Let's Reframe: By Degrees

Compost, Fiber and Fashion

1/26/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
My daughter's old socks. Photo by ERSwett
When my 
daughter finally
cleaned out her sock 
drawer over the holidays, she
presented me with this colorful pile. I
wondered what to do with these mismatched
dirty old socks. I don't want to add more clothing waste
to the landfill, but because they are made
of synthetic fibers, I can't compost
them. What's a gal like
me to do?
Picture
A Suitcase full of clothing remnants. Photo by ERSwett
And when
I cleaned out my
mother-in-law's house
two years ago, I came home
with bags of scraps from all the clothes
she had had altered to fit her - - At
5" and getting smaller, she
needed a lot of hems
and cuffs removed
and shortened.
Picture
Knit shirt cuffs. Photo by ERSwett
I love
that Pam
saved these
scraps, perhaps
thinking they could
be used to mend her shirts
or trousers if they needed it. Or,
perhaps she had a vision for making
a quilt some day. But then she
forgot about the scraps & 
those ideas faded
with time.

Picture
The bottoms of pants that were just too long. Photo by ERSwett
When I
originally found
her bags of cuffs, hems
and other fabric, I wondered if I
could compost, recycle or reuse them.
That's just how I think. The thought of tossing
these remnants of my mother-in-law's life into
dumpsters made me really sad. I couldn't
do it. It's not that I am a hoarder
or that I am overly
​sentimental.

Picture
Altered Party Dresses. Photo by ERSwett
And it's more
than the reality that 
I hate 
waste. In fact, I found
these on a day when I had been
ruthlessly sending all manner of things
to the landfill. At that moment, though, I had
a feeling there was a story embodied
in those bags that 
I would
​explore someday.
Picture
Some shirts are just too long. Photo by ERSwett
So here I am,
wondering about 
my
daughter's old socks and my
mother-in-law's 
fabric remnants.
The thing that's bothering me most is
that they can not be composted because these
colorful textiles are made from or contain synthetic fibers.
As I have recently learned in Rebecca Burgess's
Fibershed, 
there is more to our clothes
than I ever knew.
Picture
A pile of textile scraps. Photo by ERSwett
For me,
though, these
piles of fabric are kind
of like the piles of vegetables and
other scraps I witness in the compost pile.
The colors, textures and shapes
seduce me, inviting me to
pay attention.
Picture
A pile of textile scraps. Photo by ERSwett
I notice
Pam's love for
blues and greens. I 
notice the mix of silk, denim,
linen, wool, cotton-knit and shining
polyester. Although she now needs a wheel-
chair to get around, she once swooshed and swished
at parties, did errands in town, and dug in her
garden. Each of these scraps reveals
a different part of her life, a
different part
of her.

Picture
Silky greens, blues and yellows. Photo by ERSwett
It turns out
that I am asking
the same questions of
these scraps that I ask of my
compost. Where you do come from,
how did you grow or how were you made?
Who was responsible for your emergence and
ultimate journey to me? Were those responsible for
you (fabric or fruit) paid a living wage? Was 
the soil from which you grew (veggie or
fiber) rich with compost, or was
it polluted? The Fibershed,
it turns out, is like a 
foodshed or a
watershed.
Picture
The joy of aqua-marine. Photo by ERSwett
Meaning,
there is a connection
between geography and the
health of our food, the cleanliness
of our water, and the sustainability of the
clothes we wear. Each is part of a system much
larger than itself. I started exploring these connections
last year when I wrote blog posts about an
old t-shirt, old dresses that belonged
to my grandmother, and
​finding
new shoes.
Picture
2020 Featured Photo #3: Carrots, Leeks & Onion Skins, 2020 Photo by ERSwett
Ultimately,
when I eat yummy,
healthy good, I feel better.
When I wear well-made, beautiful
and natural fibers, I feel better as well. To
continue exploring the relationship between re-imagining
my clothes and, in the process re-imagining myself,
I'm excited to start hosting a community
conversation on this very subject.
Stay tuned. I have no idea
what will emerge
​from this...
Picture
Picture
Picture
Don't worry.
I'm still hanging out
with compost, but I'm also
seeing where that compost leads me.
For the moment, it's inviting time with fabric,
because, like food, textiles could be
removed from our waste
stream if we only
​knew how.
1 Comment

The Power of Women in Detroit

1/19/2020

4 Comments

 
Picture
Detroit Skyline & River Photo by ERSwett
I used to 
like to travel, until
I discovered that it wore me
out. More recently, though, I have been
teaching myself how
to sustain myself and find joy
even when away from home. So when in
Detroit to visit family last week, I 
explored on foot & in a car,
with my camera and
an open heart. 
Picture
Morning Glory Coffee & Pastries Photo by ERSwett
Picture
Coffee Pie at Sister Pie Photo by ERSwett
Taking breaks
for treats & coffee 
may be a cliche, but it's a
thing. Delicious coffees and pies in
interesting places run by cool
people warms my
body and my
​soul.
Picture
Walking in Grosse Pointe Farms Photo by ERSwett
Walking sustains
​energy, as does witnessing
creative Little Free
​Libraries...
Picture
Little Free Library in MI Photo by ERSwett
Picture
Belle Isle Little Free Library Photo by ERSwett
and eclectic
gardens on street
corners inviting me to
'Be Patient.' 
Picture
A cool garden in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI Photo by ERSwett
Once again
I found myself
between generations,
sitting with Aunt Al waiting
for the dog walker to arrive and,
later in the day, celebrating my godson's
14th birthday on the 14th with a
celebrated 'Bumpy Cake.'
Who knew?
Picture
Waiting for the Dog Walker Photo by ERSwett
Picture
The Bumpy Cake Photo by ERSwett
In the midst of it all,
I was surrounded by strong
women figuring out how to find joy
in various messy places - from
single-motherhood to 
compost.
Picture
Henry the dog brings joy to his family Photo by ERSwett
You got it.
Compost. I just
can't not seek it out.
In this case, I explored Detroit
Dirt
,
a thriving organization that processes
food waste and animal manure
between old warehouses
and the highway.
Picture
Compost at Detroit Dirt Photo by ERSwett
As I stood among 
the eight mounds of compost,
trying to keep warm as it snowed and
the wind blew, I felt the power of earth's capacity
to renew itself. It takes energy to create
life from waste, but that is just
what the amazing Pashon
Murray
is doing.
Picture
Detroit Dirt Photo by ERSwett
Picture
With Pashon Murray at Detroit Dirt Photo by ERSwett
Three days before
the Women's March 2020,
I was surrounded by strong feminine
energy, the kind of energy that changes the
world. Scraps to soil. Soil to plants.
Plants to life-giving energy
so that we can
​breath.
Picture
Focusing on Everything at The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory Photo by ERSwett
After Detroit
Dirt, I visited the Anna
Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory
in Belle Isle Park. Anna's story is impressive,
but while there, warm and protected from freezing
breezes blowing off the Detroit River, I thought about the
power of focus - - When we focus on one thing, often something
right in front of us, there is clarity and purpose. Trying to
see and do it all just gets confusing. It's funny to
me how I notice the bird sculpture more
when it is blurred in the background,
than when I tried to get it and
everything else in focus.
Picture
Focusing on Ferns at The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory Photo by ERSwett
So when not
exploring and playing
with extended family, I made
time to read and sew, taking a media
holiday of sorts. I hadn't planned it this way,
but it turns out I read about another inspiring and game-
changing woman, Rebecca Burgess and the Fibershed Project.
The subtitle "Growing a Movement of Farmers,
Fashion Activists, and Makers for a 
New Textile Economy" 
connects to, well,
​everything.
Picture
Fibershed, By Rebecca Burgess Photo by ERSwett
Picture
Mending a silk nightshirt Photo by ERSwett
It seems that
2020 is turning into
a year for making connections
among people, places and possessions,
in particular, clothes. Compost remains the focal
point, but clothes and their relationship to our identities
may be a parallel story line...We'll just have to see.
But I'm having fun being with people I love,
meeting people who inspire, and
feeling the power of the
feminine spirit
wherever
I go.
Picture
Living Wall, Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Belle Isle Park Photo By ERSwett
4 Comments

A Mending State of Mind

1/11/2020

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Picture
Stitching the rip...
This week
I have been thinking
about ​fixing and mending.
​
To me, fixing involves a tool kit used
to solve a specific problem which, when repaired,
provides a clear solution. 
Once fixed, we
move on, glad 
that the problem
has 
been resolved.
Picture
repairing the furnace
This was
what happened
a few days ago when our
furnace stopped working and two
guys came to repair it. It took some time
to diagnose the actual problem, but with their tool
kit in hand, they solved the issue. Done. 
House warm again. We move
on with our day.
Picture
the mending pile
A day
which, for me,
​involved mending - an
act that feels different from fixing.
Yes, there is a problem to solve - a lost button or
holes in a pair of joggers - But the problem
does not feel urgent, like a furnace
not working in the middle
of winter. 
Picture
the old duvet
The contents
of yesterday's mending
pile, for example, consisted of 
things with problems we had been living
with for years...literally. This tie on this vintage duvet
cover had been broken for longer than I can
remember, as had the missing button
on another duvet cover
​in the pile.
Picture
messy stitches
Mending 
does not have 
to be perfect, either.
Clearly, my stitches on the
duvet are a bit messy and the button
and thread color do not match
what was there before on
this night shirt.

Picture
mismatched buttons
My goal
was simple: Get
the job done & move on. That's
what I do in January. Finish projects,
clean up, clear out, and, as if often the case, mend
things, whether a missing button, a huge rip in my favorite
gardening clothes, my son's joggers,
or, perhaps, even the
​climate...
Picture
same overalls, similar rips, different strategies
But when
I started to mend the
huge rip on the back side of these
overalls, I got distracted, as can happen sometimes,
and decided to add some color, because, as it turns out, I had been
consolidating our thread collection earlier in the week and
happen to have found this fabulous
green (ooh I love run-
on sentences).

Picture
what if?
And I thought
it would be fun to add
some curves to this otherwise
set of straight lines. So suddenly my 'get-
the job done' mending turned into
​something else entirely. 
Picture
the seduction of curves
I became 
entranced by the
colors, shapes and textures 
that emerged. I know. These joggers
are completely absent of
​color.
Picture
losing change from jogger pockets
But the 
shapes and 
textures were so
cool and the feeling of the
wool fabric I used to repair the holes
so soft, I just had to share these 
​images  and this project
​with you.
Picture
textures of mending
Because
I realized, in the
midst of it all, that mending
is about tending to an ongoing relationship
with something or someone, whether it's a piece
of clothing, your dog or your son. Yes, there is a particular
problem that emerges at the moment, but in the process of mending
it, you change the actual structure of that which is being
mended by adding thread, new fabric, new
colors ​or new shapes. 
Picture
a very very mellow companion
And,
it turns out,
you can change the
structure of yourself as well.
Or at least, that's what happens to
me when I sit and sew. I hang out with my
dog, who hangs out with me. We ​both breath more
slowly. 
I have no idea what he thinks about,
but I stay focused on each stitch,
mindfully mending in
​that moment.
Picture
there will always be need for another button
But even
as I sew on buttons
and patch holes in joggers,
I'm thinking, always thinking, about
all those big issues out there in the world
for which we want a quick a fix, but which, in my
heart, I know may not be able to be fixed with a single tool
box at a single moment. The problems we face are just too big. But
it helps me to address them when I adopt a mending state of mind. Knowing
we will be in this for a while, I focus on relationships of all kinds and not
worry about perfection by knowing what is good enough
and by 
making sure I am open to altering my
plans by adding color here
and curves
​there.
0 Comments

What's Next - 2020?

1/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
New Years 2020 By ERSwett
People ask
me what's next
in 2020?
Picture
Purple Yarn & Grapefruit By ERSwett
Well,
I respond,
I'll still pay attention
to my compost pile & notice
things like that purple yarn & the placement
of those grapefruit in relation to the
torn up bread bag &
​clementine
peals.
Picture
The Optimal Essay By ERSwett
And I'll still
explore text & words
& that SAT project, which I began
in 2019, but which continues as my college-bound
children clean out their rooms & purge
those dreaded practice
test books.
Picture
Apple Cascade By ERSwett
And I'll continue
to wonder at what emerges
from those 5 gallon buckets I collect
each week from Umpleby's Bakery & Cafe
& honor their waste by giving it new
life both in the ground and in 
my camera. Every week
it's something new
but familiar.
Picture
Function Fundamentals 1 By ERSwett
And I will be
motivated by the novelties,
like these three croissants, but also grateful
for the familiar smells of spent coffee grounds & eggshells.
Who knows what 2020 will bring, but I will keep
exploring what my compost has to teach
& hopefully, in the process, inspire
joy and transformation
for you and me.
Picture
Solving for X, C By ERSwett
0 Comments
    Picture
    Lyn Swett Miller
    ​
    reframing the narrative, one day, one image at a time
    Picture
    compost re-imagined
     Let's ReFrame: By Degrees
    A place where photographer Lyn Swett Miller considers wonder, joy and transformation in a complex world.

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