Fiber Arts Fiesta and More

Albuquerque's biennial Fiber Arts Fiesta was May 21-23, and I got a chance to attend Saturday. It was great to see a lot of my sewing friends, look at exhibits, and shop! Yet I have somewhat mixed feelings--great event but there was an aspect of same ol', same ol'. I suppose I should be happy that vendors are still participating during this recession, and people are still buying, but I'd love to see something different. There were too many vendors that return with the exact same stuff every 2 years. And not that I have anything against quilters, but enough with the quilt stuff already.


Park Bench Patterns likes this event; they've come 2 or 3 times. New things at that booth: fabric kits, pre-packed, coordinating fabrics. Great idea! I bought 2 of them:





I bought some buttons and a fancy bead at Treasures of the Gypsy. They're a New Mexico based company and have had a booth every year that I can remember. Same format, but they always have interesting stock.

I got this little cutie at the Japanese Textiles and Tours booth. I love cats, and combine them with Asian style cuteness, I couldn't resist:



I also bought RTW, a couple of skirts at Silverado, which is still getting out of the clothing business after, ummm, 4 or 5 years now? Yes, I have a bit of a quibble with that. They've been good to the fiber arts guilds in the area, so I guess I'll get over it. I loved the fabrics of the skirts I got, and the price was right at $20 each. They will require a little bit of tweaking (length) but they're basically "me".



I didn't take pictures of any of the exhibits. People are sensitive about their work being photographed and posted on the web. I can't say I blame them.

After the show, I went by Sunflower Market and picked up some dinner items. It's a nice store--somewhat like Whole Foods, but less expensive. I was able to find everything I was looking for. DF and I made pizza Saturday and Sunday nights. I made the dough before heading to the Fiesta. He took over the prep on Saturday evening, even though he'd never made a pizza before! However, he is an Italian-American from New Jersey and has observed the process thousands of times. Oh. My. God. Best pizza I've ever eaten! Extreme thin crust, not greasy, not soggy, good flavor! I definitely recommend using a pizza stone and peel and cooking at the highest heat your oven will generate (550 F for most home ovens, BTW, commercial pizzerias bake between 700 F and 900 F).

On Sunday, he worked on his technique a little more, rolling out the dough less thin for a chewier crust. He wants me to make the next batch of dough with regular whole wheat flour instead of the white whole wheat flour I used this time.

Also on Sunday, I went to a sit and sew with an ASG neighborhood group, Material Girls. I hadn't been in a long time, but when I ran into DJ at the Fiesta, she encouraged me to come. It was fun hanging out and sewing with other people. I worked on a muslin of Louise Cutting's Pure and Simple Shell. It needs an FBA and more hip ease but I think it'll be a great TNT once the pattern is perfected.