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seems like a long time

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this last week of the Contemporary Woven Boro class was all consuming.  there were hopes of getting so much more completed.  but now, it's quiet.

i brought a heavy piece of plywood in to create a larger table top for work on this cloth.  as i stitch, i think about all i learned in this class.  where i stand now that it's over, that all "formal" classes might be over.  Whispering being an individual experience.

some things come easily to mind:

i don't need an array of fabrics, many colors, many designs.   than very satisfying cloths can be created by using what i have, using mending to design.   attending to the subtleties of placement of the smallest fragments, of stitches.

that  these techniques of cloth weaving will work on any scale imaginable.  i COULD weave a shelter.  i am sure of this now.  but working with small blocks, components, that can be held on my lap is the most  appealing.  this Daughter cloth may be the only cloth of that size i ever make.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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45 responses to “seems like a long time”

  1. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    the cloth is beautiful. You have done amazing work. i also feel like i will never make a large piece. it is too overwhelming to me. i have been so impressed with your work and how quickly you have gone.
    i will miss the class and the interaction. i hope we can keep going just on our one to one blogging. i will miss my new friends.

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  2. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    linda…we WILL for sure, the one/one but also, the SEW
    will be the same format, i think? plus, there will be
    some who were not in this class, but were in classes
    before. I am still hoping the Kelly (i) of the chair
    and the butterfly will show up again someday.
    the only difference in this Daughter cloth and a small one
    is TIME really…and that wouldn’t even be any issue at
    all but for that she hopefully will be leaving soon and
    i want her to take it with her. otherwise, it would be
    like Coma or Magic Cloth….coming and going from them.
    it could be folded up.
    i will miss the class too, but also need time for all that
    i learned to rise to my awareness, to become accessable.
    so much, in this class and so much that builds upon what
    i learned in classes before this one.
    and also, the Whispering will be a whole other things, i
    am Sure of it.
    so this week or so, while i work on the big cloth, i will
    also spend chunks of time outside with the raised beds.
    it’s past time for that, i’ve put it off. so…it all
    seems quite Right.
    i also am interested in how you will finish your two
    indigo pieces…as in what will constitute “finished”
    for you. and then…whether you will go back primarily
    to traditional weaving OR more cloth??????
    and also…too, all the other things we have talked about.
    Life things.
    There’s so much. so, Here’s to the Continuing!
    love to you, linda….i am glad our paths met~

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  3. helen salo Avatar
    helen salo

    Grace, As I said in my comment on your cloth on CWB I’m sure the love adds to the persistence to fuel the energy to keep working. I truly admire your thought, love, and work you’re putting in and I’m sure your daughter will understand and cherish. Sometimes I like the smaller pieces to work on because of the feel of the cloth as I stitch. To hold the whole piece in one’s hand is different than a large piece but sometimes a large piece is needed for the story. See you in SEW and Whispering. Be well, helen

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  4. Diana Trout Avatar
    Diana Trout

    I really love this piece. I admire how restrained your use of color is. Less=More (my motto for the year). I must come and visit this piece of cloth often to remind myself. Thank you.

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  5. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    helen…well…this is the first time i have put Her
    first. i have made so many things over her lifetime that
    she has witnessed and somehow…she has not been the
    primary focus. now she is. as i said…this is all about
    karma ripening. it is taking the form of this cloth.
    i want to do so many other things…try things, continue
    with things but
    this is what is SPEAKING a need. ok.
    yes. SEW and Whispering and where ever we find each other.
    tonight you are here and i also found you earlier at
    Lindas. so…in a certain way, we are many places.
    love to you, helen,
    moi

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  6. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Diana…i hope you do come often and i will go to your
    “house” too…
    restrained use of color….i am learning about this. my
    first use would be pretty much nothing. i love color
    but i want everything to be everything and i guess if
    i could, i would have transparency and then just one
    color at a time. or
    one color and then maybe one more…next to it….
    i am crazy.
    thank you so much for coming here. it means a lot. xo

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  7. deanna7trees Avatar
    deanna7trees

    happy to see you are continuing to work on your large cloth. it is hard to work on such a large piece so i admire your persistence. i haven’t done much sewing in the past couple of days. i guess i needed to wind down from the ideas floating around in my head.
    you mentioned raised beds and i so wanted to do that this spring but my allergies are keeping me inside most of the time and i am afraid the raised bed will have to wait.
    looking forward to chatting on the SEW forum. keep on stitchin…

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  8. judy keathley Avatar
    judy keathley

    hey grace—i am so glad you posted. i feel slightly lost in this in-between place. mostly trusting that we will all stay connected–this community ——but unsure how any of it will actually work –SEW, whispering–what do they even mean really—what will it look like —
    i think part of my sensitivity about this is that i feel newly a part of this group. i did two other classes with jude & basically sat quietly in the corner –stitching –but for some reason just not imagining myself involved beyond my corner. but now i am involved & its all so much richer –the cloth-work & the relationships .
    getting more personal—i’ve had a broken heart for several years now–there has been mending for sure –its not as hard as it was five years ago —but the cracks still are there & theres a loneliness & sometimes an emptiness even with a wonderful community of friends here. she & i are still in each
    others lives —which i’m grateful for but also can make it harder. its like i had just hit the next hurdle to get over –a rough patch –when CWB happened . & all of a sudden there was this new world. a place of energy & support & vitality & excitement & appreciation & extraordinary creativity –& it has eased my heart some. a thread of a kind of connection that fit into some kind of blank spot. it had a clear form & structure even in its relaxed & easy way.
    well. a bit of unloading there . i haven’t forgotten your words–“anything goes here ” –so there you have it..
    as for your cloth –it continues to move me –i imagine jenny wrapped up in it , i imagine her holding it above her head, a corner in each hand & running as it blows in the wind , like a kite, like a huge wing , lifting her just a little bit off the ground , lightening her load.. & therefore, yours…
    i had a belated birthday party last nite –i was sick on the actually day–& even tho friends offered to have it at their houses i wanted it to be here at my house. i live slightly out of town–not far , but not on anyones beaten path –& i tend to be kinda lazy about asking folks to come over –but another part of that is i like my home & being alone here ——–anyway -i wanted people to come to my space , to be in my home ,to remember how this space is such a part of who i am.
    so now i think of blogs —-i will continue to visit you & others –& i know at some point i will want ya’ll to come to my house. but first i have to build it.
    i’ll get there.
    thanks. i feel bettter.

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  9. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    continuing…yes. have to.
    the raised beds…, i need to haul in maybe three truck
    loads of compost/manure to these. they have been in
    place for some years now but need renewal. i grow
    a lot. and against my better judgement, again ordered
    potato starts…the beautiful little fingerling ones,
    Ruby Crescent
    and i am so grateful that allergies have never beset me.
    can be a real bummer, i know. the trick with growing is
    to get that all in place before the pollen starts whizzing.
    How To Do IT ALL~!~
    yes. SEW. with this last class, i have no doubt that we
    are all in it for the long haul. too many stitches to
    let it fall to the wayside. so, i have no worry.
    will be over to your “house”….
    xoxo moi

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  10. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    judy…this is just such a great and wonder Full bunch of
    word/feelings.
    i thank you for it all.
    it is
    REAL
    and real is what i love. so i am brimming.
    don’t worry.
    like i just said to deanna, i feel like it’s a done deal
    now. we have stitched enough to have mended ourselves in
    to a solid cloth. we’re good.
    and yes…SEW/WHISPERING…what does that mean really…
    well…what that means really i think is what we GIVE to
    it. so…we’ll see.
    i LOVE your words about jenny and her cloth…this is
    exactly the image i would have for her. things are VERY
    HARD for her right now and if and when she breaks loose of
    it all….this cloth is for that. and exactly how you
    imagine it…flying. running. living free according to
    her own Self. i love your words and will write them down
    with pen on paper and keep them here next to me.
    oh….don’t worry. we are in a very great Vibe. all will
    be well. it’s all good.
    THANK YOU for being the woman you are and honest and
    forthright and fearless. Fearless. yes.
    good, then. yup.
    w

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  11. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    i have just reread your words and appreciate them even
    MORE. i will write more tomorrow about some thoughts
    that rise up.
    you are a really good woman, Judy Keathley. really good.

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  12. Suzanna Avatar
    Suzanna

    Grace, the daughter cloth is very fine. To me it looks like a medicine shield. Maybe it is? Glad for SEW and not to have to say good-bye. xoxo

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  13. Jill Avatar
    Jill

    grace i hope this is ok to do, i wanted to respond to your words Judy – you have really touched me – you have given me thoughts that need exploring, thank you

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  14. Jill Avatar
    Jill

    Grace, well, i am humbled by what you are creating – truly a beautiful cloth with such love woven into it … i have wondered about making some ‘thing’ for each of my two daughters but have not, as yet. i think i thought it had to be about them in some way, but you are showing so very clearly that all that needs to be expressed is the love for them and the joy they have brought me and continue to bring.

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  15. jude hill Avatar
    jude hill

    you never know…

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  16. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    Her time, daughter Jenny. Takes with her when she goes, this cloth of love to wrap around her until family can be near. Soft backdrop for shelter, sun rays for lighting the path… weave of the future and a mother’s knowing. A frolicking goat showing the way; lovely pieces that tell of old/new land, dreams/reality, caring/deep love fused with every thread.

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  17. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Jill…Very Much ok to do. to me, it’s part of it All.
    thank you

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  18. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Suzanna..nope. no goodbyes

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  19. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    jill…yes. i have thoughts about this. need to go to
    work, but will think while i’m gone. be back.

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  20. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    and we never will..for sure. so, we continue

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  21. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    well…it will be what it will be. there feels to be
    less knowing and more just being present

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  22. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Jill…this is a good point. i think i haven’t made
    this Thing for her because i wasn’t sure too, what i
    could make that she would like, that would be Right.
    she and i are different. but suddenly, this was just it.
    i have and will, think of her in some ways, in what she
    might choose, but i also am making her something of me.
    am hoping it will be a good combination.

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  23. judy keathley Avatar
    judy keathley

    as are you grace Forrest Maestas—
    i am so not fearless.i guess sometimes i can be brave. but not fearless.
    still–that you think of me as fearless makes me a tad less fearful…

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  24. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    oh words. how they mean so many different things.
    that urge to abandon them….
    by fearless, i guess i mean
    going toward
    things.
    not hiding.
    you have not seemed to hide from feelings. to me, that’s
    fearless.

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  25. Deb G Avatar
    Deb G

    So I just posted this for Jude, but I thought of you first when I heard it (having seen this post this morning and been thinking about it). On Sunday I heard this song by Guy Clark called. “The Cape.” The refrain really caught me: “He’s one of those that knows that life is just a leap of faith. Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape.” You can listen to it here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h32OxKofS1A

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  26. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    deb..YES! love this very very much. yes.
    thank you. you found the just exactly right thing.

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  27. judy keathley Avatar
    judy keathley

    thank you grace—-yeah words can sure get in the way sometimes –& we obviously both still kinda love them…

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  28. helen Salo Avatar
    helen Salo

    Grace, I know I said see you in SEW and whisper,but of course, you’ll always “see” me here. Between you and some of the others this comment section is like reading a GOOD self help book. Judy yours words were great and thought provoking, and Marti you know I’m a big fan! So, See you here, too. 🙂 Love and be well, Helen

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  29. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    helen…i know. you are a Michigan sister. so as it is
    said here (new mex)
    “i know you”
    i think we are just finding out places with one another,
    with Us All. that takes time. but the
    heart
    is there and it will come to be.

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  30. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    I think what I meant most by the phrase, “a mother’s knowing” had more to do with what you have come to know about cloth from your workshops and how you have put that into every stitch of this big/daughter cloth. Cloth speaks truth…

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  31. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    I think what I meant by the words, “a mother’s knowing” had more to do with what you have learned about cloth from your workshops as well as your instinctive way with needle and thread. So much is being stitched into this big daughter/cloth…

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  32. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    ?? left a comment re “a mother’s knowing”, went back, no comment. So left another comment, went back, and both comments appeared; was good though because 2nd comment caused me to re-word thought. Came back now and neither comment is here…? typepad mystery? or did I imagine that I had left the comments…

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  33. Herm Avatar
    Herm

    i can’t express myself in many words but hope to continue the “woven journey” with all of you in SEW – this class has been one of the best and the group of women i met here are caring and real! love,

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  34. Penny B Avatar
    Penny B

    Sheer poetry, Grace. I love the texture as well as the ring of “flags” circling the central motif which is no longer your dancing goat is it?

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  35. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    yes…do you click it to enlarge the image? it is, just
    the landscape has changed…but it’s her

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  36. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Marti…no…they are both there, and this one.
    and yes…you are right about any knowing being learning
    with the cloth and what the cloth allows me to say to
    her. and it is as much for me as for her…the
    tactile language it gives me.
    it has been frustrating, since the weekend…the
    necessity of the CareGiving which continues on into
    tomorrow. the Big Cloth hangs there, waiting. while i
    attend to others. that is the hard part, at the moment.
    the cloth has its own life.

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  37. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Herm…no doubt in my mind that this is just totally
    OnGoing. a breather here, but soon we come together
    there again.

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  38. Suzanna Avatar
    Suzanna

    Dear Grace, there is a picture of a California newt lizard on my blog…to welcome you and Jenny when moving time comes…it isn’t the exact sort of lizard you have there, but it was walking in just the sort of way you captured in yours from “beast” class…just so you’ll know it won’t be totally unfamiliar here.

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  39. manya Avatar
    manya

    yes, it all turns uoside down in an instant, no?
    I like looking at that cloth
    sending love
    m.

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  40. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    yes. upside down and then when you look again, it’s
    the other way around…always changing.
    i like you looking at it and thank you for love…

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  41. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    S~ LOVED seeing the newt. i left you a message on your
    blog…
    but it is wonderful to see these photos sent from someone i know…it IS reassuring. the wet green will be a very
    different experience after 20 some years of desert. but
    up where we’re headed, summers are very similar to the
    world here, i think. Jenny is going at the end of the
    month to look around. we’ll know more then.
    thank you again for thinking of me and what i love….

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  42. Penny B Avatar
    Penny B

    Oh, yes, there she is!
    Penny
    obsessive Stitcher!
    tanglewoodthreads.blogspot.com

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  43. Herm Avatar
    Herm

    sent you an email re: Arnica, did you get it?

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  44. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Herm…yes i did. i really hope it works for you. it
    has worked on a variety of little things for me. working
    outside so much and hauling and moving so much, i often
    do things i guess i shouldn’t. so far, knock on wood,
    i have been lucky and it’s all resolved over time. the
    worst was a couple years ago when the neighbor kid and
    i hoisted up a car engine into the back of the truck.
    but…that DID eventually go away.
    important thing about arnica is to use it as close to the
    initial time you notice the problem.
    i hope it works..did i already say that???…well, i do.
    you also need to be mindful about not expending any more
    force or pressure than you really need to to accomplish
    the task. sometimes i will notice that i am holding the
    needle or the cloth with unnecessary energy and if i just
    breathe and relax, it’s better.
    let me know if you get good results~ and i look forward
    to seeing the jacket….
    xoxo

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  45. Jill Avatar
    Jill

    of course…. a gift of self – what else !

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