Today my son and I began the first leg of our journey to Huntsville, and one of our stops along the way was to the home of Gail MacLean Johnston, owner and proprietor of Hippie Chix Fiber Art.

I first met Ms. Johnston last month at the Carolina Fiber Fest, where she, and her able assistant/husband/family practice physician, were selling her fiber goods. Her booth was an amazing display of all manner of brightly colored fibers, and I was equal parts entranced and enchanted.

At the time, I left her booth having purchased over a dozen skeins of the ribbon to be used in a future project, this rug:

which, as can be seen in the above photo, is now a Work In Progress.

Knowing I would be headed in her general direction on the way to Huntsville, I got in touch with her in the hope that I could get a few more skeins of the sari ribbon I was using to make an old-fashioned throw rug. Not only did she say I could stop by, she said I could take a look at a new shipment of sari silk ribbon she had received.

I’m sure none of my readers are surprised to learn that I did more than look. When I left Cullowhee, I had a huge bag of the silk ribbon which just fit on this table in my hotel room:

While I love the silk I bought the first time, this silk is softer and the saris used to make the ribbon has more patterned silks in addition to the solids:

My first order of business with regard to the silk ribbon is to finish the rug I started, and the next will be to figure out just what I will crochet with this gorgeous fiber. In the meantime, I had better get to sleep so I am ready for the next leg of our journey.

If you want some of this fiber to call your own, you can make your purchase from Ms. Johnston’s etsy shop; I can promise you won’t regret it.