Recovering

We had a marvelous weekend away, attending the graduation ceremony at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and visiting with friends.  Every aspect of the graduation -- from the dinner/dance Saturday night, the actual ceremony on Sunday, the lunch afterward -- took place outside under tents.  It was the wettest, coldest graduation I have ever attended.  Everyone was dressed up for naught, because we were all swaddled in raincoats and scarves and sweaters,  But it was wonderful just the same, and we are very proud of our surrogate niece Charlotte for all her accomplishments.

Pete and I  arrived home yesterday afternoon and, after unpacking, I promptly fell asleep.  I woke up, made a light dinner (we ate way too much over the weekend) and then went to bed early.  As I was falling asleep I realized I had to pick the name of the winner of the give away, so I got back up, did that, and posted the name of the winner -- Debra -- on the blog.  This morning, while I was waiting for my much-needed first cup of coffee to brew, I read my emails and noticed that once again I had several annoying advertisements posted as comments on my blog.  I am so tired of these ads for cheap travel, classic cars, Viagra, designer purses . . . .   Anyway, while deleting them, I deleted the winning comment for the giveaway.  Oy.  So here is the email with her post, just so everyone knows it really existed.  I don't know Debra, but I hope she will email me soon at paisleyrugs@gmail.com and I will send the flag pattern off to her.

And if anyone know how I can keep those stupid ads out of my comments, I'd love to hear from you.

And the Winner Is . . .

Debra!  Please email your snail mail address and I will send the flag pattern off to you right away.  Thanks to everyone who participated. 

A Star-Spangled Giveaway

My favorite museum exhibit at the Smithsonian is the Star-Spangled Banner -- the absolutely humungous flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem.  When visiting the exhibit, you approach the flag via a hallway, turn the corner into a darkened room, and there she is in all her glory.  The size of it is heart-stopping, and knowing it was completely hand-sewn by Mary Pickersgill, her daughter, two nieces, and two servants in just five weeks is breathtaking.  Each stripe is two feet wide!  Mary used more than 400 yards of wool and cotton to create the flag.   It is battered and bruised but it is still quite remarkable and great effort has gone into its conservation.  

As an homage to Mary and her assistants, and to George Armistead,the commander of Fort McHenry who ordered a flag "so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance," I have designed a new pattern called "Long May It Wave." It is hand-drawn on premium Dorr Linen and will measure a mere 8 inches by 28 inches when completed and YOU can win it and hook it yourself!  Leave a patriotic comment below and in the evening on Memorial Day, I will randomly draw the name of the winner.

Good Luck and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Scenes from the Weekend

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

It's that time!  Hallockville is hosting, once again, the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair, along with the Long Island Livestock Company.  Barb is heading down today while I work on a few last minute things.  We will be in the Naugles born on the west side of the farm.  Please come and visit!  The weatherman says it will be a beautiful weekend!

I also want to give you a head's up on our next show.  Barb and I are pleased to announce that we will be vending at the Eastern Long Island Quilt Show, June 8 & 9 at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead, New York.  More information to follow, but to learn more now go here: Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild.

Surfeit of Sheep

When you are vending at a sheep and wool festival in a week or so, you spend a lot of time making sheepy (sheepish?) stuff to sell.  This little sheep mat is a sample for some of the kits I sell.  I didn't want to waste the surrounding linen, so I hooked up some little sheep to turn into pins.  I may do some alpaca soon, too.

The Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair is drawing near!  I hope you will join us for a fun and furry weekend at Hallickville Museum Farm!

Spring

We have had a solid week and a half of stellar spring weather.  The cherry trees that line our street are in full bloom and rival anything that Washington, D.C. has to offer.  My white lilac just opened and the tulips and daffodils are the best I've seen in years.

Pete and I spent the weekend working in the yard -- weeding and mowing and painting and sanding.  I cleaned the oven (which is not self-cleaning).  I then made dinner for 6 on the grill, because our propane tank was almost empty, and washed all the dishes by hand because our stupid 4-year-old dishwasher broke fore the 4th time.  We went to bed exhausted last night -- but happy, because of all we accomplished and the fun we had with our guests.

Looks like rain may move in on Wednesday, but that's okay -- we really need it.  And it could be worse -- it could be 17 inches of snow, the amount that fell on Wisconsin the other day.  

I've been designing some new patterns and plan to spend this afternoon hooking away at one of them.  I think I deserve a quiet afternoon of hooking after all the work and repairs and deliveries this morning.