MAVWA Archives – HIGH ON HOOKING

Updated information

Logo for the Mountain and Valley Wool Festival

Mountain and Valley Wool Festival
Santa Fe in October

If you read the previous post from way back in June – hey, it’s summer and I’m enjoying a break! – you saw that I’ll be teaching an all-day workshop on punch needle rug hooking. At that point, I didn’t have the info on when the class would happen. I do now!

The class will be on Thursday, October 5. It starts at 9:00 and ends at 5:00 or whenever you decide you’ve punched plenty. Because MAVWA’s workshops happen on Thursday and Friday, students won’t miss any of the festival events that weekend. In fact, because my workshop is Thursday, you can still take a class on Friday too! See both days’ offerings HERE.

Punch needle rug hooking — Punch needle by Amy Oxford. Original design.

If interested, please note:
To allow folks from places afar to plan, festival organizers make decisions about workshops running in early September. If they don’t think they have enough students by around Labor Day, they will cancel a class. It happened to me last year. If you think you want to take a class, forget late registration. Do it now! Or plan on a private lesson here in Albuquerque. That also happened last year. LOL

In addition to this MAVWA update, take a peek at our CALENDAR page. There are some new listings just today. Most exciting is that I’ll be teaching a INTRO TO RUG HOOKING at Convergence in Wichita next July. I am sooooo thrilled. HGA (Handweavers Guild of America) hasn’t yet put up the info for Convergence, but keep an eye out for it. Back in 2014, before I moved out here, I attended the exhibits and vendors’ market at Convergence when it was held in Providence. Little did I know that I’d be a part of such a BIG EVENT so many years later. Or such a great organization. HGA promotes all fiber arts here in the US and abroad.

Lastly, I’m finally going to make it to Sauder Village’s Rug Hooking Week this year. WOOHOO! As a judge for this year’s Celebration contest, I was invited. I even get to put a rug in the Celebrations exhibit. How cool is that? Also very exciting: Because I hooked New Mexico’s cushion for the USA50 project, I have a piece in that exhibit too! I only wish that Ruth Simpson could attend with me. I did the easy part – hooking – while she had to put the whole thing together! Read about it HERE. So if you’re going to be there, I hope we can meet up. I’ve no plans other than soaking it all up and taking lots of pics. Let me know!

So, it’s been a busy summer so far. If you’re going to be in the New Mexico area, okay, a really BIG area, give a yell. High on Hooking will be at at Las Golondrinas in Santa Fe again the first weekend of August for the Beer and Food Festival. Stop by to say hello and pick up a gift for family, friends, or yourself. In the meantime, stay cool!

Happy New Year art — Courtesy of clipart-library.com.

I’ve always maintained that September 1 is just as much a new year as January 1. You have a holiday and then you give yourself permission to start over. Maybe it’s a school year, your health, a job, or just a way of looking at life. In my case this September of 2022, it’s health and working on a new perspective. (And don’t get me wrong, I think renewal goes on all through the year, it’s just more celebrated in January and September.)

It’s no secret that I have autoimmune issues. Fibromyalgia was just added to the mix. I shouldn’t have been surprised; it explains so much. But so often when you’re busy, you work with the data that you have. When you’re in your late 50s, you don’t go looking for more things to go wrong with the chasse. Actually, I’m in pretty good shape, I think. Nonetheless, I could be doing better, especially regarding stress and sleep. I need more of one and less of the other. Bet you can guess which is which. LOL

I decided, therefore, that I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical from many of my local responsibilities for two whole months! I’d like to say that I’m making the months all about Laura all the time, but that’s not the case. It would also be très boring. Even to me! No, in less than a week my parents are making their second trip in six years to New Mexico from Connecticut. They’ll be here for 16 days. We’ll be doing some touristy things and even heading up to Colorado for a few days. They’ve never been there. After they leave, I’ll be teaching hooking and punching at the Mountain and Valley Wool Festival in Santa Fe. That takes us into October when Tom and I and a dog or two will take to the open road for Seattle. The kid’s now been there for three months; it’s time for a visit. And while I once spent a weekend in that area years and years ago, I never got a chance to really see it. This is an opportunity, too, to add a few missing states to my repertoire. I’ve never been to Utah (other than Four Corners), Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon.

By the time we get back, it’ll be Workshop Week 5 and even Halloween. Then the holidays and… You see why I need a break?

But I’ll be around online, certainly, and in touch with folks. Being away always lets me refresh, see things in a new way, and be inspired. All of which usually allows for some new and exciting artwork. At least to and for me. Perhaps for others as well.

PLACES WHERE YOU DEFINITELY CAN FIND ME THIS FALL INTO WINTER

Mountain and Valley Wool Festival (MAVWA): September 29 – October 2
The festival is Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, but the workshops happen the Thursday and Friday before. I’m teaching Thursday. Find info HERE. BTW, if you’re thinking of coming for MAVWA, know that it’s the start of Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. Think 500 hot air balloons in the air at one time. Pictures and words can’t do it justice.

In the Studio Online Workshop Week 5: October 23 – 30
While I’m not teaching this time around, I am the general administrator, so if you need a catalog or have questions, please give a yell. We have eight great teachers and workshops scheduled. If you’re just realizing you forgot to register, now’s the time. Some classes have filled, but teachers have waiting lists, and some have already scheduled second sessions. More info HERE.

High Desert Studio Tour – December 3
After missing two or three years, the High Desert Studio Tour is back! As in the past, I’ll be camped out at the home of ZiaWoolz. Dagmar generously invites myself and a few other artists to hang our shingles out with hers for the day. If you’re looking for some gorgeous, hand-dyed yarn, check out her Etsy shop, or better yet, visit us in December.

Dogs sit with hooked art — The boys bring you a HAPPY NEW YEAR WHAT’S ON THE FRAME this week. THE REZ is hooked on monk’s cloth with old t-shirts, wool strips, and wool yarn. So far…

View our CALENDAR page to see more dates to be added as we go further into the fall.

The boys and I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR, a cooler fall, and success with all your efforts at renewal!

HIGH ON HOOKING

Tag: MAVWA

MAVWA UPDATE – Punch needle class info (and more!)

Happy New Year!