There is nothing in a caterpillar...

...that tells you it is going to be a butterfly.

That is what Buckminster Fuller said, at least, and if he could imagine the geodesic dome he must have been pretty ingenious.

This picture is from my amazing, lovely, inspiring week at Squam Art Workshops. Without knowing it, I have recently been feeling like this little guy.  Working hard, chewing away a little bit at a time waiting for the day to emerge as a changeling, almost the same but not quite.

More on that in the weeks to come. For now, just know, it might not look like anything is happening but something (good, I hope) is in the works...

Back to Squam, the week started slightly rocky.  Cal, Carisa & I had a little trouble getting to Squam.  If you own a Ford Windstar I strongly suggest taking it to the dealership and having a real, true assessment of it, especially the rear axle. With no warning because of a recall I wasn't notified of, this happened:

And it was scary. Luckily all involved are fine; Cal & I now know what it's like to ride (and knit!) in a van on the back of a flatbed tow truck, so there's that...

Almost All my troubles disappeared though, once I entered the serene setting of Squam, met my cabin mates (Hi, Maple Shaders!) the wonderous Elizabeth and settled in for a beer on the dock.

This blog post would be pages long if I detailed every kind, creative, interesting person I met at SAW, I'll give you the short version and just say, if you have never experienced this, you should.  Every day at lunch & dinner, a table on the way into the dining hall would fill with works in progress, I was so impressed at the quality of work being produced!

And to top it all off, this ^ was the scenery outside my door! How could it be better than that! 

Well, there could be some gorgeous lady slippers in bloom scattered throughout the woods & along paths that looked something like this:

Or nightly, one could hear fascinating talks given by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, Ysolda, Thea Coughlin & Sarah Ahearn...
I could go on...and on...and on...

But, I'll try my best to finish this post up succinctly with 10 things I learned at SAW:

1. Everything they say about Canadians is true (wait, is what they say that all Canadians are talented, kind and hilariously funny? Yes? Then it is true)
2. There are lots of amazing LYSs I've never been to but absolutely need to go see ASAP,
Princess Animal, Happy Knits & Lettuce Knit I'm thinking specifically of you!
3. Tall, thin, blond, gorgeous women can be intelligent, fun, and interesting - what can I say, we all have our prejudices...Thanks Jen, Thea & Noel for showing me the light!
4. New Hampshire in June can have a 40 degree temperature drop in 24 hours
5. Kitchener stitch is named for a general who hated sock seams rubbing on his toes almost as much as I hate it
6. If you are going to SAW and really want to fit in you MUST have at least one Hodge Podge Farm garment to show off, it is perfectly acceptable to have drafted the pattern from Cal's book, made it in one of her classes or purchased one of the lovelies she makes herself - I have two of the three in my closet...
7. You can make monoprints with supplies from the grocery store & help from the fabulous Maya
8. Five days can seem like and eternity and gone in a flash at exactly the same time
9. It is perfectly normal to return home from SAW with 2 twigs, an acorn and 4 strike anywhere matches in your pocket as well as long list of blogs you need to start reading immediately
10. The most wonderful man in the entire world lives at my house and no matter what kind of craziness I put him through I can be sure to return home to a prepared meal, glass of wine & clean kitchen

Okay, back to the dye house for me (that's my basement for those of you in the know :) and hopefully off to a wonderful day for you filled with stumbled upon wonders and just a little bit of letting it all go for a while and soaking in the moment.