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it was November 8, 2018,  the Camp Fire that decimated  the town of Paradise, completely.  Severely damaged the nearby towns of   Concow and Magalia.   The fire that came just a few miles from this Hill.   You might remember that Suzie Yonts  commented on the blog while i was evacuated with the Goats and Talkie to the Gridley Fairgrounds.    She had fled.  Just her.  Just her cat.  Suzie is a weaver.   They made it out and ended up near Davis, CA where she stayed alternately with family and friends.    There were a couple of emails between us,  and in one of the first exchanges i said something about how,  in imagining mySelf in the same circumstance,  which is impossible, really,  i might  be comforted by some scraps of cloth.  Needle and thread.  I asked about her weaving and told her how Jude had taught Us to make a very simple box loom.  Her response was that there was just nothing IN her in the moment.  Nothing.  a few emails.  and then one last week.  She has a place of her own.  No longer on someone's couch or in someone's spare room.  She has a place.  She said that in feeling like she has a place,  she thought to hang something on one of the walls.  Go get a nail…..but,  there are no nails anymore.  She,  like so many,  thousands of others, had lost everything.   No plate or fork.  Pot or pan.  No nails.  no hammer.  Nothing.  

zero

all these taken for granted things…dishes,  cook ware,  sheets,  pillowcase,  underwear,  cat litter box,  toothbrush,  washcloth, towel,  forks and spoons,  a paring knife.  Everything.  She slowly finds these day to day necessities for living.  But that she just in these last days,  feels the Weaving self,  still there.

So….i am wondering.  There are Weavers who read here i think.  Surely someone has a tapestry loom that is lying fallow?

How can we get one to her?   Everything will be different,  but a loom would rock her into a new life.  Not the same.  Not the one she loved.  But one she can come to love as time goes.  

Can We do this?  It's a Big Ask,  but i think We can.  I hope we can?

 

 

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33 responses to “a Very Big Ask”

  1. Mo Crow Avatar

    (((Grace))) love your beautiful heart, x fingers there is a spare loom just waiting in the wings needing Suzie to work with it!

    Like

  2. grace Forrest Avatar

    yes….i feel like it is true….one is Out here, we
    can find it and get it to her.

    Like

  3. Sandy Avatar
    Sandy

    I cannot send a tapestry loom…but I can send her fiber….handspun.
    I’ll email you for info.
    Aloha,
    Sandy

    Like

  4. grace Forrest Avatar

    Love for this…so much

    Like

  5. Michelle Slater Avatar

    Though I have too much everything-no loom. I know someone will.
    Dearest great hearted Grace, YOU NEED TO CORRECT THE DATE OF THE FIRE. IT WAS 2018 not 2028 (just a TYPO but you can correct it love IF YOU WANT. I SENT A PACKAGE to you on 3/18 scheduled to arrive on 3/21. It has ‘Taking Root’ tea (you were sick at the time) AND Threads you might give her.

    Like

  6. Dana Avatar

    I’m not a weaver, but I’m hoping that someone who is will answer your call. Way to go Grace.

    Like

  7. jude Avatar

    I sent you a couple of emails…

    Like

  8. Peggy McG Avatar
    Peggy McG

    I can help pay for shipping if someone has something to send. Grace, if anyone needs to contact me through you, I am ok if you give out my email.

    Like

  9. me-ml Avatar
    me-ml

    ditto for me, Grace.

    Like

  10. Irene Avatar
    Irene

    Grace, I have a Mirrix tapestry loom I can part with…please send me additional info.

    Like

  11. Cheryl Avatar
    Cheryl

    Me, too. Just let me know.

    Like

  12. Susie Yonts Avatar
    Susie Yonts

    Reading these responses just makes me cry. You all are opening my heart in so many ways – just cracking it wide open. As horrible as this all has been, ultimately the kindness and love that is being offered is the experience that is changing me.
    Thank you all for being.

    Like

  13. Micael Avatar
    Micael

    Would she be interested in a floor loom? It is BIG – like bigger than a love seat, though probably not as big as a couch. I have a friend that might be looking to give hers away. If your friend is interested, I can look into it.

    Like

  14. Irene Avatar
    Irene

    Susie, if you want the loom plus a power shedder (never used) I can send it to you this week… please get in touch with me at irene.peake2@gmail.com.

    Like

  15. Hazel Avatar

    I have handspun yarn, and spinning wool, if either would be useful.

    Like

  16. grace Forrest Avatar

    i fixed the typo…thanks!
    and yes. I will send along the threads…and yes the
    beauty Full tea, which still comes to good use, it was
    a fierce virus.
    and the oh so tender image of my old home again…how
    much i love that
    Love Love and Love

    Like

  17. grace Forrest Avatar

    we will do it. YES!

    Like

  18. grace Forrest Avatar
  19. grace Forrest Avatar

    Peggy…we can all go in on shipping, make it easy.
    Thank You…beyond

    Like

  20. grace Forrest Avatar

    yes. from ALL of US

    Like

  21. grace Forrest Avatar

    waiting for Suzie

    Like

  22. grace Forrest Avatar

    we are an incredibly FINE community of makers. This
    is so great an opportunity flex that muscle

    Like

  23. grace Forrest Avatar

    if you can…find out…that would be a HUGE give

    Like

  24. grace Forrest Avatar

    Love, Hazel…Love, Love

    Like

  25. Nancy Avatar

    Wow. I’ve been away from here for so long, tangled up in my own moving and other Life stuff. I got rid of so, so much…but I’ll look and see what I’ve got left. xo

    Like

  26. kathy dorfer Avatar
    kathy dorfer

    please grace if there is any way i can help
    please let me know .maybe a gift certificate to
    a place for weaving supplies .
    i’m here to help .
    xxoo

    Like

  27. Beth Avatar

    I have yarn and threads I could share. Or would help with a gift certificate.

    Like

  28. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    Grace
    I have some tapestry yarn would be happy to send. I was taking it to guild to give away. I can’t send it for a couple of weeks but will send it to her when I return. Just send me her address. I have a small tapestry loom I could send if the other one doesn’t work out.

    Like

  29. dee Avatar

    I have a lot of yarn if she would be interested. Does she need other stuff? I have spare curtains, frames, baking tins, for starters.

    Like

  30. jude Avatar

    I have a 16 harness table loom. But not the best tapestry option…yay for all this…

    Like

  31. grace Forrest Avatar

    OK!!!!! have just mailed Susie about how to go forward.
    In the morning.
    We will GO.
    Yes!, Yay for this. Yes.

    Like

  32. Micael Avatar
    Micael

    I have been following up. I should know more in a day or so. I’ll keep you posted.

    Like

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