little outfits! The effectiveness of this wore off with the novelty, but it’s still very enjoyable when I remember to do it.

Planning outfits for travel — as someone who has always loved planning outfits for trips, this feature delights me. From weekend jaunts to a 5-week cross-country trip, I’ve used the packing feature to create outfits. It automatically produces a check-off-able packing list, which is pretty neat.

The ability to jot down a little note — you know how you whip out your Notes app when you need to jot down an idea you don’t want to forget? This is how I feel when I think of a (possibly) Really Good Outfit & I quickly whip it up in Indyx. You still have to see the outfit on the body to really know if it’ll work, but the quick & dirty ‘paper doll’ of it all is so satisfying, and often leaves me thinking of novel combinations of things I already own.

Clearly this was made by data nerds — My inner data analyst shudders to admit that I do not take full advantage of the analytics capability of Indyx. BUT it truly delights me to see how much the makers of this app care about data integrity. Want to know the cost per wear of your item? The breakdown % of colors you buy vs wear, how often you’ve worn your clothes? They have all that & more. tips hat in data analyst 🎩 🤏

The paper doll of it all — I gotta hand it to the Indyx UI team. It’s just a slick interface. The background remover is scary good, and my inner child loves seeing outfits laid out just like ye olde paper dolls.

Playing around with my virtual wardrobe is, simply, fun. I delight in finding all the possible permutations of a set of tops/bottoms/accessories. I see so much potential in weird little accents & details, especially brooches (hat tip to ,4 whose Brooch Agenda fundamentally reshaped my brain, and whose styling services were the reason I tried Indyx at all!).

Just for fun — here are some outfits I wore & remembered to catalog!

Winter/Spring

Summer/ Autumn

And here’s what I’ve worn in April so far!

If you’re a lil freak like me & you want to see the literal entire contents of my wardrobe5, you can check it out here. 🙇

By March, I’m compelled to pull out our “Seasonal Clean Checklist”, but then I inevitably become daunted by it. The clean involves taking everything out of every drawer, then cleaning and organizing inside. It takes a while, but we find that it’s worth it, and we’re getting more efficient as the years go on. This fact doesn’t make it any less irritating to me, though. Spring stirs something up in me, and I feel an urgency to have Made The House Nice By Now! Why don’t we have curtains, or good light fixtures, or a nice big rug, should we paint things?? I struggle to know where to start.

So I write it all down. I end up repeating myself in lists— in my Notes App, in Notion, on whiteboards. It is, admittedly, an inefficient process but I find (at least in hindsight) I do make progress on the good ideas (albeit slower than I’d like). I flounder around for a few days weeks, but crucially I keep working on a familiar project — a sock, a patchwork, something that gives me a sense of purpose and outcome, that doesn’t require me to make any big decisions or go out and buy materials or tools. This is what keeps me from going (fully) off the rails.

By now, I’ve abandoned some projects, and completed others that initially daunted me. I’ve picked up projects that have been half-baked for years and swiftly completed them. I’ve started seeds with a hopeful heart. I’ve opened the windows to let in the (still frigid) air. I’ve danced around the kitchen while I put the dishes away and noticed that we have, in fact, made some progress.

If only I could remember this each year…

what I’m working on

I’m taking an upholstery class! I’m working on this Victorian chair that they had on hand at the arts center. The plan is to cover it in a pink velvet (ooh la la), but there are many steps before the final fabric is applied. I’m having a great time — upholstery feels like it shares vocabulary with other textile work (for example, some weaving and blanket stitching), but it’s more architectural. Also, have you ever just seen the guts of a chair? Blew my mind!

I’m learning intarsia. I initially started with this Degen vest, but could not for the life of me figure it out (advice/help very much welcome!!). Instead, I’m working on this bonnet for a friend and it has been such a balm to work on :)

My redwork embroidery obsession continues. These doodles (heavily inspired by a journal I have from Middle Dune) symbolize luck, progress, silliness, and grit. They’re destined for a journal cover.

I made this scrappy cover for a $7.99 photo album to fill with 4x6 pictures from our wedding. Someday I’d like to print fancy framed pictures, but for now, this felt like a good step.

I’ve been avoiding working on these socks for over a year, perhaps my deepest affliction of Second Sock Syndrome yet, but on a flight where I ran out of other projects, I finally got down to business. I’ve been daydreaming about the frilly purple with my orange clogs for well over a year but then we found these $5.99 fish sandals at the thrift and maybe that was their true calling.

I found this backpack 10 years ago at the tip (the dump) in Hobart. It’s had a hole in the side for years that I’ve managed with tape/safety pins/weird little patches. I finally decided to patch it correctly by replacing the panel that busted. I used Baggu fabric from a tent we had that broke a couple of years ago. I also made my own Baggu-style bag out of the same fabric using this video tutorial as a guide (though I skipped the stuff pocket because I never use the stuff sack anyway).

Josh and I found this incredible stack of antique embroidery at the Sturbridge Textile Show in 2023. The hand of whoever made this was so uncanny, so funny, so bizarre. It’s been in a closet this whole time because it felt too precious to mess up. But while I was sick last month I spent a lot of time thinking about household improvements and suddenly I thought — what about those as a curtain?! So I got to work sewing them together with scraps from our talented friend, Chinatsu’s, indigo work. These “squares” were so wonky that the project ended up being an exercise in accepting inaccurate seams (and at some point, even relishing the opportunity to say ‘who cares?! there’s no use lining it up anyway!’ 😈 ).

Is Spring like this for you, as well? A bit complex — the energy kind of stop/start (indeed, the weather is!), full of bursts of energy followed by overwhelm/big feelings? I’d love to know whether you notice these seasonal patterns, too!

Please tell me I'm not alone?

reading

I’ve been dying to share my reading list from the last few months, because I’ve particularly enjoyed most of these titles! Let me know if you end up reading any of these :)

A Language of Limbs - Dylin Hardcastle — This book rearranged my insides. After it was over, I had that reading-induced-euphoria that makes you excited to be alive so you can read more books, you know? It’s heart-breaking subject matter (AIDS), but so full of love and hope and resilience. Cannot recommend it strongly enough, especially if you have any ties to the Sydney area. Related, heart-achingly beautiful material, When We All Get To Heaven is a stunning podcast about queer resilience and faith.

Middle Spoon - Alejandro Varela — The blurb called out to me (queer, poly parenthood?!), but it wasn’t super memorable for me.

Winter Solstice - Rosamund Pilcher — I’m pretty sure I checked this out from the library because I was looking for some solstice-themed writing. This is very loosely solstice-themed (ie it is set in winter, lol), but I loved this! A story where you learn about a bunch of seemingly disparate characters who end up having an impact on each other’s lives. Quite long, very fun. Get it on your library holds now so you can read it next winter ;)

Patchwork - Maddie Ballard — My mom got me this book of short stories & boy, does she know me! This is a perfect little book for the sewist/maker in your life.

Make My Wish Come True - Cheesy but sweet. I didn’t love this… until I read the acknowledgements and realized it was written by wives who were newly postpartum while writing this. I take it all back!! You’re heroes.

Bog Queen - Anna North — OH MY GOSH. I picked this book up at our local shop because of its jacket and an affinity for bogs (lol). A real treat, I loved it.

That’s all for now — back to all my little messes with a deep breath and a reminder (to self) that we are, indeed, making progress. <3

In middle school, I knit scarf after scarf with puffy, soft novelty yarn. I soon announced I’d be selling them to raise money for breast cancer research, a venture I called “Knits for Tits”, which I thought was very funny1. One day though, some boy in my class threw my scarf into a tree. Embarrassed, I stopped knitting for a while.

I rediscovered knitting in college — I needed to stay awake during 7am lectures, and I got inspired by DIY blogs popping up at the time2. Throughout my 20s, I couldn’t go anywhere without my knitting. I brought it on the train, I brought it to every bar I was reluctantly dragged to. Romantic partners would call me in a panic saying, “you left your knitting at home!” on days I rushed off to work without it. In those moments, I felt seen. I now realize I was really, really anxious back then. Past Me was doing their best with the tools they had.

When I first realized I could make actual garments with my limited skills (something that clicked when I was about 20, living in Australia), I would lay awake at night buzzing with the possibilities. I knit a pair of booty shorts and thought they were hilarious. I wore them proudly to pub trivia.

I knit my way through heartache and joy, through cross-continental and cross-country moves. Knitting made me feel wealthy, in time and love and care. I could knit to connect to social movements3, to express my rage at the system. I could make a pair of mittens for a friend’s baby, or a replacement beanie for an internet crush who lost theirs. I could barter for precious handmade items when I was earning minimum wage. Over time, my hands could perform the motions with so little conscious awareness that it took almost no effort to knit a little thing - a beanie, a snood, socks. All I needed was time - 4 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours - stolen in the littlest crevices of a day. By the end of a month, I’d have a whole object to show for it. I clung to these physical representations of my labor, especially as my career moved deeper into the non-physical realm of “Knowledge Work” (what a silly term).

I started teaching knitting classes, fondly remembering the feeling of catching “the bug”, eager to share that experience with others. Short “Learn to Knit” classes became longer-form classes, became knitting clubs, became 6 week long “knit your first sweater” courses. These classes were full of the kindest people, some of whom became my dearest friends when I was at my loneliest, living abroad. Over the span of a few years, I taught 100+ people (usually women and queer folks) how to knit. Everywhere I went - Sydney to Hobart, and back to California, I gathered people to knit. I kept forming groups to scratch this itch, delighted at the friendships I’d witness blooming between those in attendance. Knitting connected me to myself. But what it really did was connect me to so many others.

I continue to knit all these years later because it’s familiar. Because it feels good — it gives my hands something simple to do when I am anxious. I knit to remind myself that I can make something tangibly useful with my two hands and no external guides. I knit because I can’t imagine a world where I don’t.

Sometimes, when you’ve been holding onto something for years and years, the thing to do is to pass it along. This was not one of those times. Many of these yarns moved with me cross-country and across the world, and laid waste in boxes for years. The instinct to use them was sudden and clear— like a special candle saved that’s ready to burn. These scraps became a visible archive of the past 10+ years, a “memory quilt”, as my father said when I showed him the work-in-progress during one of our weekly 15 minute Google Hangs :).

I made a few decisions at the outset: I’d hold two strands of yarn together (for maximum squish!), use seed stitch, and exclusively use yarn I already owned. I ignored conventional wisdom about not mixing & matching yarns of varying weights. Within these guardrails, I made it up as I went, choosing the more unusual, “what if I…?” path, just to see what would happen. Knitting is often a meticulously planned and executed undertaking - the pattern, the gauge, the fiber content — how else will we know it will fit? Freed from the confines of “proper fit”, I treated it more like an improvisational patchwork quilt than a knitted object — Decision, response, decision, response. On and on like this until it became something resembling a rectangle.

I see in this blanket a network of relationships. Owners of a knitting mill that opened their home to me when I was eager to learn about fiber processing. Yarn handspun by a friend in Australia who included it in a care package. The yarn my sister chose for the cardigan I knit for her almost 10 years ago. The extra soft yarn I picked out for my (now) father-in-law’s beanie, knit in a flurry of “please accept me into your family” frenzied holiday knits in 2019. The stunning silk/wool blend Josh picked up from a farmer on Orcas Island mere weeks into our courtship (needless to say, he knew me well, right from the start :,)).

I see hours and hours of my own labor, to be sure, but I also see the hours of the people who produced this yarn - the farmers, shearers, handspinners, spinning mill operators, dyers, and yarn store owners & workers. Knitting connects me to them. It keeps me tethered to the reality that so much labor goes in to every single item we choose to buy/thrift/make/mend/keep. Knitting is love made material.

If you’re in the WMass area, be sure to make it to a Sugar Shack for one of my favorite signs of spring in New England — the smell of evaporating maple sap 🍁 🥞 🤤! Hope you and yours are staying well & warm, especially if you’re in the path of this possible blizzard! xx

When I returned from my trip to California, I pulled out my boxes of woolens, neatly stowed and carefully laundered, like unwrapping gifts from my past self. I was reunited with things I’d all but forgotten about- those socks I knit! That scarf a friend gave me. My precious white mittens with a little red bow from Nicole. This seasonal reset, the sudden drama of it, drops me squarely into the prese…

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I also got to meet her child for the first time, who I hadn’t “seen” since she was in utero, 10 days before Saba went into labor, 3 years ago :,).

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Here’s what I’ve been working on:

a (knit) patchwork

I’ve been itching to knit after many months of disinterest. I pulled out my big box of yarn scraps and thought, “blanket”…

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Cordera-inspired shirred top

Back in January, I tried on this Cordera top at Rhoan while visiting my pal, Nicole. I unexpectedly loved it on me, but the price tag (even half off) was a no-go for me. I got motivated to sew this to wear to our friend’s DJ set at a local wine bar1, and spent about a day from start to finish whipping i…

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a brief garden tour

We grow flowers, herbs, and a few food crops…

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If 2023 was Pond People Summer, I think 2025 is Languid Lad Summer. It goes without saying that this year is much more of an absolute dumpster fire requiring even more effort from us. And what can we do to counter the effort? Engage in ease2. A Languid Lad is plugged in enough to be (rightfully) outraged, but also spends copious time lounging in and around bodies of water, remarking at the minnows and such. The Languid Lad knows that 15 min of foc…

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Friday

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If there’s anything this year has taught me, it’s that symptom tracking is just another way of saying “paying attention”. In the first 30 days after I started tracking symptoms, I had fewer of them. I suspect my body was using subtler (ie less painful) cues to get my attention, now that I was indeed paying attention.

Of course, symptom tracking alone isn’t “fixing” everything, and there are many times I can’t seem to map a symptom to a cause. I am working with a health care team to rule out bigger issues and create the right care plan for me. What I’ve found, though, is that the “basics”1 are most impactful for me. I need to sleep enough, hydrate well, move in ways that are accessible to me, and eat enough calories at very regular intervals. When these basics are…

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