The Fall Guild Schedule Has Started

Our guild, The Weavers and Spinners of Southern Nevada, AKA Las Vegas Fiber Arts Guild, started our fall schedule with the September meeting on Saturday the 13th at the Blind Center on the corner of Bruce and Washington Streets in Las Vegas.

The meeting was pretty well attended, as everyone was ready to tell what they had done over the summer. Several members had gone to the Black Sheep Gathering in Oregon in June. A couple of members had taken a workshop in Flagstaff, and I had attended my first Convergence in June in Tampa. But I couldn’t attend the first guild meeting to talk about it as my husband and I were babysitting two of our grandchildren in Salt Lake City.

I heard I also missed a terrific weaving sale offered by a retired guild member. But there is hope. Not everything was sold and the remnants will be at this month’s meeting on October 11 for a second chance for a sale to -- people like me who couldn’t attend the first meeting. How thoughtful.

Since the meeting is coming up soon I have to gather up the door prizes, my monthly chore for the guild. This photo gives you a preview of what this month’s door prizes will be, mostly cones of yarn and some books. Tough competition with the yarn sale still going on.

The guild has a new website, which you have to check out. Go to my fiber related links, or click on the LV Fiber Arts Guild. The creator did a very nice job with the new website. You can locate directions (and a map) to our guild meetings and a calendar of events, plus photos and links to good weaving websites. For example, this Saturday the 4th, we’ll have guild members demonstrating weaving and spinning at “Something Scottish” at the Rainbow Public Library at Cheyenne and Buffalo in the north end of the LV valley. At the same time other members will be out west of the valley at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park for Pioneer Days doing the same thing in pioneer costumes.

Fall in Las Vegas Means Arts and Crafts Fairs

The temperatures have finally fallen to double digits for the highs, and a person can drive with the windows down in the early morning. It’s also the time of the year that just about every weekend is filled with an arts and crafts event or a festival of some sort. Last weekend it was the Greek Festival with great food, music, and dancing. This weekend it was the Summerlin Arts and Crafts Fair in the northwest part of the Las Vegas valley.

Two friends, Kathi and Marilyn, and myself decided to do some looking and possible buying in Summerlin. We joined the line of cars bumping into the parking lot across from the park where the tents for the vendors were set up. It was close to noon so it was heating up already, although it didn’t seem to affect the amount of people that were entering the rows of tents.

The first thing we saw was a stretch of sidewalk about 8 feet wide that was divided into squares in which artists were doing chalk murals. I don’t know the details of who the artists were, and if it was part of a contest, or just an area of self expression, but most of the works were spectacular.

The arts and crafts fair, I assume, was juried from the quality of the vendors present. There was lots of photography, jewelry, and some really nice glass work among all the others kinds of vendors. Kathi bought some glass jewelry and a velvet, beaded bag she plans to use as a cell phone carrier, which was very nice and reasonably priced. I ended up buying some glass earrings and a pottery mug--I think I'll put small shuttles or pens in it. Marilyn was the strong one of the three of us. Of course, her excuse was that she blew her wad on a trip to the northwest with stops at the Village Spinning and Weaving in Solvang, CA, Powell’s Books in Portland, and The Weaving Works in Seattle. Here she is in the photo trying to stay cool in the shade.

Next weekend is the big Boulder City arts and craft event, called Art in the Park, which is always the first weekend in October, and one of the best. But I will be missing that. Our guild will be demonstrating weaving and spinning in two places in the valley next Saturday. Some members will be in the north end of town at Something Scottish at the public library on Cheyenne and Buffalo, while others of us will be out west of town at Spring Mt. State Park doing the same thing in pioneer costumes. I'm hoping that it isn’t too warm.