Claude Moore Market Fair, Day 1

We had a good time today at Claude Moore's Market Fair!  The weather wasn't the best, with some rain showers, which made for a quieter day, but that also meant we could really visit with the folks who came out to see  us.  We got to chat about all sorts of things as we made colonial nails, modern bottle-openers and J-hooks.   While Jeff was forging, I also took the opportunity to see what else was going on around Market Fair.

Ropemaking: 

Learning about piracy in the 1700s: 

Fencing:  

Spinning, knitting, and weaving on a tape loom made by Paul Parrish, who sells the looms at his booth: 

Music and turkeys (and geese, earlier!)

Windsor chair-making:  

Potpourri-making: 

 

And, of course, blacksmithing: 

  

We'll be at Claude Moore tomorrow, 11-4:30 for the final day of the May Market Fair.  Please come out and visit with us.  We'd love to see you.

Claude Moore Market Fair is THIS Weekend!

The May Market Fair at Claude Moore Colonial Farm is this weekend, Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. - 4:30.  As usual, we will be blacksmithing for the event, and the whole family is looking forward to the fun.  Claude Moore is famous for wonderful artisans who demonstrate their craft -- if you want to see one of the best clay potters in the area, or an amazing basket maker...or the finest craftsman of Windsor chairs that we've ever met, please come on out.

Market Fairs are also a super kid-friendly event, with lots of great food.  My kids are already starting to discuss how many sausages (cooked over the open fire) that they plan to eat!   One of the great things about Claude Moore's Market Fairs is that they are small-scale, but have a tremendous amount of content in terms of craftspeople, entertainment, and food.  It's a wonderful combination that has worked for our family for years.  We used to attend the Market Fairs just for fun, long before Jeff started blacksmithing!
 

 

 

**These photos were all taken at various 2012 Market Fairs at Claude Moore.

My "Office" View

Over the past 20 years, I've had plenty of offices....from a beautiful wallpapered room furnished with a cherry desk and a window (I also had a secretary in that job!) to a government-issued cubicle of beige carpeted walls and no window.

I've got to say, though, that the view from Mt. Vernon has to be the best.   No matter what else is going on in my life, there's something special about walking down the gravel lane to work at George Washington's Estate. You simply can't beat the view.  And, when you add in all the history, it's a privilege, indeed.      

And, then, I get to chat with folks from all over about subjects I love.  You simply can't beat it.  

Photography Treasure Hunt (Post 1)

In the midst of all our "busyness" this month, I signed up for an online photography class.  I knew I didn't have time for it, but I also knew that if I continued to let other stuff get in the way of my photography, that path would continue.  And, so, I signed up for a month of Treasure Hunts.

Yes, I am behind on the assignments.  But, I am also taking my camera everywhere and am taking photos that I normally wouldn't shoot.  It all evens out.

So, I think it's a good thing....   These are some of the photos that I've posted:
  

 

  

 

Scenes from the Wye Colonial May Fair Demo

We had a lovely time at the Wye Colonial May Fair.   As Jeff described it so well afterwards, "It feels like we are demo'ing for family!"  We were very much looking forward to this demo and it lived up to our desires.  We'd been moving at a non-stop pace the week before, even to the point of Jeff flying home from business travel the night before the demo and us on the road to Wye parish in the wee hours of the morning, so it was very, very nice to have a demo that blessed us as much as we tried to bless others.  

The primary reasons we demonstrate blacksmithing are to teach and inspire, and the Wye fair is a wonderful venue for those purposes.  The fair is a community event, filled with folks who have come out to enjoy their community and each other.  The fair offers a concert, wagon rides, a May Pole dance, colonial demonstrators, tours of the historic church, kids' activities, a silent auction, a petting zoo, and plenty of great food.  I ate better at the fair than I had all the past week!

Since attendees seem to be there to spend the day, they have time to visit with us and learn a bit about blacksmithing..... and we get to learn all sorts of things as well.   I have plenty of notes to investigate further (i.e. CHOW, Londontown and "A Taste of History" to name a few).  The kids even got to make char cloth -- how cool is that?!  I was especially interested in char cloth since I'd learned about it during outdoor cooking demonstrations working as an interpreter at Mount Vernon.  I didn't make the char cloth with the kids, since I was busy interpreting for Jeff, but I did find time to discover that starting a fire with flint and steel is much harder than the pros make it look!

We were even able to take our dog along with us.  It was Xander's first demo, and he took the opportunity to be blessed at the Blessing of the Animals service.   He needed it, since he ate my phone earlier in the week! He was great at the demo, though, although he wasn't thrilled at his first experience with a fife and drums band.  

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Jeff demonstrated making a variety of pieces, such as leaves on hooks, trivets, colonial-style nails, and candle holders.  We also brought along a child-sized anvil and hammer, along with aluminum, so visitors could experience hammering without the heat.

   

  
We are looking forward to the first Saturday in May next year.  Please mark your calenders now!

Demo at the Wye Colonial May Fair This Saturday

We thoroughly enjoyed this fair last year.  Wonderful people and a lovely event.  We are very much looking forward to sharing blacksmithing with them again.  Please come out and see us!