October1: Sightseeing in the Rain

Just like every weekend, we made plans to do some sightseeing, run a few errands, and just enjoy our time together.  In order to acheive our maximum time for fun, we did all our errands on Friday night.  Kevin's computer is working so much better than the past few days.  I have backing and batting for a number of the quilts I am doing for my FIL.  I, also, purchased fabric to finish 3 other tops that I designed to incorporate with more of my FIL's embroidered blocks.  We purchased a new washer that we will probably leave here for other students to use, AND I bought a 4 quart crockpot.  We also celebrated Keivn's last day as an active duty Naval officer by going out for dinner!  The colds made the tasks a little more challenging but I am impressed with just how well we managed.

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The Fall Foliage and Studio Weekend

We left the apartment at 7:40 and headed to southern Vermont.  It was raining, but we were determined to see whatever we could and visit at least 3 studios of professional furniture makers.  The photos that follow will be captioned to help you see the sights as we did.  We only wish that we could share them the way we truly saw them.

The rain was with us most of the day, but I am sharing those shots just the same.  Want you to feel like you were there.

The mist on the nountains is really something to see.  There
is no way that my little digital will ever capture it, but trust
me it is something to see.

As we visited each studio, we were fortunate enough to be able to spend time talking to the furniture maker.  They were all willinging to share information about how long they had been working at their craft professionally, and in some cases how they actually made the decision to presue this career.  I am listing their websites in the caption of their studio so that you can see some of what they have designed and built.

This was our first studio stop.  I am giving you two shots so
you can see just how big the place is.  http://www.gasperetti.com/

Then we did a little more driving and trying to capture some of what we were seeing.  The leaves are not really peeking yet, but lifelong Vermonters say we are in the zone so pay attention.

As you can see we did have a few sightings and a few moments
without rain.

This studio was smaller, but the studio was what he needed to do
 the furniture making he is  geared for.  He did say the next time
 he built he would raise the roof  three feet to accomidate larger
peices in his upstairs gallery.  Personally, I really like the
 furniture he has created, especially the dinning chairs with
 lumbar support.                http://www.williamlaberge.com/

Dorset Custom Furniture offered both furniture and artwork.  The studio
 size is comparible to the second one but definitely has its own personality.
  http://doresetcustomfurniture.blogspot.com/

Found these leaves on the ground near one of the
studios.  Wanted to share a little of the color we
did see.

We traveled on a few gravel roads.  We actually saw a porcupine
crossing the road, but I did not have the camera out  at the time. As
we travelled we also saw a live 2-hump camel, an alpaca, some
"Texas" longhorn cattle, horses, hawks, and more chickens running the yards of one small town.  Not even going to try and list the roadkill!



Do you remember what I told you the
white bags were?  They are much larger
than trash bags.



There are numerous creeks and rivers in Vermont, and they
all seem to be moving fairly fast.  They make such a distinctive
sound.  I could enjoy living near one.

Of course, when we spied a quilt shop I had to stop for my green fat quarter.  My plan was to have a good look around the Knits and Bolts Shop in New Haven and then talk Kevin into going back after I finished all of Dad's quilts.  It is a great shop that would definitely appeal to quilters and knitters alike.

Kevin seemd to have a different plan for me, although he did say that he knew I already had a lot of works in progress.  He wanted to see what the Stone Chip charm pack would look like sewn up.  We kept going back to it, so I agreed that we could buy some now and play to see if we liked it enough to make a queen size later this year.  More on the fabric and our decisions in the next few posts.

Here is  a shot of the green fat quarter I picked up.  Think I will be back at this shop again very soon.

Here is another sighting that fascinated us.  For a number of miles and in different little towns, there were at least 100 of these scarecrow people along the road dressed in all different kinds of costumes.  Wish it had not been raining so hard when we saw the bride and groom.

Once we got back to our area, we headed over to the school for a Mexican potluck.  I was the only one that brought meat.  All the other recipes were vegan.  Apparently many of the students and staff are vegans or more vegan than carnivore.  The tamales were my favorite and is another on the list of recipes to obtain from Connie (Did you take the hint, Connie?).  Kevin really enjoyed all of it.  Not aiming to become a vegan myself, but I am learning that I can enjoy all different types of foods.  Good evening of fun, as well.