slowly she turned

This was the third year that I’ve attended Edwina Bringle‘s fiber art retreat at Wildacres Retreat near Little Switzerland, NC. I’ve fallen in love with this area (and Edwina).

It broke my heart when Hurricane Helene devastated so much here last year just after I left. The people here at the time had to be airlifted out by helicopter. The destruction was not only about rivers sweeping away houses and people, but also about the mudslides coming down the mountainsides, carrying trees, houses and bridges away. Then later, as the region dried out, widespread wildfires.

So, back to 2025. I drove up Hwy 226A, a winding road with many hairpin curves which had to be extensively repaired and rebuilt. After a stop at the Switzerland Cafe (smoked trout BLT!), and general store for a six-pack of a most excellent porter (Lazy Hiker Wesser Evil, from Franklin, NC), plus a blond brownie from Books and Beans (a bookstore with a large collection of old books, my favorite kind), I checked in at Wildacres and settled in for a week of art and healing.

As usual, I hauled my whole damned studio with me, because I could NOT focus on what to focus on! I was in transition in my meds, and my brain was doing backflips. Once I got there, I decided to just weave the tapestry I had begun of a train platform in Edinborough. I didn’t have a firm plan on the colors and the textures that I wanted to use, so given the basic idea, I kind of followed my nose and changed my mind in some areas. I did finish by the last evening and this was the result (a bit of repair in the center will be done once off the loom.

I had planned to make a fabric book from some of my stitch meditations, but as I played around with some beautiful felt that Holly brought with her to give away, I decided that I would make a needle book with pockets for my small scissors and other embroidery things. I did not make any of the felt components, but I designed and stitched the book together. The thread for the blanket stitch was a luscious wool/silk variegated color blend that I bought from a vendor at the Blue Ridge Fiber Fest.

The campus at Wildacres is incredibly beautiful, with little surprises of art here and there and the flower gardens and trails and vistas. This time I decided to hike one of the trails and take some photos. Normally I cannot hike a steep or long trail because of my bone spur/Achilles tendinitis, but there was a perfect one around the mountainside just below the gardens. I plan to do some tapestry designs of some of these photos if I can get an artist residency there. Here’s a slideshow of my other photos.

On Sunday I hung around, as usual, until nearly everyone had left, then I decided to take the Blue Ridge Parkway home. Some of it around the Linville Falls area was still closed, so I had to make a detour. I stopped in Linville and bought apples, and at a spot before I got on the BRP to have a snack. Good choice, because I found out about traffic and parking on the BRP on a weekend day at peak leaf color! I do suggest making a bathroom stop BEFORE you get on it during an October weekend, but all was well in the end. It is a wonderful drive and I plan to make it as often as possible. I-40 may be a shorter drive in miles, but this route seems faster because of the beauty.