Amish Weekend

Back from our first road trip! The weather was fantastic and made for a beautiful autumny experience. On Saturday we visited the towns of Sugarcreek, Walnut Creek, and Bolivar and met some lovely people along the way. First we stopped by the Sugarcreek Artisan's Mercantile (and town gym) and received some suggestions for how to spend our day. We went to the Alpine Hills Museum and had an authentic Amish meal at Beachy's Restaurant. After, we took a tour of an old working Amish home and ate some delicious fry-pies..mmm. There was a newborn baby horse - apparently no one knew she had been pregnant! There were some cute donkeys, sheep, Shetland ponies and piggies too.

Some fabric from an Amish quilt shop:

Yesterday I stopped in Joann's to pick up a couple of supplies, and an hour later, walked out with some mini alphabet stamps, textile paint, 2 yds of muslin, a walking foot for my sewing machine, and some quilt batting. That store is so overwhelming. I wandered aimlessly around the quilting section thinking I'd like to buy some quilting cotton, but had to give up because I didn't know how much and what colours I wanted to buy. Even after one settles on a colour theme, there are endless prints and patterns to select from. My anxiety dissipated as soon as I left the area.

The stamps were inspired by Whispering Pine's wonderful crafts - her attention to detail is incredible and her projects are so professional and classic. Although I don't know what I'll be stamping just yet, having these stamps make me feel like I too, can create similar wonderfully detailed crafts. What's silly is that I already owned some alphabet stamps but sold them at my yard sale thinking I would never use them again. I was wrong. Every crafter needs a set of alphabet stamps.

As if I don't already have enough hobbies, I am going to give quilting (basic basic quilting, it may not even involve joining two different fabrics together) a whirl. The foot and quilt materials are for the coaster project from Joelle Hoverson's new Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts book.

Not sure when I'll get to start this though, as I'd like to finish a few more projects I started earlier (second apron, jacket, monkey socks. . . the list is embarassingly long). Happy crafting!