Last night we kicked off our Makeshift 2013 conversations with an intimate dinner hosted by friends Lisa Fox and Rosanne Cash.

It was wonderful to hear all of the conversations running through the night, from the study of 50 pages of Proust, to the intellectual property rights on patterns.

Come back tomorrow for more New York Design Week, our conversation at The Standard, East Village, and make your plans for Sunday at Build It Green!NYC in Brooklyn.

Use #makeshift2013 to join the conversation.

Make v. Tr. 

To cause to exist or happen; bring about; create.
To bring into existence by shaping, modifying, or putting together material; construct.
To compel.
To form in the mind.
To compose.
To prepare; fix.
To engage in.
To carry out; perform.
To achieve, produce, or attain.
To institute or establish; enact.
To draw up and execute in a suitable form.
To assure the success of.
To develop into.
To draw a conclusion as to the significance or nature of.
To cause to be especially enjoyable or rewarding.
To appear to begin (an action).
(Among others…)

Shiftv. Tr. 

To alter (position or place).
To change (gears), as in an automobile.
To exchange (one thing) for another. 

The Dust-to-Digital book and CD compilation Never a Pal Like Mother is a collection of vintage photographs of and commercial recordings about mother. It’s an unusual and unique gift for any book lover. Just one of several Dust-to-Digital publications we sell in our online store, it may be our favorite.

Our post on Mom and the Casserole  explored the history of the American casserole, a memory most of us share and strongly associate with Mom.

We dug deeper into The Craft of Midwifery, possibly the oldest DIY pursuit known to (wo)mankind, and the growing interest in home births.

Mark Twain’s Advice to Little Girls added some much needed humor to our routine.

We look forward to Sunday and sharing a few moments (not just a card) with our mothers (and those who have mothered us) and perhaps a few moments mothering ourselves.

We wish you all a HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY—whatever that means for you…
xo from all of us @ Alabama Chanin

Compiled by April and Lance Ledbetter, founders of the Dust-to-Digital label, the 96-page hardcover book features vintage black and white and sepia-toned images of mothers and their children interspersed with poignant lines from popular commercial recordings of the early twentieth century, each one dedicated to Mom. An essay by Sarah Bryan accompanies two CDs of 40 recordings from 1927 to 1956. The forward is written by friend, mother, Alabama Chanin ambassador, and master lyricist Rosanne Cash.

From Rosanne’s essay and the Dust-to-Digital site:

“We can feel our American past here: how we lived, how hard we worked, how we were a nation of travelers and wanderers, how we held fast to our faith, how great our losses were, how quickly death came, and how often our mothers were the rock and the lighthouse, the home inside our hearts. These songs could never be written in the age of jet travel, therapy, delayed adolescence, the internet, nor could they survive current popular ideas of human psychology. They are pristine and deeply wrought sonic images, unfiltered through modern expectations, and are all the more refreshing and thrilling for being so. Those of us who treasure American roots music are listening to the very center of its essence in this anthology: a nearly century-old collection of songs about the most important person in the entire lexicon.” — Rosanne Cash, from the introduction to Never a Pal Like Mother

The book itself, contents notwithstanding, has the beauty of a treasure chest, the CDs tucked neatly inside pockets on the front and back covers. The back cover displays the song list in a vintage inspired typeface that invokes the memory of an old record, perhaps one played on a phonograph of one the mothers depicted within the pages. Any mother would be proud to count this album among her library of cherished tomes (while ballads celebrating her heroism play in the background).

You can get a copy for your mother (or yourself) from our online store here.

This online event seems indicative of what an amazing year (decade) it has been. We were, quite honestly, bowled over by the outreach of support, excitement, and, well, love for what we do at Alabama Chanin.  (We will be doing it again soon. Check our events page for updates and/or join our mailing list to stay in touch.)

Looking back on the whole year, it’s staggering to see just how many projects we’ve tackled, people we’ve met, and journeys we’ve taken – all infused with the same love that we experienced during our Garage Sale. Honestly, I can hardly believe that so many things happened all in one twelve-month span. It’s been 12 (REALLY) good ones.

I want to thank each of you: our customers, our friends, our fellow travelers (Jennifer Venditti – here’s looking at you, sister), who have shared stories with us at our workshops, sought us out at events and trunk shows, crafted with us, sung with us, even held our hands (across the internet) as we launched a new website.

You have helped our company to grow and expand our horizons–with new products and many new employees (more on them in the coming months). Your dedication to Alabama Chanin is part of what makes our company different.

For Alabama Chanin, the real story of 2012 has been the exploration of how craft intersects with fashion. With our collaborators, we moved forward with this conversation in a big way through the publication of our third book, Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, in March of 2012.  The dialogue created inspired Makeshift 2012: Shifting Thoughts on Design, Fashion, Craft, and DIY. This series of events allowed us to explore the idea that makers, users, crafters, designers, and manufacturers are much more connected than initially thought. We had discussions, both big and small, on how each discipline can expand its way of thinking, making, and doing and find an intersection – a place where each community respects and honors one another and moves forward. Of course, Makeshift 2012 was only a beginning of a deeper conversation, but one that we see growing. We want collaboration to become the norm, not a far-fetched ideal or a flash in the pan publicity stunt. This past year was simply a jumping-off point and I’m excited to see (and facilitate) this movement finding its way into all disciplines.

We sought to expand these ideas by teaching some of our own techniques and adaptations on Creativebug.com and in the last weeks of December filmed a class for Craftsy.com (which will launch in a few short weeks). This gives Alabama Chanin yet another avenue to provide content and instruction to those who want to make their own garments as we continue to find ways to merge design, fashion, and craft. As with all of our books, these courses can be used in accordance with our other open-sourced materials and ideas and adapted for use with other projects, materials, and disciplines.

This was a year of collaboration and blending of ideas. We were proud to introduce another in our line of collaborations – two textile pattern designs called “Little Flowers” and “Little Folk,” by our friend and talented designer, Anna Maria Horner. You will see more of these patterns in 2013.

One of the more popular avenues that we used to explore this focus on fashion and craft’s sisterhood was the adaptation of Vogue patterns made available by other designers and using Alabama Chanin techniques. By using readily available patterns, we were able to create our own versions of some of our favorite designers’ clothing, like Vena Cava and Donna Karan. What better demonstration of how fashion and craft can collide?

After twenty-something years, I was able to return to Penland School of Crafts – this time as an instructor. Years ago, I was accepted at Penland as a studio assistant and the experience has stayed with me ever since. Two weeks in this amazing place, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, felt a bit like a homecoming and allowed me the opportunity to teach (take part in) a two-week course called, “Explorations in Hand Sewing.”

My time there was transformative and allowed me space and peace to be still. The food was delicious, the yoga was inspiring and has stuck with me (Maggie is now becoming quite the expert in the Sun Salutation, which she demonstrates to all guests at our home), and the fellowship revitalized my spirit. I hope to experience Penland again, and again, and again. Perhaps next time I will be the student?

Possibly the most difficult and most meaningful journey that Alabama Chanin undertook this year was that of learning about and growing organic cotton. Early this year we began to research, in earnest, what it would mean to grow our own organic cotton. We knew that it would be no easy task, so with help from experts like Lynda Grose and the people at Textile Exchange, we began to educate ourselves and determine if it would even be possible to undertake growing organic cotton in modern-day Alabama.

The difficult task of sourcing our cottonseed was made possible with the help of Kelly from the Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative. We partnered with another local fashion company, Billy Reid and with the help of K.P. and Katy McNeill, found the perfect land and the perfect people to oversee our crops: Jimmy and Lisa. Lisa (the Poet Laureate of Cotton) and her updates from the field kept our spirits from sinking when it seemed that all may be lost. They nurtured our struggling cotton from drought to flood, from planting, to chopping and pulling weeds, to, finally, picking.

This year’s Cotton Picking Party was a celebration of what has been accomplished and what we HOPE continues into the future. A plate (and bale) FULL of gratitude to Nick Pihakis and the whole Jim ‘N Nick’s crew for support, food, picking, BBQ-ed Dresses, and so much. A special plate of gratitude goes to Drew Robinson for good humor, kind emails, and inspiration. At the same time, Angie Mosier provided constant friendship, contagious excitement for life, and a luxurious room in Oxford, Mississippi at the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium when I had no place to lay my head.

Lastly, we introduced a new collection, a new website, and a new journal format – all at the same time. (Add to this Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Facebook and you will find A LOT of content.) Perhaps this was madness on our part, but we wanted to create a truly new experience for our customers and friends. We hope that it is now easier and pleasing to explore, that you find new things you want to invest in, new DIY Kits that you want to make, and new resources that you can draw from as you create your own life. Share with us what you loved (and, of course, what you didn’t love). We really want to know.

Again, we thank you for your continued support, your kind words and emails, your hugs, and your loyalty. We have survived (and thrived) for another year because YOU have supported us along the way. As we say to our thread as we “love” it, we wish you happiness, good fortune, health, peace, and prosperity (in whatever form that means for you).

xo Natalie and all of us @ Alabama Chanin

P.S.: A BUG HUG to Rinne Allen for letting us use the beautiful pictures of our cotton picking day (more on these pictures coming soon), and to all the photographers who have helped to document this last decade.

Last month, I had the incredible honor of hosting a studio visit from three amazing women who have inspired me for years. On a beautiful summer day, Rosanne Cash, Gael Towey, and Maira Kalman arrived in Florence for a two day sewing workshop and adventure. The idea for the trip was hatched on a spring afternoon in New York City and I can hardly believe that it actually happened. With incredibly busy schedules, these three women cleared their calendars, bought their tickets, organized their lives, picked up their daughters, and headed south.  Gael Towey (an incredible woman who has shaped the look of modern life as we know it) wrote about their Alabama adventure for Martha Stewart’s “Up Close and Personal Blog”. I spent an amazing afternoon with Gael talking about all things design and inspiration… that post will be coming in the next weeks.

Magpie + RUTH, my son Zach’s catering company, made a fantastic lunch for us each day. The bread pudding recipe below was a favorite with the entire crew, our Alabama Chanin team, and the photo above a favorite with our Facebook followers.

Bon Appetit,
xoNatalie

BREAD PUDDING WITH BOURBON PECAN CARAMEL SAUCE (and Buttermilk Ice Cream)

For bread pudding:

2 quarts of day old bread, cut into cubes
10 egg yolks
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups fresh milk
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp bourbon

For topping:

1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp white sugar

Fill a 9” x 13” greased pan with cubed bread. Pour in egg, milk, bourbon, cinnamon, and vanilla mixture until it comes to the top, but doesn’t fully cover bread.

Dust top with cinnamon and sugar topping before baking.

Cover with foil and bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes uncovered.

For the sauce:

Make a basic caramel sauce.

Peel and cut three peaches. Cook over low heat until peaches are tender. Puree cooked peaches.

Add peach puree to the basic caramel sauce until you have the desired flavor.

Reduce one cup of bourbon in a saucepan over low heat. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.

Add the bourbon and sugar mixture to caramel and peach sauce.

Plate the bread pudding, cover with sauce, and top with buttermilk ice cream.

BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoons vanilla
Salt to taste

Combine the heavy cream and one cup of sugar in a saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar together.

Remove the cream and sugar mixture from heat and cool slightly. Slowly whisk cooled cream and sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly until incorporated.

Cook this mixture over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely and freeze.

Many have already written, photographed, or posted about their experiences during the week.

Ellie Levine at STC Craft  created a timeline of the MAKESHIFT events – a beautiful recap using images and social media platforms which you can read here.

Compiled below are reflections and lingering thoughts to help continue our MAKESHIFT conversation into next year.

Keep in mind (and close to heart) what is valuable and inspiring as you design, create, and make.

xoNatalie

“I was so honored to be asked to participate in the Makeshift event. I felt a bit like an interloper, since my creations are much more ephemeral than most of the other art represented by the extraordinary people involved. The makeshift song we created, as a whole group, was thrilling. The audience participation was so much fun, and so inspiring. Creating as a community is something that sustains me, like food and water. The community I work with of musicians, audience, crew and collaborators of all stripes, sustains me and gives me strength and courage to do the solitary and sometimes isolating work of a writer. This idea, this FACT, was brought into such beautiful and stark relief at the Makeshift event. I recognized once again that in creativity, the sum is often greater than the parts.” – Rosanne Cash

“I loved everything you did for the Makeshift event. But what I loved most was getting a chance to hear from people in completely different areas of craft/design. Having a chance to come together–while making something, like our yarn necklaces–and to talk about the intersection of these areas in community—that’s enormously valuable, especially since I do much of my work alone and, as a result, I crave input from others in neighboring fields. Some of my best inspiration comes from trading ideas with other creative friends, and that happens on a grander scale when we’re working in different areas. We can build ideas from sharing and from exchanges like this.” – Liesel Gibson

“Being a part of Makeshift 2012 made me realize that sometimes being very far away geographically and seemingly out of the loop is such an archaic notion when people are connected by their truest intentions and passions. I have been living in Bulgaria off and on for the past two years, and I occasionally feel a bit sorry for myself when I think that I might be operating very far away from NYC, what many view as the epicenter of art, craft, design, fashion, and style. I love my life in Sofia and the connections I have made with very talented makers in villages and communities throughout Bulgaria. Makeshift 2012 made me realize that the textile research and cultural inquiry that I have been doing overseas is even more connected to rural American craft traditions and slow fashion than I might have surmised. This has energized me to go forth and let people here know that what seems so far away and unattainable is something that they have known about all along. It is something that their grandparents and great grandparents honored, and it is something that does not have a high price-tag or require a travel visa to be a part of. Makeshift is happening in every pocket of the globe, as the next generation rediscovers what the act of doing, undoing, and sharing is all about.” - Abigail Doan

“One Saturday afternoon in Florence, in one of our many conversations leading up to Makeshift, Natalie and I floated a simple 1-step experimental plan about how to ignite “making a shift”: If you want to make a shift, start making something!

The evening at The Standard was, for me at least, a beautiful lesson in how true this can be.

It’s mysterious: How is it that making things together–songs, beads, finger-knitting, stories–also creates a feeling of community?

Here’s another question: Once we’ve created this feeling of community, what do we want to do with its precious momentum?

During the week of Makeshift, I wove a seat for a chair (with a lot of patient help from Cathy Bailey and Andrew Wagner). I reverse appliqued a cover for a journal at the sewing circle, seated next to and across from both near and dear old friends and brand new ones. I met amazing people who will become friends and co-conspirators, and introduced old friends to one another. I was in the same room with Tift Merritt.

In the week following Makeshift, these experiences and encounters are continuing to grow and fructify. And I’m admiring my chair from a distance, recommending that everyone else who either lives in my house or visits it do the same. Unlike some of the splendid and sound creatures created at the Chair Workshop, mine is more or less a loosely and not very expertly woven potholder.

Now I’m curious: What do we want make together next?” – Jessamyn Hatcher

After taking time to reflect on our recent week in New York for MAKESHIFT, I’m already thinking about MAKESHIFT 2013.

Here are some highlights from the conversation at The Standard Talks. We reported the MAKESHIFT events here on the blog throughout the week, and had great press coverage from the New York Times, Style.com, Page Six, and Jezebel. Here’s a recap of our memorable conversation.

From The Standard Talks panel discussion:

Andrew Wagner began with a grand introduction and also referenced Ettore Sottsass’s essay, ‘When I Was a Very Small Boy’.

AW: When we all got together to talk about this [MAKESHIFT], we decided to not call it a conference, even though I just did; we decided we were going to call it a carnival, because it is going to be a pretty weird evening in the best possible sense. It is going to take a lot of interesting twists and turns, but part of why I am here is to try and figure out and wrap up what we are doing here.

I would like to suggest that life is not about compartmentalization, it is about a myriad of experience and emotions that come together to form a vivid life. Our life is not about ‘what we do’, but how we experience the world.

Rosanne Cash opened the panel discussion by singing “Fair and Tender Ladies”, a song that would be crafted by the audience during the conversation. Read more about Rosanne’s participation in MAKESHIFT here.

Cathy Bailey of Heath Ceramics discussed the history of her company and Edith Heath, the founder. She then related her experience with design and making.

CB: At Heath, everything was under one roof. Nothing was outsourced. Everything that the company needed was done and produced there. That is what gave the space its energy and its hum. I think it was simple and it was pure. It didn’t seem backwards. It seemed pure to us and that was exciting.

Another draw to the company was that there was such focus. There was one material that was being focused on since 1947. I found that fascinating and totally inspiring. That is what Heath felt like in 2003 when we bought the company.

This photo (below) reflects back to the Sottsass’s essay that Andrew mentioned. Here is my son and I get to see in him something beautiful. He has ideas, and he gets such satisfaction and confidence in ideas coming out of his hands. There is so much incredible joy and confidence he gets from drawing and making something from clay.

Because we are in this place that is focused on one material – we design our own glazes. We design our own shapes and we put them out there in a larger level.

This is the transparency that you get with glazes over glazes. It is something that gets missed when the ‘designing’ and the ‘making’ get separated.

Natalie and I did a project together to honor the work she was doing. The plates are etched by hand and not that dissimilar from stitching fabric. This woman etches every plate – which mimics Natalie’s work.

The last part of this- back to Edith Heath who was so obsessed with clay – she was a never-ending fountain of new ideas and inspiration. At one point she decided that the space between the plates in the kiln was not being utilized. These spaces were being fired for free. She started using beads and buttons in between the spaces. We started to making them again. For this event we have made beads, and Natalie is going to teach you how to make something.

To follow, I showed the audience to make knotted necklaces and how to finger knit using yarn balls that Alabama Chanin made for the event. I shared thoughts on fashion, making, and design.

NC: Our company is all about making. Design is important, but design is not enough. We make fashion, but we also teach people how to ‘make’ fashion. No one in our studio can keep their hands still.

In your bag you will find balls of rope that have been tied and pulled together. I am going to teach you how to make something like this necklace. All you have to do is keep tying knots. The one I am wearing took about four hours to make. The knotting – everyone can do it – and I am also going to teach you finger knitting. You have a loop on the end of the rope and you pull your fingers through the loop and keep pulling loops and as you make a longer loop, you can go back the other way – this is called finger knitting. It is very similar to crochet, made exactly the same way as what you are doing.

Once, as I was growing my company, I was told by a very wise man that the surest way to success was to “stick to your knitting.”  His point was that if you area of expertise is to build buildings, you should, simply, build buildings. If you know how to sew, you should keep sewing.  If what you know best is knitting, you should simply stick to your knitting. I was given this piece of advice almost a decade ago and it has served me well.  When I am unsure about a business decision or what to do, I simply go back to my knitting.

 I hope you all enjoy your knitting tonight.

Then Maria Cornejo discussed how an empty space helped her turn making into fashion.

MC: I had a space and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. I hated the fashion business, but I wanted to do something. I wanted to make something without any preconceived ideas. In the beginning, the space was a gallery, and I gradually started making things.

When combined, a circle and a triangle make a garment. We first placed a rack near the door of our gallery. If people responded to those garments, we made them the following week. We were always printing t-shirts. We’d get an order for 200, and we printed them all. A lot of t-shirts were all hand-painted and nothing was the same, but it was more about the idea of making something that was more immediate.

Jessamyn Hatcher spoke on “Worn Stories,” a project curated by Emily Spivack about the attachments that we form with our clothing – or things that we make and/or buy.  Her work with these stories, and the consequent Human-Textile Wellness Pop-Up Clinic, drills home the point that we have stories that become imbedded in our articles of clothing and that, rather than discard a piece, we can identify those connections and find ways – both emotional and physical to alter any piece for a new place in our lives.  In the end, Jessamyn asked the audience members to participate with the process by sharing one of their worn stories.

Read about Jessamyn’s contribution to the MAKESHIFT conversation here.

Rosanne Cash read her own personal worn stories, and then performed the “crafted” version of ‘Fair and Tender Ladies’. We fully recapped Rosanne’s performance here.

Andrew ended the evening by asking the audience to stay, introduce themselves, and to further the conversations on making. It seems that everyone took it to heart and did just that.

We hope everyone in attendance had a fantastic time, left inspired, will continue the conversations in their own communities, and then return next year to further the process.

Let us know what you think…

xoNatalie

Crafting Fashion, a pop-up shop curated by Alabama Chanin and Billy Reid, featured designers- Alabama Chanin, Susan Cianciolo, HEATH Ceramics, George Esquivel, Hugo & Marie, Imogene + Willie, Pamela Love, Leigh Magar, Maria Moyer, Billy Reid, Albertus Quartus Swanepoel, Tucker, and Kenlynn Wilson. Thanks to everyone for the great turn out. And a bigger thank you to Billy Reid and his staff for their hospitality and Tift Merritt for the beautiful performance.

The ever-so-charming, beautiful, and talented Tift Merritt. What a treat to hear her sing!

Jessamyn Hatcher, Rosanne Cash, and Natalie- MAKESHIFT panelists- with the handsome Mr. L.

Susan Cianciolo’s beautiful work is such a treat to have in the pop-up.

Among the most meaningful things I’ve ever found in a thrift store was a pair of dresses I unearthed at the Goodwill in Durham, North Carolina. One was a white summer dress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt dotted with embroidered flowers.  The other was a pink sequined number straight out of an old Italian movie.  What made the dresses so arresting wasn’t their cut or color, or even all the flowers and sequins. It was the fact that inside, attached to the labels, their former wearer had pinned stories:  “Picnic. 1957.  Hillsboro, North Carolina.” “Eastern Star Dance. May 8, 1958. Danced with M.K.”

I’ve since learned from my friend Emily Spivack who created and edits a blog about clothing and memory to call these stories “worn stories.”

On Tuesday night, as part of MAKESHIFT, we invited members of the audience to write their own worn stories. Rosanne Cash, Cathy Bailey of Heath Ceramics, and Natalie read excerpts of their stories to inspire us.

Here’s Natalie’s.

Here’s Cathy’s.

Here’s Rosanne’s.

Next, members of the audience, using the special cards and antique silver pins carefully placed in each gift bag, fixed their own worn stories to the wall for all to read.  Collectively, these stories formed a kind of paper “quilt,” a record of the deep meaning clothing can play in our lives and of our lovely evening together.

Here are a few examples of the stories that were collected Tuesday evening – some tantalizing, some funny, and all quite moving.

“I would love to repair the brown corduroys that I wore watching TV on Saturday mornings as a kid.”

“My grandmother’s camel wool cape makes me feel strong and beautiful, as I view her.”

“My Mom’s dress, which was her Mom’s.  It’s a classic 50’s style in black cotton poplin with a ditzy cat print.  I remember my mom wearing it when we were young.”

“My pair of hiking pants missing a leg (they zipped off) and in need of repair.  But they took me to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and one leg got lost on the journey home.  That journey, and those pants, changed my perspective on the world.”

“I have this great lumpy jacket I bought it college. I’ve been needing a new one, but this one is so full of memories. And it matches my red beard.”

“The maroon velvet tux jacket that I paid $50 of my own money to buy at an antique store to wear to my high school prom.”

“Morrissey’s shirt from the 1st U.S. tour of The Smith’s (1985)- ripped up by the audience as they pulled it off him.”

To begin the evening at MAKESHIFT @ the Standard Talks, Rosanne Cash opened with a performance of “Fair and Tender Ladies,” a traditional Appalachian folk song that has been recorded by many singers. The song had been performed by her step-mother, June Carter Cash.

Rosanne began by sharing her thoughts on crafting and writing music. In turn, she asked the audience to collaborate and “craft” a new song from the original version. This posed the question: “What can we learn from the field of music as we creatively approach a collaboration between amateurs and auteurs, makers and users?”

Following are the original lyrics, as sung by Rosanne:

“Fair and Tender Ladies”

Come all you fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court young men
They’re like a star on a summer morning
They first appear and then they’re gone

They’ll tell to you some loving story
And they make you think that they love you well
Then away they’ll go and court some other
And leave you there in grief to dwell

I wish I was on some tall mountain
Where the ivy rock is black as ink
I’d write a letter to my false true lover
Whose cheeks are like the morning pink

Oh, love is handsome, love is charming
And love is pretty while it’s new
but love grows cold, as love grows older
And fades away like morning dew

Each member of the audience rewrote a portion of the song’s four stanzas. A
selection was chosen for Rosanne to sing along with the audience at the end of
the discussion.

In the “crafted” version of “Fair and Tender Ladies,” the structure, melody, and
context were innovatively altered, creating a new song.

Following are the “crafted” lyrics, as sung together by Rosanne and the entire
audience:

“Fair and Tender Ladies”

Come all you strong and courageous ladies
Take note how you court your men
They’re like a firefly on a summer night
They first glow and then they’re gone

They’ll toss to you some fleeting story
And they hope you think that they know you well
Then again they’ll go and court some daydreams
And leave you there in peace to dwell

I wish I was on some tall moonbeam
Where the broken rock is black as night
I’d write a song to my false sweet lover
Whose kisses are like the distant pink

Oh, love is a feeling, love is a song
And love is an emotion while it’s new
But love grows high, as love grows tall
And falls away like sweet dew