August Newsletter

NO. 61 | August 2026

From the Desk of Madison Moore is a monthly newsletter of friendly writing on living a creative life. Here, we celebrate the joy and magic of making things! And by reveling in the expansive definition of making, we acknowledge that we make things everyday. More concretely, I write about the process for all the kinds of things I make (books, clothes, illustrations, quilts, paintings, ceramics, baked goods, flowers…).

But, creativity is also more than an isolated craft—it’s a life practice. So you will find me writing about life, the natural world, home, food, and more.

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July is always the busiest of busy months! In the span of four weeks we hosted eight of our beloved friends and also went to a wedding where we saw more beloved friends. Emilio & I live in a rural community. Our pace of life is (intentionally) slower, quieter, and more introverted. So, we are so appreciative that our friends from all over the country make the effort (and sometimes it can really be an effort to travel to a rural spot!) to come and see us and understand our life here.

And, seeing so many of them in a condensed time period has made me reflect on all the choices one can make! We are all within five years of age, have at one point shared a city, and generally have many things in common. And yet, I am watching us all do such very different things. Some are moving across the country or to new countries, starting new jobs, getting married, being married, ending old jobs, loving the same things that they’ve loved for years, starting over and doing something new when it is the right thing to do.

Yes, I know this is a sappy and relatively trite sort of missive that I’m sending you, but I think it is a good reminder for us grown-ups. You’re not doing it wrong! In fact, I have since made many mental comparisons across this range of people that I love and found myself actually gobsmacked and laughing at the differences I see within a single category.

At times, it has felt scary to make decisions that feel outside the “norm” of my peer group or what I’m seeing online, or whatever one should be doing. Of course, it’s always best to make those decisions anyway and answer the call that is calling to you. But how reassuring to see the evidence that actually we are all doing it in our own ways, big and small, and reaping the rewards and the consequences in turn.

Even among people that you love and who love you, with whom you share a million things, and without whom you would be lost, you must carve your own inimitable way!!

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ROOT VEGETABLES! I will have more to share about the garden in the House Log, but I think I just want to bask in the glory of radishes for a second. Have you ever pulled a radish up out of the ground? This was my first year doing so. What a thrill. And, after the grand reveal, you can slice into it and see colors like this?? No comment. (This is the variety Bravo).

Portfolio Peek

I need to take some nice pictures of this thing, but I went to a basketmaking workshop and had the time of my life making this berry basket. I did basketmaking in high school and am very interested in making it part of my life again, which is why we planted a bunch of willows this spring! I’m hoping to be weaving willow baskets in the next few years (but also, I might make more of these rattan baskets).

We Make a Home Videos

We have seven videos up on our channel!! I’m currently editing a video all about the stuff we’ve built for my studio + a little studio tour, so now is a great time to catch up on the gardening and upholstery projects and everything else we’ve shared so far!

✷ I recently finished my big embroidery project (more on that soon), and so I’m back knitting! I’m so excited about it! I’m currently working on developing a vanilla sock recipe that works for my foot. Also excited to try this stitch pattern one day
✷ My friend Kristine gifted me a knitting pattern for my birthday that we’re going to knit together! We’re going to make the Isabel Top
✷ If this doesn’t scream summer
✷ And also this too