Milwaukee? Well why not? We like to see new places, and we like to meet new people. What we didn't expect was that all us Needlepointers would be sharing the hotel with participants in the Gay Olympics and Bikers in town for the Harley-Davidson 75th anniversary. What a great mix. We met some really nice people from the other groups, the Bikers and Olympians came to see what we were doing and many of us went to see what they were doing.
As usual, we arrived a few days early to do some sightseeing. One of the first things we noticed was how clean the streets were. I'm convinced they have a squad of people washing down the roads and pavements in the middle of the night.
We visited museums and galleries and we walked to most places. At the Pabst Mansion we admired lace and embroidery and learned about 'Pickles'. Apparently it's a Germanic thing, you have to hide a Pickle in your Christmas Tree. So we had to buy a pair of glass Pickles which get hidden in the tree every year.
Another port of call was The Milwaukee Art Museum. It was worth the walk just to see the building and watch the roof opening and closing. It's all to do with controlling the light levels to protect the exhibits, so I was told. It can go from fully open to fully closed;
It reminded me of the great white bird in "The Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped" as it opened and closed.
One of the things I like about walking is that you get to stop and look at the street furniture and the buildings and as a designer you can pick up little gems of ideas to store away. It might be a manhole cover, a piece of ironwork or part of a building, but there's always something interesting to be seen.
Being there for the American Needlepoint Guild, there were classes and shopportunities.
Would I go back to Milwaukee? Why not? You can't see everything in one visit.
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