Whimsy & Tea | Handwoven Tea Towels

weaving beauty into your everyday

  • HOME
  • ABOUT MARILYN
    • Meet Marilyn
    • In the media
    • Environmental stewardship
  • HANDWOVEN GOODS
    • Kitchen towels
    • Table napkins
    • About colorgrown cotton
    • Laundering
    • A word about color
    • My guarantee
  • EVENTS
  • BLOG
    • Making cloth
    • Thoughts on beauty
    • Life’s lessons at the loom
    • More than a dog walk
    • Customer stories
    • Recent posts
  • CONTACT
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An announcement and an invitation

An announcement and an invitation

Two years after I gave Whimsy & Tea room to tell me what it wanted, it let me know it was time for us to ...
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Asha immerses herself in a puddle

Coming when called

One spring morning when Asha was about six months old, we walked up what my friend Lynn calls Butt Hill (because you feel the climb ...
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When I changed my mind about a color

Tangled threads: Thoughts on failure

I sit down at the loom and settle in to untangle threads. I’d designed new towels, but, after weaving a sample, was unhappy with the ...
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Four Whimsy & Tea kitchen towels hanging on a wall

Ever widening circles of permission

I sit in a circle of women in a cozy cottage on Nantucket, the sound of the ocean in the background. We have flown, driven, ...
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Unexpected purple delight

Unexpected purple delight

On our morning walk Asha runs down to a stream and I search for a stick to throw her. Instead I find small purple flowers ...
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hemming Joy Journey Revisited towels

Towels, cakes and writing

I cut the red thread after sewing the cloth label onto the towel and exhale. I hold the towel up, fold it in thirds lengthwise, ...
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table set with linens woven with colorgrown cotton

Where have all the deipnosophists gone?

I learned a new word recently: deipnosophist. A few Saturdays ago, I was driving to meet my friend Sherri for a latte and turned on ...
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The way becomes clear

The way becomes clear

This morning Asha and I walked to the bridge over gentle waters. It was sunny and a pleasant 28°. No biting wind. I was in ...
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Asha meets a turtle crossing the road

Approach, retreat, bark

One overcast morning I was walking along a trail deep in thought – perhaps about how snow pants make such a difference on cold days ...
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bridge over gentle waters

Bridge over gentle waters

On one of my let’s-see-where-this-trail-goes walks with Asha, we rounded a bend and came to a clearing of sorts with a wooden bridge over a ...
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Zinnia patch kitchen towels

Start somewhere

My desk is covered with a few weaving books, samples I wove in a workshop on color, graph paper and my laptop as I work ...
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dishes drying on a towel by the sink

A “waste” of time?

On a walk in the woods with my puppy Asha, a sentence I’d read recently popped into my head: A tidy house is a sign ...
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warp for rhododendron bouquet towels

The sound before the sound

"Did you hear that?" I ask my friend Jody as we wind a warp onto her loom together. Jody stands at the front of the ...
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warp for after the rain towels

From irked to grateful

Sometimes weaving drives me crazy. I’m not talking about the many times threads have ended up in a tangled mess. Nor how hard it is ...
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Asha looking at the beaver pond

Geese and indigo: Thoughts on wonder

I wonder where the geese went, I say to my puppy Asha who is also staring out at the beaver pond. I like to think ...
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Asha turns threads into a chew toy

Whimsy & Tea appoints new CHO

One morning during a late-winter thaw my puppy Asha and I head up the dirt road, past the small cemetery and into the woods. Once ...
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Enough

Enough

I'm at my loom weaving towels with sustainably-grown, naturally-colored cotton. I’m in the familiar place of wanting to finish a collection of towels in time ...
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Eighth & Oxford

Eighth & Oxford

I walk in silence beside my mother. She’s listening to classical music on her iPod. I’m thinking about beauty, specifically how it doesn’t have to ...
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Winter rest

Winter rest

The winter solstice has come and gone, the light is gradually returning and a new year has started. I feel a cultural pressure to usher ...
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Letting Go kitchen towel in a basket with rolls

Letting go

I have a project I want to weave: napkins to go with my Crisp Fall Day table runners. By “go with” I mean similar colors ...
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My heart is heavy

My heart is heavy

My heart is heavy. Weighed down by all the destruction and turmoil across this country. Homes lost. To fire. To water. To wind. I write ...
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sunflower-inspired kitchen towels

Sunflower happiness

Four sunflower heads floated in shallow plates of water on the dining table. Earlier that day they had lined the path at a wedding. Now ...
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Working Weavers Studio Trail 2017

Working Weavers Studio Trail: Making Cloth Visible Again

I’m excited to be part of the inaugural Working Weavers Studio Trail here in western Massachusetts. On October 14 & 15, I’ll be one of ...
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Codi with a branch

And here I thought I was simply walking the dogs

Most mornings for the better part of 16 years, I’d get up and go for a walk with my yellow Labs, Molly and Codi. Many ...
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table set with the Lakeside collection

Weaving the spirit of life – old and new – into linens for your table

I had a particularly lovely, nourishing & sacred breakfast experience this morning because my new handcrafted textiles were hard at work bringing the spirit & ...
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sliced beets on the cutting board

Alphabet soup

Chicken noodle. French onion. Potato leek. Beet Cabbage Borscht. A bowl of warm soup hits the spot and offers comforting nourishment. And nourishment is so ...
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placesetting with clouds napkin

Listening below the noise

I watched the woman take a couple steps away from my booth, pause, and return. She stood quietly for a few moments, touching the gray ...
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cones of sustainably-grown cotton plus a towel

First steps and adventures: Exploring sustainably-grown cotton

It started with an opportune question. Do you use organic cotton? a well-dressed man asked one Saturday earlier this year at the Northampton Winter Farmers’ ...
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drying a glass with a Sunset kitchen towel

Surprised by orange

One Sunday after church, when I was a child, my family was invited to dinner at Rokeby, a guesthouse run by Methodist missionaries near my ...
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Whimsy & Tea towels hanging in my booth

The uncommon magic of a handwoven kitchen towel: What I long to tell you

I was at a craft fair recently and over the course of three days, I heard several women comment, I’d wear that as a scarf, ...
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handwoven towel over the shoulder

Can a tea towel reduce the crime rate?

In the 1990s the crime rate in New York City fell suddenly. Violent crime decreased in cities across the country as the crack trade declined, ...
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In praise of slow weaving

In praise of slow weaving

People often ask me how long it takes to weave a towel. The short answer is: I don’t know. I don’t weave one towel from ...
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The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

A gift for you – The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

Touching the towel can serve as a silent meditation to be present. For me, it’s about connection. These quotations are from interviews with Caryn Cushman ...
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Enjoying the journey

Enjoying the journey

When I sit at the loom and throw the shuttle back and forth, I have plenty of time to think as the cloth grows. Today ...
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three towels hanging on a ladder

Everyday soul-tingling

One day, a few years ago, when I was making a deposit at the bank, the teller, Cindy, asked me about my business name, “Whimsy ...
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10 pairs of towels

Thank you for your generosity

In December, I invited you to join me in a unique project to bring beauty and hope to survivors of domestic violence. I wanted to ...
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towels for Dina's Dwellings with a gift box

A unique project to give hope and beauty to survivors of domestic violence

The day after Claire’s boyfriend kicked her while she was holding their baby, he was nice to her. She knew then that he knew what ...
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IMGP5973.DNG

Lessons from a thirteenth napkin

Simplicity napkin Do you weave napkins? a woman asked me at a farmers’ market. I smiled and said, No. After I got this question the ...
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tubes of cotton for the lazy summer day towels

“My favorite color is rainbow!”

tubes of cotton for the Lazy Summer Day kitchen towels Four-year-old Isabelle looks up from drawing a flower to ask Jessica, her teacher, a question ...
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like a wildflower kitchen towels drying on the clothesline

Before summer ends …

Like a Wildflower kitchen towels Each season has its particular joys. Before summer ends, I want to make time to ... Hang laundry on the ...
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Four towels from the Untitled 2 collection

Making joy non-negotiable

I have a new towel design on the loom. I worked the design out on paper with the aid of my weaving software and did ...
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towel on a tray with tea & scones

Pausing for afternoon tea

I Feel the Earth kitchen towels It’s 3:33 pm at my boarding school in the foothills of the Himalayas. The buzzer sounds, signaling the end ...
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Sunshine on my Shoulders kitchen towel draped on a chiar

Equation for contentment

Sunshine on my Shoulders kitchen towel Sun shining directly into my studio, filling the space with warm, inviting light layered with … Weaving, and specifically ...
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8-shaft Baby Wolf loom

Whimsy-grams on retreat

Happy 2015! Every week I try to declare one day a Weave-to-my-Heart’s-Content Day. On these days I give myself permission to let go of the ...
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tomatoes drying on a handwoven towel

Ways to use a kitchen towel

My senior year in college my uncle came for a visit. After I cooked us a vegetarian dinner in my basement apartment, he kindly offered ...
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I’d love to hear how you use your Whimsy & Tea towel

So many of you have responded to my email last week, asking how you use your Whimsy & Tea towels. A big thank you. I ...
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Carol's towel cropped -250

The connecting power of a towel

Earlier this year, I shared two interviews – one with Caryn, about the Whimsy & Tea towel she has been using in her kitchen and ...
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scuffed weaving shuttle 3

Do you need a permission slip?

Over the past six months a friend has been writing me emails as she inches towards using one of her Whimsy & Tea towels. A ...
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handwoven towel display at Studio Warming Party

Inside the studio

The other day my friend Faith came over with a friend of hers visiting from Germany. Faith had asked if she could show her friend ...
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detail from a scarf woven in Chahuaytire, Peru

Do the patterns I weave have any meaning?

In June I had the pleasure of visiting a first grade class to demonstrate and talk about weaving. They had been reading stories featuring Anansi ...
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using a handwoven napkin at breakfast

Breakfast with Whimsy & Tea

In March I shared my interview with Caryn, an elementary school teacher in Portland, OR, about the Whimsy & Tea towel she has been using ...
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row of bobbins

Leaning into color

Weaving is pattern and color. Pattern is my comfort zone.  I’m left-brained and enjoy logic, structure and order.  Numbers, formulas and equations make me happy.  On ...
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stack of replenish towels 700

Replenishing a tired spirit

At the very end of December or beginning of January, I do inventory. I count and weigh tubes of cotton, dust the shelves before putting ...
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Deb's sketches - 700

Deb’s Red Letter Day

NOTE:  This is a guest post by Deb Davis.  Deb is a writer, artist and naturalist who works for the Forest Service in central Washington ...
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Does everyday beauty make a difference?

I have been interviewing a few customers about the towels, napkins and table runners they purchased from me. I am curious to know how they ...
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Trust

I am weaving a new towel design and exploring variations. In this design, vertical ivory stripes alternate with twill stripes in different pastels. After I’ve ...
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The choices that bring you home to yourself

When I was preparing for an artist talk in conjunction with the recent exhibit, Serving Up Art, a friend and fellow fiber enthusiast sent me ...
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Embracing Thanksgiving

I enjoy hosting Thanksgiving. Growing up in India, Thanksgiving wasn’t a significant holiday in my life.  My sister and I would arrive home from boarding ...
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tiny house

Living with less

Last November my friends Amy Halko, Holly Jordan and I held a Clay Wood Cloth event at MIX Garden in Healdsburg, CA. We donated a ...
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Cultivate Home-1000pixels

Cultivate home

There’s a store on the main street of Sebastopol, CA that sells great cooking and baking tools. Whenever I drive by, I think about how ...
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Investing in yourself: Necessity or luxury?

Some time ago my printer was printing red lines on everything.  I consulted my small manual and followed the appropriate troubleshooting suggestions.  The red lines ...
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stack of towels 3 72dpi

Weaving the Gulf Shore Towels

Beyond sitting at the loom People often ask me how long it takes to weave a towel. Actually weaving the towel – sitting at the ...
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More than a haircut

For many years I had shoulder-length straight brown hair, parted in the middle. It was a low maintenance “do”, requiring only an occasional trim. Although ...
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Accepting rough edges

I have a new towel design on the loom and it isn’t weaving as smoothly as I would like. It’s been a while since I’ve ...
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calico skirt

Do the things you use reflect your current self?

When I was seven years old, I had a long cotton skirt that I loved.  I was fascinated by the three bands of calico fabric, ...
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Of robots and dog walks

In my recent college alum magazine, there’s an article about an alumnus who has been developing robots for security purposes. These robots can be sent ...
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paigegreen-Marilyn42512-002

Presence versus Patience

“You must have a lot of patience” is a comment I hear frequently at craft shows where I sell my towels. I’ve grown used to it, ...
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The fullness of gratitude

In response to a newsletter, a customer wrote me about a conversation with a Japanese friend about ceremonies for daily use items. This idea intrigued ...
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Marilyn Webster's Abridged Weaving Dictionary

Marilyn Webster’s Abridged Weaving Dictionary

As a child, I disliked my name. Too many comments about Marilyn Monroe and the dictionary, although not usually in the same breath. I identified ...
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Turning down Joy Lane

Turning down Joy Lane

When I'm driving, I pay attention to street names. I get curious about who named them and what they reveal about the town's history. For ...
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Unweaving

I am almost finished weaving a towel when I realize something is off. I'm not where I'm supposed to be in the pattern. I take ...
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What do you mean when you call something “beautiful”?

One of my high school English teachers instructed us not to use the adjectives "nice" and "interesting." According to my teacher, to describe someone as ...
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Beauty: the perfect medicine

I've been settling into my new more permanent home and running move-related errands: opening bank accounts, registering my car, finding a vet, getting a landline ...
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What makes a house a home?

My recent move from northern California to western Maryland has me pondering the question: What makes a house a home? I’ve walked into houses and ...
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To take or not to take the kitchen timer

In preparation for my cross-country move, I've been sorting through my belongings. I'm not ready to pack yet, but over the years, I've learned that ...
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The story of a towel

The story of a towel

Some time ago I wove a few towels with five wide ivory stripes and six narrow spruce ones. I chose a very simple design and ...
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Painting the house as a form of self care

I’ve known for a while that my living and dining rooms as well as my home office need painting. The otherwise white walls and ceiling ...
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Altar your kitchen

One afternoon while browsing the interior design section of my local bookstore, I came across a book entitled Altar Your Space. I picked it up, ...
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Where is beauty when it hurts?

My friend Helena asked me what a world without beauty would look like. At first words like gray and bland came to mind. Then I ...
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Love as an ingredient

At the grocery store the other day I came across some coconut almond hummus. I was intrigued. Reading the ingredients, I noticed that the last ...
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Beauty is not a luxury

The other Sunday I had a lovely massage. As I sat in the waiting area with a warm neck wrap and a cup of mint ...
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Better than going to the spa

Have you ever had something that didn’t work they way you wanted it to? I have. I recently made a list. It’s a long list ...
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Investing in beauty

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for the past few months, you know that I am passionate about using beautiful things in everyday life and ...
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Ordinary and extraordinary beauty

Several years ago I traveled back to India, to the foothills of the Himalayas where I grew up. My class was having a reunion in ...
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Honoring the ordinary

I've been talking with friends about the ways they bring beauty into their everyday lives and have been moved by the depth of their responses ...
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Less is more

Last month I wrote about an experiment that was inspired by removing clothes from my closet and what I learned about self-care from that experiment ...
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An experiment with beauty

I have been conducting a little experiment. What I'm learning from this experiment is deepening my understanding of the importance of beauty in the everyday ...
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What would Goldilocks do?

Once upon a time a girl wandered into the woods and came upon a house. She knocked and when there was no answer, she went ...
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But it’s too beautiful to use!

"There once was a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his ...
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Get my ebook — The Power of Beauty in Everyday Life: Five Stories

The power of beauty in everyday life: Five stories

Please accept this gift that celebrates and explores the power of beauty in everyday life.

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More writing: Shining a light on the ordinary that’s not so ordinary

circle of beech leaves and flowers on a mossy rock

Although the store is closed, the philosophical heartbeat of Whimsy & Tea – shining a light on the ordinary that’s not so ordinary – is now expressed more fully and a little bit differently in stories and notes at WalksWithAsha.com.

Read and listen

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Popular blog posts

  • In praise of slow weaving
  • But it’s too beautiful to use!
  • The sound before the sound
  • Enough
  • Weaving the Gulf Shores towels
  • Replenishing a tired spirit
  • Honoring the ordinary

Copyright © 2023 Marilyn Webster | Whimsy & Tea | Contact | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

  • HOME
  • ABOUT MARILYN
    ▼
    • Meet Marilyn
    • In the media
    • Environmental stewardship
  • HANDWOVEN GOODS
    ▼
    • Kitchen towels
    • Table napkins
    • About colorgrown cotton
    • Laundering
    • A word about color
    • My guarantee
  • EVENTS
  • BLOG
    ▼
    • Making cloth
    • Thoughts on beauty
    • Life’s lessons at the loom
    • More than a dog walk
    • Customer stories
    • Recent posts
  • CONTACT
  • ONLINE STORE