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Miranda Crotsley

@mirandaoutside

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Weaver. Seed Starter. Curiouser & curiouser.
Gets outside for fun and for a living.

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Oh hi, we're doing a thing 👻😱 link in bio! by @mirandaoutside

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17 days ago

I can't believe it's been more than a week since we were perched on a rocky peninsula on the Cantabrian coast of Spain learning that totality is, in fact, worth it (on Hollen's birthday!).

Maybe it was feeling suddenly so close to the sun when its center turned black for those brief minutes ( it's hard for me to understand the pics that make it seem so far away when it felt like it was just right there). It could have been how sunlight slowly began to feel like moonlight reflecting on the water. Or maybe how the seabirds returned at "sunrise."

But it was also the collective effervescence. The anticipation, all of us finding places, meeting, watching dolphins, waving at helicopters, cheering through tears – gasps, exclamations from all around. A shared moment that makes you wonder about the thousands of times humans have experienced this - the awe & maybe fear, the way the stories were passed down.

Later, when we participated in a local festival, running from big heads bludgeoning with pig bladders, watching giants twirling to music, dodging sparks from "fire bulls,” we were again in shared moments of excitement, energy, laughter. There were so many of those moments. Even just sitting at a bistro in Paris, helping strangers navigate train delays, travelling a pilgrim's path, or walking into a church dug from a cliffside a thousand years ago - all had elements of community. We encountered it everywhere - it was accessible, joyful, pervasive.

I think about what feels like fewer opportunities for those collective moments here, & the impact on our psyche. Some events have disappeared, clubs & societies are dwindling, & some of what's left is commercialized, meanings lost. I lament that our cult of American exceptionalism, capitalism & individualism takes up that space.

These moments may be less accessible now, less pervasive. But it's there when you look for it, & when you create it. There's always a lesson from every trip, and perhaps this is it -- to seek, to share in, to create shared cultural moments & collective effervescence wherever & whenever we can.

In the words of Natalie Merchant, life is sweet. From eclipses to giants & everything in between. by @mirandaoutside

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2 months ago

Solstice. Here we sit. Here we sit in this quiet light of the tree, waiting for the return of the sun. Here we sit, and I'm ready to burn this last year, move on to the next. Here we sit, honoring the past, while acknowledging struggles. It is hard for me to make sense of that contrast some times. But it just feels right. And then there's the fact that we don't "do" presents. Not birthdays, not Valentine's, not Christmas. But there was a brown paper wrapped gift under the tree tonight in spite of that. And it was perfect. Four of my grandmother's pierogie recipes, handwritten, framed. Hollen Barmer's inspiration for this gift was at the exact moment I have been contemplating all of this - how to burn, honor, repair. Can't say I didn't shed a tear about it. To our past, to our future, to figuring out how to hold both in tension. Happy solstice. by @mirandaoutside

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10 months ago

Look, if you were the granddaughter of the leader of a strict, separatist, celibate, religious, Utopian communal group living in western Pennsylvania in the 1820s, I'm sure you'd start a sericulture and silk weaving industry to go along with your woolen, cotton, and linen weaving industries, too. And I hope you'd be pleased that a strange bird like me was coming around 200 years later, counting floats and asking questions about your said grandfather's adult-adopted "virgin" "son" and his affiliations with Lafayette and enslavement. And I definitely think you'd be pleased with the amazing curator who stewards your wares. I think you'd understand that someone some time took apart your machines and stored them in the top floor of your granary, but maybe some day they'll be back together again.

And maybe someday I'll find answers to all of my questions. Like, for example, where did that damn jacquard go, Gertrude? taken in Old Economy Village by @mirandaoutside

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10 months ago

One of my favorite events of the year! And I got to fly (and swoop) the owl! @sdmarinos / @pgh_callithumpian_society 's creativity and community spirit continue to bring joy to everyone who has carried a star, flown an owl, walked with a deer, or turned a corner to find a whimsical, impromptu parade in their midst. ♥️♥️♥️ Thanks @lkusterpgh for the pic and vid! by @mirandaoutside

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10 months ago

Today's the day!! Thank you again so so much to the folks that supported weave-a-thon this year!!

@batlady40 , @porterloves , @lbranby , @sdmarinos , @lisagerber11 , @joanpstone , @ggmargieb /William A Barmer, megan fedor, @sciencebaer , @robotmolly , @hollenbarmer

There's still time, for those that want to get in on the action! https://bit.ly/WeaveAThon2025 (link in bio)

In addition to donations, you can also support us by buying one of the mannnny towels that will be woven on one of the TWENTY looms by around FIFTY weavers today (we've grown so much!!! New weavers ftw!!).

There are two options to purchase towels:

1. All of the towels will be for sale to the public via instagram TODAY ONLY (until they are in the Store on November 21). Towels will go on @sccpgh Instagram feed as they are woven throughout the day, and you will be able to claim the towel online and will receive an invoice on Monday. The towel order form will close at midnight. Towels will be able to be picked up starting next weekend. If you are not local and want a towel, claim it and let me know and I could pick it up and send/get it to you!

2. Browse and purchase towels at Crafted next Saturday at Contemporary Craft, or take your chances and see what's left in the store after Crafted (but there might not be many if any left afterwards!)

All towels are $40, and $20 from each towel sold goes to the weaver who made it.

Oh, and if you're local, you can also come see us weave!! I'll be there all day, even when not weaving, from noon to midnight. I'm weaving a lot - 12-2; 3-9 (??? IDK what I was thinking- I'll take some breaks); 10-12. If you stop by I'll show you around, give you a lil weaving tutorial, or show you how to wind bobbins for us and put you to work ha ha.

Anyway, thanks again so much everyone!!! by @mirandaoutside

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a year ago

I have a sort of weird obsession with the concept of epigenetics, especially as it relates to stress and trauma being passed down through generations via changes in how genes are turned on and off. It's something that has been most well-studied in mice, but scientists have started to study it in people - especially in refugees, and mother's suffering from PTSD amongst others. Evidence isn't conclusive, but it's developing. Perhaps more interesting, though, are studies on how to reverse these kinds of changes. Some seem to be influenced by lifestyle changes, including changes that reduce stress, such as exercise. And one proven way to reduce stress is having hobbies. Hobbies bring social connection, a sense of accomplishment, and lower stress across the board.

Now, we are indisputably living in an age of stress - pandemics, climate-related disasters, fascism. Add to that the stress and trauma that may have been passed to us from ancestors living through their own traumatic times - wars, forced migration, and more. We are in need of so much, including connection, to reduce that impact on future generations, and to heal ourselves. There are a multitude of ways to do that. And one way, is through places like Contemporary Craft, and the weaving program, and through initiatives live weave-a-thon. It might seem like a drop in the bucket, but I can personally vouch for the connection and good work that takes place there, and I know for a fact it makes a difference. Seriously, someone put us in touch with a scientist to study it. So if you would like to support future generations by reversing the effects of stress and trauma right now, please consider donating to weave-a-thon via https://bit.ly/WeaveAThon2025 - link in bio (select me as the weaver/credit a fundraiser if you want).

And thank you so so much to those who have supported so far, including @porterloves , @joanpstone , Bill Barmer/@ggmargieb , @lbranby , @lisagerber11 , @batlady40 and @sdmarinos ! by @mirandaoutside

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a year ago

Remember the AIDS Quilt? It began at the height of the AIDS crisis, when people had no problem calling it a f*ggot disease & condemned people to death because they said they deserved it. When the president, hell, most people didn’t think anything of denying those with AIDS basic health care, let alone research on life saving treatment. But activism & care in the community was strong, including the Quilt – a memorial for family, friends & lovers who had died of AIDS. Fabric squares - words & keepsakes, curated into a public art piece on the National Mall. It toured the country. People added to it. Eventually it didn’t fit on the Mall. In the 90s when I was a closeted queer kid my aunt took me to see the quilt in York. After constant news about the evils of gayness since the AIDS crisis began, that Quilt gave me hope. People, queer people, with AIDS were loved. The Quilt might be the first public art I can remember. It had an immediate & profound impact on me. It humanized the disease, brought it out of shame & hiding and helped to change public opinion and the politics around funding, care, & LGBTQ issues. The people who made that quilt made history.

And THAT is how art, fiber art, can change the world. But it’s not just huge projects like this. Each weaver, the community built in one beautiful little fiber studio can change the world, too. And that’s where the joy & hope & enthusiasm I have for weaving & for teaching at Contemporary Craft comes from. We are in such tough times right now - each day feels like a new level of awful. But there are people out there who will change the world with art, with craft. If you think that’s work worth shepherding, please consider sponsoring Weave-a-Thon (& feel free to select my name as the fundraiser to credit if you want). We’ll be weaving, making towels, raising funds for this incredible program that brings so many people together, so many ideas, so much joy & enthusiasm. Weave-a-Thon makes this world accessible to all. Who knows who will make the next world-changing textile. Let’s give them a chance. Link in bio https://bit.ly/WeaveAThon2025 taken in Contemporary Craft by @mirandaoutside

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a year ago

Concussion therapy, birthday edition: cross a closed bridge like you own these streets, because you do, damn it. You might limp, you might flinch in the crosswalk, you might get tired, but you're here for this 47th year. And I've never been more thankful. You're here to spend this day wondering at original church records from 1819. You're here to browse microfilm newspapers. You're here to toast over peaches and pulpo and reminisce about our month in Spain. You're here to plan future trips near and far. You're here to ride the bus and walk up our hill and greet friends and neighbors in your turtle shirt. I love you so much and I'm so glad you're still here @hollenbarmer. Thank you for sharing this one wild and precious life with me. HBD. taken in Herron Bridge by @mirandaoutside

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a year ago

A good day for a Swissvale plant sale with @swissvaleyinz at the @swissvalelibrary 🥹🌱 taken in Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale by @mirandaoutside

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a year ago

Just look at this beautiful place! Last night I joined Loom Club in the new @sccpgh Timmons Studio for the first time and wow, what a place! We weavers made quick work of loom set up, laughed, toasted to community, to our teachers, and to those who made it happen. I thought later how much I love that when I feel ill-suited to a task, there are people who jump in, and I can do something that suits my mood and my skills. I love that everyone gets excited to greet new arrivals, and that people bring mandarin oranges and sour patch kids to share. But I especially love that @jamieaboyle checks in on me, on everyone. I laugh when she jokes about "being in the way" because we all know what to do now, but I know the truth - that we would not be here without her, without her "weavers choice" mantra and the perfect balance of encouragement and instruction and inquiry.

And the people in that room made me think about the people that have inhabited this beautiful space over the years, when it was Hunter Saw and Machine starting in the early 1900s. And I wondered what they would think of we weavers, and the other studio inhabitants. In the classifieds of old Pittsburgh Posts and Press I found advertising for lathe hands, and drill press operators, and blacksmiths. And I realized, those craftspeople - they are kindred spirits to the new inhabitants. There is a wood studio with those very same tools, and a space for blacksmithing, too. It's like it was meant to be. Here we are, carrying on craft.

And then I happened upon the fact that the building was recently advertised for sale by a company called Ballymoney Real Estate and I did a doubletake. Ballymoney. Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland, population 3,269 in 1900 (around when Hunter Saw began). Ballymoney, where in the immediately preceding decades, several of my ancestors were weaving, likely linen. What a wild coincidence.

When I start teaching my next Weaving 1 class, my first in the new studio, I'll try not to get too overwhelmingly sappy. But I might just implement a Bushmills toast when we weave off our first samples. To over 100 years of craft. To our ancestral weavers near and far. To the stories we'll weave. taken in Contemporary Craft by @mirandaoutside

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2 years ago

Well friends, I've been spending less time on meta & news and the general doomscroll thanks to AppBlock. I'm technically on bluesky (mirandaoutside), but I don't love the format and I've time boxed myself on it, too. Twitter was never my thing, and while I think bluesky is way better, it doesn't fit me, somehow. But I have been enjoying Substack. It has "notes" which are shorter, and the long form posts/newsletters, as well. If you know me, you know I love both reading and writing long form (cough, this post, cough). So I think I'll hang out there, and maybe do more than lurk. We shall see if it sticks. I feel like I want some way or place to express myself in writing. It does not have to be public, but if other folks seem to sometimes, occasionally, claim to enjoy reading my perspectives in posts I've made here and elsewhere, I suppose, why not.

So today I've finally made my first note over there. It's a "restack" (like a retweet or a share, with something I've written attached) - please click through because it contains a link to another post I hope folks will read. substack.com/@mirandaoutside/

It is a simple call to action to support getting a particular book - We Hold These "Truths" - into civics classes. Which is emblematic of how I'm feeling these days and how I've felt for awhile. Yes, I'm appalled at the state of our country and the world right now. No, I haven't been posting about it much. Part of that is a lack of words, part of that is because I have to spend less time in my head and more time doing things with my resources of time and money to make a difference. And to me that's primarily in supporting and building community in a very local and very concentrated way (starting seeds to benefit our community, organizing community events, getting folks involved in local government, teaching people to weave and encouraging a weaving community, etc). (cont in comments) by @mirandaoutside

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2 years ago