Proctorsville is a small town in central Vermont. After the retreat in Plymouth, I headed there to teach a two-day introductory tapestry class. Vermonters are people who can figure stuff out. Everyone in the class was pretty new to tapestry weaving, but they quickly picked up tips and were weaving before you could say bobbin.

Twelve tapestry weavers met in Plymouth, Vermont for four days of study, collaboration, and relaxation. We did a lot of laughing, eating, and weaving and I'm pretty sure we'll do it again!

I've been planning this retreat for about a year and a half. Tomorrow I am on my way. There is still a large quantity of yarn to be shoved into suitcases and some sorting of materials to do. The most important thing is the thoughtful placement of clothing for Thursday so that I don't have to lug three massive suitcases into the hotel to search among the yarn for my clean underwear. (Don't worry, I don't keep the dirty underwear there.) 

On a day trip to Dinosaur National Monument, I finally got the chance to see my tapestry, Emergence II, installed in the permanent art collection of Northwestern Colorado Community College in Craig, Colorado. I was quite taken aback at how different the piece actually is from what lives in my memory. Woven in 2010, the colors have shifted around in my head to be something quite different. 

When you fly into Memphis very late at night, Budget may well be completely out of Kias. The agent asked me (rather skeptically I might add) if I could "drive a stick." Heck yeah, I replied. Shortly thereafter I was driving away in a 2016 Ford Mustang headed for the Mississippi Delta. I was a bit self-conscious about the car. I got a lot of looks and most of them seemed to say, "hey, what is that middle-aged white lady doing driving that Mustang?" My brother-in-law did enjoy it during the ten minutes I gave him the keys. (I held my breath the whole time.)

You don't expect to find fine art tapestry in a thrift store. At least I don't.

But one day last winter, I happened to check my email at 9:50 on a Monday morning and had a note from a friend in Santa Fe about two tapestries by James Koehler that were spotted over the weekend at a thrift store called Look What the Cat Dragged In. After I got over how mortified James would have been to have his tapestries in a store with the word cat in the name, I looked up their website. They opened at 10. A quick call later and I owned this tapestry.

Self-care is important. Sometimes wet feet and rattlesnakes are just the thing.