After spending four days in Poughkeepsie, New York, I flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota to stay with a longtime friend and former roommate for five days (October 20-24). Jerry was the best host and tour guide I could have asked for, and he took me to the Textile Center, which is a national center for fiber art. Even though it was a rainy day, I was in heaven! We parked in the back, and I fell in love with this Textile Mobile before I even got inside the center. Apparently, they take this out to schools and the like.

Unfortunately, the Joan Mondale Gallery was empty, as one show had just been taken down, and the annual holiday exhibit wasn't up yet. When I explained that I came all the way from California to see the center, I was allowed into the closed library and the dye lab. They have a large office for a Minnesota quilting group, and another huge room full of looms for the weavers. Of course I loved the gift shop, too....which has beautiful handcrafted items from all over the country. You must be juried in as an artist to be able to sell there. I bought a spiralbound self-published book called "Altered Images: A Handbook for Fiber Artists" by Donna Kallner. Oh, how I wished that I could whisk the Textile Center to southern California! They have classes and workshops in all manner of techniques, and it's just such an inspiring place. I highly recommend it to any fiber fanatics who visit Minneapolis, and if you can't go, their website is worth checking out. (Click on the photos to make them larger if you wish to see more detail.)

The weather was cool and brisk and the fall leaves were bright and colorful when I attended the 36th Annual New York State Sheep and Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York, on Saturday, October 18. The vast parking lot filled up quickly, and I was amazed at the number of people who swarmed the fairgrounds. Now when the Ventura County Fairgrounds has an event, nothing fills the entire grounds except for the annual county fair. This is an event for fiber people: spinners, weavers, dyers, knitters, and crocheters. Everyone I met was so kind and friendly, I felt right at home.

The booklet I received when I entered the festival listed many events scheduled for the day, featuring things like llama and alpaca fiber demonstrations, a wool garment fashion show, angora goat shows, spinning demonstrations, a chop stick knitting contest, and so on. One whole building just had activities for kids and their families. And the vendors! Oh my, there were hundreds of them....and me, with little suitcase room. I did buy a pattern and a small cone of a shiny long staple ecru cotton. I wandered all over the fairgrounds several times, also taking in the Antique Museum Village displays. I just had to take a photo of this gorgeous freeform crochet and knit combination coat that was hanging in one of the larger indoor booths. After the show ended, I drove about five miles down the road to the big Ravelry party, which was attended by over 600 Ravelry members. I was early enough to score a muslin drawstring goody bag, which had a skein of wool yarn, some Ravelry buttons, and other small items. I met up with some of my friends from my Ravelry group Vintage Bitches, and we all had a great time. When I had left southern California, the temperatures had been in the 80s and 90s, so I truly enjoyed the crisp autumn weather in upstate New York.

Honestly, I never intended to take a hiatus from blogging. It just sort of....happened. Truth be told, I did not forsee getting sucked into the political vortex as heavily and addictively as I did. What a ride that was! So now I'm glad all of that nail-biting tension and excitement is over with, but unfortunately the real challenges are just beginning.

My birthday was on Saturday, which means this blog is now three years old. I kept feeling guilty about not blogging, but then I realized that every once in awhile it's good to take some time off. I'm feeling re-energized now, and I'm adapting to the longer, darker nights. My daughter Chelsea got me the book featured here for my birthday, which is a very nice addition to my always-growing home library.

I made two bags (from the Scrappysak pattern) somewhat recently: one for me, and one for a friend (whom I've been promising something made with my own two hands for a long time now, because she has been very generous to me). I like my bag, she tells me that her bag is perfect for her, so everyone is happy. (The first bag is mine, the second is Susan's.) I had several fiber and textile excursions on my recent trip to New York and Minneapolis, so those stories and photos will be next. And soon. Hiatus is over!