Donna Kallner Fiber Art

Much has changed recently for so many of us, myself included. My mom died, workshops have cancelled, and product sales are uncertain in such uncertain times.


Subsistence gardening and canning are a high priority at present. And I’m writing, more than I have in many years. Thirty-five years ago I made a living as a freelance writer. Before that, I was a magazine editor. So this isn’t altogether unfamiliar territory, although back then I never dreamed I could write articles on phone that fits in my pocket. How I spend most days may be a bit different now, but I still have five new local-wool fleeces to spin and dye for nalbinding and knitting projects. I will still try to share information about how I dye with homegrown and foraged plants on my Instagram. And I will check in here as this new chapter takes shape. But for now, if you’re interested in what I’m writing a good place to check is at The Daily Yonder. It’s been a privilege to get to know so many wonderful people in the fiber world over the past 20 years. Until our paths cross again, whether in person or online, thank you and be well.

New posts here are rare, but you can find me regularly on Instagram, where I’m @donnastitches and on Etsy at donnakallnerfiberart.etsy.com .

Here are some shortcuts to content:

My Etsy shop is where you can purchase nalbinding items, plant-dyed yarns, the e-book New Age Looping Guide to Getting A Great Start and more.

Looping videos on YouTube (sorry, online classes are closed but this post has links and the suggested progression for video units that were part of the courses New Age Looping Basics, Cross-Knit Looping and Freeform Looping).

The drop-down menu on this site has links to major categories, including looping posts  and natural dye posts.

Hope you can browse around while you’re here. Thanks for dropping by!

Blog posts here are few and far between these days so I hope you’ll visit me on Instagram, where I am @donnastitches.

I’m so sorry but am cancelling the studio residency scheduled for August 1-9, 2019. Our home is okay but our township is included in the state disaster area hit hard by storms July 19. Our volunteer fire department has been very busy, and every day comes with a high degree of uncertainty. I may be unable to respond to comments here (cell service is still iffy and we lost our internet receiver mast in the storm). My apologies for any inconvenience. Thanks for understanding.

In June, a friend who works at a local mill got me some basswood bark. It took several weeks, but I have most of it processed now and it is beautiful.

I wasn’t entirely sure how this would work out. David’s wife got the bark to my husband while I was out of town at the Willow Gathering in Decorah. That was mid-June. I don’t know when the tree was cut, or how long it had been sitting around before it got to my place. And I had never before processed any basswood from such mature trees.

But I wanted to see if I could get fiber from bark slabs that would otherwise go in the chipper.

Continue reading Basswood Bark Processing

I’m back! After my last post, I started a training program that was supposed to help me build skills for a better-paying job. It quickly became clear that training was only a priority for me, the long commute was going to be bad in winter, and the training was unlikely to lead to something better than the business I’ve spent 20 years building. I’m very happy to be back. For right now, I’m mostly just tying up loose ends and catching up on things I promised but never delivered. As the fog of grief and exhaustion lifts, though, I’m starting to see what changes I might make as I move forward. I’d love to hear your ideas as well, and I’ll keep you posted as plans become goals. In the meantime, thank you for your support. I love what I do and the wonderful people I meet doing it. I hope you’ll be part of this next chapter!

 

It’s been a long season of letting go for me. My father died earlier this month. My mother’s dementia continues to progress. And after several years of cutting back on my fiber art business to manage my parents’ care, I’m letting go of some old ideas about who I am, what I do, and what’s most important in my life. All that’s missing is weight loss and a new hair color to signal big changes ahead.

I haven’t managed the first or ruled out the second. But I have made some decisions. First, though, I have to share an update on an old story.

In 2009 I wote about an unfinished needlework sampler that’s been in my family since about 1815. Now that my dad is gone, I hope to re-home it and other objects with other family members. And I wanted to add some information to the written information that was given to my parents along with the sampler. So I did a little internet sleuthing.

Continue reading Passages