Midwest Trip

The reason I've been quieter than usual is that we were away for 11 days. Hubby, Hogan and I drove to Kansas City to spend time with our daughter and her family. Since we were in the car, and since I'd recently read blog posts about a quilt shop south of Atlanta, I made sure I had directions and the proper timing to make a stop. Though our stop at the quilt shop was quite brief - 25 minutes is way too little time to spend in such a nice store - I picked up several things I'd been looking for.

These rulers aren't stocked in any of the quilt shops I've been to in the past year, so I was happy to find them. I can't wait to try some designs I've been thinking about.

Another purchase was Quilter's Dream Request Poly batting. Though I typically use White Rose or Cream Rose for everyday quilts, and now and then a Hobbs 80/20, I've discovered this poly batt gives a nice texture to quilts that I spend many hours machine quilting. Personally, I think quilters too easily overlook the importance of batting to their finished quilt, so perhaps that's a topic for another post.

Anyway, A Scarlett Thread is in McDonough, Georgia. I could have spent hours perusing the notions and modern fabrics I appreciate being able to buy.

This is a unique feature that I've never seen before in a quilt shop. They're pre-packed fabric bundles for $35.

I always like to see the spectrum range when fabrics are arranged by color.

This is the cleverest way to spiff-up a ceiling. Paint sticks dipped and spattered in a rainbow of colors.

Love to see all the solids, and would have bought some if I knew what I am lacking. I don't do a very good job of keeping track of solids in my stash.

But the purpose of our trip wasn't so I could visit the quilt shop. It was to spend time with grandchildren who we hadn't seen since October. Celina was in school, so our shared time was pretty much limited to meals and a trip to Joann Fabrics where I helped her pick out a pattern and fabric for a school assignment. She's making flannel lounge pants.

We spent outdoor time with these two little guys.

And indoor time, with meals like this.

Tay 3-1/2; Aesa 2-1/2

And how these boys love Hogan! Since they don't have a dog, they are enamored with him. After some explanation about how to pet him, not bother him while he's eating, and how to throw Hogan's toys so they could play, the little boys both did very well. And Hogan didn't at all mind the extra attention.

One of the highlights of my visit was getting to spend an afternoon with my best buddy, Carla. It's remarkable that we met through our blogs and have since become fast friends. We had lunch together and then visited a quilt shop - naturally!

Whew. But it was lots of driving/riding. I managed to knit 3-1/2 dish cloths (ran out of yarn), appliqué those two quilt blocks mentioned in the previous post, and finish a embroidery of Matryoshka dolls. I'll show that after it's made into a pillow. 

It's good to be home again, and back into my sewing room. I've already been sewing BOMs and making plans for the MQG meeting next Monday. Linda