Taking a Day

It's been a long time since I sat at a sewing machine for more than 10 minutes.  Today we took a little break and turned the Sew Sisters studio into a mini retreat.  Karen was the hostess with the mostest, greeting me, Bonnie and Shelby with cinnamon buns hot out of the oven and coffee...always coffee.

Then we were off to sewing.  I had a little baby quilt that needs to be delivered this weekend so I knocked that out on the Beast first thing.

Photo by Bonnie Hunter

Then, I pieced blocks that have been waiting patiently for months and months.  By the end of the day I had them together in rows...one step closer.  Karen and Bonnie were both mad piecers all day..piecing things with a go-zillion pieces.

Karen had vegetable beef soup in the crockpot and yummy foccacia bread for lunch and I brought Dewey's cake squares for the 3:00 sugar/caffeine reload.

It's been a long time since the three of us have had a chance to get together.  Hopefully the next time will come sooner.  We needed a day to laugh and sew.

And Shelby...she slept, helped me lay out my quilt top and barked at Max (Karen's sweet monster lab) and was just glad to be hanging with the girls.

A Whirlwind Tour

That's what I've been on....a whirlwind...or one of those Tilt-a-Whirl things I used to love so much at the fair...you know the one that would probably make me pass out now.

Here are a few places you don't want to miss if you find yourself wandering around...

the low country...

Accent Sewing - Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

I've known and loved Sheryl for many years and Bob has been there to help me out as a Bernina Tech.  They are both just the best kind of folks.  Their shop is full of wonderful things...

and then there's Abby, their daschundoodle...maybe the most wonderful of all.

Quilting at the Beach - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Lots and lots of fabric...

And lots of inspiration!

I was a little early getting to Murrells Inlet and forgot to pack my lunch so I was wondering around for somewhere to find a bit to eat.  Of course, what I really wanted was seafood...an oyster basket to be exact.  Right there near Accent Sewing was a little place called On the Half Shell...sounds like a place I'd find an oyster....and I did...but instead of a little restaurant, it ended up being a bar...mostly empty except the bartender and a couple of locals.  They were all twenty-something and were very apologetic about making so much noise playing Foosball.  I must have looked like their mother or something.  The reality of it is that thirty-something years ago, I was making too much noise playing Foosball just up the street.

I grew up a stone's throw away here...

Those were the days, my friend...


Meanwhile, we're back in the piedmont...

Quilt Patch Fabrics, Matthews, North Carolina

We came back from the low country via the Charlotte area and stopped by Quilt Patch Fabrics in Matthews.

 When I say "we", I mean me and Shelby who was along for the ride and got a chance to come in and hang out with the girls.  You gotta love that!  Janice and everyone else made us feel right at home and we had the best time.  If you want to visit a shop that feels like home...here's your spot.

Really, y'all...I meet the greatest people and get to go to the greatest places.  Not many people get to say that with their jobs, ya know?

Another wonderful shop in the Charlotte area is Sew What Fun! in Gastonia.  If you're roadtripping to Mary Jo's and you don't check out this shop, you're missing the best part...seriously.

You may find deals at MJ's but here you will find what you're looking for.  They have fabric....lots and lots of fabric...

the good kind...

and full collections.

Finally, on the way up to Mid-Atlantic, I stopped in Suffolk, Virginia at Quilt With Me.  This is another wonderful shop that feels like home.  Jackie and Amy are so warm and fun to be around and know their stuff... oh yeah.  This will become a regular stop on the way to the Chesapeake area.

Well, I have been to lots of other shops in my whirlwind tour and I did have more photos to show you but I dropped my smartphone in the toilet and now have the black screen of death.  We won't dwell on that.  We'll just think about all the great places and people we get to see next...