common ground fair

I have always wanted to go to the Common Ground Fair.

It's in Unity, Maine which is about a 2 hour drive from Portland.
I always heard about it being such a long trip, and then you had to sit in traffic for hours. Blekk.
However that was not the case.....
when you have good traveling partners, the time just flies!

We got there in under 2 hours, quickly found a parking spot,
and was driven to the gate by a member of a tractor club!
Ivan, of course did not want to sit next to his Mamma;
he found it way cooler to be next to the driver.
Charlotte was overwhelmed with excitement!

The farmers market was so beyond impressive.....
gorgeous colors, everything SO FRESH!

They had great snack food...wild blueberries,
and whole wheat fried dough with organic maple syrup,
which were eaten up within 20 minutes of entering.

There were loads of classes you could take...
including how to make your own shelter, and teepee.

How to make a fire in the wilderness
(with a knife, parachute cord, and wood)
Be sure to never go into the wilderness without these items!

there were loads of farm birds.....

pretty flora....

really cool outfits!!!! Not a coach purse in sight!  :)

loads of sheep and goats. The fiber tent was amazing....
so amazing I forgot to take photos :(

Bunnies!!!!! Ivan wants one.....um..no!

Ivan also wants a mule...he spent quite a bit of time patting this one.
We went back three times.

We were there for about 5 hours,
and I think we may have seen about half of it.
There were loads of craft tents, made in Maine tents,
how to tents, that we never made it to.
There was a great music tent, where we saw this band perform...
The Milliners.

I bought
honey, lavender castille soap,  Llama felted soap,
amazing cheese, and yummy cider....all made in Maine!

I am surely going back next year...the plans are already in the works!
However, next year I will be going for 2 days so I can see EVERYTHING!

summer time flies!!!!

so, I spent every possible day at the beach, which was a lot!

It was a beautiful summer!

 Loads of new things happening......

It was "the boys" first day of 3rd grade.

 

we had a heat wave....95 degrees!!!!! super hot.

I have new classroom at SMCC

it's a wee bit stale! but the view right out the windows and door is this!

we went out to dinner at the Snow Squall to celebrate the last day of summer vacation.

The food was yummy, and the music great! Support your local restaurants!!!!!

Ivan brought a date...Miss Mayne. hee hee!

One of the best part of starting a new term at school is....

aren't they great! they are actually cream (they look white in the photo)and olive..... so I figure I can wear them this fall....they were 60% off!!!! which was great because they were originally $115.00

Yikes....but they feel just like heaven when you have them on!

trying to decide

on a couple of fabrics for fall skirts....
most fabrics are by designer Alexander Henry...whom I love!
all fabrics can be found at Sew Mama Sew.....

I like this one....but could be really hard to match up on the seams...
and would be very noticeable if I didn't.

I love this one...it's almost a definite!

hmm...the one below is so cool!

This would be pretty for Autumn.

I love this one...the gray and white....plus the bits of red and yellow!
it would go great with my mustard colored Frye boots!

loving this one in cordroy

the next two may be too spring like.

the two below would be great for winter!

decisions...decisions!!!!

My new friend Heidi

I wanted to post some of my friend Heidi's wonderful creations.
Heidi and I did the Higgin's Beach Craft Show this past weekend.
We both did VERY WELL, lots of purchases for both of us!
I own the owl on the left!
I love the wool needle felted mermaids below....
I bought 2 for Azlyn, and Lilah's Christmas bag.

I loved the painted fish...and her signs were a big hit!

The lobsters sold like hotcakes! I have one of these as well.

I also bought 2 of these for the grand daughters.
Their faces are so CUTE!

below are some of my items that I sold in the crafts show

Check out her blog.  Oh ya, she has also written 12 books.
She is really SMART!

Crazy Crafter

The Annual Higgins Beach Craft Show is tomorrow.  Blahhh!!!!!
This is a huge show for me. I make quite a bit of money, and meet loads of great people!
I have a craft cupboard that I put out in front of my house ever summer....

It is full of stuff that I sell in my show.
It also gives the beach visitors an option to shop when they take a much needed break
from the hot sand.

This summer, I have sold so much from my cupboard,
that I am in a bit of a panic that I wont have enough for my show.

Higgins Beach glass necklaces.......to sea urchin necklaces

I have one more day to get loads of stuff finished!!!!

When your super busy, I have a great recipe for dinner.
It literally takes 2 minutes to prepare.....and 10 minutes in the toaster oven.
first ingredient...Indian Naan..bought from the local India Grocer

next Pre-made pesto (whole foods has a great one) also, pre-sliced mozzeralla

fresh tomatoes from the farm stand.....toaster oven 10 min.

SO GOOD! SO FAST!

a little nesting

The temperatures have dropped dramatically today. Yesterday, I was so HOT!!!!
Today, the air is a crisp cool.  When ever I feel that fall air, I started nesting...CHIRP.
Today I recovered some chairs, and I have a "new" Scandinavian dining table.
I had a 60" glass top table for years, I loved it but it was so big in my small space.
Now,  I have this wonderful teak rectangular table....it has 2 leaves that fold under the table...so it is very flexible!

The table had 2 chairs....with some less than desirable green slightly shiny fabric...

I had 2 of these fabulous Eames chairs, with one of my all time favorite
Maharam Fabric by Quatrefoil by Alexander Girard .

I thought about ordering more Maharam Fabric but it is crazy expensive,
even with my designer discount. I found this stripe at JoAnn's Fabric, at 60% off it was
only $12.00 a yard. VERY affordable!

I think they coordinate nicely!

I have also been spending some time in my studio creating some pieces with findings from the beach.

I should put them in my upcoming show.....
Higgins Beach Association Craft Show
This Friday and Saturday!
BUT, I really want to keep them!