A young friend and I were standing amongst some milk weed and all at once had the idea to card the fluff with some wool. We did the same with some silk fibers I had. When we took both to the farmers market and asked which had more sheen, it was the milkweed that won out. I don’t think we thought to dye it. This was many years ago
Silk floss 💖 Each pod holds a thousand fairy wishes but you can’t pluck them, you have to wait for them to fly and you can’t take your eyes off them, if you want the wish to come true.
And I loved my childhood knitted poncho - my gran could knit like a demon, she made me a pink Chanel Jackie Kennedy suit when I was about eight and first I complained that the buttons weren’t perfect but then I wore it till it fell apart. I never told my gran how much I admired her knitting but she was a stern sort - probably didn’t need my affirmation.
I knit - long scarves of carefully curated and textured wools and I manifest hope with every stitch. I sew the blankets together, with rustic threads laced with gold and silver and I somehow even the massive things out into a lovely rectangle, by adding necessary bits that I shape as needed.
I made a blanket for each member of my family but they were all somehow stolen in a burglary on the farm shortly before my parents left SA for Oz. “You should be happy, they liked your blankets and now they’re nice and warm,” my mom said. Which is true. I’d live to make blankets for the world . Sometimes I think they are prayer blankets, prayers for me and the world and when I close my eyes, I ask for everything for everybody.
Two years ago I finally made one for myself and I cherish its rough uneven woolly texture and it comforts my that I am still here, under the blanket, worrying, dreaming, thanking.
And now I think if I could only lay my head on a silk floss pillow, under a chilly full moon, under my blanket - well that would be a perfect moment.
And yet again, I rambled!
I am loving the muted tones, the quiet light, the gold. The revealing, yes.
Oh, one ps. Monarch butterflies. In my book Everything You Dream is Real, they have mutated - they carry venomous stings and bites that cause gangrene - their revenge on humans. But, hidden in the tiny cavities of their anus is a drug more soothing and addictive than one can imagine. Butt dust. And such was my (bizarre!) homage to the monarchs who I adore and cherish! This is not a plug for my ridiculously strange book, it’s just to show how much I’ve considered the monarch. And I don’t know why there isn’t a monarch emoji.
Thank you again for a wonderful newsletter, which is my Friday highlight!
A Girl Scout Troop planted native California milkweed in our Community Garden and we watch first for the green shoots to come up, then the caterpillars to come munch and then the exploding pods. We give the tedious job of separating the seeds from the fluff to those who need a sitting job. We had no idea there might be a use for the fluff!
I was given the seed from Asclepias ovalifolia (oval leaf milk weed) this week. I hope to sow it soon and give hope to a future full beneficial insects + devoid of industrial farming. Thank you for such interesting writing
A young friend and I were standing amongst some milk weed and all at once had the idea to card the fluff with some wool. We did the same with some silk fibers I had. When we took both to the farmers market and asked which had more sheen, it was the milkweed that won out. I don’t think we thought to dye it. This was many years ago
Silk floss 💖 Each pod holds a thousand fairy wishes but you can’t pluck them, you have to wait for them to fly and you can’t take your eyes off them, if you want the wish to come true.
And I loved my childhood knitted poncho - my gran could knit like a demon, she made me a pink Chanel Jackie Kennedy suit when I was about eight and first I complained that the buttons weren’t perfect but then I wore it till it fell apart. I never told my gran how much I admired her knitting but she was a stern sort - probably didn’t need my affirmation.
I knit - long scarves of carefully curated and textured wools and I manifest hope with every stitch. I sew the blankets together, with rustic threads laced with gold and silver and I somehow even the massive things out into a lovely rectangle, by adding necessary bits that I shape as needed.
I made a blanket for each member of my family but they were all somehow stolen in a burglary on the farm shortly before my parents left SA for Oz. “You should be happy, they liked your blankets and now they’re nice and warm,” my mom said. Which is true. I’d live to make blankets for the world . Sometimes I think they are prayer blankets, prayers for me and the world and when I close my eyes, I ask for everything for everybody.
Two years ago I finally made one for myself and I cherish its rough uneven woolly texture and it comforts my that I am still here, under the blanket, worrying, dreaming, thanking.
And now I think if I could only lay my head on a silk floss pillow, under a chilly full moon, under my blanket - well that would be a perfect moment.
And yet again, I rambled!
I am loving the muted tones, the quiet light, the gold. The revealing, yes.
Oh, one ps. Monarch butterflies. In my book Everything You Dream is Real, they have mutated - they carry venomous stings and bites that cause gangrene - their revenge on humans. But, hidden in the tiny cavities of their anus is a drug more soothing and addictive than one can imagine. Butt dust. And such was my (bizarre!) homage to the monarchs who I adore and cherish! This is not a plug for my ridiculously strange book, it’s just to show how much I’ve considered the monarch. And I don’t know why there isn’t a monarch emoji.
Thank you again for a wonderful newsletter, which is my Friday highlight!
A Girl Scout Troop planted native California milkweed in our Community Garden and we watch first for the green shoots to come up, then the caterpillars to come munch and then the exploding pods. We give the tedious job of separating the seeds from the fluff to those who need a sitting job. We had no idea there might be a use for the fluff!
I was given the seed from Asclepias ovalifolia (oval leaf milk weed) this week. I hope to sow it soon and give hope to a future full beneficial insects + devoid of industrial farming. Thank you for such interesting writing