magid

Last night I went to the Newton Library (read: far too long on the D branch of the Green Line plus a mile walk after) for an event sponsored by the Vilna Shul and JArts: "Threads That Bind: Weaving as a Practice of Storytelling,” which included a talk by Josh Kurtz about the history of weaving, (including texts and examples from Jewish history and other indigenous folkways), plus time to start a project on laser-cut flat hand looms that we could take home to finish later (along with whatever fibers we wanted from the varied assortment he’d brought, which varied from whole skeins to small balls of leftover yarn to roving).

I had a good time, though each part felt too short. The talk included slides, of the oldest known woven piece (a dress from Egypt about 5000 years ago); of a workers’ solidarity/protest banner that showed a complete picture including protest banners as part of it; of a piece commissioned by the Jewish Museum (in NYC, I think, not Jerusalem) to remember the Holocaust, six panels in browns, white, and black, which looked to me like they were unreadable text; of the unicorn tapestries; of a woven ceremonial dress made by a Native person in the southwest (I failed to take notes, so don’t have his name, but do remember he’s 26), who not only wove the cloths, but also shepherded and sheared the sheep, combed and spun the fibers, and foraged the materials to dye the thread/yarn (!!!!).

The looms were flat, laser-cut wood, looking rather like a rectangular picture frame, with holes in all corners, and little teeth top and bottom. We warped our own looms (though he did have some pre-warped, for those who wanted), then chose some of the fiber abundance to use as weft. The laser-cut pieces also included a flat, wide needle-like piece that could help with the back-and-forthing of fiber, and a smaller flat ‘fork’ for pushing the rows down. Both were optional, but useful. There wasn’t time to complete a piece, but we got to take the looms & tools & fibers we wanted home to complete! Josh requested photos once people finished their pieces.

I had arrived early, so I was there during room set-up. Josh mentioned that he’d gotten some yarns at Make and Mend in Somerville, so after the event, I asked if he was headed back to Somerville by car, and if so, could I catch a ride back (rather than another mile-plus walk, an eternity on the D-line (ok, maybe an hour?), then three-quarters of a mile walk home), which he was happy to offer. We chatted on the way back, talking textiles, and also Jewish geography (NHC turned out to be our first connector of friends in common).

yesterday morning i made herbed matza brei for brunch. why have i not thought of this before? (there are 4 aheets of matza left. i can definitely use those up without difficulty.)

over to queue's for an origami bash, and i managed to fold a decent number of pieces, considering.

[somehow, i start to think a plethora of hand posts is already boring for most, by now. i keep finding new small things every day i can do that i couldn't manage before, and being pleased. but i can well imagine this is less than thrilling reading for people who are not me.
i wonder if this is akin to how babies/toddlers feel about their accomplishments, working hard on walking (or whatever), finally getting it right, but still needing lots of practice, finally being able to walk w/o conscious effort. (though perhaps less verbal about their accomplishments... perhaps this is a good thing...)]

a walk to a nearby park i'd not been to before. why do some people feel the need to put graffitti on monuments? i don't understand it in general, but over something else seems worse. and there was tons of broken glass. maybe breaking things is fun (i can remember times i would've enjoyed it), but not in such an irresponsible manner...

the cool part was when the ladybug landed on my hand, and stayed to visit for a while. it was fascinating to watch him, the leg motions, the circling, etc. why do i assume it was a him? 'cause when i commented on how long it had stayed, hrafn sayed something about it being a male that didn't want to ask directions. and immediately it launched (in a huff?).

dinner was nice, thanks to cthulhia and queue being thoughtful about food: i had hummus & veggies in pita, almost the felafel everyone else had (i still want the recipe, queue! oh, and the veggie biriyani smelled awesome, even if it did turn out rather spicier than planned...)

happy patriot's day.

tonight is also yom hazikaron, israeli memorial day. it is much more a "memorial day" than what i'm used to in the states. there's 3 min of silence, when the air raid sirens go off, and pretty much everything stops. cars stop in the street. so do pedestrians. people stand where they are, in shops, wherever, and think of those who were lost. it's incredibly moving, seeing everything quiet with one purpose. many people go to the military cemeteries, visiting the graves of someone they've lost... i've never seen cemeteries so jam-packed with people. i wish it didn't have to be....

and then tomorrow night is yom ha'atzmaut, israeli independence day. the mood changes utterly, with fireworks, picnics, etc.

i hope both days can be without further violence.