Home from Smithfield....

Smithfield was SO great! Virginia is definitely one of my favorite states. The scenery is beautiful, the terrain is varied! And Smithfield is an easy 5 hour drive from Winston Salem.....This pic is of me and Thomas Jefferson, posed in front of the Smithfield Center, where the Quilting & Sewing expo was held!

There were three shops that combined to sponsor the Quilting & Sewing Expo, the first of many I hope! I had a great two days of classes, reconnected with some students that I've enjoyed previously (They are brave to come take another class from ME!) and met new students as well. People came from all over, and classes were very full, so I am really hoping this becomes an annual thing for the Hampton Roads area.

I also enjoyed the fact that classes didn't start until 12:30pm, and ran until 6:30pm....so I could get out in the mornings and see a bit of the town! It was a festival weekend of sorts in Smithfield, so there were fun things to visit like the Farmers Market, The Classic Car Show down main street, a reenactment of a 1760's day at court in the Courthouse (complete with costumes, and a drunkard being locked in the stocks!) good smells of things cooking from baked yummies to BBQ....topped off with the 5k HOG JOG! (Smithfield is known for its meat packing district, giving them the name Ham Town....you can actually smell bacon on the breeze on any given morning.. :c) )

I took a few pics, most of them are not in any kind of order, and my mind quite doesn't know where to start to write this post. Travelogue? Or Hexie Quilt Progress? Or...Antique Quilt Acquisition?! Maybe I have 3 days worth of posts here.



I took this pic off the deck at Smithfield Station, where we had dinner. Isn't the reflection of the boats and out buildings in the water just awesome?! Yes, again..it's a phone cam. You've come a long way baby! Dinner was fabulous! If you go through Smithfield, definitely do not pass up Smithfield Station.




This is a partial view of our classroom.....see that large window/glass door?! We opened it up and had the most beautiful fresh air come through, great light! I had to photoshop the pic a bit because it came out rather dark, but this was our inspirational view off that back deck:



I was so WOW!!! over this. Temps were in the 80-85 degree range. Humidity was low, it was just perfect perfect perfect! So yes, having the mornings to be able to be outside and enjoy the town was super.



Farmers Market! There was everything from apples to candles to soap to pumpkins, squash, gourds, home baked goodies, crafts..you name it..it was there!



I loved the displays and the colors of the produce and just the feel of being out on a gorgeous October morning. From the Market, I walked on down to the main street, where the Classic Car Show was going on!



classic car show, smithfield va

This was too fun, watching the men strutting around their rides like a bunch of proud roosters! If you can't view the slideshow..click through the link above and it will take you directly to the webshots album. I love the 1940s cars. Those are my faves! There were also lots of 60's and 70's GTOs, Cameros, etc, but you know? A car can't really be antique unless it is WAY older than I am, so those didn't catch my eye as much. If they happened during MY life time, it's just not as cool as something that happened before I was born!

This Monday morning is getting away from me already so I'll stop here and write again later!