The Shaker Tree in Garrettsville/Mayberry

My friend Kathy and I took a short drive out to Garrettsville last week to visit The Shaker Tree quilt shop and have lunch.  Garrettsville reminds me of Mayberry - I can just picture Andy or Barney cruising down the main street looking for jay walkers.   I love the small town atmosphere and friendly people.

It was a quiet day at noon at the Silver Crik Saloon, but The Shaker Tree quilt shop was jumpin' with a large selection of fabric along with many other gift items to see and purchase.  It is well worth the visit.  Randy, the owner, was so nice and helpful.  

After the quilt shop we moseyed across the street to The Village Bookstore to browse the fabulous collection of new and used books.  They really have a wide selection of children's books.  I bought two books and Ellen, the owner, offered me a free book, so I chose an American cook book to add to my collection.  Fun!

Up the ramp to the back of the store you can find more items

Click on the link for The Shaker Tree to purchase a kit to make the flag in this picture

After shopping the streets of Mayberry, I mean Garrettsville, Kathy and I found a little outdoor patio where we enjoyed our lunch.  kathy even found a recipe for onion soup in my free cookbook.

After lunch, around the corner, we found this interesting little restaurant and old Harley Davidson motorcycle . . . 

It's always fun to explore little towns and see what might be around a corner.   I'll be sure to travel back soon to the little town of Garrettsville and visit The Shaker Tree and The Village Bookstore again.  It just makes me happy!

Summer QBee Day

Yea, for Thursday!  That is the day I travel down to Plainsfield to quilt at Miss Carol's studio (Sweet Peas and Possum Blog) with my QBees.  Two of our QBees. Barb and Gina, will be heading back to work at the school next week.  I feel a tiny bit nostalgia for that exciting time of year when we return to school, but it quickly passes as I focus on quilting and enjoying my first year of retirement.

It was a productive day and I finished a quilt for my son, Earl.  He is a farmer and in the summer, sells corn at the market in Kent.  Since he doesn't have a computer, he won't see his quilt on my blog.

Earl and his niece, Toria

Toria by the bridge mural at the farmer's market in Kent.

The perfect backdrop for Earl's quilt is the corn field!

A winter quilt using Thimbleberries material.  This is the first quilt where I actually pre-washed the flannel material.  Miss Carol said that Thimbleberries is likely to shrink. 

. . . and a rail fence.

We were all productive!  Miss Carol was able to put together her Dancing Nine Patch even while helping all of us.

Miss Carol completed this baby quilt as an enders and leaders project . . . love the purple material that frames the blocks and the piano key border!

Gina finished up a quilt top for her mom.  Love this pattern of rail fence and pin wheels.  She found it in a magazine, I'll try to find out which magazine and add the information to the blog in case anyone is interested in finding the pattern.

Gina's Quilt

Barb and her friendship tablecloth

 Miss Carol spoils her QBees and brings us coffee to perk us up around 3:00 in the afternoon.  It's delightful since she grinds her own special coffee!  Check out the quilting tray!

Spending a day with QBees is better than a day at any spa.  We work out cutting and pressing material - laugh - and refresh our souls with sharing our life stories and ideas as we quilt.

Barb, packed up and ready to start back to school next week.  She is a school nurse.  Her mom, Mama Barb is next to her.  Snake River blocks are in the foreground.

Miss Carol and Mama Barb

I count my blessings to have such wonderful QBee friends and days of sunshine to quilt.
"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine." ~ Thomas Jefferson

The Old Creamery Fabrics and Quilting in Ellisburg, New York

Last week My sister Jane and I travelled to Tug Hill (Lowville area) in upstate New York for our family reunion.  It has been four years since we last attended and we were excited about seeing all our country relatives.  We arrived a day early, and what do you know, we found a quilt shop in Ellisburg, NY, thanks to my cousin Gertrude.  They had turned this old creamery into a quilt shop and it had a very quaint look outside.  Inside, we found lots of great fabric and a friendly welcome.  So friendly, my sister Jane almost bought fabric and she is not even a quilter (yet).  I'm working on that.

There was nice selection of Christmas fabrics and I found the perfect material for upcoming Christmas projects.

I purchased this traditional Santa and "happy" snowmen fabric along with a snowflake fabric.
"Snowman Christmas" by Edith Collection Creatif
www.bluehillfabrics.com

Guess who might like this fabric?  Mama Barb with her 100 chickens.
"Countryside Inn" by RJR Fabrics

After visiting he quilt shop, we headed to Barnes Corners, or as my mom always called it, "up home" or "on the hill," to visit our cousin Sherry at Louis restaurant.  There, we found our favorite cheese, cheese curd.  It is delicious and I hear it goes well with beer.  I love, love this cheese!  If you are interested in trying this so called "squeeky" cheese, here is a website from Lewis County New York.

www.gotgoodcheese.com

Left to right: My sister, Jane; cousin Sherry; my sister, Betty, and me

This picture taken in my cousin Sherry's yard reminded me of one of my favorite poems.  However, instead of chickens, she has horses, a peacock and a big, friendly Saint Bernard dog.

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens. 

William Carlos Williams

Columbus Shop Hop

I am really late posting about our super shop hop to Columbus.  Luckily, Carol from Sweet Peas and Possum covered it well on her blog with descriptions about each shop and lots of pictures.  We had so much fun that we are planning to do a shop hop again in the future.  Here are some highlights of the first day.

Bunny's Sew Fine Fabrics:  

Loved the cozy feel of the shopping in this little house.  There were rooms full of fabric and some great sales!

Quilt Trends Link:

Our next shop had a more modern feel, but lots of sample quilts.  I loved this place too!

The Glass Thimble Link: 

Our adventures continue at the next shop.  We were fortunate to have a comfy couch here since we had to wait for Triple A to come and unlock the car for us.  See post from Sweet Peas and Possum!  However, we never complain if we are stuck at a quilt shop!  Happy Accident!

Quilt Beginnings Link:

On to our next, and last shop of the day before happy hour.  We enjoyed shopping in Dublin in Quilt Beginnings.  They had an awesome collection of fabrics and a large classroom.  I was excited to learn that Bonny Hunter taught a workshop here!  Someday, I will attend a workshop with Bonny.  It's on my bucket list.

Happy Hour for the Shop Hoppers  

Barbie and I were really "happy."  This is what happens when two old friends get together.  Side-note:  None of us were driving!  We walked to this lovely little restaurant from our hotel.  We even had a designated walker.