New England Visit

Such a treat to finally meet face to face with a long time online friend, Janet- Lee Santeusanio, award winning quilter and co- founder extraordinaire of the hugely successful Machine Quilter's Exposition. Her home and studio , Woodland Manor, are situated in the stunning surroundings of Hampton Falls, MA. and after a visit there we ate lunch at JL's favorite seafood place, delicious, of course I had to have a lobster!

From there DH and I drove on to Lake Winnepesaukee where we made a stop at Keepsake Quilting.

Bought a few little gifts for friends [can't show those!] and this fabric pack BJ asked me to get- it was the brightest I could find BJ! But to be honest my experience there was quite underwhelming, not at all what I had expected. It's a well set up store but no more so than others I have seen and the "help", well they mostly seemed to be doing their best to ignore me, not friendly IMHO. So, I wouldn't suggest a big trek out of your way to see it, no bargains to be had there.

We stayed the night in a delightful spot on the Lake......

watching this lovely sunset before feasting on a salmon dinner!

This morning we drove to Kennebunkport Maine, because DH said that for once he wanted to eat Maine lobster in Maine!

So we did!

I guess the Clam Shack is fairly famous, it's right on the bridge at Kennebunkport.

The dedicated cook in me found this autographed cook book for a souvenir. We wandered around the quaint town, it's definitely touristy!

From there we visited the Waldo Emerson Historic Inn and the tiny quilt shop situated in the Carriage House.........

where I purchased this blueberry fabric, had to have it you know, Maine is so famous for it's wild blueberries. They have a tiny selection of fabrics, mostly 30's I thought, and a few notions, but mostly completed quilt items for sale. I think they cater predominantly to the quilters on retreat at the Inn.

We turned south then to return to MA, making one more stop in ME on the way for Knight's Quilt Shop in Cape Neddick- that turned out to be my favorite of the trip.

Here I found some tools, Chaco markers and refills etc that I had not been able to find elsewhere, along with this handy needle keeper, a very strong magnet that is made from natural wood. I chose the Purple Heart one, I love the color of the wood.

This shop features a charity project sponsored by former First Lady Barbara Bush, quilts for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

I forgot to take a picture of the exterior of the shop but you can easily find it on the web here.

Oh, one more purchase, for our four legged little friend, all natural dog treats with cranberries! Can't go home without something for the Button dog!

And, I must not fail to mention the patience of my DH with my quilt store visits, very considerate of him to indulge my passion for quilt related stores!

Postcards from Aus!

The day before we returned to Sydney we made a mini tour of a couple of Colonial towns in the Hunter Valley region. I love this area with its many old towns & interesting buildings. No matter how often I visit I always find additional points of interest.
In East Maitland, old Town Hall shown above, Absolutely Quilts & Crafts was the first stop where I purchased an assortment of bargain priced Aussie quilt magazines.


No matter that they were older issues, I hadn't seen any of them!


Then onto Morpeth, a really quaint little town where every building has a story to tell & houses another unique store.


I spent some time & made a purchase in the Australian Alpaca Barn where many items are woven on site, & are made from alpaca yarn from Aussie alpacas. Some of the goods have a combination of alpaca, merino wool, silk etc, & some are also woven in Peru.


All the apparel is quite beautiful, luxuriously soft, warm, lightweight, elegant & altogether very wearable & the lady in the shop is friendly & helpful. In fact everyone we encountered in Morpeth was extraordinarily kind to us.
In the wine shop where there is a selection of Hunter Valley wines, I bought some local cheese made from yoghurt & flavored with herbs & olive oil, very tasty! The historic Sourdough Bakery had just closed- they were "sold out" unfortunately so I was spared that additional temptation!


Next stop was in Glendoon Cottage where I found a friendly proprietor & the only real Aussie fabrics I had encountered.


These are authentic Aboriginal designs & I have to tell you that DH encouraged me to buy not just one but two of these selections! I do plan to share some of these with my quilting friends.
This shop has a nice selection of quilting fabrics & a sale table too as well as patterns & other crafty items.


Our final night in Aus. this trip, we stayed in the beautifully preserved & restored old Manor House a few minutes ride from the Sydney CBD.

The home originally was built by the very first Lord Mayor of Sydney & the accommodations are beautiful, furnishings appropriate to the era & chandeliers galore!


This is the chandelier in our room showing also the elaborately decorative plaster ceilings common throughout the building.