
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 & ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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’ ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

“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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading

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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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, ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading
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 ...
Continue reading
Continue reading