Sawtooth Gala

This past Thursday night was the "preview party" for the Sawtooth school's annual "Deck the Halls" sale, and  was also my first time participating and attending this gala event, wow! I was not prepared at all for any of it, not the crowd and lack of parking, the mouth-watering food that was available, but most of all, the quality and sheer volume of art that would be available for purchase, it was all unbelievable! I made the mistake of arriving 15 minutes after the festivities began (you know, "fashionably late"), and so had to park a block away. I guess I've lived in a small town for so long, it seemed strange to have so much going on in downtown Winston at night; our closest town rolls up the streets at 6 pm, nothing is open. The halls and rooms were already packed when I walked in, and the food! Catered by West End Cafe, there were the most delectable choices: raw salmon served with caviar on little toasts, oversized nachos slathered with a wonderful shrimp spread with fresh cilantro, an assortment of Asian dishes, dipping things and various sauces, and of course a wet bar. The artwork was spread out over one end of the school, spilling out over the store and several rooms, and included so many different styles and media: paintings, clay, sculptures, pastels, a multitude of jewelry, scarves, felted things, bags, hand-dyed silk, of course my little fascinators and felted earrings, geodes, and flowers, other hats, knitted and crocheted accessories, a multitude of trees with hand-made ornaments, I could go on and on. I was captivated and mesmerized by the workmanship and originality of so many of these pieces, everywhere you turned there was something different. I looked, chatted and ate, Julie and I of course had to have our picture taken wearing our fascinators, and then they needed help in the jewelry area so I volunteered some of my time helping customers there. I had such a good time, I was very close to where my little hats were on display, and the gals would come in and have little "hat parties", trying on my fascinators, deciding which one to get, it was so much fun to watch, reminded me of my booth in Houston! At any rate, my hats were a big hit, I had to come home and make more and take another shipment by there today, here's a couple of pictures of Julie, Julie and I at the gala, and also a new colorway of pink and black, kind of retro I think, I love this combination! I'm glad folks are liking them, because I definitely enjoy making them. Oh! And a big surprise, I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen in probably 15 years, Jane and I went to school together years ago, was such a nice touch to run into her! And she hadn't changed a bit, lucky girl, she still looks great.