The Garden of Needles: Trip to the Pioneer Valley

I traveled to Massachusetts last November to visit my daughter and to run the Bemis-Forslund Pie Race which has been held at her school, Northfield Mount Hermon, every fall since around 1890 and is considered the oldest foot race in the United States. It was great to see my daughter and to run the race, especially since I finished under "pie time" and consequently won a freshly baked apple pie.

But with five days on my own with no household or childcare responsibilities it became a week of total rest and indulgence. The rest came from staying at the lovely Centennial House Bed and Breakfast in Northfield, MA where I was treated to delicious breakfasts every morning and equally delicious quiet every evening. The indulgence came from visiting a number of local yarn and quilting shops and from touring around the area which I found quite beautiful in the late fall light.

I found Pickering Farm Quilt Shop tucked into a restored eighteenth century barn in the woods of Richmond, New Hampshire. It is jammed full of cotton quilting fabrics along with wool for rug hooking and braiding, all beautifully displayed. I also stopped at A Notion to Quilt, which has a wide selection of quilters cotton, on my way back from a visit to the charming little town of Shelburne Falls.

Shelburne Falls Bridge of Flowers

I got my yarn fix at Webs in Northampton, though made the mistake of leaving myself too little time to do any serious shopping. Webs is HUGE! Besides the main shop in the front (where they offer nice discounts for purchases over $60) you can go into the warehouse in back and find even bigger discounts on fabulous yarns. So now I have at least one destination for my next visit. Another great stop was Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont. The tiny shop is in the same building as the processing facility and the earthy odor leaves no doubt that they are spinning wool. I picked up the yarn and pattern for Emilie's Hooded Scarf, a perfect, and quick, gift for my daughter who has been transplanted from Texas to New England.

The other great thing about visiting in mid-November was the short days which afforded me ample quiet time in the evenings to work on the projects I had brought along. I made significant progress on my parents' 60th anniversary quilt and now hope to have it completed in time for their 61st anniversary.