Weaving a Dishtowel and We Visit the Norman Rockwell Museum

Saturday morning Bob and I drove to Pittsfield, MA to a Saturday Farmers Market. Auggie came along and enjoyed the stroll around the Commons.

There is no other place in the U.S. That I have seen that can compare to a nice summers day in Massachusetts. Oh I know, there are hot days sometimes, and certainly miserable winter days, but yesterday we experienced a day like that of my childhood summer days. Low 70's, low humidity, and a very light breeze. Heaven.

We bought some purple string beans and some odd kind of zucchini, as well as blueberry muffins for a late morning snack, while people came up to us to ask what kind of dog Auggie is. He's becoming used to all the attention he gets in public.

Afterward we went to Home Depot for some plastic tubing and washers, and with a little drilling by Bob, I had myself some mini bobbins that will allow me to weave with two bobbins per 11" slim boat shuttle.  I put details on how I made them here, for those of you on Ravelry (and if you aren't, why not?)

I then spent the afternoon warping my 20" Ashford Knitters Loom in preparation to start weaving these Bronson Check dishtowels. There were 204 doubled ends and I used direct warping, getting my exercise as I walked 14 feet to put a loop of yarn on a peg, then back forteen feet to the loom for another loop. 204 times. The cloth is shown here with the mini bobbins in action.

This morning we fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine; to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. I have loved NR's work since I became interested in drawing in 6th grade. "He's not an artist, he's an illustrator," sniffed my artist friends, but I didn't care. I loved the way he told a story and often made me laugh through his depictions. So today, we went, we saw, and we had a great time.

NR's studio at the museum is set on a hill with a most gorgeous view.

We actually ended up joining the museum to get North American Reciprocal Museum privileges, which will get us into over 750 museums across the country! It should pay for itself in visits to about four museums, and we go to a lot of museums in our travels.  We may actually break even before we leave the Berkshires.  This is something that every traveler should sign up for.

Lunch was in a little place in Stockbridge next to the Red Lion Inn. The Red Lion Inn was our original lunch destination but it looked like it was a little too upscale for the way we were dressed.   We opted for Once Upon a Table next door, got to eat outdoors, and we were not disappointed. I had a Reuben sandwich and Bob ate a Salmon Burger. Both were super yummy.

Tomorrow looks like it may rain, so we'll be looking for an indoor activity.