There has been so much going on, that these photos were taken about a month ago.  But Maine in autumn is so beautiful, and the kids did SO well in cross country, that they deserve a blogpost or two even if it is late!  Paul and I (at my nagging) went for a country drive the morning of the championship meet.

A typical crossroads in rural Maine. Don't blink, you'll miss it.

Rabbit Path Road (dirt). I am not kidding. That's the real name.

Sometimes the trees open up and you get a vista like this one, to the west, with the russet blueberry barrens in the mid-ground

Another byway

And one of the funniest signs I've seen ever. Yes, Mainers DO have a sense of humor!

Across from Cows**t Corner, the typical deteriorating Maine barn (still in use)

We arrived at the Great Salt Bay preserve, where the meet was being held, early, so decided to go for a walk….How glorious can the world be?????

Breathtakingly, achingly beautiful--this former farm is now the Great Salt Bay preserve. Maine is wonderful in protecting its beauty; there are nature preserves everywhere!

As you can tell, a front of crisp and wet air was about to arrive

Looking across the lagoon

From the far side of the lagoon looking back to the old farmhouse and parking

LOOK at those clouds....time to pull out Charlotte Ziebarth's book on digital photo manipulation for art quilters and play with this photo!

Part of the Cross Country race trail, mown for safety (no mole-holes!)

About 3/4 of the way around the loop we walked, looking at the march and old farmstead

Tho not the best year for color, there are still spots of brilliance

Be still my beating heart....autumn is my favorite season!

Next post I’ll actually talk about the race!

This year instead of two league teams, we ended up with just one because we didn’t (a) have enough boys to field two full teams and (b) didn’t have coaches (volunteer!) for two teams.  That meant for the first time there were cuts (SOB) to the roster.  We really miss the other boys, but my goodness this combined team has really improved dramatically this year!   They WON the Harvest Cup tournament in York over the Columbus Day weekend, a first for our area, and on October 30 they beat the PAYSA team to advance to the semi-finals and finals next weekend!

It's a big wide field to run; that's our son as goalie in the yellow shirt, far right

Sometimes it is terrifying for the goalie, but better when your team is there to help you defend the goal (Pen Bay is in blue)

The PAYSA team (red shirts) was by far the best team we have played all season. In honesty, the outplayed us the entire game, dominating the pace and direction of the game.  But in the end, Pen Bay (short for Penobscot Bay, the large inlet halfway up the coast of Maine on whose shores you can find Lincolnville, Camden and Rockport, among other towns) United won by 3-2, holding off yet another surge by PAYSA at the last minute to hang on to the win.

Sometimes it is lonely being the goalie. And cold. It was so chilly--a high of about 50 with the wind blowing--that the refs let the goalies keep on their long pants! (In Eli's case, flannel holiday jammies!)

Another nail-biting moment as the other team attempts to score...notice how well placed the PAYSA kids are to receive the rebound

The ref just blew the game whistle--PenBay had held off PAYSA by 3 to 2!

A team of very happy 13 year old boys and very happy coaches, too!

The end-of-game shaking of hands of the teams and refs

As we were walking to the car, one of the PAYSA coaches was wonderful…congratulating our boys on a win.  We allowed as how, frankly, they had outplayed us the entire game, but he said yes, but your  boys were still able to make the points when it counted and win.  Gracious, generous…and I agree:  our teams would both improve if we could play each other more during the season.

But before we left the field, the boys surprised us (the parents walking across the field to the team bench) by stringing out in a line and racing across the field, bursting through and round us:

Team spirit--after the game, racing across their half of the field in unison (sorry about the overexposure, no idea what happened)

And racing back–yes, they covered the field!

And back...thatsa lotta boys!

We didn’t have a team photo of ALL the boys (one or another was always missing before), so we got a team photo….a line of kids and coaches, and a line of mostly moms armed with cameras snapping away madly…of the 12 or so shots I got, this was the best (no one making weird faces, blinking or looking down!)

A team photo--victory!

Last weekend I taught my intro to Machine Quilting at Maine-ly Sewing in Nobleboro, Maine.  The class was the first one in Maine where I’ve used the digital projector and “slide” (digital) presentation that I use for the national travel-teaching classes, and it worked as well here as on the road.  I believe fervently that new quilters need to understand that you must have the proper foundation to quilt well—it is more than just doing the machine quilting!  I use a painting analogy:  if you don’t sand off the cracking paint, spackle and prime the window frame, then it doesn’t matter if you have the best paint, painter and paintbrush in the world.  The paint job won’t be well done.  Similarly, you need to understand your fabric, batting, needle, thread, basting, and machine set-up if you are to achieve good results.

I used the new floral sampler in class (which I shared here and here), and several of the students gave it a whirl.  As usual, the class went by in flash–before I remembered to take pictures.  Students came from far and wide…as far as Bangor and Farmington, plus one visitor from Ohio, so I really appreciate the effort the ladies made to come take a class with me.  Distances here in Maine are longer than the miles because the roads are 2-lane country roads!

This student was following the grid sampler for free-motion patterns that I have taught the past six years (click to view larger) and is included in my book:

She is doing the perfect thing….tracing the design with her pen prior to sewing to get the feel of the design and how her hands will move:

Then, the actual quilting process:

And trying out the flower/big print process (I liked the fabric she bought so much I went up and bought some, too!):

I’ve decided I like the way my sampler turned out so well I’m going to make a BIG bed quilt using these colorful fabrics and white sashing.  I think the piecing will be easy, it will be colorful and pretty, and would be a perfect project for a future book…heh heh…..just don’t hold your breaths, there is WAY too much life happening here for me to get to writing a book soon.  Sigh!

When I first began blogging, I posted about my kids a lot, including bits and pieces of family life.  Then I got a bit leery…there are so many weirdos out there, and sometimes stalkers.   So I quit including stuff about the kids.  I miss that.  So I’m including just a little bit, and definitely blurring out the faces to protect the children!

Autumn is probably my favorite season!  I’m not wild about summer heat, and my birthday is in autumn.  I LOVE the crisp air as it returns, the smell of woodstoves burning, the crisp crackle of the leaves as they turn try on the branches and fall.  I love kicking my feet through the leaves lining the edges of our country roads (what’s a sidewalk?  I know they have them on all 2 1/2 blocks of down town, but really, sidewalks?).  Look at the screaming blue skies in this photo of the Camden boys at the starting line… you can tell from the bystanders wearing long sleeves that crisp air has arrived:

After my wonderful day with the Frayed Edges earlier this month, I drove from Bowdoinham (sorta southern-ish  to us…down south near Freeport, which is home to LL Bean and about 45 minutes north of Portland), I drove north to Searsport for a cross-country meet.  Our younger son is a born athlete as well as scholar…I swear there is not a sport on the face of the earth that he doesn’t want to try. And he is good…sometimes really good…at most of them!   After surprising us in spring with a request to try track, he wanted to do cross country this fall.

The cross country coach for the Camden-Rockport Middle School is Jim Morse, possibly one of the best of the best of teachers.  He teaches 6th grade social studies and, with his partner in excellence CRMS Librarian Kathy Foss, comes up with all sorts of amazing and wonderful ways to teach the kids. Last year Eli not only had Mr. Morse for Social Studies, but was lucky to be in home room with him.  Mr. Morse is also a jock, and on this day (you can see him in the next photo in the plaid shirt talking to the boys before the race beings) he was a bit achy as he had (WAY TO GO JIM!) just completed his first marathon the day before! WOW!  I could maybe bicycle 26 miles, but run it?  EEEEK!

And they’re off!

taken through the chain link fence...Eli took off so fast all you can see on the far right is his elbow!

Once again, the CRMS teams, boys and girls, trounced the competition.  Both teams have come in first in EVERY meet they have run this year!

Wow….Kathy gave US a major treat for her birthday!  Summers are difficult for the three of us who still come every month (Hannah is overwhelmed with family and her burgeoning business, see her blog here, and Deborah is now in Maryland, which is blissfully closer to Maine than was Texas):  Kathy has lots of family gatherings, Kate and I have kids underfoot.  So we are now skipping meeting in July, but reconvene in August.  The end of August is Kath’s birthday, and she happens to have a deal to use a waterfront cottage down the peninsula south of Damariscotta for a week.  This was a barter for a major quilt she made for a friend…I don’t know who got the better deal!

Here are a whole bunch of photos with captions…enjoy!

The owners found the old whale rib washed up on shore and added it to the front porch

We ate on a small patio off the living area...glorious!

The birthday girl snapped this photo for me (on left) with Kate (on right)

Bundt cake, berries and fresh whipped cream for dessert

the cabin, with the tail of my car on the left--Maine doesn't get any better than this!

sea glass wired to the dining table lamp shade

Lobster buoys that must have washed up, clustered under the pines

Kate’s Delectable Salad

Kathy made peanut-curry soup, I think the recipe is from Mrs. Cutko (kates MIL) --either that or from Kate's mom. It is SO GOOD!

Kate and I have been sidetracked by summer and kids, but Kathy actually had work to share. Here is her floss box..beautiful colors!

And a nearly finished bird of  from Kath:

And I have NO idea why the formatting changed.  I put the text into the same places, but clearly I am missing something!  Oh well…at least you get to share.  What a wonderful place to be:  in Maine, by the sea, with friends who make and love art and cloth and thread!  I am blessed.