Fiberly Train to Santa Fe, Part One

If you read Facebook, you probably already know that I was in Santa Fe last weekend with several wonderful women (and my DH, who joined us for some of our activities). Some I already knew in real life, others I felt like I knew from the world of blogging.

The first to arrive was Sharon (or shams as she is known on her blog, Communing with Fabric). She arrived on Wednesday due to a scheduling glitch and spent the night at Casa DaQ. What a delight to finally meet her in person! I took her to the airport on Thursday so she could meet her roommate (Margy of A Fool for Fabric) and arrange for their rental car. But of course, we had to fabric shop first! We stopped by Nob Hill Fabrics and found some wonderful fabrics.

I'll leave it to Sharon to post her finds, but here are mine:

On the left, devore silk chiffon. On the right, a colorful linen print.

The historical La Fonda on the Plaza was our hotel for the weekend. I'm happy to report that the recent renovations have not spoiled its charm. The rooms are are still lovely, but upgraded. The most obvious changes were the new bathrooms, closet space, and carpet. The concierge told me that the rooms were taken back to the studs during renovations; you would never know. My room was on the 5th floor with a view of the Loretto Chapel next door:

Loretto Chapel

Once we got settled in, we headed over to Santa Fe Fabrics (twice!) for more fabric shopping. It's a smallish store but has a wonderful selection of fabric. Here I am with Liana of the Sew Intriguing blog, working out one of the store's samples:

I picked out a couple more selections while there:

On the left, a soft cotton print. On the right, fleece

Our group arrived at various times. Sharon, Margy, Liana,  Jan (no blog), and I arrived on Thursday. Patti (no blog), Ann (owner of Gorgeous Fabrics and its blog), and DH arrived on Friday. We window shopped around the Plaza and had a late lunch at the Thunderbird Grill. It's located on the second floor of its building with a great view of the Plaza and the Cathedral:

A view of the Plaza from the Thunderbird's balcony

That evening, off to the Coyote Cafe. Very fancy!

Saturday, we were mostly on our own. More shopping and dining. Back to Santa Fe Fabrics, with a detour to the Outlet Mall with Liana and Jan.  And lunch at Osteria d'Assisi for a delicious Italian repast:

From left: Liana, Sharon, Ann, Margy, me, and Jan 

In the evening, we visited the Cantina at La Casa Sena for a delicious dinner and entertainment. The staff performs Broadway show tunes in between waiting tables. What fun! We headed back to the hotel to hang out at the La Fiesta Lounge, its venerable bar. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and enjoying each other's company.

Sisters from Different Mothers: me. Liana, Patti, Ann, Sharon, Margy, and Jan

Ann, Sharon, Margy, and Jan

Me and Liana

What a special time for all of us.

And that takes us through Saturday, but I'll post more on the rest of the weekend later.