November in New Mexico is the time to turn on the fireplace. (Still not used to that coming from a house where we burned wood in our fireplace.) Still, the “Tree of Life” looks great in front of this “new” one. Bet it would look even better in front of your fireplace.
Today is November, the start of the holiday season. Really. I can’t believe it either, but yesterday was Halloween, so it must be true. Which means that I better get a move on. High on Hooking’s got two big events in the coming weeks:
Guess what? I’m not ready for either. There are several rugs in the house here in various states of (in)completion. Yep, I’ve got days of work ahead of me till November 19 comes and I can breathe. (We won’t even talk about how I’m hosting Thanksgiving here and have to plan for that too.)
Tynan and I enjoying the grass and fall weather somewhere on a Missouri highway.
I might have been further down the road with the rugs I need to still finish, but real life got in the way. Tom, Tynan, and I were gone for just over two weeks driving back east for the first time since moving to New Mexico back in 2015. We’re tired now, having been on the road all that time, moving between Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to see family and friends. But it was well worth it. There was lobster, colorful foliage, a trip to the beach, and on and on. Tynan even provided a travelogue for our Instagram page for all but one of the days away. If you didn’t see it, pop on over there.
Not the usual “What’s on the frame” this week. Though, technically, the rug is still on the frame; one of many. Actually, this is what I accomplished on the road. One rug started and one crocheted shawl finished.
Must head back to the hooking and sewing now. Hope to see you at one of our events this November. Mention the blog and get 10% off any rug.
Working, working, working my little fingers to the bone…
“Ikea Christmas” is a new rug that will be available at the Fall Fiber Fiesta in Santa Fe this weekend. Hooked out of all kinds of alternative fibers, she’s 9″x9″ and can be hung (there’s a ring sewn on her back) or take a space on a little table.
On our way up the trail near Taos Ski Area. It was another beautiful day in New Mexico. Can you make out Tynan searching for yet another gecko…
I’m back! It’s only been a couple of weeks, but I feel kind of better even if I didn’t make it back to friends and family in New England. (For that story, see this post.) Anyway, Tom and I and the dog did manage to take a couple of day trips. The first was up to north of Taos near the ski area. We hiked for a couple of hours then picked up lunch in the very cool, little village of Arroyo Seco. Tom counted every one of the 19 stream crossings that we did in that two hours. But both of us had dry feet – quite the balancing act! – at the end. Tynan, he just forded through them all. Why should he care if he gets wet? Or muddy? Or what happens to the car when he gets back in?
Last week the three of us headed to Los Alamos via the Jemez Mountains. We’d never taken that drive in the fall. Gorgeous! Thus far one of my favorite parts of New Mexico. We didn’t hike this time; we wanted to get home before Albuquerque’s rush hour traffic. But we managed lunch in Los Alamos. It was a good day.
On Route 4 in New Mexico’s Jemez Pueblo. How often do you see something like that?This is Battleship Rock. You can see why.This and the rock pic are for Canadian rug hooker Karen Miller who always has the best close-ups of nature..Even boulders are wicked cool in New Mexico!
This is Valle Caldera, a super volcano that erupted over a million years ago. It’s 12-13 miles in diameter! We looked for elk, but didn’t see any critters at all. Bummer.
On the road out of Los Alamos to take us to Route 84 to take us to Santa Fe to take us to Route 25 to take us back south to Albuquerque. Look at that BIG SKY, people!
Meanwhile I’m busily trying to finish up small and mug-type rugs to sell at the High Desert Studio Tour (scroll down through the page to the part about the tour) this coming Saturday. If you recall, my friend Dagmar of ZiaWoolz invited me again this year to sell at her house/studio. She’s #3 on the map. If you’re in the area, come hang out with us for a bit. I’ll have chocolate!
Check out the Zia rug in the far left center. Guess who made that?
What I don’t sell at Dag’s I hope to unload sell at Santa Fe’s Fall Fiber Fiesta at the Scottish Rite Temple come November 17-19. The 17th is an artists’ reception in the evening, 5:00-8:00, costs $10. Saturday and Sunday hours are 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, no charge. Unless you buy something, of course. 🙂 Hope you stop by there too to pick up some gifts for the quickly approaching holidays. Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just over two weeks away!
Lastly, Tynan did not forget to bring you this week’s “What’s on the frame” feature. Of course, he received his commission. God forbid I forget that. Talk to you next week!
“What’s on the frame” this week and Tynan. These mug rugs will be done by Saturday. Come visit Dagmar and me and see them at the High Desert Studio Tour in Albuquerque!
Tynan will tell you, life does go on. There’s always a new rug on the frame, and there are always biscuits to eat.
Last week’s post was about the consolation of making art for art’s sake; this week it’s about having to move on. Unfortunately, fires are still burning in California, and it appears that as many as 85% of Puerto Ricans still don’t have power. My problems are NOTHING compared to those, though I’d never belittle anyone, including myself, who’s concerned about their kid. Still, we make our way through new situations. She’s still keeping her room and bathroom pretty clean, and she’s definitely working hard to avoid arguments that don’t have to be had. I call that maturing, and, damn, I still have a hard time with it!
You know you’re luck’s improving when you head off to Walmart and come across the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile!
In the meantime, Tom and I are dealing with the changes too. We’ve been to Home Depot and identified the shelving we’ll he’ll build for me in the laundry room. It should go a long way towards getting the clutter up off the closet floor. And, frankly, we’re coping with maybe the most acute disappointment of our new/old living arrangement. Today we and the dog were supposed to head back east on our first visit with family and friends since we moved here. We’re still sad, but, after two weeks, are coming to terms with it. Again, you have to move on even when life hands you those lemons.
So, tomorrow we’re off on a different adventure, a day-trip that Tom’s never been on. Almost a year ago to the date, Tynan and I headed up north on our own. Tom couldn’t come for whatever reason, and I wanted to get up that way before the snow started to fly. We drove north of Taos to check out the ski area – nothing to see but lots of construction it turned out. On the way back to town, we did some hiking then explored this nifty, itty bitty village called Arroyo Seco. There are some shops, including one with perfect pottery and, of course, Weaving Southwest, which has fabulous rug yarns. There’s a great little restaurant/ice cream parlor too.
My new hiking toy with Tynan’s bowl (turquoise for New Mexico). Tom’s fanny pack is black.
Tom’s not been north of the town of Taos, so we’ll be heading up that way. Today we even picked up nice, new, fanny-type day packs at REIbecause I’m tired of being the one to carry everything in the pack including the water bottles. At Albuquerque’s new Cabela’s (which – for all you New England peeps living near the Patriots’Gillette Stadium is NOT NEARLY as cool as the Bass Pro Shop with its giant fish tanks and honest-to-God, full-fledged pub) Tynan got a new, collapsible water/food bowl. I’ll happily carry that for him.
Yesterday was my last day vending at the Rail Yards this year. While I sold a good piece, this year’s not been that profitable there for me. It’s great for exposure and spreading the gospel of rug hooking, but I think that next year, I’ll cut back to once a month there and look for another venue. More on that in the coming months.
Last day at the Rail Yards Market in Albuquerque yesterday.
BIGGEST NEWS I’ve received lately came yesterday when I checked my email as I sat at the Rail Yards. Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Council puts on an exhibit every other year (one that’s smaller than the Fiber Arts Fiesta held on the opposite year, no vendors). The marketing committee informed me that they’ve chosen a photo of my entry in the show back in April, 2016, to appear on the marketing materials for the 2018 show on April 7 and 8. Woohoo! I’m very honored and can’t wait to see the flyers and such. You know I’ll be sharing that when I get it. 🙂
Living on the west side of Albuquerque near the Rio Grande gives us plenty of balloon photo-ops most of the year.
In the meantime, we go on. As in New England, fall is the most beautiful time here in New Mexico. Nights have cooled off, but days still run anywhere in the 60s and 70s. Our very BIG SKY is bright blue; you might have seen it on the news last week, NBC covered Albuquerque’s famous International Balloon Fiesta last week, and USA Today has a bunch of pics up and just called it “the world’s most photographed event.” Tom and I didn’t attend this year, but the beauty of balloons is that they’re pretty visible from all over once they get up there. Consider making a visit sometime; hundreds of balloons in the sky at once is a spectacular sight.
Just so’s you know, I’ll be taking a little “stay-cation” from the blog, a week or two at most, while Tom and I find a few more little adventures to share this month. When you live in a beautiful place, you have to take advantage of it. I’m sure I’ll have some photos to share when I return.
What are you doing these days to keep your spirits up and to appreciate great autumnal weather? If you’re going to New England, send some lobsters out here!
To me, lantana is a fine example of summer colors’ last gasp in Albuquerque’s high desert gardens. (Taken at the Biopark.)
INSPIRATION
Being the fourth Tuesday of the month, yesterday was one of the Adobe Wool Arts Guild’s demo days (we’re there the 1st and 4th Tuesdays) at Albuquerque’s Biopark, specifically the Botanic Garden. And although it clouded up and eventually rained, the morning was gorgeous: blue sky, cool, crisp. The colors in the gardens sparkled. I felt a need to pull out my phone and grab a few shots before the flowers all disappear into the chill of fall and winter.
I can’t grow cosmos in my yard here like I did back in Massachusetts. But I miss them. These, in the Biopark, turned their faces away from me and the wind that was blowing the storm in from the south.
When I got home, I headed into my own yard to record the colors of late September. Like the hummingbirds, most will be gone within a few weeks.
This is one of the bougainvillia. It lost its leaves last week, but not its vivid coral flowers.
Cherry tomatoes ripen in the garden after pretty much going dormant through the heat of July and August.
Despite the rosy-colored crepe myrtle, the turned leaves and the chiminea and even the shadows in the backyard remind me that autumn’s already arrived.The vivid color of this bougainvillia suggests that there’s still time for Tom to mix me another margarita. If you’d like one, you better hurry!
It may be the last gasp for summers’ colors, but it’s just beginning for pumpkins’ oranges, greens, and even blues!
Regardless of color, life goes on. Here at High on Hooking, we’re readying for a third show in less than two weeks. Sunday is the OffCenter Folk Art Festivalat Robinson Park in downtown Albuquerque. Lots to do before that! I’ve sold out of all double mug rug sets and most of the singles. I’ll finish up another three singles in the next couple of days. Meanwhile I’m starting a double. Or maybe it’ll be a quadruple…
Anyone showing up to the OffCenter Folk Art Festival to buy a rug will get 10% off if they mention this blog post! Hope to see you.
Tynan took a couple of weeks off, but he’s back with “What’s on the Frame?” That would be the double (or perhaps quadruple) mug rug that won’t be ready for sale this weekend. But there’s always November’s events (more on them later!) or even the Internet. Careful of those pins, dude!
