chincoteague oyster festival

I've been somewhat hesitant to post this.  Even though the Chincoteague Oyster Festival sells out every year, usually at least a month before the actual event, I still feel like it's a secret and I don't want to publicize it further.  But it's ticketed, and I love all of you who take the time to read this (are there any of you???) so...what the hell.

We [as in my family] learned about this magical event from members of the mishpocha, who have been going for over 20 years.  The oyster fest is held every year at the Chincoteague camp grounds on the Saturday before Columbus Day.  It's $41.99, BYOB, and all you can eat.  This year, my good friend N decided to rent a house in Bethany and drive down to Chincoteague for it in honor of her 30th birthday (about 90 minutes away; for reference, Chincoteague is 3.5 hours from DC).  This is NOT an event for oyster haters, anyone who keeps Kosher, or those of you who are allergic to shellfish -- though we really appreciated having some of those people with us.  The event has multiple tents set up, each offering various permutations of our mollusk friends -- oyster fritters, steamed oysters, clam chowder, crab, and of course oysters on the half-shell.  You're allotted a certain amount of each per person, so the more people who wait in line with you, the more you get!  And you can go back as many times as you want.

The hard-working shuckers

Our first haul of the day!  30 oysters (there were 3 of us) and crabs.  The crabs are the only thing they run out of -- and after only an hour!

These are steamed and they are not Kosher.  But they were delicious.

The shell-recycling truck.  We ate all of the things!

People have a ton of fun at this event and are super nice.  And since it's BYOB, they just get nicer as the day goes on.  People also take their picnic areas very seriously.  I didn't get a picture of the Oktoberfest tent, where everyone was wearing full-on leiderhosen and other German garb, but I did manage to get the pirates.

That sign says "Arr-yster," in case you can't read it

So buy your tickets early and mark your calendars!  It's a blast.  Even if you don't leave stuffed and not wanting to face another oyster for a month or two (I'm just now getting to the point where I wouldn't object to eating them), it's a great time. 

so you want to learn the artsy things?

People are often intrigued when they learn about my crafty habits.  Some just give an eyebrow raise and change the subject, but most are interested.  And then there are a subset who will ask me where I've learned to do x, y, or z.

I've picked up things everywhere, but have taken some classes in the area and have a wish list of others.  Here is my guide, separated into places where I have taken courses and those on said wish list.

tried and true

1. Bits of Thread, Adams Morgan.  This is where I learned to sew!  I have taken both beginner sewing I and II (and I do recommend that you take both).  I also took a quilting class there, but it was only one session -- they've changed it to a multi-week course that I think is a much better format.  They've also got garment-making classes and even a hemming and repair course.  They keep their classes small so there's plenty of individualized attention.


2. Smithsonian Associates, Downtown.  The Smithsonian Associates is filled with all kinds of programming and classes, including a studio art program.  I took a hand quilting course there that I LOVED.  Even though hand quilting turned out not to be my thing, I learned so much from going through the process slowly.  The class was limited to 10 people and the teacher, Jeanne Benson, was AMAZING.  I'm signed up to take recipe-inspired applique with her in November/December.  Note: the classes are discounted for members.  I found that it was actually less expensive for me to buy an individual membership and take the class at that rate than it would have been to take the class as a non-member.

in the queue

1. The Art League, Old Town Alexandria.  The school affiliated with the Torpedo Factory, it has classes in just about every medium.  But....it's across the bridge on the dark side.


2. Glen Echo Park, Bethesda.  I went there to see puppet shows when I was a little kid, and now it turns out they have stuff for big kids too.  One of my parents' neighbors takes ceramics there, and apparently registration is a bitch -- you have to get there really early because things fill up fast.


3. The Corcoran, Downtown/Georgetown.  Much more of a traditional semester format, The Corcoran College of Art & Design has continuing ed courses in most of their disciplines.  Some are held downtown in the museum building while others are in their Georgetown building.


4. Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, The Hill.  Studio art as well as music and dance, plus classes for kids as well.


5. Washington Studio School, Kalorama.  Realistically, I probably won't take a course here because it's heavily focused on drawing and painting.  I am a 3D thinker.  You don't want to see me draw.  Which, I suppose, could be an argument for taking one of their classes.  Hmm.


6. DC Glassworks, Hyattsville.  I am DYING to learn to blow glass.  Inquire within if you'd like to jump into this one with me!

shameless plug

FINCH SEWING STUDIO, Leesburg.  Haven't been there yet (that will change SOON, even though it's way into the dark side!) but Nicole, another of the awesome ladies in DCMQG opened her own sewing studio in Leesburg.  Come learn and sew!  She's amazing.  And the space is to-die-for cute.

Am I leaving anything out?  Please leave a comment if so or if you have any questions!

Oh.

The sewing machine.  As you can see, I missed the FedEx guy this morning.  I am displeased.  But stay tuned!

out with the old

I was re-energized about this poor, forgotten blog yesterday at lunch by some work friends.  And I've decided it's go time, like for reals and shit.

The timing is fortuitous for a number of reasons that I won't go into, except for one: Carla, one of my awesome quilt guild friends and I are headed to the Fredricksburg Quilt Expo this weekend to BUY NEW SEWING MACHINES.

Why leave the happy confines of the city and delve down I-95, well into dark side territory on a Saturday, you might ask?  It's a legitimate question.  Nearly all stores that sell sewing machines carry only one brand -- maybe two, if you're lucky.  Which means that they want to sell you that brand.  If you know exactly what you want, that's OK, and it's great if you need to take your machine to get serviced.  But Carla and I aren't at that point of knowing exactly what brand we want, which would in the normal course, lead us to Pocono Sew & Vac, 3.5 hours away, but they will be at the Quilt Expo this weekend, along with many other vendors, giving us the perfect opportunity to test drive away and hopefully come away with awesome machines at great prices.

This leads to the question, though, of why I'm in the machine market in the first place.  It's valid.

This is Fred.  I haven't actually named him in regular life (though my new machine will get named, I'm sure), but for simplicity's sake I prefer "Fred" to "current sewing machine."

meet fred.

Fred is a Brother CS6000i.  He comes with tons of built-in stitches and at $139.99 on Amazon is a steal.  Fred's been an awesome first machine.  Easy to use, nice features like a drop-in bobbin, adjustable stitch length, and snap on feet.  But Fred is very light -- only 16.4 pounds -- which means that he's not cut out for bulky seams and heavy stitching...like quilting.

Fred's really been in action with me for about six months, which is way too soon to be having problems.  But a couple of weeks ago, he stopped working.  You couldn't even manually move the needle down.  We took a trip to the sewing machine hospital in Cleveland Park, where they performed some timing belt surgery.  Fred's feeling better, but it's clear he's not feeling cooperative with this quilting business.

The second major problem with Fred is the harp space -- the space between the right side of the machine (where all those lovely stitches are printed) and where the needle comes down.  It's really, really small, making  quilting extremely difficult.

I'll be happy to have Fred around while my new machine goes in for maintenance, so I'm not abandoning him.  But between the technical difficulties and trouble maneuvering anything larger than a throw size, I'm ready to make the jump.  It probably doesn't help that after you've tried someone's higher end machine, it's really tough to go back.

Hopefully on Sunday there will be a compliment post here!