So. Story time.

I went for a long hike with @boreasflame today, catching up after way too long, & we discussed my lack of squeamishness, as well as gender (non)conformity, animism & more (as u do).

We took a long route & at the trailhead saw a dude with a pair of shoeboxes.
Not the weirdest, but sure. He spied us with a look of relief in his eyes and said: “I have a weird question for you. I caught something and I need help setting it free.”

This is the kind of thing I was made for. I got really excited & thought maybe it was a snake 🐍!
“Oh, what is it?” I asked. Still hoping for snake.

“I caught a rat,” he said. “And I... I just can’t. The trap is stuck and I’ve been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to get it out.”

A rat! Well, we don’t have many native rats. But maybe it was a pet? I went to see...
Because I get it. Rats are big. But also super smart.

So I walked over to the box (dude is keeping quite a distance from the “rat”) and at first I don’t see anything.

He gestures again and I see a small trap with...

A field mouse. He is SO CUTE.
Seriously. Big eyes, little tiny paws, snooty snoot so twitchy.

Not a rat. *Definitively* not a rat. And this man is pale and trembling.

So I swiftly let it go, and the mouse hopped away, washing its little face and being a Very Good Sport.
The man thanked us profusely, breathless. “Seriously I’ve been out here for 20 minutes and I didn’t know what to do.”

So, long story short: we took the long way around & saved a little 🐁 mouse from a very terrified man who thought it was a rat.
I am glad but also a little disappointed that it wasn’t a snake.

Next time!
I guess I should also wonder if the dude is ok.
Looking at the internet I’m thinking it might have been a jumping mouse. It sure did hop away!
Yup. It was one of these: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_ju…

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More from @NataniaBarron

22 Mar
1 - Welcome to #ThreadTalk, muslin edition. Muslin has been all over my feed, so let me cut to the chase:

The finest fabric in human history was perfected by the Bengali people but tragically lost in the wake of imperialism & economic ruin at the hands of the English.

🤬🤬 18th - early 19th century m...
2 - Muslin was once called "The vapor of dawn" by a Chinese trader named Yuan Chwang. Other names were "woven wind" & "wonder gossamer" - yet it's now synomymous with Regency period dramas.

There's no way around this: it is not a happy story. But it's one people need to hear. Closeup of muslin, (c)Victo...
3 - In many ways, this is a companion thread to my original #chintz talk. Chintz and muslin are both made from cotton & both arose to fame b/c of the art, vision, & craft of Indian weavers.

Muslin is a basic plain weave, that means it's just a warp and a weft. But there's more. ©Victoria & Albert Museum, ...
Read 29 tweets
16 Mar
1 - It's time for #ThreadTalk. That's right: it's time to dye.

Warning: This feature includes insects🐞, poison☠️, dead bodies 💀, human combustion🔥 & general yuck🤢

And of course colonialism👎. But also gowns! Like this French afternoon dress in yellow & chartreuse from 1866 Chatreuse and saffron colored gown from 1866; Met Museum, Pu
2 - Most natural fiber fabrics are bit bland at first. Getting them vibrant means the adding of pigment.

Natural wool is often an ivory hue, & it takes a lot of processing to get the right hue. Raw wool pictured below to give you an idea. Carding video: CC BY 2.0 - Freshly shorn wool, via Wikimedia Commons. A pil
3 - Red is the color of passion, desire, and… insect secretion. Yes, we get carmine red from carminic acid, a substance we extract from female cochineals. Yum!

Cochineals are scale insects found in the Americas and are often found on prickly pear cactuses. British Ballgown from 1875 -- bright carmine red in silk velA female and a male cochineal -- the female is small and sca
Read 25 tweets
9 Mar
1 - Welcome to #ThreadTalk. This week’s subject: #embroidery.

This fabric art—both fine and folk — is a world heritage art, meaning its inception goes back before recorded times.

So tonight, I’m taking you on a tour around the world. V & A Museum - Mantua - This is a magnificent example of Eng
2 - The word "embroider" comes to English by way Frankish and Proto-German & may mean “braid” or “embellishment.”

From simple decorative stitches to complex beaded patterns, embroidery is often a matter of national pride and identity, too, like this Croatian blouse. Blouse from the Met Museum, Croatia.  - Highly embroidered b
3 - The width and breadth of the embroidery on Earth is striking in variety & beauty. It transcends class, status, and rank & has been used both as symbols of the oppressed and the oppressor.

This hand-stitched Mandarin rank badge is from the Qing Dynasty in China.
Read 30 tweets
8 Mar
Pertinent to discussions about neurodivergent writers: WORKING MEMORY.

This means we get very tripped up with complex forms, multiple-step processes, and guidelines.

So, we make mistakes, even if we don't mean to & we can immediately forget directions, numbers, etc
I used to think there was something wrong with me because I couldn't remember phone numbers.

I still can't. I took an ADHD screener a few months ago and my working memory is SHOT.

Pair that with our trouble understanding time, and if we don't do it NOW it often doesn't happen.
Someone once said that when you have ADHD, there are two different states of time: NOW and NOT NOW.

You could imagine how hard that is to manage with agent queries, book submissions, contracts, payments, etc.
Read 4 tweets
2 Mar
1 - Welcome to tonight's #Treadtalk.

#Velvet may bring to mind 1970s couches, or your 90s goth stage, but that's a long way from its luxurious roots.

So let's brave the Black Plague, the cold, and questionable fashion choices together, in the name of this truly royal fabric. Green Velvet Dress - Image © National Museums Scotland Woma
2 - As with many fabrics, there is debate as to where velvet began. Some say China, others say Egypt & others point to the Middle East.

What they can agree on is that it’s a pain in the ass to make and $$$$$ AF. Original velvet was silk, too. Artichoke Velvet - Ottoman Empire, 16th Century - the Met Mu
3 - Velvet is a pile fabric, which means it relies on lots of sharp objects & a touch of violence for production.

Yup! Velvet’s pile yarn is on the warp direction & must be cut on the loom or, in face-to-face methods--slicing down the middle to create two mirror-like textiles.
Read 30 tweets
27 Feb
I think my next writing piece is all about shame.

Which is something we don't talk much about, but boy howdy do we exploit.

There's internal shame, but there's also what I think of as "shame-baiting"--content that's designed specifically to invoke shame in other creatives.
Critique, advice, support, these are all connected. But they can be flavored with shame.

Shame, as an emotion, is incredibly potent. And many people turn their own internalized shame outward.

For some people it works. At least temporarily. But I don't think it's sustainable.
I've been a lifelong marketer my whole career, and click bait has warped our senses.

We're totally okay with emotional manipulation, playing to people's fears and darkest shame.

It's a dangerous game. It's damaging. It's ultimately very, very shitty.
Read 5 tweets

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