Treasures from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Volume I

Thanks for all the happy vacation wishes; it was fabulous. I worked no jobs. Hooray for no jobs!

I found treasures galore. I spent several hours with Rita, the dyer behind Yarn Hollow yarns, and got to paw through all her yarn and fiber bins. Ranging from semi-solid to pastels and rich, saturated variegated colorways, from wool/silk/silver fingering weight to bulky to cottons to merino/tencel blends, her yarns are a wonder to behold. I came back to Boston with, well, more than I could fit into my suitcase, and have skeins for future projects lined up on my floor right now.

Trust me, this is a tiny fraction of what I saw.

I took several trips to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market, which is also an Artist's Market, where I bought perfect handmade ceramic buttons from paperpeacock for a new design:

Handmade soaps from Bars by Bellini; she has so many man-friendly scents. All that Yarn Hollow yarn smells like clove and agave now:


And some woodblock cards from the Beerhorst Family:


If you live in GR, GO to the market. If you live nearby, take a trip! If not, all this is available online; the artist community in GR is unlike anything I remember when I lived there, and this trip was full of serendipitous moments and discoveries.