December 2023 Newsletter

Greetings, Fiber Friends!

I've been thinking about the ebb and flow of light and dark these days. Although sunset comes early now, we are surrounded by glittering lights, bright colors and festive gatherings. This will then be followed by the grays and whites and dark colors of winter. It strikes me as somewhat ironic that the approaching Solstice marks the shift when days begin to lengthen again yet it is really just the beginning of winter.

I have never been much for New Year's resolutions, but I do love taking time each year to reflect on and look ahead to what I want to work on in the new year. I've come to think of this instead as planting seeds, which feels very apropos to the upcoming season of hibernation and dormancy. I'm the kind of person who can get spread too thin because I am interested in trying so many things (squirrel!!) so I use this to focus my time/efforts (that's the hope, anyway). I want to develop solid skills and get better, not just dabble. 

Winter is a great time to hunker down inside and this year in particular I've got time to dive deep with a few things. Here are the seeds I'm planting this winter:

• Continue my studies in Andean Pebble Weave which I started with a class with Laverne Waddington and our Band Weavers study group in October. I'm having a lot of fun with inkle weaving these days and I'm looking forward to exploring both APW and other band weaving techniques.
• Go wild with all the leaves that I've been collecting for Botanical Printing. I've been following some really exciting ideas by layering scraps of vintage lace and small bits of dye blankets and it is opening up a creative vein that is both surprising and very gratifying. I've got so many ideas to try out. 
• Sew clothing from the pile of already handwoven fabric that has been waiting for me to have the courage to cut and sew seams. I learned to sew as a child, I should be able to reactivate that knowledge, right? I re-discovered the yardage I wove for several summer tops and at least one jacket, I'm excited to turn them into clothes for me.
• I'm also challenging myself to finish up the incomplete projects. You know, the ones that need hems or float-fixing (also known as burling, a term I love to throw around). I have a pair of blankets I wove in a workshop weeks before I moved cross country that were pulled from the loom, folded into a box and left alone for 2 years. It was a doublewide/doubleweave blanket so I know there's plenty of floats to be faced.

I will stop there because, well, remember the "too many things" bit? I think it's a good list to start the new year with. Some new things, some finishing up loose ends; it feels balanced and enticing. What seeds do you want to plant this year, what will you grow?

LeslieAnn Bestor
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