On Heirlooms

I'm getting married in 2 months. I am so over talking about the wedding - no one wants to hear that shit, and I super-duper don't want to talk about it. It's tedious! But one thing I have learned in the wedding process is how huge a scam the wedding industry is. Oh, you want that for your wedding? Let me just add a zero to the price.



One thing that I've been encountering a lot of is the blatant abuse of the word "heirloom". I've been seeing a lot of "heirloom quality" and "future heirloom" bandied about, and it's pretty bullshit. The QUALITY of an item does not make it an heirloom, and I'm not even going to get started on the shoddy quality of the mass-produced items in question. Most of the keepsakes that my family holds on to are handmade, and not necessarily of any superior quality. In fact, many are falling apart. They are just nice things that I like. There is no specific sentiment behind them, and if there was, that sentiment belonged to SOMEONE ELSE.

As for "future heirloom" - well, I can't control what future generations are going to find precious and sweet. I've had to deal with a lot of my family's crap over the years, and I'm not holding on to things just because so-and-so loved it. My Aunt Virginia collected little porcelain bunny rabbits (her last name was Hare) - I have ZERO interest in little porcelain bunny rabbits, so I didn't take them. I don't want to impose what I find lovely and sentimental on anyone else. "Future Heirloom" - let's talk about that lovely macrame wall-hanging that your mother made in 1972 - I bet she thought THAT was a "future heirloom"! And guess what, I picked it up at a yard sale for 5 cents. One man's treasure and all that.

You can't impose an "heirloom" on anybody, nor should you be purchasing things for their potential heirloom-ability. It's the wedding equivalent of purchasing "Collector's Edition!" items. Which is bullshit.

Tour & More

My July was spent watching the Tour de France, and spinning for the Tour de Fleece. I really enjoy watching the TdF - it's a lovely snapshot of France, and I find the logistics and endurance of the cycling to be fascinating. And with the Tour de FLEECE, I actually get a ton of spinning done:



This year's goal was to tackle a lot of the long wools that have been piling up. I managed to get a few sweater lots of Romney and Wensleydale spun up, with some breaks for shorter wools and smaller quantities. I'm pleased as punch with my progress this year: 8 pounds, 1.5 ounces - 7889 yards total.

I've also been working on getting these things printed up and out of the house:



I picked up an L Letterpress for invitation printing. I don't have the floor space, money, or structural beams to have a true letterpress here, but this seemed to be just the right size for making up these invitations. I had some plates made through Boxcar Press (from paper cuts that I made) and read some of their reviews and hints for using the L Letterpress. The printing went fairly well - that little machine is pretty cool and I do see myself making more things with it. The plates from Boxcar were crisp and easy to clean. Registration was easy and smooth, and the imprint was fine on the 160gsm cotton rag I used.

Envelopes are addressed and these are heading out the door!