Boy, we’ve been to some really cool places in
Colorado…both in Pueblo and in Colorado Springs. I don’t want to forget the people or the
places, so I’m going to make a few quick notes.
Pueblo, CO, first thing Wed. morning
(April. 20th) we went to Colorado Fiber Arts. This was a #5 shop. The owner was in Mexico, vacationing for the
week, but Wynne (Winnie), who works and teaches there, was superb AND superbly
helpful. First she showed me the short,
short Addi’s that people who don’t like to knit on four needles are using to
knit socks. (People like me). She has
recreated a pattern and gave it to me.
She also gave me a copy of the scarf/shawl pattern that they had a
gorgeous grey shawl made as a sample.
Wynne lives in Canon City but stays with her 91-year-old mother three
times a week and works at the shop.
Wynne
also told us about a great bakery downtown (I had a yummy “sticky orange
roll”), a stamp store in Pueblo that would be fun, and a couple of fiber arts
stores in Colorado Springs that were too good to miss. She was just lovely, and so was the
shop. I could have spent a lot more time
looking around, and will hopefully be back another time to do so.
Next
stop was Colorado Stampin’ & Scrappin’ where I was greeted by Margaret, the
store’s owner. She is an incredibly
knowledgeable stamper who showed me all sorts of tricks to get me restarted
with stamping and embossing. She was
wonderful…and funny. She had a difficult
time walking and used a small shopping cart (which contained her purse and
portable store telephone) to aid her.
I purchased a
new VersaMark stamp pad, 6 stamping powders (metallic gold, metallic “super
russet”; three DUO colors: blue-green,
green-yellow, and red-blue; and one called “interference violet”, which can be
used on its own or added atop another to change its tone a bit), Stamp N Bond
adhesive powder, a rubber stamp that was a lady’s face, a cylinder of three
foils, and a heavy formica table pad on which to stamp. I came away with some instructions and a lot
of ideas.
We
then hit 25N for a quick ride to Colorado Springs. We went to Van Briggle Pottery, where they
have been making fine pottery since the end of the 19th
century. I bought a beautiful vase with
a lovely gold-brown glaze that includes a greenish and a mauve hue. Really lovely. It’ll look great with my Mata Ortiz, Navajo,
and Hawaiin pots on my sideboard.
After
checking into the LaQuinta, we drove over to a lovely area on Colorado Avenue
which was blossoming with all sorts of lovely flowering trees. Although it was overcast, the sun tried to
peep through the clouds throughout the afternoon. We did finish our time here with sprinkles
falling, but it was not a problem at all (except that Fran got cold).
Bon
Ton Café: homemade vegetable soup and
salad for Fran, hash browns and club sandwich for me. Quite satisfying.
The
first gallery we went into, right across the street, was very cool, and the gal
working there knew her artists quite well.
Funky birdhouses by a Scottsdale artist were there, I’d seen them in
Bohemia in Tucson. There were also
gorgeously painted and reasonably priced pine furniture from Texas….I would
love a piece for my house. $300 would
purchase a gorgeous end table with door.
All the people that work on each piece sign the back of it. This collection also included tables and
chests.
Just
down the street was Arati Artists Gallery, Inc.
This was a coop of local artists, and the woman “on duty,” was a wire
worker and beader. Darn but we didn’t
get her name. (Arati is east Indian
meaning “send a little light (or beauty) into the world.) Incredibly reasonable prices – I got a
horsehair vase by Dan Masimer for $6 and two cool little pots by Darlene Wells
for $3 and $4! What deals…and they’re
beautiful. There were also silk
paintings by a woman who has macular degeneration. She actually forms the pieces of silk into a
sculpture like a flower or sunburst, adds dyes, and frames them. A couple had the leftover piece of silk
draped from the corner of the canvas.
Needleworks
by Holly Berry and Holly Berry House Originals was our next stop, at 2409 West
Colorado. OOOOOEEEEEE. The left half of the store was yarns and
patterns and samples and needles….the right half was baby and boutique-y gifts,
and out back….well, here were Kathryn Read’s rubber stamp designs. Englas, one
of the rubber stamp artists who work here, gave us a demonstration and really
got our creative juices going. I ended
up buying two large rubber stamps and some transparent art glitter that can go
on any color and keep that color. She
showed us how to emboss with gold, paint inside the lines with Twinkling H2O’s
by Luminarte (which they were sold out of!), and create beautiful works of art. Fran really loved it, and it looks like she
might be enticed into trying it out! So
cool!
As I
was leaving the yarn part of the store, I noticed a big container of Tamari
Balls. There is an instructor that gives
classes on the first Friday or Saturday of the month. I’d love to come on up during the summer for
a class, and gave them my email address so I can keep informed about both the
stamping and yarn classes.
Across
the street was Kathleen McFadden’s Range Gallery. What a cool lady! She’s a photographer (who gives lessons) and
her studio shows her wonderful, natural photos….weathered trees, ancient school
bus, donkey’s full-face….images from the central coast of California(where she
used to live) and in black and white.
She has a series of oak trees mounted on cotton rag paper with UV
protection for $325. They’re long and
would look great over my couch – and she can ship anywhere. She was the one who told us that living in
Colorado Springs is great, reasonably priced, and extremely dog-friendly. There’s even a sticker that businesses put on
their doors so that people know they can bring their own dogs in without a
problem.
Fran’s
niece, Terri, joined us then, and we continued wandering down Colorado Avenue
to Pyramide Boutique. Batik fashions and
jewelry, made by cottage industry companies, were featured. Fran found a dress for a family wedding this
summer. Terri found a Bright green
cotton shirt. And I found a black scarf
with white swirls and a necklace that almost matches my favorite silver
bracelet. We spend about an hour trying
on clothes and yakking with the owner.
Such fun!
By
the time we left the boutique it was drizzling and it was also time to
eat. We walked over to Pizzeria Rustica,
where we ate Neapolitan pizza with homemade goat cheese, grilled mushrooms,
zucchini, and sundried tomatoes. What an
excellent afternoon!
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