Fiber Crawl weaves through Duke City, Santa Fe, Taos
Fiber fanatics can indulge in their favorite addiction this Mother’s Day weekend with the First Annual New Mexico Fiber Crawl on May 13-14.
The Española Valley Fiber Arts Center is hosting the trek that runs from Albuquerque to Taos, encompassing retail shops, museum, sheep and alpaca farms, galleries and artists’ studios.
Participants will receive a free Fiber Crawl Passport and a map listing the 42 artists and sites along the trail. Each location will offer discounts, demonstrations and events to lure the curious and anyone interested in learning a skill or meeting an artist.
“We have done some research around the needs of New Mexico fiber artists,” said April Jouse, director of operations of the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center. “We also noticed other states had fiber crawls or yarn crawls, and we thought they would be wonderful paired together.”
Shops such as the Yarn Store in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill, Santa Fe’s Looking Glass Yarns, Los Alamos’ Warm Hearts and Vortex Yarns in Taos will feature local artists, their work and local products crafted from their fiber.
Organizers have divided the tour into four “threads.”
The Albuquerque thread includes the Yarn Store, Humming Desert Alpacas ( in Budaghers), Tapestry Gallery (in Madrid) and two Edgewood artist studios. The Santa Fe thread strings through Looking Glass Yarn, Yarn & Coffee, the Las Tejedoras Fiber Arts Guild, the Arlene Prescott Collection, Christina Keibler Fiber Art, Chocolate & Cashmere, DC Knits, Form & Concept and Handwoven Originals.
The Española portion includes the Fiber Arts Center, Atomic City Quilts in Los Alamos, Chimayó’s Centinela Traditional Arts and the Fuller Lodge Art Museum. Taos threaders can see Peñasco’s TDLT Fiber Artisans, Artemisia, Mooncat Fiber, Tres Estrellas Design, Vortex Yarns and Weaving Southwest.
Jouse hopes the event draws “thousands” of fiber junkies, from tourists to locals. Organizers are already planning for next year’s crawl.