Another Road Trip to Santa Fe

I haven't been out of town in a long, long time and was really feeling the need to get out of town. That, plus the car I bought about a month ago. Oops, I didn't blog about that, did I? At any rate, I got a like-new used 2006 BMW 330. It only had 12,500 miles on it. I don't understand why people buy such a nice car and don't drive it, but anyway, their loss was my gain. Time to test it on the highway, and the nearest destination is Santa Fe. I took this picture at the La Bajada rest stop and the mountains on the horizon are the Sangre de Cristo.


My goal in Santa Fe was a favorite museum, the Museum of International Folk Art. I first discovered it several years ago after our ASG chapter hosted a workshop with Lois Erickson. The next day, we brought her to Santa Fe and watched her soak up inspiration amongst the exhibits. Anyway, it's had a soft spot in my heart ever since.





And, one of the main exhibits this trip was..."Needles and Pins: Textiles and Tools." In addition to many interesting folk garments, the gallery also focused on the techniques used to make fabric, lace, etc. I confess, I was bad. I didn't realize that photography wasn't allowed, so I took several pictures of the exhibit. No flash, so hopefully, no harm done.


This jacket was my favorite. It wasn't the fanciest or most amazing, but I just found it interesting. It looks contemporary but it's not. It consists of 3 layers, 2 with sleeves, and the top without. So you could wear it a variety of ways. Here in New Mexico, where the temperatures can vary tremendously over the course of a day, this is such a great concept. The piece is Chinese, I'm not sure how old, but definitely pre-revolution:





This piece is Czech, and was featured in a display of lace and lace tools:





And now, some tools. This cabinet is a sewing chest from Asia that was brought all the way to Santa Fe during pioneer days:





A little blurry, but all the sewing notions were made of ivory. I could just imagine the original owner living somewhere Back East, sewing in her parlor, then living out here in the wilds on the New Mexico Territory in much more raw conditions. She must have cherished it, considering that it's still in such good condition.


More stuff. This cabinet held mostly scissors and darning tools. My favorites are the turquoise glass darning egg and the darling little green pig tape measure on the bottom row:





This case contained a variety of what I think are needle cases and sewing kits:





One of the neatest things about the museum is that it's located in an area called "Museum Hill." The next museum over is the Museum of Indian Art and Culture. I was a bit done with culture by that point, so I didn't tour it yesterday. However, this magnificent sculpture was out front, so I had to share:





It portrays an Apache dancer in mid dance. Just a beautiful piece. I'll have to go back. One of the main exhibits there is "Native Couture." Much amazing jewelry, for sure.