This October has been the most colorful display in many years! Every fall the colors are spectacular, but this year they have outdone themselves. Every morning the sun bathes my house in shades of red, orange and gold, filtered by the trees just outside the windows. That makes me want to spend as much time as possible on my back porch to enjoy this display of nature’s beauty before it gets too cold to sit outside.
My circle of musical friends had a special treat in early October, a Brazilian cellist, Diego Carneiro. He has visited the USA many times before and already established a Foundation which brings together international artists and musicians for mutual support and social projects. He also founded the Ecuador Youth Orchestra, which is composed of young talented musicians who do not have opportunities to develop a musical career in Central America. One of his students was just awarded a scholarship at Brevard School of Music for next year.
This time Diego was here to teach a cello masterclass at Brevard and he was hosted by my dear friend Kathy. Whenever he travels in the states, friends provide room, board and transportation. He gives concerts and teaches as often as possible. After this last concert, Kathy hosted many of our friends for a wonderful dinner and private concert by Diego. Many of his followers believe he is the next Yo-Yo Ma.
Diego collects used musical instruments for his Youth Orchestra and is now composing much of his own music. You can hear Diego and learn more about him on YouTube, just search for Diego Carneiro.
The highlight of my October was the annual Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF), where I taught 8 workshops to an array of very talented and interesting ladies. This was the first time in the 12 years I have taught there that I did not have any gentlemen in my classes! About one third of the students were returning to take a different workshop.
Usually my Continental Knitting workshop is the most popular with the largest number of participants, but this year it was the Be Your Own Designer workshop. Interest in crochet is growing in this country and many people learned or took it up again during Covid. Now they are ready to kick it up a notch and learn all the secrets to create their own designs. If this sounds interesting to you, please make a note that I will be teaching this concept in-depth next year at JC Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC April 30 to May 5 (Sunday through Friday) 2023. The name of this weeklong workshop is: Crochet Secrets – From Original Design to Finishing Touches. Detailed information and sign-up are on folkschool.org. You can also call 1-800-365-5724 to register. Time at the Folk School is a wonderful retreat from our crazy world!
Back to fun at SAFF. I always love to get some interesting background information when we do our introductions and I usually give a small prize (a lacy bookmark this time) to the person who travelled the furthest distance to attend the event. This year the honors went to a young woman from Northern Wisconsin with a German and Native American background. After the workshop I spent some time with her to learn how her family preserves the culture of their heritage, especially in hunting and fishing. Hunting is only allowed for food and every part of the animal is used in interesting ways, including the hides. She is also teaching her own children how to be good cooks and fiber artists! I was honored to add to her knowledge base, and I am looking forward to seeing her again next year.
Our conversation brought back memories of my mother and me foraging for mushrooms and other exciting things in the woods of Southern Germany when I was a little girl. We always went right after a good rain; I believe it made the picking easier. But sometimes my shoes or other things got stuck in the mud! The result of our outing was usually a delicious mushroom stew with some herbs, but the addition of some red wine (from my uncles’ vineyards on the Rhine and Mosel) and heavy cream (when available) made it even more delicious. But that’s another story.
Our SAFF attendance is almost back up to pre-Covid numbers; our teachers and over 100 vendors from all over the country were very busy and the animal shows and competitions popular as ever. We are already marking our calendars for October 20 through 22, 2023. My teaching line-up will post on this website under Events in the spring of next year. For great images and more information, please go to saffsite.org.
The holidays are fast approaching and as you make your list and checking it twice, don’t forget yourself and your fiber friends! The homepage here on heirloomtreasuresfiberarts.com has great gift ideas, my books (hardcover and Kindle) are on Amazon, 4 of my teaching videos are on Udemy.com (check under my name) and my designer wearable art is on heirloomtreasuresboutique.com
So shop American made for everyone on your list and don’t forget to treat yourself!
November is the month for giving thanks and counting our blessings. I am so grateful for every one of my blessings, especially for all of you fiber friends.
Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your turkey and pumpkin pie!
“I do what I love and I love what I do.”