No, I'm not gloating. The name of our quilt guild is The Fan-Tastic's. And so, when it came time to name the picnic this year I dubbed it a Fantastic Farm Day Picnic. On Friday we had over 70 women find their way to the farm to come to the annual picnic. This was the first large outing we hosted here in Tennessee and while it was a bit of work to get ready for the event, Joel and I both really had a blast watching the ladies wander our land and take in the beauty that we get to enjoy every day.
So, who do we have here, you ask? Well, it just so happens that a few days before the picnic I got an email from Karen, my cousin from PA that I haven't seen in over 40 years. She and her husband, Les, were going to be vacationing at Mammoth Cave in KY and wondered how far away our farm was from Mammoth. You guessed it, after they left Mammoth they arrived here right in the middle of a crazy busy week. Not that we cared....I just felt bad that we didn't have a lot of extra time to spend with them. At least we had overnight to visit and catch up on our lives.
Then it was back to work. Here's the crew taking a break for some much needed lunch. When Lynne and Barb P. approached me about the possibility of having the picnic on our farm, I asked Joel if he would mind and we both easily decided it would be fun. Then I corralled Barb D. into helping as well. The day before the picnic Barb P.'s husband, Jerry, pitched in (as well as Lynne's hubby, Jim) and helped to load the 14 tables from the church into our trailer and unload them again here. Jerry was great at figuring out how to lay out the tables and squeeze 80 women onto the covered portion of the pavilion. Thanks, guys!
Early Friday morning Lynne, Barb and Barb showed up, ready to put it all together. It sure helped that we had prepped a great deal before the actual event. A few days earlier we got together and wrapped the Ball jars that had handles with a strip of burlap and red & white gingham. Lynne brought cute sewing themed pins to attach to each jar and both the jar and pins were favors for all the women. Plus, they used the jars to drink from during the picnic. We hope they liked them as we thought we were quite clever to think of something farm-y as a favor. giggle......hey, I told you we had fun doing this!
Here is the pavilion all set up for everyone's arrival. The one table in the foreground was askew while we waited for the hanging planter to stop dripping water. Oops! I had watered the plants earlier and forgot how long they drip. We put a mug at each place setting with a cute red & white straw in each one. And there were red & white daisies in large Ball jars as centerpieces on the tables. I wish I had taken the time to take a few more pics of the different areas we set up but I was kinda running around making sure everything was ready before 9:30 when the first guests arrived.
Off to the right you can see the round table set up just outside the pavilion. It had a chalkboard welcome sign standing on it with a box that contained napkin wrapped plastic ware. On the box was a label that read "Shovels, pitchforks and scythes". Bah-ha-ha-ha! Come on, you know that was funny. There was also a metal shepherds' crook hanger....you know, like the kind you hang a plant from. Instead, I hung a bucket filled with bug spray and sunscreen for the ladies to use.
Joel directed traffic along with Barb D. and after the ladies parked up and down our lane they began to wander around the farm. Pretty soon we had a mob in the studio while the girls asked questions about the building. Yes, I was reminded once again what a lucky girl I am to have such a fabulous space to play in.
And here we have 2 friends admiring the quilts we had hung on the line. Just how many different ways can you bring a quilt theme into a farm picnic? You'd be surprised!
I snuck away at one point to take a pic of just a portion of the cars parked along our lane. What a great turnout we had! All in all we had over 70 women show up.
Lynne had brought a microphone and equipment to use so the ladies could hear us talk about what we had in store for them during their stay on the farm. I was surprised when they handed the microphone over to me and asked me to tell about how we came to be on this land and explain what the ladies would be doing after we ate. And then it was time for the food.....and everyone lined up to begin sampling all the goodies brought by the group.
Here is our president, Stephanie, chatting with Joel while they watched the goings on in the shade of the pavilion. Joel and I were totally shocked when Stephanie presented us with a gift card with thanks from the guild for hosting the picnic. That was so unnecessary, but we appreciated it very much.
The week before the picnic I sewed an apron for each of the four of us girls using tea towels that said "Everything is better in a mason jar". I added some chicken fabric for the lower ruffle, and chicken wire fabric for the waistband. A little bit of frayed red and white striped fabric became the pocket and ta-da! Farm-y aprons! Here is my sweet friend, Barb D. taking a much deserved break to eat some yummy dessert.
And speaking of Barb......chuckle....she took the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and changed it around a bit to read "Joel and Debbie had a farm". Well, you know what happened next, don't you? She wrote up the song to include all the animals and their sounds we have on our farm and printed copies of the song and led the girls in singing every single round to the familiar tune. We really got a chuckle out of hearing 70 plus women singing about our farm animals.
Here is Barb P. singing along with the others. What a great day we had! After the meal the ladies wandered around the farm using the maps of the farm I had printed out the night before the picnic. It was a treat for Joel and I to watch as small groups of women wandered up to the chicken coop(Nancy Stewart came away with a shirt full of freshly laid eggs.....grinning from ear to ear as she showed them to me), and over to see the Civil War soldier grave, and down to the barn to check on the animals.
We even had croquet and badminton set up in the front yard. Although, I am not sure if anyone played out there because it was getting warmer and warmer with each passing hour. As the party was winding down I spied Nancy and Nance relaxing on the swing that looks out over the pasture and ran over to take a quick pic of them.
All in all, I believe everyone had a good time. We had lots of ladies tell us they would like to come back and do this all again next year. Hmmmm, I think we can make that happen. Thanks, girls, for your kind words of praise and admiration. We were totally humbled by your accolades. And a huge thank you to Lynne, Barb and Barb. The picnic was a success because of all your hard work and "Fantastic" (I just couldn't help myself!) ideas.
Taking a week to unwind now,
Farmer Joel and Farm Chick Debbie
