When you commit to publishing a book involving an indigenous culture, the question always comes up: can it be bilingual? Many of the books we’ve published are based in Spanish-speaking countries, and it would seem both logical and respectful to include both Spanish and English. And we have done that. Sometimes. En Español Chip Morris’s […]
04
Nov
Nov
It was pretty blue at the Textile Society of America Symposium a couple of weeks ago, indigo blue. There was the indigo dye workshop on Ossabaw Island and a tour of its indigo history, an indigo art exhibition, and Catharine Ellis and Rowland Ricketts each chaired different sessions called “Indigo and Beyond” offering seven different presentations related to […]
16
Sep
Sep
I’ve been reading a terrific book called I Contain Multitudes about microbes and their pervasive role in all of creation, not to mention my own gut. So a recent story in the New York Times immediately caught my eye: “Could Ancient Remedies Hold the Answer to the Looming Antibiotic Crisis?” As I dug into the story, […]
04
Mar
Mar
I get the best email. Dear Linda, Here’s a question that has been wandering around in the back of my mind ever since I went to Peru a couple of years ago. I’m a weaver, knitter, and sewist, so I love this stuff. In the Sacred Valley, we saw Nilda Callanaupa and her merry band […]
11
Dec
Dec
Dateline Cusco I’m in Cusco, Peru with Karen Brock and Joe Coca. We’re working on a new book with Nilda Callanaupa, Diana Hendrickson, and the weavers of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC). This book is beyond the conception stage, beyond the zygote stage, well into the fetus stage. It grows and changes […]
26
Jun
Jun
I’ve been fascinated with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival blog and Facebook feeds the last few weeks. Interpret “fascinated” as spending way too much time watching video clips of upcoming events and dreaming myself there! The Festival started this Wednesday on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and runs through the weekend, then it’s on again […]
05
Jun
Jun
Weave a Real Peace (W.A.R.P.) is an organization devoted to bringing together people who love indigenous textiles, are devoted to the artisans who create them, and who work in various ways to create economic opportunities to help the traditions survive. I just came back from the organization’s annual conference, “Blending Tradition and Textiles.” It was […]
14
Apr
Apr
Sometimes, books just happen. The very first Thrums book, published in 2007, came about it that unexpected way. I had been on a tour to Cusco to visit the weaving villages of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, director Nilda Callañaupa mentioned her interest in publishing a series of books on the textile designs […]
