And Now, Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

The fact that this blog has not featured fiber-related material does not accurately reflect the fiber life of its writer.

Let's start back in July. While in the Sturgeon Bay, WI area, I stopped in at Spin for their open knitting night where I met a delightful group of knitters. (Bonus - as locals they can tell you all the stuff you won't find in the area vacation guides/brochures.)



Spin is located in what was once a bank.



And they have a grand front entrance to prove it. (Ask to see the old photo they have of the bank back in the good old days.)



If you're in the area, I highly recommend a stop.









Spin also occupies the second floor of the building where they have bright, airy classrooms. They may have also had some sale yarn in one of those classrooms the day I was there.

Which may have possibly jumped into my knitting bag.

But if it did makes its way into my bag, it's souvenir yarn.

Which doesn't count.

Right?

And We Weren't Hungry An Hour Later

For my MIL's birthday, we took her to the Milwaukee Art Museum for the exhibition of The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City. It was a fascinating exhibit with a well-done audio guide.

One of my favorite items was a mural of women and children celebrating the New Year - described as "a rare example of "imperial trompe-l'oeil mural painting, a fifteen foot wide work... The mural is one of only eight such surviving 18th century works." There was a video documenting the restoration and conservation of this painting by the Palace Museum and World Monuments Fund. It took various artists and workers over a year and a half to restore this artwork.

While no pictures were allowed in the Forbidden City exhibit, photos were allowed in other other exhibits.

From the Warriors, Beasts, and Spirits exhibit -





Yue Minjun's Chinese Contemporary Warriors.



Neither DH nor I had been to the art museum since the addition with the Burke Brise Soleil was built. It's a beautiful place to spend the day.

Where The Wild Things Are

At least when I'm vacuuming.

Worth The Stop

While up in the Sturgeon Bay area, we visited the Door County Historical Museum. We were astounded by this little museum. The exhibits are interesting, the museum is thoughtfully planned to make use of every available inch of space, and it's free!

Of the many, many exhibits, a couple really stood out from the rest (at least for me).

First, there were some fiber-related exhibits.







I really enjoyed that the museum made an effort to have a photo of the person to whom the item belonged.

This next item was quite a curiosity for me. For those of you who are looking for that hard-to-shop-for-loved-one or for the person who has everything -



Any of you recognize what this is?



Yes, you read that correctly.

A human hair wreath. Fascinating and, at the same time, a bit creepy.

Part of the museum has exhibits focusing on men from the area who fought in the civil war. This quirky bloke caught my interest.



To fully appreciate why he caught my attention, click the photo to enlarge and read the short biography.

Vacation, Part 2

Summer vacation had it moments of...

swimming,



reading on the beach, (my favorite place to find wonderful summer reading is Persephone Books)



flying kites Grandma had made,



taking a ferry to Washington Island, then to Rock Island,





and sunsets galore.