I’m off to Taos to teach another retreat soon. I know, I know, I just came back from teaching in Taos. The spinning for tapestry retreat with Jillian Moreno was an added workshop this year because the venue had an opening in October. So though I just made that trek two weeks ago, I’m off for another round.
This retreat is an alumni retreat about design. It is one full of people that come back every year and it has become a wonderful place to share our triumphs or struggles over the year with tapestry and life.
Bibs day. Jillian Moreno and Rebecca Mezoff teaching together, January 2024: Spinning and Tapestry
But before I can go, I have to pack. I have a checklist for retreats that changes every time. It has things on it like, collapsible hot pot, walking shoes, and “that cozy blanket for the cold mornings”. It also has things like, color wheels for students, digital projector, four billion six sample looms for students, HEPA filter. The list is varied for lots of reasons. I’ve been teaching at Mabel Dodge Luhan house for so long now that I know what things I need to bring along and what things they might have that I can use. Do they have wifi? No (use hotspot). Do they have cupboards full of yoga props that can be used to sit on if the students are too short for the chairs and tables? Yes. Do they have the most fabulous food in the world? Yes (no need to bring any).
There are sometimes packing challenges. For the last retreat we had a little scare about the fiber which Jillian ordered for the retreat. Believe me, she has done this five million a hundred times. There was plenty of time for it to arrive in Colorado so I could bring it with me to the retreat. But the gods of mailing were not smiling upon us as the package was delayed. DW Fibers was awesome and offered to overnight another box, but the thing arrived just in time to go in the car. (Why is every single box from UPS SO dirty?!)
Fiber for the Taos retreat is here!
I am a person who can go backpacking for a month with one tiny set of gear and feel like I have everything I need. But if there is a car involved in getting somewhere, watch out. I’m a “just in case” teacher. What if someone forgets their Mirrix shedding handle or their warp? Shouldn’t I have some back-up weft just in case? I love to bring books for reference, extra tools, and plenty of looms. Next week is no exception. I have gone to having students bring their own weft yarn for more advanced retreats and that has cut down on the amount of stuff I need to bring quite a bit. But sometimes the car topper is needed on my little Subaru.
For the Spinning for Tapestry retreat, my Ladybug spinning wheel rode shotgun. Jillian used it to teach on.
My old Schacht Ladybug belted in for the Spinning and Tapestry retreat with Jillian Moreno.
For Jillian’s retreat I got everything in the car without the car topper so chances are good I can do that again for next week’s retreat. There is a beautiful shortcut from here to Taos that goes between Tierra Amarilla (close to Chama where Tierra Wools is) and Tres Piedras (close to Taos). It is always a gamble whether to take this road in the winter because NM Roads website isn’t great at keeping up with current conditions. In October, this is what I found at the top of the pass. Fortunately this was only about 5 miles of the drive. I suspect next week I’ll have to drive the long way around as rain is forecast here and it’ll be snowing up high.
Snow on Hwy 64 between Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras, NM
Rock mini #1 woven during a retreat in 2024
The last thing I always pack is personal projects. I can’t go to a retreat without some weaving, knitting, spinning or whatever else I am working on. I’ve woven at least two of my rock mini tapestries while teaching in Taos and I’m hoping to do another one next week. Then again, sometimes teaching means no time for anything else and that is okay too.
Do you have a packing hack to help you not forget things? Does it also help you not bring too much?