Getting Stitched on the Farm

Scarecrow Season

This coming weekend is the big "Scarecrow Festival" at Cushman Park in Bernardston. My "partner in swine" Michael, Co-Owner with his lovely, hard-working wife Kay of 7 South Bakery, is one of the organizers of the event along with his co-organizers in the local Kiwanis Club. I must admit, I'm not much of a joiner - I can never quite get it together. But I feel a great loyalty to all that Michael and Kay do because they work so hard and are so much fun.

For the second year, I decided I would build a scarecrow. I had visions in my head of a "knitting sheep" - what could be better for me to build - sheep owner and knitwear designer.

Well, things have gone awry to say the least......

Our good friends George and Yola, from NYC, came to visit this weekend. They are both incredibly talented artists and George is also especially handy and always helps me out with a project or two. (The Farmer prefers me to hire people in order to avoid a divorce...)

I cooked up a plan to entice George to help me. He agreed and off we went on Sunday, George, Julia and I and a pile of junk to build my "knitting sheep." Well, things didn't fair well. It certainly wasn't George's fault - he tried his best. It just didn't come off as I had hoped.


That there is a felted fleece (I washed one of our sheep's fleeces in the machine on hot w/ a cold rinse and some soap - an amazing transformation, if I do say myself), a sheep's skull I found in the field (after being eaten by coyotes - don't worry, I bleached it), a half of a wool sweater from the Salvation Army, two pairs of size 1 circular needles, and a pair of Julia's too small tights. I don't think I got my point across.

Today Kay said that people were walking around it, as far away as possible. There are plenty of other sane, pretty normal, what you would expect scarecrows - Willie Wonka, a Bride and her Bridesmaids, The Beatles on Abbey Road. And then there's ours.....


Pretty scary, I guess. But isn't that what it's all about?

So today, I attempted a "sunflower scarecrow" in the rain. I'm soaked, wet, and probably catching a cold. But I think she's quite nice - sort of a decaying sculptural statement.


It's okay - you can't think I'm nuts. But it was fun.


See all you locals Saturday at the big Scarecrow Festival at Cushman Parkman in Bernardston. Does anyone local read this thing? I think not........