Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Teaching at the Enfield Shaker Village

The Enfield Shaker Museum (AKA The Great Stone Dwelling House)
It has been a busy month...and I have thoroughly enjoyed my recent teaching engagements! I just returned from the Enfield Shaker Museum (the Great Stone Dwelling House) in Enfield, NH, where I was teaching for the New England Stitcher's Retreat. Those of you who have followed my blog for quite some time know how much I love visiting the Enfield Shaker Village and teaching inside the Great Stone Dwelling House - it is a location rich with history and full of amazing imagery. Upon arrival at the Enfield Shaker Museum, I was pleased to find I was staying in the same room I have the past couple years...it almost feels like my home away from home. I arrived Thursday night around 10pm, and after a decent night of sleep was ready to spend Friday exploring the area with my dear friend (like a sister to me) Ruth....we headed to King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont....then made our way to Brattleboro, VT to visit a lovely shop (Delectable Mountain Cloth) that our friends Patricia and Lesley told us about - it was a delightful day and I promise to share more with you in a future post. When we returned to the Great Stone Dwelling on Friday evening, it was time for a welcome reception, where I got to meet all the attendees and enjoy a glass of wine and wonderful food...it was quite fun to rotate through the tables and meet all the needleworkers in attendance. One of the fabulous things about the Enfield Shaker Museum - we have the entire building pretty much to ourselves throughout the event - we sleep there - we dine there - we have class there - we basically take over...and what a treat it is to spend a few uninterrupted days with needlework friends! Saturday we had class the majority of the day...I did manage to make it outside during our lunch hour to take some photos...then after dinner we had a very amusing game of "Yankee Swap" with all stitching related packages, followed by stitching and giggling into the wee hours. Sunday we had class through the mid-afternoon, then headed to ABC Stitch Therapy for shopping and a tea party (this was wonderful...and the new shop location is fantastic!)...then headed back to the Shaker Museum for dinner and more late night stitching/laughing. On the way back to the museum, we stopped at several locations on Mascoma Lake where I was able to take some more great photographs. Monday morning was a delicious hot breakfast and we all said our goodbyes...I then got to spend a little more quality time with my friend Ruth before heading back to Iowa. Here are some photos from the Enfield Shaker Village, the Great Stone Dwelling House, the classroom, and the surrounding area...

(L-R) The West Brethren's Shop, The Mary Keane Chapel, The Great Stone Dwelling

Front Entrance to the Great Stone Dwelling House...

My room in the Enfield Shaker Museum (Great Stone Dwelling) - #23

The Dining Room

Hallway in the Great Stone Dwelling

Classroom in the Great Stone Dwelling

Stitcher's Lounge set-up in the Great Stone Dwelling

Stitcher's Lounge set-up in the Great Stone Dwelling

Chairs set-up for the "Yankee Swap" game...


Enthusiastic attendees...

Enthusiastic attendees...

Dinner (a Thanksgiving style feast with carved turkey and ham) being served by
the staff from Mickey's Cafe and Tavern Room (http://www.mickeyscafe.net/) - delicious!

The Mary Keane Chapel

Laundry and Dairy

West Brethren's Shop, East Brethren's Shop - today the West Brethren's Shop (left)
houses Museum exhibits and workshop space...

West Brethren's Shop - Broom Making Exhibit

Inside West Brethren's Shop

Inside West Brethren's Shop

Inside West Brethren's Shop

Ministry House - constructed in 1880, was the last building built by the Enfield Shakers...

Stone Mill Building - constructed in 1849 after its predecessor burned down on the
same site - it contained three stories of water powered machinery for a variety of trades...

1854 Cow Barn

1854 Cow Barn

1854 Cow Barn

Enfield, NH at sunrise...early morning walk...

Enfield, NH at sunrise...early morning walk...

Enfield at sunset - Mascoma Lake Bridge (finally open)...

Mascoma Lake - dusk...

Mascoma Lake - dusk...

Mascoma Lake - dusk...

Over the next couple days I will share with you photos from my adventures in New Hampshire and Vermont...and from ABC Stitch Therapy in Grantham, NH (along with photos from our tea party). It is going to take me several days to get caught up and return all of my messages, so if you are waiting on me, I appreciate your patience...

Thursday, October 18, 2012

On My Way To Enfield, NH...

Enfiled, NH - Mascoma Lake - the Great Stone Dewlling House is on the far right...
Click To Enlarge
My suitcase is packed again, and I am ready to fly back to the East Coast - today I leave for one of my favorite teaching destinations (The Great Stone Dwelling House in Enfield, NH) for another teaching trip. I am so excited to see good friends (there will be quite a few familiar faces) and add more new members to my stitching family...it is always fun when needleworkers take over the Enfield Shaker Museum! The New England Stitcher's Retreat has been kind enough to have me return each year....and although I normally design a Shaker project, this year they asked for a special Halloween project. The class project is titled "Mischief at Midnight" and is a needlework tray with a Halloween scene - along with a unique needlebook gate, a scissor fob, and a pinkeep. I had so much fun coming up with this class idea...and I can't wait to share it with the stitchers in attendance....we are going to have a spooktacular time! If you can't make it to Enfield NH this year and like the project, never fear, it will be released to the general public in the fall of 2013....you will just have to be patient...  And if you can't attend, but have always wanted to take a class at The Great Stone Dwelling House, I'll let you in on a little secret (sshhhhhh) - I have been asked to return in October 2013 - the details are still a little sketchy, but I will have more information in the coming months to share with you!

The event starts Friday evening, but I have a few free hours Friday during the day - I am looking forward to seeing my dear friend Ruth (who lives in NH) - she is picking me up bright and early and we are going to do a little sightseeing. We have a few places in Vermont on our list...including King Arthur Flour....I am giddy with anticipation...spending some quiet time with Ruth is the perfect treat!!

I guess I should stop procrastinating and get my travel details in order (I leave in a couple hours)... I will be taking lots of photographs and hope to share some with you during my trip (check the BRD Facebook page, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram)...my correspondence will be limited, so if you send me a message, please know I will reply, but it may take several days. To those of you attending - safe travels - I can't wait to see you - we are going to have a MARVELOUS time!

"Mischief at Midnight" Class Project - click to enlarge

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Ocean City Boardwalk

One of my favorite things to do when I go on my teaching trips is to wake up early and walk at sunrise - for this trip, I was walking at 6:30 on three of the four days. I was able to take wonderful photographs at dawn and spend some quality quiet time with several of the attendees (a special thank you to Judy and Diane who did some early morning walking with me). Here are some of my favorite boardwalk photographs...I'll just let the images and the captions "speak for themselves"...as always click on any of the photographs for an enlarged version...

9/11 FIREFIGHTER MEMORIAL ON THE OCEAN CITY BOARDWALK

OCEAN CITY LIFE-SAVING STATION MUSEUM 

AMUSEMENT RIDES ON THE BOARDWALK

SAND SCULPTURE

QUIET EARLY MORNING ON THE BOARDWALK

INTERESTING ARTISTIC WALL OUTSIDE THE OCEAN GALLERY

KITES FLYING IN FRONT OF THE BOARDWALK KITE STORE

PEOPLE WATCHING - THE INFAMOUS PIRATE ON THE BOARDWALK









LAST BUT NOT LEAST - I DID PUT MY FEET IN THE SAND AND THE OCEAN....
So, there you have it - my visit to Ocean City, MD through my camera lens - I hope you enjoyed taking this journey with me!