Goats & more

No trip to Door County is complete without a stop at Al Johnson's. It's a scandinavian restaurant with a grass roof and goats that keep it neatly mowed. They serve lignonberries as a side dish. What a treat! I have no idea what those guys are doing on the roof. They look pretty official with their clipboards. Maybe they are on goat patrol.

Saturday I took a machine quilting class called Beyond Stippling. What a humbling experience. I always think it looks so easy until I try it. I have a Bernina with a stitch regulator so my stitches usually are even, but I just can't seem to make transitions well, so my squared off corners are kind of rounded and my straight lines are kind of shaky. I know the secret is practice, so I will have to make time everyday for awhile to get it right. The poor lady next to me did not get a supply list before class, so came unprepared. She missed the first practice session while rounding up fabric. Then her machine broke 3 needles and she had some problem with her bobbin. She changed threads on top and in the bobbin several times to no avail. When we came back from lunch, she had packed up and gone home. I can't say I blame her. I probably would have done the same.

A Frabjous Day

What a fantastic day! We drove to Door County today to check out the fall colors. We made the wine tasting tour which is always fun. Only I don;t recommend starting at 10:30 am (altho we were not alone since the parking lot was full, LOL), since I was already a little light headed when we left the first winery. Glad my hubby was driving. Guess I should have had breakfast. We took in 4 or 5 wineries and an Amish quilt show. Sorry no photos. There were about 40 - 50 quilts that were folded in half on two tables. Two ladies unfolded them one at a time and described the pattern, the quilt size, the drop, and any other pertinent info, including the price. All were handstitched, of course, and very lovely. There was one quilt that featured cherries, since Door County is known for their cherries and another was a white whole cloth quilt with a huge lighthouse stitched in the middle. The border had seashells, anchors and chain. It was really unique and well done. One quilt was sold while we were there. It had a black background with tan fans. At the edge of each fan, beautiful lace was inserted in an arc. Each quilt ranged from $800 - $1200. There were also lap quilts, wall quilts, placemats, quillows, potholders and doll clothes.

The highlight of my day was stopping for lunch at the Gibraltar Grill. The grill is owned by a former high school classmate. What makes this special is we went to high school 500 miles from here and we hadn't seen each other in 40 years. He took us to his house after lunch to meet his wife and daughter. It is fun to know that an old friend is nearby.

Triple Wedding

One of the news highlights for our area this week is the coming of the triple wedding. The president of the local college has 3 daughters who are getting married this coming Saturday in one ceremony. A fourth daughter is serving as maid of honor to all 3 sisters. Each couple is having their own priest, wedding cake, attendants, processional and recessional. I don't quite know how the dad is going to walk all 3 down the aisle, but I'm sure they have it all figured out. Two of the 3 sisters lives away from here, so the one bride who is local is doing almost all the planning. The other two say she does a fantastic job of organizing and they trust her taste and judgment.

The local Fox news channel is interviewing a different vendor each day this week. Yesterday I saw the photographer who is bringing along 2 more photographers so they can capture it all. Fox is also interviewing the caterers, the hairdressers, etc. On Friday morning the brides and grooms are all to appear on Good Morning America. What a hoot. I don't know any of these people but I want to be there. It sounds like such a special event. Fortunately the local news will bring it all to my doorstep.

The dad has a wonderful blog that he has been keeping for the last year. Some really special and poignant moments.

Thanks Luann

Luann gave me the great suggestion to add embroidery floss to this little scarecrow to give him hair. It turned out so perfect. Wish I would have thought of that! Thanks so much for the idea, Luann.

Had to cover the plants last night as we had FROST! Yikes. I am not ready for winter yet.

My favorite

My favorite quilt from the quilt show yesterday was this quilt called Playing in the Jungle. It is so cute and extremely well done. So creative. Each of the animals is so colorful and the quilter put lots of embellishments and extras into the design. A real treat to see.

I also took photos of the badges (?) that the prize ribbons were attached to. The name of the quilt show was Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Quilting. There was a traveling show of quilts on the American/ Red, White, Blue theme and the badges were made on that same theme.

Another Quilt Show

I had the great fortune to spend the afternoon at another quilt show. This one was really nice. Some beautiful applique. These are photos of some of my favorites. It was a very chilly day and one of the vendors told me that there was not a very good turnout. What a shame. The quilters and the guild work so hard to put it on. Hopefully Sunday will have better attendance. I went with a friend who is a beginning quilter. It is always fun to see the reaction to such beautiful work.