Early Days in San Juan Bautista

This weekend I will get the opportunity to camp in a State Park where camping is not usually allowed as part of a "living history" event. How cool is that?
In the picturesque town of San Juan Bautista, about an hour's drive from here, is one of the 21 California missions which is now a State Park. Each year, the town has a festival called "Early Days" which includes an assortment of characters from the past. San Juan invites visitors to "meet the people of early California". There will be a Victorian ball, horse-drawn wagon rides, old-fashioned sodas and card games in the saloon, craft and cooking demonstrations and an encampment of mountain men.
I will have my loom and be part of the demonstrations, of course. I didn't get a lot of things woven in preparation for this event, but here are a few things I finished this week with the yarns I acquired last week at the weavers' guild swap.


And I have completed the first blanket bag! Last summer I purchased two wool blankets for the purpose of cutting them up and making bags. I washed and dried them twice and they produced a great, thick felted wool fabric. A few weeks ago, my friend Elise helped me make the pattern and cut and sew the first few bags.



I did a blanket stitch around the flap with black wool and added a strap. The bag looked a little plain and I had some leftovers from the strap, so I added a trim piece on the front. When I stitched this trim down, I folded it at top and bottom and left a little open "tube" on each end.
The top one then became a way for me to add a twisted cord to fasten over the button.
The bottom one will allow the owner to tie something on if he/she wishes.
The silver button is hand formed and decorated by my friend Larry.