FIBER

May 8th, 2012

I know. I KNOW, DAMMIT.

This fiber thing has gotten fully out of control.

Whatever.

You heard that right. I’ll say it.

What – to the – ever.

At least I can admit to being powerless against fibers. Fully powerless. Power – to the – less.

I’m turning into such a cliche since we all know this story: girl goes on eBay, girl searches for textiles, girl stumbles on a listing for a “Southwest Tapestry Weaving”, girl bids a couple dollars and one day a box shows up full of fiber art. The end.

I wasn’t even trying to find this thing. I was being good! I was just looking for rugs or maybe blankets? It’s all such a blur.

That pusher eBay just waved it this in my face and I gave in to the temptation and now it looks like the kitchen has a shaggy addition. What was I supposed to do? What could any person do? Show restraint and NOT buy old weird woven wall hangings via internet auctions?

I’m not made of that kind of steely discipline. I’m a human being.

This is the last time. The. Last. Time.

It has to be. I’m running out of wall space.

On the plus side, this stringy minx looks uncannily like the one and only ultimate piece of fiber art. See that? My new little fiber could easily be mistaken for a younger and more naive version of that massive beauty. Like that one birthed a wee fiber baby? Oh, yeah. Total fiber baby.

During a recent visit to the Ace I created some indisputable Instagram evidence to drive the point home.

Try and dispute that.

You can’t. That incredible evidence is beyond dispute.

 

FIBERS.

 

I so need to find a new thing to hoard.

 
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    44 Comments

    1. rachael on 05/08/2012:

      this looks like a crying elephant with pigtails. i like it.

    2. Kathryn Cumming on 05/08/2012:

      I LOVE it…although now I can see a crying elephant with pigtails due to the above commenter.

    3. Susan on 05/08/2012:

      I feel like braiding something.

    4. planktonfisher on 05/08/2012:

      i love you house and your blog. i even began to look after “strange oil paintings” (love your captain!) on flea markets. but i absolutely don´t get this fiber thing. my first thought was that it looks like you nailed the monster of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJVkYi42CXI (german sesamestreet) on your wall….
      but i also see the crying elephant. and this is quite cool – somehow.

    5. Christa on 05/08/2012:

      Crazy or genius. It’s a fine line.

    6. Gaidig on 05/08/2012:

      In my world, a fiber obsession usually pertains to stuff like this:
      http://www.threeirishgirls.com/home.php?cat=2
      http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade/knitting/knitting_supplies/yarn?q=handspun&view_type=gallery&ship_to=ZZ&min=0&max=0&ref=auto2
      http://www.paradisefibers.net/Spinning-Fiber-Roving-s/1.htm
      http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=hand%20dyed%20roving&view_type=gallery&ship_to=ZZ&min=0&max=0&ref=auto4
      http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=hand%20dyed%20locks&view_type=gallery&ship_to=ZZ&min=0&max=0&ref=auto4

    7. Matthew on 05/08/2012:

      I just started following your site not too long ago. I think I’m in love with you. :)

    8. Heather on 05/08/2012:

      This one is my favorite. the color palette! So unusual. Once again I find myself wondering what my mom did with all the amazing wall hangings she macramed in the 70s. Sigh.

    9. Karen T on 05/08/2012:

      So funny. Your fiber obsession has been totally feeding my fiber obsession. I finally wrote up a Brick House-inspired blog post about it last night (http://yarnover.me/2012/05/08/my-apologies-to-all-the-fiber-arts-majors/). Then I open Reader just now and right at the top is a new post from you about another fabulous acquisition!

      I think you need a loom.

    10. stef on 05/08/2012:

      best yet

    11. Mrs. L on 05/08/2012:

      GAAAH! You are f-ing hilarious.

    12. walshe44 on 05/08/2012:

      Dammit! I’ve been looking on ebay and etsy every day for this beautiful stuff. What am I doing wrong?

      {Hangs head in shame.}

    13. Alanna on 05/08/2012:

      I am insanely jealous. Can I be first on the waiting list if you ever decide to part with this?

    14. John on 05/08/2012:

      Beau-ti-ful photos.

    15. Kara on 05/08/2012:

      I can’t believe this… I kind of like it.

    16. Karen T on 05/08/2012:

      Have you tried to trace any of these to their origins?

    17. The brick house on 05/08/2012:

      Karen, funny enough, the guy who sold this to me actually told me the story of its origins. So…

      It was his mothers who had it in her home for the last 30 odd years and also just happened to live about 2 miles from my house. She passed away last year and he took it back with him to the east coast but then recently decided to clear out a few things on ebay. So when he saw my shipping address he told me how it was such a crazy coincedance that this thing was ending up back in the same place it had come from.

    18. Karen T on 05/08/2012:

      It’s FATE.

    19. jules @ The Diversion Project on 05/08/2012:

      i couldnt have resisted that one. those colours are v. cool.

    20. Jennie on 05/08/2012:

      this is the best one of them all. it’s f-ing awesome and im glad ebay pushed it on you.

    21. amy on 05/09/2012:

      never have i ever… shared your love for fiber art until this buddy. nice score!

    22. Mike W. on 05/09/2012:

      Whoah, the wife of Snuffleupagus…

      Bold Morgan, very bold.

      Gotta be careful with eBay, especially late at night. One minute you’re looking at light bulbs or rugs. The next thing you know, you’re bidding on Harley’s, Israeli Trauma bandages and a vacation home in Morocco…

    23. Masha on 05/09/2012:

      OMG, we had such a “thing” in the house, when I was a kid…i had nightmares, it was placed right on the wall left to my bed…
      I had totally forgotten about…till today.

    24. Suzy8track on 05/09/2012:

      Very cool, but I could never put something like that in my kitchen…it would probably get greasy and dirty from cooking.

    25. Tyler (plastolux) on 05/09/2012:

      OK, I just want to punch that thing in the face but I am afraid that it would punch me back.

    26. Carla on 05/09/2012:

      I am usually in on whatever hair-brained scheme you are hatching… But honestly, I don’t get this. Maybe it is my advanced age or something, but I thought these things were weird when I was a kid. Keeping my fingers crossed for whatever your next obsession might be!

    27. Simone on 05/09/2012:

      I love the colours. Beautiful. Lucky you!!!

    28. Susie on 05/09/2012:

      so, i arrive at your site via a few links and see this fiber-art beauty, and think to myself “man, that totally reminds me of the shit my grandma used to have”. at her house. in hemet. where i was born and raised.

      then i decide i very much love your site and obsessively read through about 10 pages, and decide to check out the faqs….

      needless to say, my mind was BLOWN!!! thank god somebody is bringing awesomeness back to hemet! go bulldogs :) you now have a new daily reader

    29. carlene on 05/09/2012:

      I think yours is better.

    30. Yippyiyay on 05/09/2012:

      I wasn’t really feeling the whole fibre-art thing, but this is beautiful.

      Although now that I have read the comment about the crying elephant that’s all I can see. Still pretty!

    31. heather on 05/10/2012:

      i would love to buy it from you. please email me if you are interested. hmariexo@gmail.com

      thank you and i’d love to hear from you:)

      heather

    32. Heather Wischmann on 05/10/2012:

      Morgan, this is awesome. Hilarious.

      (ps – there are so many Heather’s around here! This is the one from our Pinterest shoot a couple weeks ago! Hope you are well.)

    33. Heather Wischmann on 05/10/2012:

      Morgan, this is awesome. Hilarious.

      (ps – there are so many Heather’s around here! This is the one from our Pinterest shoot a couple weeks ago! Hope you are well.)

    34. Hannah on 05/11/2012:

      I love the colors on this.

      I saw some owl wall art made out of some sort of wool roving at Goodwill about a month ago, it was so odd – i’m not sure if wool roving would be considered “fiber art” but it reminded me of you. I left it, only to find 3 more little baby owl versions around the corner. Somebody had quite the collection!! They looked so fluffy and 70s..

    35. Donnet on 05/11/2012:

      Why is it that you can just do that… and when I try – I can’t?
      So much of jealousy going on rite here.

    36. Ali Thompson on 05/23/2012:

      i love the fiber art! never seen such a thing but am really loving it. nice win on ebay!
      ali

    37. bigBANG studio on 05/23/2012:

      Ok M, you need to get yourself on a plane and come to New York to see Sheila Hicks’s show at Sikkema Jenkins. If you aren’t familiar with her she’s the grandmother master goddess of fiber art and she will blow your mind. The show includes her “minis”- she carries a tiny loom around with her when she travels and makes mini weavings the way the rest of us might carry around a sketchbook and make drawings. LIFE-CHANGING SHOW, life-changing artist.

      http://www.sikkemajenkinsco.com/?v=exhibition&exhibition=4f85f36697932#null

    38. Cassandra Marie on 05/30/2012:

      This post made me laugh :D At least it’s a beautiful purchase!

    39. Marisa on 06/10/2012:

      Maravilhoso!!! Parabéns!!!

    40. evie on 06/20/2012:

      this is so amazing. i spotted it a few days back on instagram and had to call past here to take another looks! i have fiber art envy : )

    41. Carolyn on 07/05/2012:

      You rule..so does your fibre art. Sending a hello from New Zealand and thanks for the rad read x

    42. Rachael on 07/10/2012:

      almost twins
      http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-LARGE-5-WOOL-RYA-WALL-HANGING-TAPESTRY-70S-AUTHENTIC-PANTON-EAMES-ERA-/261043398326?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc76626b6

    43. Ana on 08/31/2012:

      This was such an amusing post :D !

    44. sigga on 03/25/2013:

      Hello im not sure if im asking the right thing, but i really love it and i was woundering its something you did right?
      And could i order one small one?
      Best
      Sigga

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