Gratitude encourages us to recognize the quiet richness of our lives.
 This quilt has been a long time in the making. I found it as a quilt top, and I'm not sure why it was never completed by its original creator. It's possible that they weren't happy with the puckery edging, and finally gave up on fixing it.
I knew I'd like the look of the larger modern shapes alone, if I just removed the wonky edging. But as someone who has made a number of quilts + wants to be a good caretaker of this one, it was hard to decide to cut into this topper that clearly took a LOT of time to create. Another issue was that I didn't know how I wanted to use it. As it was, it was too small to cover our bed + too big to be a couch quilt. I also considered gifting it. Today was the day to make a decision. I want this thing to get used. I want to use it. I could imagine sitting under it on the couch + having it lend some golden light to the room too. So, I cut the edging + two rows off. Sitting in the sun under its weight hand stitching the binding this afternoon felt good. I listened to A Simpler Life from The School of Life while I stitched, and though I don't agree with everything in it, this quote seemed like an affirmation: It's only a sense of purpose that allows us to see how much of anything is enough. I find this helpful in finding peace in so many situations:
Sometimes the more-than-enough is what's holding us back. Love, Jane  Decisions can be hard to make, especially when they feel like they move away from sustainability rather than toward it. But circumstances shift + different choices don't necessarily signal failure, they are just the choices that make sense now.
The choice to grow a pollinator garden rather than strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers + peppers was a tearful one. I love growing food, but knew I couldn't keep up with the harvesting while using every ounce of my energy at a physical job. Our delicious tomatoes were not helping with my inflammatory issues + our garden beds were in need of renewal after years in service. We made the switch to native plants + flowers and just witnessed the most magical month of monarch migration! Our garden hosts loads of hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, goldfinches, chipmunks, woodpeckers, jays, juncos, bunnies, squirrels, hawks and so much more all year round. It's such a treat to watch this natural habitat day by day. We still grew potatoes + pumpkins around the side of the house this year. Their harvest took minutes rather than days, and we've had root vegetables enough to share. Transforming our garden wasn't a bad decision. It was just a different one...one that makes sense for now. Love, Jane  Botanical Block Printing by Rosanna Morris :: I was so happy to find this book at our library! One of Rosanna's prints hangs in our kitchen + I'm just excited to experience all the beauty in this one this weekend.
Prairie Up by Benjamin Vogt :: This is the second time I've checked this book out from the library this year. I'm looking for a better recipe for the native plant mix in our little garden. Now that the perennials have been at it for a few years, some are taking over, and I'd like to even the playing field a bit. (Where did all my happy coreopsis go?) A study showed cognitive training increases acetylcholine which boosts attention + memory. My favorite brain games are the free NYT games, Disarray + this new one I just picked up. (fingers crossed we can do it) :) This + this made my partner + I feel so peaceful + grounded that we got up + went for a bike ride even though the sun had already gone down. Keeping looms in the USA. Creating a replicable, human-sized model of textile recycling in the USA. Repairing sneakers. I hope you prioritize some things that just feel good this weekend...I'll be riding through the park as the sun sets, eating empanadas from the pop-up at work + painting with autumn colors. Loads of love, Jane
I love the ways inspiration winds its way into my outfits, my home, my actions, my relationships, my makes, my life. Most of my favorite inspiration finds are ones that I can make happen with what I already have. I think that's a big part of what I find inspiring about this collection from bon. It made me want to head to my own collection of goodies to put together outfits I'd like to wear as the seasons shift.
Tuning in to my personal style has fine-tuned what I find inspiring out there.
With these thoughts affirmed for another season, I can rest in the goodness of the vintage, fair, old + new pieces I've curated over the years. The utility of a piece or two that attracts my attention (if that happens) can be affirmed too. Love, Jane
Autumn is here. Crunchy leaves are on the breeze, monarchs are abundant in the butterfly weed and grey clouds are bringing cooler days. All of this has me ready to embrace the darker colors + cozier touches in my wardrobe. Bon has long been one of my favorite inspirations for artfully simple dressing + this season is no different. The style that is singularly Bon comes in large part from the fact that many of the pieces they carry are offered year after year. What a confirmation that a wardrobe can be built slowly...confidently...for the long term...and not take itself too seriously.
These are my autumnal notes:
I love recognizing pieces I already have in my closet in my inspiration! It's so lovely to feel as though the pieces I've been drawn to still excite me. Pulling out my 15 year old plaid, wool scarf...shaking out my olive pants...affirming that $4 pajama shirt purchase from the thrift store...it's all really beautiful...and sustainable in a world full of fast fashion + quickly changing trends. Brown + burgundy (pure late 90s) are the colors the industry is bringing forward this season, but there is something really beautiful about thinking that navy is what's speaking to me this season...again. Love, Jane
Not only is each element of LWN designed + made with intention, the styles have a timeless quality. The colors are playful, and the fabrics look to be the sort that you reach for again + again.
LWN garments are made with local dead-stock, repurposed + upcycled materials. Labels + trims are made with the fabric leftover after pattern cutting. Mixed fiber fabrics are avoided to maximize the ability to recycle them after they are no longer useful as garments. Even zippers are avoided to minimize waste. Small batches are designed + sewn in Los Angeles where factories can be visited daily. Fair, living wages + good working conditions are prioritized. All lovely photos via LWN. Find this + other ethical brands here, when you need them.    Things of quality have no fear of time. From growing food to minimizing packaging at the grocery store, mending to shopping secondhand, line drying clothing to borrowing books from the library...living lighter on the planet is a daily consideration. I believe in its good intention, but the tagline, "Less, but better" always hits me wrong. It sounds like a recipe for discontent...an endless quest for better with a trail of castoffs laying in its wake. That kinda feels like my default setting, and I'm looking for a better way to live. Less + enough are my touch points for more compassionate living that considers living things + the planet. I came across the statement, "Things of quality have no fear of time" today, and it sounded right. It actually brought me back to the things I already have that are standing strong over time...things like my B-sides jeans that are just the right fit for me. The quality, weighty, 100% cotton, denim is still going strong after years of wear. The same fit is still available (+ still feels current), so I've been able to collect a few colors over the years. My midcentury army pants + jacket have to be my wardrobe's best examples of quality standing the test of time. These favorites came with evidence of wear, but the fact that there is still more wear in them is deliciously interesting to me. I'm also intrigued by the quality of items that were designed decades ago + have been selling well enough to keep them in production over time. I've always loved these classics that don't seem to go out of style, but I think these pieces look especially good on me as I get older. In Maine this summer, I was able to try on a quilted vest by Utility Canvas that I've admired for probably 25 years. It's one of those things that was an instant "yes", and I'm certain I'll be wearing it for a long, long time. And finally, if an item has the quality of being treasured enough, it will endear itself to the special care of mending, repairing and reinforcing so that it can continue to be worn. My army jacket came to me with holes + the need for new buttons. The time I've spent stitching it has only increased the quality of my connection with it. In line with my quest to reinvigorate my love for what I already have (if you've been around for a while, there are probably a lot of repeats...but that's kinda the point, right?), here is a little list of the things already in my closet that I'm loving for autumn:
Jane       I will tend to my inner world + create space for beauty, love + peace. We took a trip to coastal Maine this summer, and I borrowed Remodelista in Maine to look at in one of the places we stayed. Revisiting this book in the place it celebrates felt completely aligned. When I got home, I checked the book out from the library, and this morning I paged through to the end where there is a list of distinctive, Maine-made basics for the home. Exquisitely utilitarian, handmade goods like a Wabanaki basket, a Shaker chair, beeswax candles + locally raised yarn form a collection of tradition-rich treasures.
Utility + simplicity are hallmarks of quintessential Maine style, and these items are perfect examples of the kind of pieces I want in my home. Instead of prompting me to make a list of things to buy, this list inspired me to think of the simple, beautiful, utilitarian objects already in my home. With September within reach, fall collections rolling into my inbox + ritual resets are on my mind, I figured it's a good time to lean into autumn goodness. Here's my simple list:
This is a little practice in tending to my inner world, seeing beauty in what I've already collected, creating peace in the midst of a world that is desperately trying to make me desperate for...something...anything that I don't already have. What's already beautiful in your world? Love, Jane  I've avoided writing about the current tariff situation for a number of reasons, but mainly because I haven't really wanted to. Who wants to read anything more about them? The more I read, however, the less I see my point of view expressed, so I'd like to see where this goes.
Who pays the tariffs? These tariffs are taxes paid by importers (small brands, shop owners, Apple, Walmart, etc.) to the American government. (Both sides' refrains have been misleading: one side repeats that they are paid by the exporting country + the other side repeats that they are paid by consumers.) The importer can then decide whether to subtract that cost from their profit, recoup it by charging more for the product, or a bit of both. Many larger importers have thus far been absorbing the cost of the tariffs in order to stay competitive. This points out the vast profits they make. Other importers have raised prices on goods already in country in order to pay for the next round of imports. (People I know are doing the markups.) Couldn't a positive affect of the tariffs be that they get people to decrease their consumption? An argument could be made that tariffs will lead people to put the brakes on their consumerism. I would argue that only those already at the bottom will really be forced to buy less. I also believe that simplicity offers its most sparkling effects when it is not coerced. Furthermore, the expressed goal of this chaotic agenda is most definitely not to decrease consumption. As a community already attuned to supply chains + sustainability, we are ready to wear what we have, mend, refashion + thrift. We will turn to our stashes of fabric + yarn for crafting. We can craft toys + jams + hats + books for gift giving. We will continue to compost + grow vegetables. And we can freely share our skills + knowledge with others. I love simplicity. I love making. I love secondhand things + homegrown food. AND I love human sized enterprises. I love fairly traded African baskets, Japanese fabrics + British yarn. I love small brands + local shops. Couldn't we use this to promote made-in-the-USA brands + encourage other brands to make their products in the USA? I love brands that source materials + labor close to where they design their products. I'm elated that these brands have made the effort to make this a reality, and I do hope that more will make the switch. And...I don't think that every brand who has not already done this work deserves to die. American made brands will likely find it more difficult to source their materials + labor, if there is suddenly more competition for what is currently available. Whether a company is big or small, it is difficult to pivot production + supply chain midstream. Concessions may be made in other ways to stay afloat. Sustainability is challenging whichever way you slice it, but never as difficult as when it was not part of how the brand was built from the start. Isn't it good for unnecessary businesses to be weeded out? Capitalism makes an argument for weeding out the unnecessary businesses in time, but who wants to live in a world where we can only shop at Amazon + Walmart? Cuz that's where that game ends up. What can I do? I always look for actionable conclusions, and I think mine here are these:
...because I value people more than profit...the planet more than GDP...collaboration more than competition...peace more than domination...conversation more than evisceration...and contentment more than greed. Love, Jane |
on a journey toward zero-waste, simplicity, + compassion :: daring to choose fair one choice at a time
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