Double Issue Preview 🫂
Issue 5... and 6, I guess? Is/are here!
This is big! Quite literally! The August / September issue has a lot of things packed in there. Despite early attempts to keep content somewhat evergreen, I could not resist the seasonal pull. This time of year can be such a strange mix of feelings—much needed relief from scorching heat; a longing, slipping-away feeling from the intensity and full saturation living of summer; death and decay, naturally; the absolute exhilaration of the first “real” fall day—crisp and chilly-ish and sunny and clear (I think ours was officially yesterday).
Here’s what I’ve put together for you.
This month’s cover comes from a long-ago collaborator of mine, Anaïs Wade. Along with her partner in life and photography, Dax, Anaïs created some of my favorite imagery that ran in Knit Wit. I’m very excited about this cover and to have Anaïs in our mix for such a big-time issue! I’m also very appreciative of her for allowing me to experiment using her images. It was gratifying! a challenge! mentally numbing! to translate her beautiful, full-spectrum photos into a three-color risograph-ready print.
Those who arrived early and were able to snag a copy of the first issue may remember a lovely square of purple gingham that graced our Pasquetta story. This lowly piece of plywood, wrapped and stapled with fabric, turned out to be a great accidental invention: Lo! The Picnic Plywood was born. In this zine edition’s DIY project, I have updated my technique to be better and also show you how to make the whole thing waterproof. We will stop picnicking when there is snow on the ground, thank you.
Harvest time contains all the poetry of this moment, really: It’s the time when everything is finally ripe and ready to come inside. The height of the season in some ways, but also it’s end. Friends-of-Treehouse (and me) Marcy Taubes and Matt Bell invited a few of us to celebrate the end of and the rewards of their home garden (that is more like a small farm) and I captured it on film.
The other thing that happens this time of year? The white-knuckled determination to hold on to the season and its produce and its sweetness. And the way we do that is, generally speaking, preserving. So, I asked Jessica Koslow and her team at SQIRL to share a few preservation techniques and ideas with us. It’s not just jam, man!
And finally, finally—our photo essay for this issue comes from Laure Joliet. When I opened the email with this particular collection of images and read Laure’s description, what she’s going for here, I got a huge lump in my throat and nearly burst into tears. It went like this, “Here is a gallery of a loose idea that ended up being rooted in texture…Maine…some sheets…the feeling of summer into fall…grief…nostalgia…the sublime…to be narrowed down.” If your heart doesn’t ache, I can’t help.
As always, as ever, we end our issue with a soft meme by Ambrea Kai Miller, who always sends us into the next month on the correct footing.
Listings
I was feeling cozy on Zillow and then found myself in the world of fancy log homes. Is this a whole thing? Does anyone know?
Ooooh! 1977 Land Cruiser. 😍
Had a deep chat with a person from Revision Energy at the Common Ground Fair this weekend and—this isn’t a listing as much as an interesting tidbit, but—did you know we will need one million new electricians by 2030 to meet our energy goals?? Maybe it could be you or someone you know!
Minor (major) obsession with these mushroom knife rests.
🤝