Santa Fe

I would have to say that one of my favorite towns that we visited on our road trip was Santa Fe. From paintings to sculpture, we found wonderful art in Santa Fe.

The weather obliged us with a beautiful fall day for our stroll along Canyon Road, home to one great gallery after the next. The soft lines and colors of the adobe architecture are pleasing to the eye and are the essence of the Southwest.

I also paid a visit to one of my favorite knit shops,Miriam's Well , where I bought yarn for a side to side knitted vest. Miriam's knit patterns consist of simple stitches using luscious yarn.

That's my kind of knitting!

The style I am knitting is as shown below, but the yarn I chose is a soft alpaca in my favorite earth tones with a touch of heathered purple. The pattern is free with the yarn purchase.

Wonderful Wool Festival

The Taos Wool Festival was such fun. No rain or soggy grass this year, the weather was perfect. I love the size of the event and the mix of producers who proudly present unique wool offerings. My husband snapped this shot of me with the first of my booty. Driving rather than flying gave me the luxury of buying as much as I wanted without concern for suitcase space. I'm inspired by all the lovely fibers I brought home, and have been busy in my studio putting them to use for the upcoming holiday sales. Below are a few of my finds.

A good start, don't you think?

Among the many treasures I found

are these soft and silky hand painted Wensleydale rovings.

Lots of ideas for how to use these beauties.

Ruth Walker offered up these richly dyed rovings of

merino blended with cashmere, or silk.

I got back to the hotel and decided

I didn't have enough of them,

so, went back for more, and a couple of her pre-felts as well!

Check back with me soon, for more photos of our scenic road trip.

Off to Taos!

Last year I went to the Taos Wool Festival, in Taos New Mexico, with my friend Zaynab from Anchorage. She had been there before but it was my first time and I loved it! This year I am taking my husband Burt, and we are going on a road trip. I'm so excited! Taos is wool heaven during the festival. The actual event is held on the grass at Kit Carson Park in the center of this charming Southwestern town. Here is a video from a past wool festival. There are workshops and the vendors are mostly small producers offering unique roving, yarn, and finished work as well. I must confess that the New Mexico food is as enticing to me as the wool offerings. It is delicious. Can't wait to have a big bowl of pezole!

On the way back home to San Diego we will wend our way through Gallup, New Mexico, Sedona, Prescott, and Jerome Arizona. Gallup is the best place to buy Native American art and handcrafts. The artists bring their work there to sell in the pawn shops. Being in Gallup is like going back in time to the 1950's. Jerome is an old mining town that clings to the edge of rocky hills. The big Jerome attraction for me is a store called Knit One Bead Two, where I have found great bead and fiber treasures on past visits. I will have lots to blog about when I return in mid October.