High-fiber turned out to be a good description

My first Art Cloth Network meeting was great. Like most self-governing groups, there's a certain amount of time that needs to be devoted to governance, management, planning--all of my regular 9-5 activities. But, there was also time to see a lot of really good art and time to play. These are some talented folks and I feel not just like the new kid on the block, but the younger brother trying to keep up with the big kids. I guess everyone feels that way from time to time. It's in the nature of making and sharing our art that we sometimes compare what we do to the work of others. It can't be helped. In this case though, I felt very welcomed and came away with a strong sense of both acceptance and validation as an artist.

On Saturday we ventured into Manhattan en masse then split up into smaller groups. Some went shopping, some to museums, and some exploring. I would like to have done it all, but chose instead to go the the garment district for a bit of shopping. This is not really Dan's favorite thing to do, so I figured that since I was surrounded by folks who almost can get enough of fabric stores it made sense to indulge. What fun. For my little group of 6 it ended up being a 12 hour day door-to-door. I came home with a few bargains, including several yards of assorted wool that I'm going to "transform" into scarves. Stay tuned for that one.

I wish that I could post pictures of all of the great work that I saw from fellow members, but we agreed for very good reasons not to post pictures without permission. I'm going to err on the side of caution and share just these two that seem to capture the mood for the Manhattan field trip: Great fun and good company.

Here's Rayna as we're about to leave the famous (but rather pricey) Mood. I think that we all concluded that Metro Textile is a far better bet if your looking for a great bargain. Go to Mood if you need something specific and nothing else will do--and expect to pay for being that picky.

The shop below shows Joy, Wrenn, and Janet looking very happy and chic. It was a beautiful day on the street but the subway was like a steam bath. The ladies wore it gracefully. I wish I could say the same.

Perhaps in another post I tell the story of the restaurant that we went to on Saturday night for our group dinner. I use the term "restaurant" lightly. It was one of the stranger customer service experience of my life. More later...perhaps.