Updates [Newsletter]

Summertime! Used to be my favorite, but I’m unsure these days with the hazy skies from wildfire smoke and folks losing everything they have because we’ve so mismanaged the lands. Land back, from the river to the sea, “nobody’s free until everybody’s free” (Fannie Lou Hamer)!

Alas, it is August (already!), I hope you are staying cool and breathing clean air.

A few things I’ve been up to:

  • Work, work, work, vegetables are popping off in the summer, and someone’s got to truck them!

  • Trying to sharpen my resting skills. This is hard for me: I always think fun projects are rest, but it’s not true and I’ve finally been forced to fully realize it.

  • Social media was a time suck and since I’ve stopped trying to post I’ve been spending way more time connecting with real life people, in person, beholding each other’s beautiful faces.

  • I went on a 3 day solo retreat to unplug and reset my nervous system. It started unexpectedly with the most harrowing drive of my life, but finished with 72 hrs of serene offline time with the wind and the water. I didn’t even look at a clock!

  • I made 3 quilts and didn’t take a single picture of them! This began unintentionally, I finished a quilt just in time to hop on a plane to deliver to the recipient. But I really liked the feeling of NOT showing the world. The world doesn’t need to see everything I do. Some quilts are just for the person receiving them, even I, the maker, have but the memory, and that’s ok.

What I’m working on

  • I have fully committed to my quilt fairy role, and so far have gifted quilts to all the nieces and nephews. And I have a long list of gift quilts yet to be made, in various stages of planning.

  • Works in progress have not changed much, I’ve been excited to start new things, but I’ve started letting go of some projects, some ideas and lots of materials. And I finally finished a long drawn out commission that was taking up a lot of mental space. If I keep this up, I may need to dedicate a whole future month or two to finishing projects.

  • Organizing small get-togethers for people who want to stitch together in Portland. If you’re local and want an invite, let me know!

  • And I started making fabric rope from some of my long thin scraps. I have many ideas about what could be done with it. But I’d love to know: what would YOU do with fabric rope?

What I’m enjoying

  • Cultivating a writing practice, where I can archive my thoughts, to make space in my mind. No matter how mundane, I write, and sometimes a star shines through the fog.

  • Podcast: Articles of Interest. A journey into the history and culture surrounding the things we wear, from plaid to pockets to perfume.

  • Book: The Gift by Lewis Hyde & Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez

  • Song: Exchange by Massive Attack

  • Making ice cream for these hot days, and feeding it to my friends!

How to support me

  • Being a subscriber to this newsletter is enough! Feel free to forward it to a friend. You can also like and share my social media posts.

  • Subscribe to my blog.

  • Reply to this email if you’re interested in commissioning something special.

  • Buy art for yourself or someone you love!

  • Shop secondhand fabric and supplies!

  • Shop my small collection of bags at Fiber Rhythm shop in SE PDX (in store only).

  • Buy me a ko-fi.

MAY YOU BE SURROUNDED BY BEAUTY AND BOUNTY,

olea ambra

Got questions? Feel free to reach out any time!

 

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