Sunday, January 9, 2011

cloth caravan

most pilgrimages have a specific destination in mind. a sacred well. ancient temple. crumbling chapel. holy tree.

i, however, am fortunate to join an amazing caravan of visionaries and fiber philosophers on an odyssey of cloth deconstruction and reconstruction, lead by an incredible chaperon: jude hill.  i know my blog has been peppered with random, and frequent, references to jude and her mind-boggling talents. sometimes it feels as though i should wrap myself in woven boro cloth, embroidered lavishly with "jude" and "j.h." and the occasional "spirit cloth", give away my possessions, and set out on a pilgrimage to her sacred mountain...there to seek the meaning of life in her threads and whispers. but then, i've frequently been accused of being a bit melodramatic (not to worry, jude, you have not acquired another stalker....yet!).

the sojourn of which i speak is jude hill's cloth to cloth advanced boro workshop. my fellow travellers are gathering. introducing themselves. collecting fabrics and sundries. there is a buzz in the workshop...all the more exciting as the workshop spans many continents. we are all thrilled and abuzz with anticipation!

you see, i've been rather pre-occupied with packing and preparing for this wonderful journey! so, i hope you will forgive my silence these past few days.  i will be back and posting in the next day or two...  but for the moment, back to packing my bags.  i have so much to pack. as you have heard, i am not a light packer by any means! and i'm just getting started...



namaste'

18 comments:

  1. Oh those suitcases look like they could tell a story or two.....
    Looking forward to our journey with Jude, I feel very lucky to be part of it...enlightening.

    Good luck with the packing.

    Jacky xox

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  2. My goodness, those suitcases bring back memories of boarding school days and waiting for steam engines to arrive at the station...way back when! I too am preparing to join you on the journey with Jude; but my preparations involve more unpacking than packing. I now have fabrics and bits and pieces in messy piles as I decide which ones will come along on the journey.

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  3. Oh my house is a mess at the moment. Piles of fabric everywhere....

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  4. Deb G. My house too, always has been. Ha!Currently looks like a fabric land fill.
    Joe, Love old suitcases; try to snatch them up when I see them. I don't think I will be too prepared, I'll probably fly by the seat of my pants.(and land on my face. ha!)

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  5. Those suitcases are yummy. Are they filled with fabric? Your drapes perhaps? This is going to be some fun journey.

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  6. i tend to have odd bits of cloth tucked here and there. in little pilettes. folded and stacked in boxes and baskets. tucked between books and odds and ends. stuffed gently into drawers. behind antique oddments. under furniture. you name it!

    i just love fabrics and fibers of all kinds and like to have it where i can enjoy it at a moment's whim...

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  7. leslie, yes, in my mind's eye. they aren't mine. but, like helen, i snatch them up whenever i find them and have tons of them filled with fabrics from various sources!

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  8. oh yes, fabric everywhere and the piles are getting higher and higher. love those old suitcases.

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  9. this enthusiasm is so exciting! yes, I have piles of fabrics, and bits of cloth tucked everywhere, I love the little surprises when they fall out of a book or behind the flour in the cupboard..
    bon voyage

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  10. I always overpack. And I always bring bits of home with me to make me feel secure in new places. We'll all need a lot of porters for this journey, and perhaps some of us will find new homes.

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  11. There is a palpable excitement in the air.
    When it comes to cloth there is never too much.
    I know of a lady who always said "She who dies with the most cloth, wins!!!" we could add a He!!! to that :)
    See you at CWB

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  12. always enjoying a male voice in this world of fiber and words and such... love the photo.

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  13. yes, cheryl. bits of home to make me feel secure in new places. friends and family have always shaken their heads in lack of understanding when i set up my little "home altars" where ever i travel and visit. i've always explained it as part of my spiritual practice...which satisfied curious eyes since a buddha or quan yin is always present.

    however, your description captures it much more closely to the truth since also included on these travel home altars is a box for the altar base (made from old fence boards from my childhood home), scraps of cloth (from my folks' old clothes and mine) for an altar cloth, candlesticks turned from beam wood from the childhood barn in kansas, and various other, more changeable, items that point to home and family, alongside the buddha and/or quan yin and malas used for meditation practice.

    thank you for touching this truth!

    namaste'

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  14. Just noticed the lists on the left for "classes teaching" and "classes taught" Never in my life did I ever think I'd want to go to Montana. Ha. On line classes next?????

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  15. helen, there are plenty of reasons to come to montana! we just try to keep them quiet so people won't come and create overcrowding! ha!

    for the moment, i'll leave online classes to the masters, like jude. i am working on a couple tutorials, though. maybe that will help...

    namaste'

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  16. Love those beautiful mittens on your flicker.. I did a pair similar a few years ago.. they were my favourites. Lots of amazing socks too..
    Happy New Year!

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  17. thank you, gwen. it's been a bit for me, too. knitting is rather hard on my wrists, so i do it in small pieces. weaving and hand sewing are, oddly, less stressful on my hands and wrists...

    namaste'

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