The Ride Home

Sunday morning and another delicious meal and we were on our way towards home.   We left New Hampshire and headed to Deerfield, Massachusetts.   What an adorable village.   We toured several of the homes and had a fine meal at the Deerfield Inn.   Some homes had tour guide while others were self guided. There was a lot to see here and you would definitely need more than an afternoon.  Also part of Deerfield was the Deerfield Academy, a boarding school. 

Some of the homes, such as this one, currently serve as dormitories for the Boarding School.

Deerfield Academy Boarding School

Roses still in bloom in November 

Home of the headmaster of the Boarding School

Before leaving Deerfield we stopped at The Flynt Museum.    They had an extraordinary collection of needlework.   

Orpheus charming the animals, circa 1650. 

Charity, hope and faith, from England circa 1654 - 1660 

Above and below, close ups of Charity, hope and faith.    Look at those bullion knots!

Esther and Ahasuerus, London, circa 1650-1675

Gloves, English or French, 1675

Looking glass, England, circa 1660

Sampler stitched by Elizabeth White of Massachusetts (or possibly northern Connecticut,) 1677, age 10

Ruth Hawkins, age 10, 1692, London

Below are three pieces from the Deerfield Society of Needlework.   Only the best needlework was permitted to have the “D” stitched in the lower center motif.  

French waistcoat, 1750

And the special treat at the end of the display…….a casket.  Not just any casket but one stitched by Trisha Nguyen. Caskets were lidded boxes stitched by girls in the 17th century.  Completed caskets once stitched once assembled they held various personal objects serving as both their skill and their families wealth. 

Back in the car; home safely by 8 pm; crashed on the sofa; and then up early and off to my son’s to babysit for the week.   No rest for the weary and all my trip goodies left spread across the dining room table waiting for my return. I didn’t even bother to unpack, just took my suitcase as it was and did my  laundry there.   

Knowing that once I got the kiddos out the door in the morning, I would be free until pick up time at Day Care and the bus stop, I took my sewing machine with me as well as some projects.   Surely I was out of my mind.   I did not put in one cross stitch, I did not finish one strawberry, I did not cut one quilt block….all I managed to do crafting-wise was to do some paper crafts making these tags for an upcoming project idea.

I did manage to sew ONE quilt block on my 100Days/100 Blocks Quilt.   I was getting a cramp from trying to pat myself on the back for keeping up with this one since the start August 1st.  My missing the deadline has humbled me. I’ve got 13 blocks to cut and sew. It’s on my (long) to-do list for the week.  Looking forward to getting this sent off to be long armed.   Once the inner and outer borders are added, this will be queen sized and way too big for me to quilt on my machine.  Been there/done that and it wasn’t fun.  So far, this quilt has been sewn ENTIRELY on my new-to-me 1947 Singer Featherweight machine!  

First 80 blocks have been sashed and sewn together. 20 more to join and add; then inner and outer borders and done!  It has been a challenge some weeks to keep up but I have enjoyed the process.

It was a good week spending time with the kiddos but it was also great when 8 pm bedtime came around too!  Often, I was soaked from bath-time and just as often this Damma fell asleep when I laid down and read bedtime stories.

Miss Raegan is ready for picture day at school.

My little helpers as I was cooking dinner.  They pulled the bar stools over to the stove to watch me cook …..hot dogs of all things!

Finally Friday afternoon I was back in my own little nest I just kind of vegged out for a day and a half.   I saw that The Crown had a new season out so I thought I would chill and watch it.   I was about 5 episodes in and wondering why there was so many flashbacks……well seems I was so brain dead that I started watched from the beginning again.  Geez, it is obvious I am not the sharpest tool in the box.  

At the Shaker Retreat I managed so little stitching.  I did put in a few stitches on Garden of Stitches SAL.   I had caught up in September and then hit Row 18 and stopped.   But I am back at it again and have finished Row 18 and I am moving through the next rows easily.   I hope to start on Row 22 before this weekend. 

Stay tuned,  I already have a trip in June 2023 and October 2023 and November 2023 on the books with Stacy.   We will have to see what we can add to our list of must see’s along the way.

New England - Days 4, 5 and 6 Part Two.

So what are “Shakers” you may ask.   They organized in the United States in the 1780’s.  They were first called the “Shaking Quakers” because they actually shook their arms and bodies during singing to cast off the bad thoughts and ill will.  They practiced celibacy and lived in a communal, utopian society.  They were pacifists and believe in the equality of the sexes.  They were known for their simple lifestyle, their thirst for technological innovations, their music, they were avid gardeners saving seeds for the next season and their furniture making.  There is only one Shaker settlement still in existence today and since Shakers are celibate…..well, I need not say any more on that.   

The Enfield Shakers farmed over 3,000 acres.  In nearby Mount Lebanon, NY they had a successful seed business.   The Shakers were the first to package seeds for sale. They create innovations in marketing seeds, distributing them, packaging and cataloging which lead to lasting change in the horticultural business forever. 

They also did broom making.  On site at Enfield, is a building they that are renovating a building that will house the broom making.   They are currently renovating but allowed us in to watch the broom making process.   Did you know a good broom will stand up on its own?   Their’s all did.   They sell all the different varieties of brooms they make in the gift shop and they also offer a 3 hour class to make your own broom!

Also onsite, the 1854 cow barn…..mainly full of pigeons now.

In the next building, there was Shaker

 clothing on display as well as The Tempestry Project.

The Tempestry Project started in Washington State in 2017.   Because climate change is always a difficult topic, crafters used their medium to ‘chart’ temperature patterns and changes.  In Enfield, they knitted with worsted merino wool tapestries.   Using a key with a different color to represent every degree.  

Done in 10 year increments, they knitted a row to represent the average temperature for each day of one of the years in that decade.

It was surprising to me to see this visual.  I for one do believe that global warming is happening but looking at this nearly two hundred year record what I took away was more cyclical.     

Some decades warmer, some not; some decades with longer summer seasons.  Recently it looks like the slightest shift to longer summers with more higher heat days.

The original site had over 100 buildings which included  the “Great Stone Dwelling”. The largest ever Shaker building and now housing the Museum.  Due to declining membership they were force to sell  property in 1927.   Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, an order of Catholic priests, bought property and build a Chapel.    The La Salette continued the tradition of spiritual, communal life and agricultural.   They established a seminary and high school.  The property was sold again in 1985 by a private group of investors.  In 1997, the Museum was able to purchase the Chapel as well as other Enfield buildings.  

Still a beautiful building with an equally beautiful interior and stained glass windows, sits empty now.

The Museum tour offered some great finds.   Original “Dorothy” cloaks.  Typical construction with hood and cape.   These cloaks have “The Dorothy” labels inside the neckline.  One of a couple different cloak patterns they used.

Using this photo, the scene was re-created in the museum.

This 1839 hymnal contains songs, sight reading and singing drills. 

Shaker furniture 

In the Dining Hall there was several examples of perforated paper stitched pieces.

 

Walls of built in cabinetry.  Not a bit of wasted space!

 

Storage closet for dinner ware.

Their tables were set in sets of four so everything was in reach of each diner.  Shakers ate in 15 minutes and there was no talking at the table.   With everything within reach it wasn’t necessary to ask to have something passed to you.

Thick walls and their shutter ‘storage’ built in to the window casing.

The built ins found in the bedrooms.

Some smalls including a beautiful sewing baskets.

 

Looking out the window directly behind my ‘retreat seat’, beautiful sunset sky on our last full day in Enfield. 

Next up, our ride home and another great stop along the way.