Fiber Frolic at St. Mary of the Woods College

It's time to start thinking about registering for the 2014 Fiber Frolic at White Violet Center in St. Mary of the Woods College just west of Terre Haute, Indiana.  Come for a weekend of learning and laughter!   The weekend is always amazing.   Choose a focus: spinning, weaving, felting.  The weekend is geared toward beginners, no fiber experience required. 

I'll be teaching the spinning section again this year.  All materials and equipment are provided.  If you've been wanting to learn how to spin your own yarn, then this is a great chance to come and be with other beginners, in a peaceful and beautiful place to learn to spin.  There is plenty of time to practice through the weekend and you'll leave with your own handspun yarn.  


Registration makes a fantastic Christmas gift!   More information and registration info here.

Jan. 24-26, 2014
Where: White Violet Center for Eco-Justice
When: 6:30 p.m. (EST) Friday through 11 a.m. Sunday
Cost: $300 (meals and refreshments included)
Registration deadline: Jan. 15
Limited to 15 participants.
Housing at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is available.

St Mary of the Woods College - grounds

I'm a sucker for good landscaping.   And I'm especially partial to great swaths of green and trees with creeks, bridges and perennial plantings.  Put some small domed structures [e.g. a well house] in there and I'm yours forever. 

I loved Indiana University at first sight.  Same with St Mary of the Woods College.  

I love the grounds.

Love, love, love them.    If I had to go back to college again [God forbid!] I'd go to St Mary of the Woods just to hang out on the grounds.

That said, let me confess that this year the beauty of the grounds was mitigated by the ferocity of the insecture.

[Yeah, I made that word up.]

There is a gnat issue at SMW this year.   Of course, there are gnats all over Indiana this year.   Biting ones.  Combine those with the mosquitoes and it's No. Fun. At. All.    It is wise to cover oneself with bug spray.  If you miss a spot, they will find it.   I know this from personal experience.

When we were walking around the SMW grounds, the gnats were so bad, we had to brush them off the camera lens to take a shot.   If there are blurry marks in the photos, that's where a gnat landed the second we stopped to take a pic.

We got a lot of exercise brushing the gnats off.  And dancing around trying to keep them off our bods.

Anyway.   The bugs won't last forever.   And the grounds are beeee-utiful, so here's a little photo tour for you.


First stop, the labyrinth.   I LOVE labyrinths.   I can't resist them.   But on our way to the labyrinth, we found this.   I love the old capitals that they put the planters on. 

And then we found the labyrinth.  Yes, I walked the whole thing, without cheating.   Here's K2 walking it. 

Once we were done with the labyrinth, we walked over toward the grotto.  And this is what we found.   The stairs go down to the grotto.   The bridge goes over to the drama building. 

The view down to the grotto...

and the view across the bridge.

Then the bugs ate us alive and we scooted for cover in the church.

Pleasant Surprises

While we were at St. Mary of the Woods College last week, we found this.

We laughed out loud.   I'm not surprised that the sisters have such a good sense of humor.   They were some of the friendliest people I have ever worked with.

St Mary of the Woods College - The Shell Chapel

photo:  www.spsmw.org

While I was teaching at White Violet, K2 roamed the St. Mary of the Woods campus on her own.   She made a special trip to see St. Anne's Shell Chapel.  [All photos except this first one are by K2]

The chapel was built to honor St Anne, who protected St. Mother Theodore and her fellow travelers on a ship during bad storms in 1843.   St. Mother Theodore prayed to St. Anne for protection and promised to build a chapel to honor her, which she did as soon as she got back to St. Mary of the Woods.   The chapel was completed in 1844.

The entrance looking in to the altar.

The door is protected by a beautiful wrought iron gate.  Inside this lovely little limestone building is an artistic treasure. 

All of the interior walls were plastered then set with shells collected from the Wabash River by the sisters.   Each wall was designed by St. Mother Theodore.

'St. Anne, pray for us.'

Notice the design on the base of the altar.

Shells frame the statue of St. Anne.

This set of shells tells the story of the stormy journey in 1843.

"And that the vessel was at the mercy of the wind and waves.   Mother Theodore made a promise to build a chapel."

A mosaic of the ship.   Notice all the different types of shells used for the mosaic.

Stained glass windows set in the walls.  Every inch of wall is decorated with shells.

The floor is mosaic, too.

Every year on St. Anne's Feast Day, the sisters clean up the chapel and replaced any broken shells.

SMW White Violet Center for Eco-Justice

We went to SMW to teach a class in color theory and a class in dyeing protein fibers for the staff and volunteers of the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice.   They have a wonderful alpaca breeding and fiber program.

We stayed in their straw bale retreat house, which was not far from where they keep their alpaca boys.

The boys are out off the main roads of campus, so they don't get as much company as the girls do.   They loved K2.

White Violet believes in all kinds of sustainable living.   They grow a lot of organic food for the SMW kitchens and to sell at the local farmers' markets.   

They have a lovely old greenshouse.   Alas, it will be with us for not much longer since the heating system is kaput.   They'll be getting a new one soon.

This is where K2 found that fabulous rose.

and she made friends with the greenhouse cat, Scruffy.

Behind the greenhouse is a lovely little contemplative garden with a fish pond, lights and a bench.  It's cool and green and shady.

St Mary of the Woods College - Church

Last weekend, I taught a color theory class and a dye class to the volunteers and staff at the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice which is under the auspices of the Sisters of Providence at St. Mary of the Woods College, near Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Sisters of Providence are known for their hospitality and their reputation is well deserved.  They are so friendly!  K2 and I got to spend a night in their straw-bale retreat house and wander the beautiful grounds the evening before the classes.   The next few posts will be a photo tour of our stay.

I love churches.   I especially love churches designed to be beautiful on the inside so that even if the sermon is boring, every where you look there is something to bolster faith and delight the eye.  One of the highlights of the SMW campus for me was the 110 year old Church of the Immaculate Conception.  [Wiki has some fabulous information about its history]

We were there on an 'off' night at dusk.   The chapel, though usually brightly lighted, was dark. It was quiet and peaceful and even K2, who had to be coaxed into the church with the promise, "There are no gnats or mosquitoes inside!", was quickly entranced by how beautiful the space is and didn't want to leave.

In fact, we fought over the camera.    These photos are hers and mine.

The front of the chapel entrance.

The pews are small - only long enough for a pair of sisters.  I love the glow of the old wood of church pews. 

The ceiling over the sanctuary at the top of the nave.

The ceiling over the intersection of the transept and nave.

Beautiful stained glass windows on all sides, both levels.  Every one was different.

Another window.

You can see more of the windows in this view.

The chapel was two levels.  I love the arches - echoed above and below and over every window.

Beautiful plaster friezes between the arches and every arch had a wide casing with medallions at the center top.


And, yes, those are marble columns.

This is the view I loved best.

I'm so, so glad we got to come here.  It was a beautiful contemplative place to spend an hour.  I'm looking forward to next year.