DH had July 5&6 off, and we had no plans. Being empty nesters, we just got in the car and headed north with no real destination in mind. Our first stop was just as we crossed the border into Iowa at a welcome center in Lamoni, IA. Lots of interesting literature made us decide to see a few things in our neighboring state. Of course, quilting is always on my mind!
The first location we decided to check out was Winterset, IA. We saw some of the bridges of Madison County,
the house where the actor John Wayne was born,
and of course....Fons and Porter's Quilt Shop.
I did a little shopping there. Here's what I bought.
I'm going to use the top piece for some ruching....which by the way....I am going to try to show how I do my ruching very soon.... as I have promised. The white, green and pink are for a future project.Then we got back on the road and went north to Des Moines. We got stuck in a traffic jam there....the result of a 6 vehicle accident....so we decided we wanted a more relax country setting. That decision made....we headed east for the Amana Colonies. Amana Colonies is on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. If you are interested in learning about the history of this area, they have a website...http://www.amanacolonies.org/ We stayed in Amana, IA where we could walk to almost everything. There was something there to interest both DH and me. I went with him to a golf driving range early in the morning, then he went with me to a wonderful little quilt and needlwork shop later in the day. Of course, the quilt shop had a few things I needed in my stash! Here's a peek.
The blue is for my stash....the orange is for applique flowers. Since the Amana Colonies were so near Kalona, IA....a large Amish and Mennonite area.....I sweetly asked DH if we couldn't drive home that way. How could he resist a sweet thing like me?? He couldn't... and of course, I found another little quilt shop there. I also found a couple fabrics there that I just had to have for my stash. I also found two quilting stencils that I just had to have. I came very close to buying a set of quilt stencils for marking a whole cloth quilt. I had never seen those before, but in the end I decided they were a little expensive for a project that I wouldn't work on for years...since there are so many projects on my "to do" list already. These are the fabrics I bought in Kalona.
Both are for applique projects already on the "to do" list!I saw some of the most beautiful flowers I've seen in a long time in Kalona. I snapped a few pics and thought I would share them. Most of these were petunias. Sure wish I knew the secret to growing flowers like this.
I was careful taking my photos to make sure I did not offend anyone.Then it was time to head back home. It felt good to get home so I could sleep in my own bed!
2 comments:
Belvie, what a great post. I had fun just hearing about that trip! Your fabrics are wonderful!! and those flowers are gorgeous. I am terrible with flowers...well I've already shared that. That was sweet of your hubby to go to the Amish community for you. I love visiting the one in Arcola, IL. Thanks for sharing your wonderful finds.
Sounds like it was a nice little adventure. That is the nice thing about the children having left the nest - you can pop off somewhere without concern for school schedules and holidays and such.
A member of my quilt guild bought a whole cloth quilt from an Amish community somewhere that was just the front and back muslin already pre-marked by the women for her to layer and baste together and then hand quilt. She finished one and is now starting the other. I would love to try a whole cloth quilt but I think it would be hard to mark and buying one premarked would be nice. I'm not sure exactly where she bought it from though.
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