Well, That Didn't Take Long

I finished the cowl from the yarn I spun a couple of posts ago. Lovely, light and soft. No pattern, no swatch. I just cast on a likely number of stitches on a short circular needle, knit double moss stitch 'til i ran out of yarn.

Safe From Inner and Outer Harm

The thing about amulets is that they presume there are things we need protecting from in this world. Most of us would agree that it is reasonable to take measures to protect ourselves, individually and collectively, from harms such as sickness, injury and poverty. These ills can be defended against without one being accused of superstition. But what about deeper, darker forces that can be conveniently summed up as "evil". Sinful things like greed, hatred and ignorance, personified by the Devil in some belief systems, or as demons, tricksters and primordial beasts in others. Powerful forces that we have no control over. These are things that call for greater protection than immunization or airbags or social safety nets can give us, and that is where the power of magic comes in. Or faith and symbol, if you prefer.

Older cultures than ours believed that malevolent forces could be distracted or averted by materials or objects that, either through the nature of their making or their physical characteristics, were imbued with protective powers. Sparkly, shiny, reflective objects like mirrors and beads traditionally repel the evil eye, as do symbols such as crosses or the hamsa, and shapes with pointy corners. Amulets may also be blessed by a powerful individual such as a priest or shaman, as is the one below, supposedly blessed by the Dalai Lama.

I was given this after I broke my back. I think the kindness of the person who gave it to me was more immediately helpful in my healing, though. But I saved it, even after the end cap was lost, cause it's about as close as I likely will ever get to the Dalai Lama himself. As you can see the amulet contained a scroll with a prayer on it and a few grains of rice.

Our consumer culture is founded on feelings of need and anxiety, induced by advertising. How do we protect ourselves against such an insidious and nebulous evil?

I think one of the best defenses is our own creative power. The magic of bringing into being something that has never been before, of manifesting ideas into concrete reality, of transmuting our energy into a material object - this brings us closer to the core of existence.When these creative acts are conducted with selflessness, purity of intention and an open heart, we cannot fail.

So, I have this nutty idea that I need an amulet to protect me from rampant capitalism. Well, not so nutty, actually, I have just been reading Naomi Klein. I think Earth needs a planet-sized amulet to ward off those intent on raping and pillaging her for profit. What would such an amulet look like? What might it contain? I'll keep you posted.

Precious Thing

It's pretty rare for me to covet a piece of jewelry. But this gold cast fabric cuff by Alabama Chanin has me thinking dark thoughts. If you look closely, you can see that the precious metal is sewn through with real thread.

I know many of you are already fans of the the brilliant Natalie Chanin. I like her commitment to keeping the whole chain of production local to her community, her use of organic cotton and of course her beautiful, flattering designs. I like the way she shares her patterns and techniques so anyone can make their own "Alabama Chanin". And I also like the way she reduces waste by finding clever uses for her scraps and off cuts. She is no doubt a smart businesswoman, but she gives the impression, at least, of being one with vision and integrity.

Now Here's a Change of Pace

And about time, too! I have pretty much stopped spinning, as I have a cedar chest full of handspun yarn, and nobody who needs sweaters, or shawls, or afghans. But my sweet sister Laura gave me a package of very intriguing rolags for Christmas.

Laura lives in Kingston, Ontario, known among other things as the "Limestone City". Appropriately enough, this fibre by Project Fleece is in the colourway "Limestone". It is a mix of grey and white merino/alpaca, BFL dyed locks, banana fibre and shreds of spun wool.

I spun it up in a loosely supported long draw. Pretty nifty, huh? Not sure if I should navajo ply it to keep the colour gradations or just barberpole it. And I don't know what I will do with the finished yarn either - probably a scarf for my sister. But it definitely made for a fun evening.

Laura bought the fibre from Purlin'J's Roving Yarn Company - a little yarn shop in a converted van that travels from town to town. Delightful!

I decided to just do it as a 2 ply, since the colour gradations weren't that long. I quite like the result, and it is super soft.

Facing the Rock, Rocking the Face

Sometimes the weary worker needs to emerge into the light of day. This is what I saw.

Heather's Little Sweatshop - The Day After

The camera pans down the stairs to the kitchen. A stray beam of sunlight illuminates the wreckage. Garish lime green fabric is strewn everywhere. Threads litter the floor. In the background, a tap drips.

Welcome to my nightmare, as the saying goes. Shockingly, it's not over yet, but the end is glimmering on the horizon. I have only the bibs to go, then the final assembly. I figure my wage has gone down from $20 an hour to $15, and it will be $10 before I'm done, but that is somewhat due to my inability to forgo niceties such as clipping thread ends.

I did discover that long tedious seams are not so mind-numbing if they are curved - applying bias binding to the 60 inch circular hems was a bit of a challenge in the technical sense. This reminds me of how I can do thousands of stitches by hand in an embroidery while loving every moment - I actually have to think about each stitch, and keep the hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills going.

I asked James, who used to work for a company that optimized assembly-line production about this. He said that the mind-numbing boredom induced by doing the same thing over and over and over was a safety concern, so it was recommended that workers be switched to different stations on a regular basis. They might still have to be on the same station for days or weeks though.

I also remember reading the book  Rivethead many years ago, written by Ben Hamper, a guy who worked the Flint, Michigan GM assembly line, and who described all the tricks the workers would devise so they could either stay awake or finish more quickly so they could catch a nap. It was a way of gaining some control over his place in a massive corporate system.

Well, Heather's Little Sweatshop is no massive corporate system, just a self-imposed yet still oppressive dynamic between me, the client and the clock. Anything I can do to be more efficient, or make my workplace more pleasant renders the whole enterprise more bearable.

The original model that I was given to copy.

Heather's Little Sweatshop

Before Christmas, I accepted a sewing job for a friend of a friend. She wanted some aprons sewn to give as presents to her friends. Not my most favourite thing, especially right after I declared determined focus on my art, but I quoted $20 bucks an hour, estimating that it would take me an hour to make each apron, figuring that would be enough to scare off someone who wasn't serious. Unfortunately, the client agreed, upping the order to six aprons, and gave me an open-ended time frame, as she was giving them as birthday prezzies, not Christmas gifts.

My friend and her friend (the client) went off to get fabric, hoping to match the very attractive retro style fabric of the bib apron she was wanting me to copy. I advised them to avoid the horrors of Fabricland, if at all possible, but where did they go? Straight there naturally, because a big sale was on. Of course, they couldn't find what they wanted, and settled for something not-as-nice, but okay. Once the fabric was in my door, I had to wash it, as it reeked of fillers and finishes.

It sat over the holidays, giving me the stink-eye every time I walked by. Then, the other day, I got an email from my friend wondering how I was doing with the aprons. In the interest of giving her a progress report, I figured I better get the damn things done and out the door. (Did I mention that I run a bad attitude sweatshop?)

I had already taken a tracing of the sweet little half circle skirt apron, with an overskirt and bib, adding the three inches in length the client requested. (I'll bet Damselfly is rolling her eyes right now. She knows what's coming.) Hmmn, seems the original took advantage of every inch of the 44" fabric and I would have to do some fancy manoeuvring to fit the pattern pieces to the fabric. Turns out this was the creative highlight of the whole enterprise, but it did take twice as long as it should have.

Okay, cutting is done, on to the construction. The only way to make this work is to do it like an assembly line. Apron strings and neckbands first. 18 times 45" of 1/4 inch seams, tubes turned inside out and pressed flat. After the first six seams, I was having great sympathy for real sweatshop workers. During the next six, I tried to make it like a game, and do each one faster than the next. For the final six I was vowing that if I somehow became Queen of the Western World, all citizens would have to work on a production line for a day to see what it was really like. I had to take a break then, because I couldn't face another endless seam.

Heather's Little Sweatshop has music, and wine, and unlimited bathroom breaks, and cuddly dogs - jeez, what am I complaining about? Only 35 minutes has passed. My neck hurts, and I'm bored to tears.

Thank God I have the best iron in the world. My sweetie gave me the Rowenta that I had been blatantly hinting about for Christmas, and wow, that thing can steam! It made blessedly short work of the miles of apron strings. It almost makes me look forward to the 6 times 85 inches of bias binding that is next on the list.

These aprons better not be gag gifts, that's all I can say.

Sometimes I Just Need to Get Out of My Own Way

Just before I fell asleep last night I realized that, when I look back at my life, I always decide that I have been a complete and utter idiot up until very recently. Whether I have any sense now is remains open to question, but if I try to be in the moment, I usually think, "I'm okay. I am a good person, and I quite enjoy hanging out with myself. I like what I make, and do, and I think I have finally got a bit of a handle on things."

And then, something springs up from the past, and blindsides me. This is what happened with two lovely comments from Blandina and Lis on my recent amulet tutorial. They both thanked me for the post, and reminded me of the travel amulets I had made and sent them before they went to Japan for a workshop with Bryan Whitehead.

I was shocked! I had made them amulets? Really? Slowly, the mists parted, and I remembered. Of course! They went on that workshop that I would have loved to have gone with them to. It was at some chaotic time of my life or other, and I couldn't afford to go, but I could send a bit of my energy with them. After Blandina and Lis returned and I heard about how wonderful a trip it was, I was happy for them and then, I guess, I kind of forgot about the amulets. But they didn't obviously. What a wonderful little hit of energy was returned to me, years after it was sent out into the world!

So what can I conclude from this story? No, not my default position that I am a complete and utter idiot. How about, maybe, I have been a better person that I thought I was? All along? Could that be? Or maybe, just maybe, those years of therapy actually worked. Or, simply, I am not the impartial observer of my own life that I thought I was.

Quite often I have made things and they go out into the world and I forget about them until stumbling across them years later. I am usually astonished. "I made that? Wow, it's better than I thought." When I am too close to something, all I see are the flaws, the bits I could have done better. Time has a nice way of giving distance and revealing truth.

 I don't think it is a coincidence, that just before turning off the light and having my little epiphany last night, I was reading the genius Lynda Barry's  new book Syllabus. It is a real mind opener and I unreservedly recommend it, along with her brilliant What It Is and Picture This.

Synchronicity

Photo copyright Carol Price

One of my readers (bless each and every one of you!), Carol P., sent me this lovely picture of the amulet she started making before seeing my most recent post. Here's what she said about it:

I've been working on an amulet bag since last week.  Even though I am not quite finished with it ( I am still crocheting the strap) I decided to send a picture anyway.   I am the recipient of this amulet.  It is designed to be worn as a necklace.   It is made from scraps of cotton fabric dyed with plants gathered from the fields surrounding my home.  I used crochet cotton dyed from locally gathered walnuts. I picked up the  peachy-pink stone used for the closure on one of my daily walks.  It is sewn closed and I'm not telling what is inside!! --  to divulge that information may dilute the energy I am trying to create!  I never begin with a plan, they just sort of evolve on their own.

I really like the earthy quality of the amulet, and  the chain stitch spiral, and the pretty stone closure - everything about it actually. And Carol has got it right - making amulets is about working with energy - there are no right or wrong instructions to follow, just let your intention (and intuition) be your guide!

 You can see more of Carol's beautiful handwork on her Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/91661538@N07/.