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Edwina Bringle, one of the leading fiber artists in our region, invited several fiber artists to play with her at Wildacres Retreat near Little Switzerland, NC in mid-September. Spending almost a week with Edwina to observe her weaving tips and tricks, listen to her counsel, and getting to know her better was one of the best uses of my time ever. The cherry on top was that all of the rest of the group were fiber artists and teachers as well. Everyone was working with different fiber techniques: tapestry weaving, loom weaving, spinning, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and needle felting. Everyone was seasoned in the arts and comfortable in their skin. It was a fabulous group of women!
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Not that I need any other temptations for new crafts to try, but the spinners at this retreat spun yarns that made me salivate.
I concentrated on weaving my Rascal and Sissy tapestry, but at times it was too complicated for my brain and I needed something simpler to do. I had another pipe loom with me, and after picking up some disc shaped mica stones on one of the trails, I decided to weave a simpler place-based tapestry, with the idea that I would attach the stones to the tapestry background. I finished the weaving, and I still need to attach the stones.
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One day we took a field trip to Penland. There weren’t any classes going on, and we visited the gallery, shopped at their supply store and had coffee and pastries at the coffee shop. The kitchen at Wildacres packed us sandwich fixins to go, and we ate lunch at the Bringle Gallery.
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Loved their bulletin board!
On the way back, I stopped at the historic Penland Post Office. It reminded me so much of the old post office in Marietta. I wish that someone had saved it.
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I’m afraid that I didn’t take many photos of the group and its work. I guess when I wasn’t focused on my work, I was entranced by my surroundings. At 3,300 feet above sea level, the mountain views were stunning and the gardens were beautiful. It seemed like there were surprises around every corner. The weather could not have been better, until the very end when we had to travel down the mountain ridge in the fog and rain.
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Edwina and I chatted in the lobby on Sunday morning, trying to wait out the rain, until a staff member kindly told us that we were the only people left on the site and they were locking up. So we reluctantly left, and I had the steering wheel in a death grip as I maneuvered the Volvo down the foggy dirt and gravel mountain roads, then hydroplaned my way down the twisted paved roads to Marion, NC. Whew! I have a lot of respect for these highlander drivers. I’m from the swamplands of North Carolina, so mountain driving is not on my list of skills. I could be persuaded to develop those skills though. I really would like to live up there.
