I’ve done Quilt Shows. I’m not that into them.

However, the past month has been very work intensive and while that’s actually a good thing, it meant that there wasn’t the balance of work and creativity that I strive for.

I replied, “okay, I’m game.”

Little did I know.

Tuesday morning I was skimming RSS feeds and saw a post from the MS Crafts Dept. blog about the show. This made me pause, it was full of Red? and White? Two colours I very much dislike? Well, I was still open minded enough to give it a go.

So, while I began to click around and hear more favourable buzz about this … quilt show, I still was not prepared.

Wow.

I’ve been in the Park Avenue Armory building before. E and I went to an antique book sale a few years ago. It was just a generic space with lots of booths and tables. I expected something similar.

A and I opened the large doors, walked in, and then stopped short.

Why?

We saw this:

I can’t find the right words to describe it. I think A reminded me to close my mouth because my jaw was hanging open. I started to have to remind myself to blink.

I had left my camera at home and had to rely on my (very good) camera phone. Can you sense the wonder? The scale? The beauty? The amazing curation of the materials by Elizabeth V. Warren, guest curator?

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole exhibit and what I learned from it.

I’m inspired by it in many many ways, most of them unexpected.

I’m touched by the generous gift Joanna Rose gave NYC for her 80th birthday.

I need more time to process it and find a way to explain. I’m sorry to tell you about an awesome show that is now closed. I think there is talk of it travelling to other places.

I can, however, with clarity say this now: If there is any chance it opens elsewhere and you have the remotest possibility in the world of getting there to go see it, GO.

You can see others photos of the amazing installation through the flickr tag 650quilts. Here is more information from the Folk Art Museum.

Thank you A for inviting me!

Located in an otherwise unassuming warehouse are lots of books that want a good home. Curious about this fun place? Check out the FAQ. This is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so donations beyond books are welcome. I hope to ship out a box of used printer cartridges today.

Yes.

Last Sunday, we attended the 2010 Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest indoor agricultural event in the Country (according to their website, and whoami to argue?).

The PA Farm Show is held each January in Harrisburg, PA at their very large Farm Show Complex and Expo Center. While it’s true admission is free, if you park in one of the designated places, there is a small fee, this year it was $10.

How best to describe it?

I think calling it an indoor State Fair would be the best. There are show animals and 4H kids. Cattle, goats, pigs, and an alpaca or two. Sheep are mostly absent, my city-degraded guess is because it’s lambing season. There are agricultural exhibits, the focus seems to be on sustainability — there was at least one wind turbine. There is a food exhibit and some crafts. A sheep-to-shawl contest exists as well, but it’s mid-week so I’m not going to say more.

There is also a large contingency of local businesses selling various things, some of it very commercial and some of it well, I can apparently sniff out fibre from at least 200 metres. I picked up 2 ounces of suri alpaca that’s hand painted into pretty colours and 2 ounces of icelandic wool from another vendor. Trust me when I say fibre is NOT the focus of this Show, it’s not MDSW or Rhinebeck. But that’s ok. I still enjoy it.

The largest downside? Crowds. We go on Sunday, the second day of public entrance and it becomes quite crowded (and depending if you step in anything, a bit smelly too). I hope one year to be able to visit mid-week and see the show without the weekend intensity.

Yes, there is a butter sculpture. Below are some of our photos from last year’s Show. We haven’t yet had a chance to process our photos from this year.

Another link of potential interest may be this page of PA Farm Show Facts and Figures.

The collection goes back and forth between Laura and Rose and I re-learned a good deal about the real family I had forgotten over the years. I enjoyed reading Laura’s writings for the Missouri Ruralist as they are a completely different sort from the Little House series.

Overall I think that Anderson did a nice job editing the collection together and I enjoyed reading it.

Shortly after I arrived in Denver last Tuesday night, E took me to The Tattered Cover. It seemed nice and expansive and unfortunately I was too exhausted from a day of travel to take full advantage of its offerings.

If you can, this is just a friendly reminder to support your local independent bookshop and public library.

Pennsylvania 2009 Farm Show

This past summer, we drove up to Québec and despite rain plaguing our entire trip, one morning we went to Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier. It is a very beautiful place and I wish I had done some research (and planning) before in order to properly enjoy it. E had done some planning, but I let him drive (both the car and the destinations) this trip. We purchased a proper carte (map), so I hope one day to return and explore more under more enjoyable weather.

It was a very busy place, with several school buses of school children picking up rafts and canoes to paddle in the Rivière Jacques-Cartier. Actually paddling seemed to be the desired activity of everyone we saw at the Welcome Center. We were one of a few with the intention to cycle around.

We biked a little. We watched some fish be released into the rivière and ended up choosing a trail that was out of commission about a quarter of the way in. Unfortunately, due to the terrible weather we experienced throughout the trip–constant rain and grey zap my energy, this short biking excursion (around 10km) was all we accomplished the entire week. We wanted to do a bit more, but because we just throw the bikes in the trunk, the spokes on my rear tire got bent all out of alignment and caused another later ride to turn into a walk.

I’m slowly processing all my photos, from this trip and in general. The wet and grey weather experiences this summer, caused me to take many photos hoping that at least one might be good. Processing them is tedious and I keep finding other things I’d rather do (such as Work). At this point, the trip was so long ago, I have to look up in my journal where we went and what I might wish to write.

As I slowly return to more PG writing, this is not necessarily a bad thing as it provides me material. I’m not quite sure what the schedule will be, but I hope to have four posts a week. We’ll see what the future brings.