Interior with a Lady, 1901. Oil on canvas by Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1864-1916. We spent a morning with Hannah and Freya at the Detroit Institute of Arts while we were visiting for Thanksgiving. I came back to this luminous painting a few times. The light, the simplicity of the setting, and of course, the woman with a needle and thread in her hands captivated me.
We went especially to see Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation. To read about this extraordinary exhibit, click here. There were gorgeous baskets, beadwork, textiles and canoes and other hand work.
This piece was made with hand-dyed linen and cotton, wool, flattened US quarters, cones, thimbles, glass beads, float copper, cowrie and conch shells, fossils, birchbark, wool yarn, polyester ribbon, and artificial sinew, by Jason Wesaw (born 1974) Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. As I stood in front of it, I could almost feel the stitching that went into it.
There were so many wonderful pieces, and the artist statements were filled with both pain and joy.
We bundled up against freezing temps and howling winds to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade in downtown Detroit (the juxtaposition of tribal art up against a parade celebrating colonization was not lost on me.) The fun of watching Motown’s fabulous marching bands was a treat, tho.
There were piles of books to read, crafty projects, cooking together, eating together and so much shrieking and giggling. Things seem very, very quiet back here on the hill!
Do you know Tatter? Have you ever wondered about this unique collection’s origin story? I listened to the Long Thread podcast, season 13, episode 5…here. It’s wonderful. And just yesterday I got an email announcing a new Tatter class, called “blue amulet”.
I was once again startled by coincidence. I made this amulet just last week for one of my friends. We volunteer together and her courage and tenacity inspire me. She is truly a badass, doing good in the world. She thought I was kidding when I told her I would make her an amulet. A few days later, I pushed a box across the table, and she grinned. :-) Sometimes it’s so easy to have fun, even in these scary times.
I’ve been doing some holiday stitching and look forward to sharing details after they have been gifted.
As we look forward to the new year, I hope you’ll consider joining me for Lori Roberts’ (at Little Truths Studio) for her Analog Life Project. I feel so ready for this and I cannot wait to get started!
This patched together blogpost of pictures and words is a reflection of how hard it sometimes is to focus this time of year. I just want to be sure to send you my fondest holiday greetings.
May the light of hope and love fill your days. I’ll be back in 2026, ready to rumble along with the rest of you.
Courage, dear hearts!
xo