If I Had My Own Blue Box:

With being under the weather and the weather being heavy, this was not my favorite Ag Fair. Though, I did realize I entered my first Ag Fair entry 30 years ago.
This year, Mom was swimming in blue. She did really well. I think we counted 7 blue ribbons and 1 white.

Butter was one of the categories new for Mom. She joined a dairy coop this summer, which supplied her with an ample amount of local milk. She separated the cream and fats herself. The quest for a butter churn started in May, if I remember correctly. She found a nice reproduction piece. Then she found an original bottom in nearly the identical shape. They look nice sitting next to each other in the living room. I’m not sure when or where she found her butter press. It sure is pretty. (So is the pineapple) She was worried the butter would get stuck. But, out it came.

I won’t even try to get the names of the preserves right. I really should have written them down. I know there is a pickle, corn relish and a jam that won.

Here is her pumpkin pie. She also did an English gingerbread which is very heavily molasses. I happen to love molasses. So, I enjoyed the uber-darkness of the bread.

Mom decided to enter two plants this year. The first is a scented geranium. It smells wonderful. The other is a rosemary.

I missed a photo somewhere of her 4th blue. I have no idea what that was.

I want to thank everyone who visited me and had their books signed at the Genesee Country Village and Museum this past weekend. It is so nice getting to meet those who I have corresponded with online as well as meeting completely new people. I met several wonderful people including some brand new reenactors that I am sure will have great futures in the hobby.

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful. From the doorway of my favorite pink building, the Dressmaker’s Shop, the weather was perfect. Saturday morning it rained and rained and RAINED! Everyone and everything was soaked. But, this was very welcome after a week of incredibly hot days.

The Dressmaker’s Shop is both a fun building to interpret and a pleasant place for a book signing. The interior of the front room is has just the right colors for a lively yet calming environment.

Before going any further – I just love this photo that Robin, the museum’s guest and shop guru, took on Saturday morning.  I was so excited to see she captured just how I felt.

Right across the street from the Dressmaker’s Shop is the Village mercantile, one of the Museum’s gift shops. Here Fanciful Utility was available for purchase. Samples of sewing cases and needle-books were on display in the case where the pottery is usually on display.

Here is a look at where I signed guests copies of Fanciful Utility. The table gave me just the right space for showing off some of the sewing cases and signing. As the day progressed, this also became a great space for designing pretend dresses with young guests. (Let me tell you that was an absolute hoot of a time.)

The millinery table happened by accident. I needed a place to put my bonnet when I was inside. Bevin needed a space for her bonnet when the rain came bursting from the sky. Robin wanted to see my winter hood. The sunbonnet was just incase I needed to go out in the rain. As it turned out this was a great assortment for talking to guests about types of millinery. We could talk about what they were made out of, how straw was comfortable in the summer, how the quilted hood was warm in the winter, how they sunbonnet helped shade the face and so much more. This also gave us the opportunity to talk about the differences between a dressmaker and a milliner. I just loved some of the questions people were coming up with.

One more photo. What do I do after the Museum closes and the visitors have left?

Find a shady spot….

I’ll share more photos of the event this week.

Today was such a lovely day. This was the first time I’ve dressed in mid-19th century clothes for the whole day in almost a year. It felt great.
This is where I spent the day:

This cute pink building is the Dressmaker’s Shop. It has two rooms and a half story above. With the front & back doors open, the breeze was wonderful and made the day quite comfortable. This is where I sewed for the day as I talked with visitors. This green chair is almost the right height for me.

Here is me trying to get a nice photo with the mirror. It doesn’t work so well by myself with a camera phone.

Today was the first of a series of book signings the museum will have this year. (I’ll get a list to share.) The author of Stitches in Time, Elizabeth Davis signed 3 books for me. As this was the quilting project Grandma was involved with, I wanted Mom & Lily to have one. (This is the dress I was working on this week. I am thinking of adding red or pink to the inside of the self fabric trim that goes around the neck, around the sleeves, and will eventually be in circles on the skirt.)

Next time, I need to bring more sewing. I thought this pair of sewing cases would take the whole day. They were done, sans wool pages forgotten at home, by 11:30.

I have to say, after getting so sick the last few times I dressed, I was very worried about whether or not I could make it through the whole day. I think it went just fine and I felt good. The only time I felt a little funky was after back from the gallery in the afternoon sun without a parasol. So, I just have to stay out of the sun. Considering the car said it was 86 degrees at 4:30, I think this was a pretty good me test.
I am really looking forward to spending the day in the shop again. I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. (A certain someone knew it was just what I needed.) I made myself a list of things to bring next time to show and talk about with visitors.
Now, hopefully Dan and dinner will arrive soon.