new yarnista in town

The imposing adobe church of St Francisco de Asis in Ranchos de Taos is one of the world's most painted, filmed and photographed edifices. Georgia O'Keeffe, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, D.H. Lawrence - you name the artist or photographer, past and present, and they've done it. It was originally made by hand and is still remudded that way every year - most recently in June. The plaza surrounding the church has sprouted a few relatively unobtrusive and eclectic shops and cafes. Today I drove there to find a yarn shop I'd heard about.

As you enter the plaza your eye is immediately drawn to the imposing familiar church situated right in the middle. If you look to your left you will see a doorway with old weathered gates opened to a courtyard where Red Willow Art and Fibers is nestled.

The interior of the two room shop in this old adobe building is by its very age and existence filled with atmosphere - add to that an array of luxurious hand dyed fibers in two rooms - spinning fibers, weavings, luscious yarns, other treasures - and it's some kind of heaven. Julie Silvian is the artist who opened the shop in May (and I only just heard about it!). She dyes the fibers and her colors make me want to sample at least all  of them. There is no corporate commercial yarn here and don't even mention the a-word! This is all about the exotic: alpaca, silk, camel, yak, cashmere. Sigh! Okay. So I want off budget a trifle (the new budget I set for myself this very morning).

How could I resist hand dyed ultra soft baby alpaca named wine & roses or superfine alpaca called wine country? I ask you. How? And at such reasonable prices? And we won't even speak about the golden yellow cashmere that I didn't buy or the cute and unique fabric purses and compact padded camera bags that her friend makes for the shop (perfect for my favorite Canon).

Taos is a fiber town and the fiber pinnacle of each year is the Wool Festival on the first weekend in October (my friend Josie calls it "a major holiday for our people"). There are excellent yarn shops in this small place and Red Willow just added another dimension. I'm sure there's more to Julie's story - she's a weaver, knitter, dyer - how did she come to Taos  from other parts?  But I wasn't there to interview her - at least not for now. Instead I'm planning to organize an expedition with a couple of fanatic friends and storm the gates.