Boundaries & Women's History

names, lineage, and a wedding dress

Wedding Dress, Re-Imagined Photo by Lyn Swett Miller

Mary, Katherine, Anne, Judith, Elizabeth¹

A tree of life.

A family tree.

Lineages known and unknown.²

Catalina, Susanna, Janneken, Alida, Anne³

It’s women’s history month & the equinox.

Only two days a year when day and night are equal.

What to make of that?⁴

I embroider names, one stitch at a time.

Janet, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Mary⁵

Hannah, Sarah, Alida, Deborah, Sarah, Judith⁶

Were these women safe and loved?

Did their hands tire from sewing?

And I realize, if they had not lived,

I would never have worn this dress…

or be embroidering their names.⁷

My existence, bounded by them.

Anne, Phoebe, Elizabeth, Maria, Catherine⁸

Julia, Margaret, Esther, Sarah, Elizabeth⁹

Amelia, Catherine, Eveline, Julia, Emily¹⁰

Margaret (“Maddie”), Mary, Katherine, Frances, Alice, Frances¹¹

Frances

Shiela

Me

1911, 1935, 1965

Happy Spring, my friends. It’s the equinox. May you find whatever ways you need to sustain that ever elusive thing called balance.¹²

I advise embroidering your wedding dress, composting and photographing the all of it.

Lilly advises walks and fetch.

What do you suggest?

Thank you, as always, for sharing this space and your time with us.

With gratitude for you being you,

Lyn

This week's compost Photos by Lyn Swett Miller

If you know someone who might appreciate all that transpires on 13 Tons of Love, please share this with others!

1. Born between 1583 and 1591: Mary, Katherine, Anne

Judith, b. 1608; Elizabeth, b. 1614

There are plenty of stories to share, but for now, in honor of Women’s History Month, I think a list of names is just right…and just first names, since last names all derive from the men in their lives.

This wedding dress project continues to evolve. I wrote about it last month in a post called Embodied Fiber. I’m not sure what will happen next, but I’m going to let the spirits of these women be my guide. Stay tuned…

2. I happen to know these particular lineages because my father has been doing a ton of research about my mother’s family and he’s uncovered all these women…and has gathered many stories he will someday share with us…but for now, I’m wondering about the energies embodied in each of these women and their names and their lives, and quietly meditating with each one of them, one stitch at a time.

3. Born between 1623 and 1684

4. I’ve been thinking about the earth’s calendar and the power of the solstice and the equinox and how balanced it all feels…and how out of sync we humans seem to be with the natural rhythms of things…I love sewing, though, because it invites pause and offers time to sit and think and rest…while, of course, also being productive.

5. Born between 1703 and 1753

6. Born between 1758 and 1765

7. In the midst of this project, I read Sue Reed’s delightful YA novel The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn. It is a captivating story about a young woman during Covid, her grandmother, and their relationship with Martha, another young women, but from the 17th century, who finds her way into their lives…and there’s also something about precious books of hand written herbal remedies and witches…

Between chapters, I stitched the names of my female ancestors, wondering which among them were witches in hiding.

8. Born in the 1780’s

9. Born between 1715 and 1799

10. Born between 1802 and 1819

11. Born between 1838 and 1882

12. For me, that involves showing up for the #100dayproject and thinking about my female ancestors, whose blood runs through me and without whom I would not exist.

I am grateful to my father, Steven C. Swett, for his current research into my mother’s family and for his particular interest in the lives of the women. More to come when I explore the names of the women on his side of the family!