Blue Hill

My brother-in-law told us how much he loved Blue Hill, Maine and that family was in the cemetery. I had to see for myself so we're on the road again headed for Blue Hill. Don't they look excited?Not one to miss a good pottery stop, we found Rackliffe Pottery. They were very nice and the woman showed us how they made their pots and how it started with clay from their own land. Her elderly parents still work with the pots. Her mother still presses on all the handles. Bruce was telling her that her fingerprint is now immortalized in all their pots.
We found these cute blueberry earrings.
Next stop was the yarn shop.
I have made a resolution not to buy any more yarn unless I specifically need it for a project. So now I just have to find projects! It's working for me. I needed some yarn for the belly of Sig, Rachel's crab.
I found just the yarn I needed. The shop owner was very nice. Most fiber people are, aren't they?
With some directions from Rackliffe Pottery, we found the Osgood Trail. Fortunately, there was a cop there and said that this was the original trail.
This is coming into Blue Hill. You can just see the ocean through the trees.


Did the above pictures make you car sick? ~ We ended up in the cemetery looking for relatives.


Back we go with colour just popping out. It's truly the beginning of fall and it promises to be spectacular!

Rockport Pottery

Rachel and I stopped at Rockport Pottery. My new casserole. Isn't it clever?Rachel's new all purpose bowl.


I'm like an advertisement for Maine!

Morse's Saurkraut

For literally years, Rachel has driven by a sign on Route 1 for "Morse's Sauerkraut - 7 miles." Who drives seven miles out of their way for sauerkraut? We were driving up Route 17 and saw a sign for Morse's only 2 miles away. That's close enough to check out and, boy, are we glad we did!Not only is it a deli with meats and cheeses of all kinds...ah, the Raclette!...but all the spices and seasonings you would think of associated with the Dutch West Indies trade market. Three times a week they make a run to New York for fresh bread. I have never tasted such pumpernickel...and the babka!! OMG!

Then there is the Kraut House restaurant that's open for lunch 'til 4:00 pm (except Wednesday) and breakfast, too, Thursday - Sunday.
Do I sound like an advertisement? Here we are arriving for breakfast with Tad for our FOURTH trip in a week...our third for the restaurant!
If you are looking for a hard to find spice, give them a call. Rachel found all sorts of sauces she needed for Indonesian dishes. They do mail order, too! Rachel and I rate this a four thumbs up...yes, we used all our thumbs.

Maine Island Rag Rugs

What an inviting cottage.Rachel and I take a closer look. Oh, there's Mary Ann to greet us!
And I have never been more warmly greeted. She flipped rugs out on the floor so we could get a good idea of what they will look like while charming us with life stories.

The tote bags she creates with her weavings are wonderful.
If you get to Maine, then this is a stop for sure:

Maine Island Rag Rugs
29 Rockland Street
Rockland, ME 04841

Business Hours - Open May to December

mainerugs@aol.com

Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery

Boy, do I have a great winery to visit when you are near Union, Maine!This is the front door of the Sweetgrass Farm Winery on Carroll Road. They have a website, too!
The equipment is where you can see it. It's amazing what goes in to the process a creating good spirits.

Not only do they make wine, but also ports, rum, and gin!

We bought our share of port: Cranberry Splash and Peach Splash. Brilliant!
What a loveyly setting. We almost hated to leave.

Agricola Farms Country Store

We wanted to stop at a roadside stand. I thought bringing a pumpkin back from Maine was a brilliant idea! Sensible, no, but still I would have a Maine pumpkin. Here are pumpkins!
There's Rachel checking them out.We went inside...

...and what a surprise. Not just veggies. The first thing to catch my eye was a small room to the right with a small loom set up...and wool...and needle felting. Too cool! There were all sorts of goodies: souvenirs, lamb meat, and goat cheese. I got the chive. Delicious!

There along the long wall on the right...YARN! All colours! Did I tell you Maine was cool, or what?! There were also scarves with designs wet felted on. There is a Japanese name for this but it escapes me. Agricola sells all the things the neighboring farms and artists produce. It's a wonderful store that I could spend all day in. We were so excited with our finds and purchases that I forgot the pumpkin!

Tomorrow is another day.
Love,
Scarlett

Romney Ridge Farm

What a bonus to drive along Route 1 and find a sign for "yarn". I knew I found the right place when I saw this sign. Yes, that's a pony. The sheep was behind me.Who knew a tiny building could hold so much fibrous deliciousness.
I found this lovely yarn for Rachel's crab.
Then I found these marvelous buttons to go with a cardigan made from my friend Martha's wool...a lovely natural beige. No picture of the wool but here are the buttons!
Do we look happy? Yes, I think so. Even Michelle got in on the picture.
Life is good!

LDI Harvest Festival

We arrived on Little Diamond Island and to the casino we went with our submission to the pot luck. Of course, Michelle wanted in on this picture. She was making sure there was no crab being injured during this dinner.
We drove around the island to see all the scarecrows. This was serious business because we had to vote which one we thought the best.


It's hard to read the sign in the picture. It says, "Island Goddess".


This was a trompe l'oeil wall we passed. Fantastic, eh?
There is a sailor down on the porch.



This scarecrow in the boat came in second.
"Singing in the rain" took first place.