It all started in April with a Facebook message from a friend, Patti King, whom I hadn’t seen in 30 years. I’ve known Patti since our kids were in elementary school together in Connecticut. She wove rag rugs the same way I decorated eggs – at a museum quality level. (If you’re not familiar with me as The Egg Lady, here’s a link to my best-selling book on the subject.) We easily picked up where we left off, with several decades of life and creativity in between.

She’d noticed my recent work online and asked to connect. A scheduled Zoom call led to an invitation to visit her home on Whidbey Island,* off the coast of Seattle. I suggested 3-4 days (we all know the rule about house guests and fish), but she countered with “at least a week.” I stayed nine days and we both loved our time together.

My time with Patti and her neighbors turned into a transformational odyssey. “By the way,” she added to the invitation, “my neighbor is a master dyer, Elin Noble.” 

  

I looked up Elin and wrote to her to see if she was offering a workshop. She’s busily preparing for a show in Fall River, MA in November, but she invited me to her studio for a lesson on working with the dyes. I brought white wool, and she provided everything else.

I was intimidated at first by the science behind dyeing wool: a protein fiber vs. cotton, a plant fiber, measurements in milliliters, the process of soaking the wool, adding chemicals to make it adhere to the material, getting the water temperature right, etc.

But I was determined, and Elin is an exquisite explainer. It made sense. She wrote things down for me and oversaw without hovering. By the end of the day Thursday, September 1, I had a bucketful of newly dyed wool pieces and an invitation to come work there again on Labor Day, the 5^th, which I happily accepted.  

   

Here’s my new palette:

Before and between my dyeing days, Patti showed me her island and beyond. We had three studio tours –  just a few of Patti’s good friends on the island – where I drooled over the size of these artists’ spaces, their very cool storage arrangements and the vast creativity and breadth of designs I got to behold. 

 

The sheer quantity of offerings Marcia has on her shelves left me breathless. It was like she waved her wand and demonstrated what it looks like to take up space. I’m envisioning new shelving and ways to increase my creative area in my apartment. 

Honeychurch Antiques, in Mt. Vernon, WA, was home to a recent indigo dyeing class that Elin had given. Here’s Patti discussing (with co-owner John Fairman) the possibility of offering a different textile class in bojagi, the traditional Korean wrapping cloth she teaches and has mastered. Used to wrap or carry precious and daily objects, the art form has evolved and expanded in the contemporary textile field. Patti’s designs are beautiful examples of stand-alone pieces. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you the guest room I was privileged to inhabit at Patti’s which is above her art studio. The rugs were designed and woven by her. 

Deep gratitude to Patti and her generous and accomplished community who welcomed me, taught me, shared with me, and encouraged me. I’ve found a new spiritual and artistic home. I’m not moving there, but access to it mentally is the next best thing.