Three County Fair

Submitting quilts to the Three County Fair earned me a free ticket.  Cool!  My mother came out for the weekend, so we attended the fair on Sunday.

We passed through the agricultural barn first.  Lots of terrific looking fruits and veggies.  This sunflower greeted us on the way out.  Look at the size of it!  Balancing in that tiny pot!  And so many sunflowers.  It was truly impressive (and of course had a blue ribbon hanging from it).


Next up was the art exhibits.  Lots of stuff from some very talented kids - especially photography.  I got a kick out of a blue paper mache llama.  And isn't the little sleeping fox cute?  The cross stitch sampler was by an adult - the light was too dim to get a good photo, but the stitching was wonderful.  It was certainly worthy of best in show.  My mother and I admired a lot of nice sewing and painting (and checked out the ribbons my quilts won).

I Like Thursday: Shopping Trips and Errands

It's been a busy weeks, picking up a lot of things.

Saturday included a trip to the Greenfield farmer's market.  I got to use my guinea pig and bunny picnic bag.  Isn't it cute?  Mabel thinks it's even cuter filled with carrots.  (Although Kiki and Mason ate the majority of the carrot tops.)

I was very excited to bring home a 25lb box of tomatoes to make sauce.  The house smelled delicious on Tuesday as we cooked them down.

I Like Thursday: More Neighbors and New Stuff

Another busy week.  But I've been having fun.

We try to walk every day (some mornings we just get too late of a start).  We never know what we'll see.  This is Kiki the donkey who lives up the road.  She liked the carrot tops we brought (chomp!).  Her buddy, Mason the horse, was not as impressed with our gifts.  He told us to come back when we have the actual carrots and not just the tops.

Kiki was much easier to please.

Finally a Finished Flimsy

The plan had been to spend Friday pinning the sandwich together.  Well, that fell through due to the backing shrinking too much when it was washed.  So I'm glad I washed it before quilting!  But I wish I had bought an even longer piece.

Instead of basting and starting quilting this weekend, I will be adding 4-6 inches of something to the backing.  I have plenty of the border blue and extra of a lighter blue for the binding.  Or maybe something super scrappy from the variety of leftovers.

The blocks all sewed together so easily!  The borders went on without a hitch.  And it ironed so flat.  No easing or extra steam needed anywhere.  How nice!

Sharing with:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop?

I Like Thursday: Flora and Fauna

I will be happy when life slows down a bit.  It's good to accomplish so much, but my need to have it all done is getting on Rob's nerves (and my own, too!).  I have something going on every day next week.  Whew!

I'm enjoying what I'm getting done, though. 

We walked down the hill (instead of up it) one evening.  The moon was up (that white speck in the sky), a storm was starting to rumble in.  We made it home just before it poured.  The view of the surrounding hills is so pretty.  We have too many trees in the yard to see this from the house.  That's okay - I don't mind the walk and I like our trees.

So Close

Today I had been hoping to post a finished flimsy.  It was not to be.  I'm partially blaming the great dancing in the area (I spent three evenings out in the last week that I could have been sewing).  But that's not entirely true.

The empty room is a good sign.  The border pieces had been sewn together; I was in the process of stitching each row together.  And that's when I lost my stride.  I had already found one block that hadn't been sewn together - I had to stop, cut the background piece to size, stitch it, iron it, cut it, and then continue working.  I went back to make sure all the other blocks  were done.  Each one I moved all moved as a single piece...

Montague Bookmill

The Montague Bookmill is such a cool place.  I had been there once, years ago.  Now, it's just a few miles down the road from us.  I see lots more visits in my future.

You can enter on the second floor via covered walkway from the road above or the main doors down below. 


The selection of books is terrific.  Honestly, I am more charmed by the building.  I loved the massive windows.  The bottoms were barred - it would be easy to topple out of one since they extend nearly floor to ceiling.  I like the old wood floors, large ironwork vents, the amount of daylight that streams in.

I Like Thursday: Progress!

Weekends continue to fly by.  And good things keep coming.  My passport arrived in the mail.  Huzzah!  (Not that I plan to go globe-trotting, but now I know I can.)  We tried out the local English dancing - complete with ice cream during the break.  A great way to spend a Monday evening.

My favorite things this week are in the kitchen.  We've managed to pull a bunch of stuff off the counter.  I love this wine rack.  Originally I was looking for an upright wine rack to stand on the counter, rather than the horizontal one I had.  This one can stand, but I'm even happier with it off the counter entirely.