Gourd Patch Festival

Before I tell about Saturday's Gourd Patch Festival at the Mayfield Art Guild, some better pictures of that cap/scarf to wear with a motorcycle helmet and jacket. Lexi spent the weekend with me, so I asked her to model it for me. She thought I needed pictures of front, back and both sides. (Isn't she a beautiful model?)


About a week and a half ago, Tyea called and asked if she could borrow my craft show tent to use at the Gourd Festival. When her husband came to get it on Wednesday, I gave him a brief explanation of how to assemble it. I wasn't sure how much he understood. Not that he's not an intelligant person, but I was told on Friday that he's not in the least mechanically inclined. Therefore, I decided that I would go into Mayfield early on Saturday and help set up the tent. When I got there, I learned that Tyea was going to use a different tent. Soon Pam arrived without her tent, because another member of the family was using it at another event. So we set up my tent for her to use. She was painting faces and told Lexi she could be her first customer - the first customer is always free. Lexi sort of latched on to Pam and helped her, as well as other vendors, all day. I was delighted to have her make herself useful.


She also found time to visit the kids' tent a few times. Ron runs this each year. He has a box of gourd pieces, as well as things like beads, pine needles and corn husks, and many colors of paint. Here Lexi is painting her first creation - more on that below.
It was a cloudy day, but except for a short sprinkle in late morning, it didn't rain. The turn-out was good. There was musical entertainment, including the gourd band from Murray State University. At noon, there was a gourdmobile race - like the pinewood derby the boy scouts do. Fred has classes at the guild, and I think at some of the schools, for kids (and adults) to decorate their cars using gourds. Some of them are quite imaginative.
I'm not sure who created this board, but a lot of people had fun taking pictures here. Adults had to either kneel or bend down pretty far. I think even Lexi had to bend a bit.
This is the first thing Lexi created in the kids' tent - a bowl of soup. The spoon-shaped gourd half is what inspired her on this. She painted the outside of it a bright pink. All of the ingredients do fit in the bowl. The ingredients are a mushroom (must be a Portobello, since it is large in proportion to the other things and is brown), two pieces of yellow squash, and two onion rings. Not a bad recipe! She gave this creation to me.
Later she made a mouse family, which she plans to keep for herself.
A ladybug which is for Mommy.
And an abstract piece she will give to her teacher. It could be used as a 'weedpot.'

She also made herself a bangle-style bracelet, but I forgot to transfer the picture.

I spent most of the day knitting and talking, and watching the silent auction table, reminding people that the four paintings on the wall were part of the auction, too. We stayed until the very end, then stopped at Domino's to get a small pizza for our supper. It was a long day, but I know we both enjoyed it.