Last month I taught two tapestry workshops in New England. One was a retreat I ran myself in Plymouth, VT and the other was for Harrisville Designs in Harrisville, NH. In between the two teaching events I had 6 days and that is not enough time for me to go home even if I could stand the two extra days on airplanes. Instead I did the ultra sane thing and found a little cottage to stay in.
I was sure my time in eastern New Hampshire would result in lots of adventures but somehow the week flew by. There were a few including a hike, a trip to Portland, ME, and a few yarn stores.
Gluten free fish and chips at Hobbs Tavern in West Ossipee, NH. I can’t begin to tell you how rare this is.
One day I took a hike into the White Mountains. There was a covered bridge at the trailhead.
This trail was the Boulder Loop trail. It was only 3 miles but the sunshine through the trees was beautiful. I got bluffed by a mountain chicken, I mean grouse. She came so close I did a little backward run and was lucky not to trip over all the roots that New England trails are primarily made of. Those of you in Summer of Tapestry 2024 heard the story of this hike in detail along with the “Coming in Hot” tapestry that resulted from the grouse scare. That tapestry isn’t done yet, but I’ll tell you the mountain chicken story when it is.
I spent a day driving into Maine. I drove through the hoards shopping in Freeport, Maine and was happy to find that the nearby Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park was largely empty. I saw an osprey catch a fish and her baby’s head poking out of its nest. I spent a little time watching the tide roll in while spinning.
Portland, Maine
Though I wanted to wander through the docks in Portland looking at boats, I couldn’t find any that the public had access to. So I went to the bookstore instead.
I wandered through a couple yarn stores that day. They had marvelous names: Mother of Purl and Knit Wit. I bought only two balls of yarn. I met a college friend and his family for pizza and drove back to my cottage in NH in a driving rain storm.
I had to do some work that week including shooting a little video for one of the Summer of Tapestry prompts. I couldn’t bring my heavy tripod that allows overhead shooting, so I tied my lightweight one to the circular stairs with yellow Harrisville Highland yarn. It worked great.
Ad hoc studio in an AirBnB in New Hampshire. The camera is suspended over that chair from the circular stair.
I did a little weaving that week, mostly for Summer of Tapestry 2024 examples. The little piece below was about the journey of looking for a new home and house.
Rebecca Mezoff, Finding Home, sketch tapestry example for Summer of Tapestry 2024 online course.
It wasn’t exactly a vacation, but there was weaving, yarn stores, reading in the hammock, and the fun of making a video studio out of a tiny cottage kitchen.
Next week I have some images of my week teaching at Harrisville Designs. I hope you’re having a lovely summer and that you’re getting some tapestry weaving in along the way! I’ve seen so many inspiring ideas in Summer of Tapestry. To those of you in the class, thanks for all your hard work and for sharing your adventures.