This winter I had three opportunities to teach fiber arts to kids. I taught botanical dyeing fabrics at a family retreat, weaving at a friend’s child’s sixth birthday party, and knitting with elementary and middle schoolers at a local library. These experiences required a lot of preparation and ended in a lot of joy and beauty!

At Rhinebeck last fall, in the category of handwoven, large, commercially-spun yarn, I received a second-place red ribbon; the competitor in me was disappointed. The judges suggested that a different seam would have “elevated the weaving.” I did not disagree. I set out to learn a lot about sewing with the guidance of a new neighbor.

Fiber is chaos: an unorganized tangle of filaments that grow organically on a sheep’s back or around the boll of a cotton plant. As an artist, it’s my job to place those fibers into order, slowly making form and function out of these chaotic materials. I feel a lot of joy in this labor. 

Time is wild. How is an hour with friends the same amount of time as an hour in a virtual work meeting? Perceptions of time change dramatically depending on the activity. 

And yet, time is the framework we use to talk about our lives.