My Fiber Bowl is Full of Memories
At the end of this month, rather than say “my cup,” I’m saying “my fiber bowl is full.” The reason why will become obvious towards the end of this post. Even as we slide into an abyss of uncertainty, chaos, and at times overwhelming sadness, the month of September for me has been filled with creativity, new and renewed friendships, adventure, growth and joy.
Starting with my garden, I actually spotted my first ever Ridge Gourds peeking out from the huge vine taking over a good portion of the ground on August 31. The next day I harvested one of them and some okra, which quickly were combined with shrimp for my version of a small Creole dish. They were seasoned with garlic powder, Creole seasoning, hot pepper, red onion, and Old Bay; simmered in a skillet and served with Basmati rice cooked with turmeric to make it yellow. Delicious.
Throughout the month the garden produced okra, sweet potatoes, and the Ridge gourds. It even looks like a volunteer squash plant is trying to grow that is if the infamous critter doesn’t get it. Flowers bloomed and the occasional teeny tiny frog rested on the sunroom window.
By September 3 - 9, I was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, participating in a SewJourn hosted by Lisa Shepard Stewart, owner of Cultured Expressions. Our SewJourn included 2 days of indigo dyeing with Gasali Adeyemo; 1 day of paper and journal making with cloth at We Grow Eco with Chauncey, and 1 day of creating fiber bowls with Robbie Berg. Click on highlighted titles to see highlights from those fantastic workshops. The experience was fantastic, and I met some wonderfully, creative folks. And some of the pictures featured here and in the videos are credited to Cynthia, Lisa S, Lisa Van De G, Jewell, Gasali, and Tom (our tour guide).
Lisa and Tom
Ever one to take pictures of vegetables growing in a garden, and interesting arrangements of flowers and metal fences, I had to contain myself from overdoing it.
And of course, I had to make my usual yoga poses along with a pose showing off my indigo hands.
Besides its natural beauty, the vibe of Santa Fe is all about arts and culture blended heavily by Native American, Mexican and Spanish influences, museums, galleries, and food. I saw a small exhibit at the Indigenous Peoples Folk Art Museum featuring a Payuan artist from Taiwan, whose fiber art work reminded me very much of pieces by Elizabeth Talford Scott, fiber artist from Baltimore, MD. While I didn’t get to the Georgia O’keeffe museum, our visit to the Museum of International Folk Art was amazing. Because the museum shared a campus with the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture there were gorgeous Native American sculpture on the grounds. Inside the museum, there were exhibits of South African telephone wire weaving; Melanesian (Solomon Islands) storytelling illustrations done on the ground with fingertips ‘through sand, volcanic ash, or loose surface soil, forming intricate, symbolic patterns’; and votive offerings that were given to deities, spirits, and other sacred beings to express gratitude or prayers. There, also, was a large room full of miniature settings along with textiles from various parts of the world. On the way off the grounds, these beautiful flowers, called Sacred Thorn-Apple, were growing and come to find out Georgia O’keeffe painted them a lot. I could have stayed all day, especially to have had time to see the other museum.
Another adventure included a sunset Sky Railway train ride. It was one of those old-time trains with four cars, each with local musicians playing to entertain us. Also, a bartender and hostess made sure that the drinks flowed in each car. A flat bed car separated the first two and last two cars. Just before sunset, many of us walked out on the flat bed to see the sunset. My seat mate, Jewell, and I had perfect spots to see everything. On the way back, I tried taking pictures of the full moon that blazed in the distance.
After the SewJourn, I drove to Albuquerque and spent 2 days with my friend Renee. She was an old friend from Philly, who found me on Facebook and who I hadn’t seen in years. The visit was short, but we had a glorious time re-connecting. A huge highlight was taking the Cibola National Forest Tram up and seeing the mountain range. Here I’ve refrained from showing too many pictures, but it was so majestic. Afterwards, we went to one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, Pappadeaux, for lunch. Who knew there was one in Albuquerque. The food was delicious!
I returned home on September 11 and needed a good week to recuperate from all that activity. But no rest for the weary. My hands and fingers got busy quilting the first third of the quilt pieced by ladies participating in the Home Place Quilting Bee Community Project Workshop. They did a wonderful job and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do to finish it.
On September 25, I had the pleasure of hosting the FoodCorps Mississippi Cohort monthly in-service training at Three Blessings Yoga Farm and Wellness Center. Two FoodCorps leaders and 6 cohort members spent half a day here. They did a 45-minute yoga session with me and spent the remainder of time doing their in-service training. It was so nice to share space with folks committed to supporting the community.
All of these experiences this month are why I say my fiber bowl is full. Upon returning home, I embellished my fiber bowl with African beads and an outreaching brass hand element. To me it’s the perfect way to symbolize holding all of September’s memories.
As always remember to do what’s best to nurture you, family, friends and your community. Peace, wisdom, gratitude be with us all.