Shelburne Farms, Part 1

At the end of last week I was pleased to help judge the Champlain Valley Quilters' Guild show at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. While I have been to the Shelburne Museum numerous times, I was not aware of the Farms, a 1400 acre working farm.

At about 8 AM, I was following Sally's car along a winding drive. At every turn in the road was something new and exciting to see. The mist was coming in off Lake Champlain and the sun was turning everything golden. As we rounded a bend, we were right on the Lake and then you see the mansion. And then you see: The Coach Barn.

Built around 1901, it is huge! We actually judged inside the barn. It is finished with beautiful wood, arched windows and some of the floors are brick. (I think my mouth hung open for quite some time!) It is said that late at night one can still hear the horses nickering and whinnying; one of the quilt ladies said she had heard them. This shows just a small portion of what was once stalls. Now there are special events held at the barn--what a fabulous place to be.

This is the inside of the courtyard, taken from inside a small enclosure on the front side of the barn. The clock works and strikes the hour. We were working on the quilts in an area to the left of the big green door.

This is taken from the green door looking out the arch to the Lake.

All these pictures were taken as I left about 5 pm. Here's the Lake taken as I was getting in the car. What a beautiful place. I must admit that the mansion didn't hold as much sway with me as the barns. Yes, I did say barnS. Next time I'll show you one of the others.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself--I still cannot believe that I was able to judge fabulous quilts in such a setting. As we were eating lunch inside the barn, I made the comment that the people who owned the farms would probably have fainted at the thought of eating in the barn! Nancy and I both agreed that as long as there was food, we didn't care if it was a working barn! (Rest assured, it was very clean and bright--and absolutely huge. Just unbelievable.)

Wait til you see the next barn! Stay tuned!

Hugs,

Sharon