As a child, I disliked my name. Too many comments about Marilyn Monroe and the dictionary, although not usually in the same breath. I identified with neither. In graduate school I discovered that the lexicographer Noah Webster and I have more in common than our last names. One of my favorite courses was on the […]
Turning down Joy Lane
When I’m driving, I pay attention to street names. I get curious about who named them and what they reveal about the town’s history. For example, there’s an Apple Blossom Lane in Sebastopol, CA, home of the Gravenstein apple. In Paisley, Scotland, where there was a thriving textile industry in the 19th century, there are […]
Unweaving
I am almost finished weaving a towel when I realize something is off. I’m not where I’m supposed to be in the pattern. I take a deep breath, set down my shuttles and examine the cloth. There it is, three inches back. A mistake if you want to call it that. A lapse in concentration. […]
The story of a towel
Some time ago I wove a few towels with five wide ivory stripes and six narrow spruce ones. I chose a very simple design and weave structure because I wanted to try out a new technique — inlay — where a supplementary weft thread is laid into sections of the fabric. When I showed a […]
