Trip to Midwest

 I just came back from a trip to the Midwest with two of my friends.  We were 11 days in several states and it was more than I had expected.  So when I found out that we were going to Casey Ohio which was featured on CBS Sunday Morning show a few weeks ago, I was looking forward to all of the LARGE pieces. We made sure to see all of the pieces, had pictures taken with the Shoes, saw the wind chime, the ruler, the pencil, the ear of corn, the minion, and other pieces.  The people were so friendly and the merchants assured us tourism has boosted the economy.  There is a rocking horse which is currently on display elsewhere and will soon be returned to the town.

We took one of three road trips through country where there are quilt blocks displayed on barns, and spent time in Amish country where we visited the Yoder Farm and saw so much more than I have time or thoughts to describe. We toured two Amish homes, the barn, the schoolhouse and rode in a horse drawn buggy like these below.

In Berlin Ohio, we stopped at a grocery where the population is mostly Amish and the shoppers had arrived in the buggies you see above.  I think there were 20-30 buggies and the grocery was like nothing I had ever been in.  The food was wonderful and before we arrived here, we spent 3 days in Coschocton Ohio, where our friend was getting genealogy information. More about that in the next post.

"If we ALL did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally ASTOUND ourselves." ~ Thomas Edison

Yard sale table

This is just a quick note to follow up the promise that I would try to post the table and bench and chairs that we purchased for $30.00 last weekend and tomorrow is yard sale day again! Yippee!  Sad that we get so excited about finding some bargains isn't it? (the sheepskin and other stuff on the table were just items for sale that we did not want).  I also look for baskets and pretty cups (for under 25 cents) for a church group.  They take the baskets and fill them with new goodies they receive along with the teacups filled with teabags for cancer patients at the hospital. Sometimes when people realize where these items go, they will actually donate them. We have a very generous community.

Inspiration and scores

 Above is a quilt entirely stitched by hand and I emphasize the words  "by hand".  One of the quilters from the Encampment group pieced each small hexagon by hand, NOT using the English Paper Piecing method, which is most known to modern quilters.  Josie, who has been quilting for decades, completed this quilt in a few months and it is also entirely hand quilted.  A version of "Grandmother's Flower Garden", it is a queen sized quilt and the precision in the stitching is the experience of a seasoned quilter.  It is magnificent!

 Although the Mr. and I spent Saturday morning hitting the garage sales looking for deals, last weekend was a great one and above are some of the treasures. All totaled, we did not spend more than $10.00.  The two small irons for applique pressing and small seams were $.50...that's fifty cents and I got two large irons, both in great shape for $1.00 for both..$1.50 so far.  Below I found an old sewing basket, hooks for my closet for robes, a new splatter screen(the old one was coming apart), the little sewing machine music box, the "potty" planter and above the 3 hole punch.   All for less than $4.00.  Call me cheap ...but I will use all of these.

Yesterday our Saturday was just as successful...We have a friend who has purchased a new home, an older home which needs a lot of work.  Because he is a first time homebuyer, he has a lot to accomplish before he can move in.  He needed a drop-leaf table to serve six and we set out to look for something that would work for him.  The last sale on our trip, which was supposed to start at 10.00 a.m. was on our way home and we drove by early just to locate the address.  Early birds were shopping already so we stopped.  I don't have a picture as I used my phone and will try to get it transferred over to this blog, but there was a drop-leaf, with a bench and two chairs in pretty good condition for $30.00. I sent him a photo and he was pleased with the set so we loaded it up and took it to him.  The other great score was a Brother sewing machine for $20.00, in the original box with a note on it that read--too smart for us! I brought it home and replaced the broken needle and threaded it up and tried all of the stitches and it works great.  It is a basic machine, but it is lightweight so it will allow me to travel with it and leave my little featherweight here for smaller projects.  I have been hauling the embroidery machine to sew, but it is very heavy and not especially designed to travel and it is pretty big too.

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt