Who's idea was this?

Heading to our lake house in the Pocono Mountains to escape the DNC in Phildaelsphia via Burkholders Fabrics in Lancaster County turned out to be not such a good idea. We thought we could consolidate 2 trips to save time.

I have been asked if I had kits for two of my patterns, Fishalicious and Beachalicious.

Since I bought all the fabrics for Fishalicious from one quilt shop - Burkholders- I decided to make kits for this pattern first. Unfortunately, it really didn't save us any time on the road. It seemed like we were driving forever, but the scenery made it worth it. We just had to stop at this produce stand.

It was run by a young Amish couple whose produce was grown from their garden right behind it. This is the beginning of the season to buy cantaloupe, heirloom cherry tomatoes and corn. They really were yummy delicious.

The farms and houses near Burkholders are just magnificent and large with lots of stone. Here's a few photos I snapped.

 

 

The sky was my favorite shade of blue.

I found lots of the fabrics I used for Fishalicious, but for some of them I had to find substitutes. Here's the stack.

 

I will make the kits when I get back to my studio. I'm making up just a few kits to test the waters so to speak. I'll put them in my Etsy shop when they are ready. If you are interested, let me know.

I bought a bunch of their batiks at $5.99, a really great price and I just could not resist this fabric. It was just too cute.

 

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I Love Lancaster County

It was time for another lesson on my new sewing machine. I never complain when I have to drive out to Lancaster County. Fall has to be the most beautiful time of year. I could drive along these country roads forever. 

The reason for my visit was the embroidery class. I LOVE to give gifts with my friends and family's names on them. That's really the only embroidery that I do. I have a few items that are overdue and it's time I learned how to embroider with my new machine. 

Here's the place.

Here's everyone's machines set up and ready to learn. 

We got to pick out the color of thread that we wanted to use. 6 colors! Eye candy. 

This was the most amazing site. Stacks and stacks of Bernina sewing machines. Along the wall in the classroom are plaques dating back I don't know how long, awarding Hinkletown the top single location Bernina dealer in the world. I am not surprised. 

Now I can't wait to get stitching. 

Sunday In The Saddle

Today I participated in the Lancaster Bicycle Club's

 annual Covered Bridge Metric Century Bicycle Ride with about 2200 other cyclists

 

along with the Turkey Hill cow

 

A metric century is 100 kilometers or 62 miles.  There were other options including a 1/2 metric century(50km) and a 1/4 metric century(25 km).

 

The bucolic scenery in Lancaster County makes it a wonderful place to ride. 

 

The bonus was all the covered bridges that we got to ride through.

 

It was a rainy day.  These horses were the only ones smart enough to find shelter under a tree!

 

Statistics:

Jersey - Note the swirls

Jersey with the necessary rain jacket

 

Miles: 66.25

Avg Speed: 13.5 mph

Time in saddle: 4 hrs 53 minutes

Real Time: 6 Hours

 

Feeding A Quilter's Spirit

I am still unpacking from my teaching stint at MAQ.  It was a wonderful experience, as an instructor, to stay in one place and really get to know students over the course of 3 days.  I can't wait to go back next year and reconnect with my new friends.  my classes will be chosen by the board, so I don't know yet what they will be, but mark your calendars - July 18-20.

 

My friend Kathy flew in from Utah to take a workshop from me.  We met during a workshop from Lisa Call in Philadelphia last year.  She has been spending a few days with me, which has given me an excuse to leave my studio and visit some highlights of the Philadelphia area.  Monday we went to visit The Barnes Foundation.

This museum recently was moved from a Philadelphia suburb to the city amongst a lot of controversy.  Dr. Barnes, a wealthy scientist,  collected and arranged its contents, which includes a ton of paintings by Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso along with PA Dutch blanket chests and metal hasps, in a specific format to fit his view of art. He collected the art before it was popular.  His collection was not well received by art critics, so he turned it into an exclusive educational facility with limited access. He died in the 1950's.   Specific instructions were left in his will about the collection, that included leaving it in the suburbs.  It has since been moved to downtown Philly, as the culmination of a lot of wheeling and dealing.

 There is a great documentary about it called The Art of the Steal.

 

 I have been to see the collection in the suburbs a couple of times.  This was my first visit to the new Barnes.  Other than the cavernous lobbies with expansive seating, the collection is presented in an identical manner.  If I had been blindfolded and dropped into one of the rooms, I would not have known the difference. 

 

Yesterday, we just had to head to Lancaster County to check out the Amish and a bunch of fabric shops.  A couple of other women from MAQ joined us as we visited the best of the best.  We started at Burkholder's, then  stopped at Zooks and then The Country Store.  And of course lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, The Kling House, where sitting on the porch you can watch the Amish buggies clip clop down the street.  At The Country Store, we came across the Pennsylvania/New York Row By Row Quilt Shop Hop.  There are over 60 shops participating in Pennsylvania. 

 

Each shop has instructions for a row of the quilt.  This is the pattern from The Country Store:

 They also had a kit for the pattern.

 The theme for the rows is country fairs.  These canning jars are perfect for Lancaster County.

The we were intrigued by the shops participating in the Shop Hop.  We started our trip back home so that we could stop at one more - The Quilt Shop at Miller's.  Their row was a pinwheel pattern , and they also had a fabric license plate. We found out that some of the shops have them. (cost $3.99)

 

I think I need to make something from it.  Stay tuned.

 

Wednesday's Wanderings #33 - Fresh Produce

I remember the first time I ate an heirloom tomato.  It was a few years ago.  A group of us went out to lunch after quilt guild.  There was an heirloom tomato salad on the menu.  To be honest, I'm not a big vegetable eater, but I decided to give it a try. Wow!  It was unbelievably delicious.  My all knowing friends told me about a produce stand where I could buy them.

I stopped on the way home and bought a couple to bring home.  Two tomatoes cost me over $5.00, but I knew it was worth it.  My husband was skeptical and thought that I had gotten ripped off, until he tasted one,  We became converts.  Our favorite variety is Brandywine.

This week we made our annual trek to Lancaster to stock up on tomatoes.  I'm sure we will go again, but this time it was for lots of tomatoes to cook and save for the winter.  My husband just loves to cook.  He'll make sauce and roasted tomatoes for future meals.  This was his best purchase:

I don't know if you can see the price written on the box in the upper right corner.  It says $3.00.  Yes, $3.00 for a box full of plum tomatoes.  We didn't weigh the box, but it was heavy, really heavy, probably about 30 lbs.  I know where my husband will be for the next few days.

I love driving around Lancaster County this time of year.  Tomatoes are abundant and there are produce stands everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes.  Many of them work on the honor system for paying.

Another thing I love when driving around are all the hand made signs for selling the produce. 

Vegetable folk art?

I even managed to stop and buy some fabric.

Yes, this is fabric!

I'm not really sure what I will make with these fabrics, but you can tell I was in the tomato mood.

And of course we had to buy tomatoes to eat right away. 

 Brandywine tomato bruschetta was the star of our dinner.  Yum.

So my WW  is a tribute to summer trips to Lancaster County and all those beautiful and tasty tomatoes and those great signs made to sell them.

I could become a vegetarian. 

 They can eat cake.  Right?