Yarn School Part 2 – Day 1

Flying out of Phoenix, Arizona

Important Note: This is another series of blog posts where, when the events described within were transpiring, we did not take notes, and so here I am, thousands of years later, attempting to give context to images that, while able to trigger fragments of memories, act as an incomplete picture of the story. Sure enough, we should have been tending to these things without fail, but little did we understand the value of revisiting milestones later in life. And so, without that proverbial further ado, here we go into a murky past.

We’re on a bird, we’re in a plane, nope, we are self-powered flying humans flapping our arms to travel to places far away.

Steak & Catfish Barn off Interstate 35 in Oklahoma

Is this a deja vu? It might be; seems like we were just recently here at the Steak & Catfish Barn off Interstate 35 north of Oklahoma City.

Caroline Wise at Yarn School in Harveyville, Kansas

Ah, it all makes sense now with the flying and deja vu; we are already back in Harveyville, Kansas, for the spring session of Yarn School hosted by Nikol Lohr. Learn more and attend one of these great workshops by visiting The Harveyville Project.

Yarn School in Harveyville, Kansas

It was just seven months ago that we were here in this tiny corner of the middle of America, but as Caroline is still learning the art and craft of making yarn, we felt that it wouldn’t hurt to try advancing those skills with a return visit.

Yarn School in Harveyville, Kansas

It all feels so familiar: the gym, the social studies classroom we stayed at back in September, some of the instructors, Nikol’s husband Ron, and a small town that offers the sense that we are somewhere authentic and appropriate for such an endeavor.

Sarah and Adrian at Yarn School in Harveyville, Kansas

On the left is Sarah Ivy Kincaid, and on the right is Adrian Bizilia; they are two of the instructors who will hopefully advance Caroline’s skills over the next few days. Adrian is still running her “Hello Yarn” fiber club, which allows spinners to subscribe to monthly packages of scrumptious roving dyed in lovely colors. As for me, I’m back for photos of the surrounding area and some documentation of what the wife will be doing here.

Going Home to Germany

Jutta Engelhardt

My mother-in-law Jutta Engelhardt is returning to Germany today after her longest trip ever to the United States. Over the course of this visit, she rode a bicycle for the first time in almost 50 years, rode a horse for the first time ever, exercised up a storm so she could hike in and out of the Grand Canyon, visited Death Valley again, attended a few concerts, visited the Rennaisance Festival, went to Santa Barbara twice, slept in a hogan on the Navajo reservation and danced the Fire Dance, she made a Navajo rug, spun yarn, made felt at a two day workshop, attended the Hoop Dance Championship, went to a drumming class, visited Los Angeles, bottle-fed baby goats, collected chicken eggs, went to her first baseball game, posed with the mayor of Phoenix for a photo, and laughed a lot. Not bad for a 73-year-old grandma. As she’s told me, “Getting old is not for the weak.”

And It’s DONE!

Jutta Engelhardt at Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm in Arizona

This is Jutta’s last day at the farm after having been out here nearly 3 dozen times to commune with the chickens, help prepare things for market, enjoy many a lunch, and make friends.

Rob Lazzarotto of Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm in Tonopah, Arizona

This is Rob Lazzarotto who hates having his photo taken, but I just had to put this here for Jutta’s memories and to acknowledge what a great host he was. Jerry, Rob, Jutta, and I shared many bouts of laughter out on his farm which all made Jutta’s latest trip to America unforgettable.

Navajo Weaving at Fiber Factory in Mesa by Jutta Engelhardt with Caroline Wise and Mary Walker

This is Mary Walker, an expert in all things Navajo fiber culture-related, helping us remove Jutta’s rug from the loom and giving Jutta’s incredible labor a final stamp of approval noting what a great job she did on her first-ever weaving. Mary now has a shop of her own in Gallup, Weaving in Beauty, and offers Navajo Weaving classes taught by weavers on the Navajo Nation.

Navajo Weaving at Fiber Factory in Mesa by Jutta Engelhardt

Off the loom, this Navajo rug 100%-made by the hands of Jutta is now ready to be packed in a suitcase to travel back to Germany with her. Congratulations, Schwiegermutter!