Shoppin' Queen...



Chandelier that will be at Zimmermann's in Mora-
part of a vignette I'm creating!!!

I have an affinity for making friends with store keepers and UPS guys.  In other words, I love to shop – in person and/or online.

So it was no surprise when we got home from the lake that there were packages waiting for me – on the porch and in the mailman’s trunk.  Wa hoo!!!

I received a Dashiki, rolls of burlap, moss balls, wooden tags, a book, a chandelier and a great bunch of lavender!

Some of the supplies I received!

There is still lots to put away from our trip to the lake but tomorrow is another day.  Today I did a little gardening, put the grape jelly out for the Orioles (they are still around!), and made a nice steak dinner for us.

Usually our dog, Honey, made the trip to the lake with us.  But not this time.  Honey is still a part of our every day lives - we think of her and how she ate her blanket the time we boarded her when we went to the North Shore, how she chased that fox out of the yard and tonight I will have popcorn by myself - she used to have a bowl with me.  We miss her when the dog food commercials are on TV.  I suspect we always will along with Midnight, Shadow and Gorby.

Norma Jean, our cat, fills part of that void...she was so lonesome for me while we were gone that she won't stray too far from me.  She gets on her back legs and touches my arm as I type and lays on my leg when I'm sitting on the sofa.  She misses Honey too!  No one loves us as unconditionally as our pets love us...

Take care,
Bonnie

Reporting on Shopping Saturday!

Shopping on Saturday with my two friends, Pam and Lynn, was so much fun!  We were off to St. Paul to find a little quilt shop tucked on the side of one end of a strip mall.  Pam is a creative, clever long arm quilter who loves to create contemporary quilts.  Lynn and I are more conventional quilters...Lynn likes the Up North theme with darker, richer colors in her quilts.  I tend to like 30's and floral prints for my quilts.  So to say that Pam was in her element is diminishing the smile on her face as she entered this quilt shop.  Faye is the owner of Twin Cities Quilting and is also a long arm quilter.  Long arm quilters take our pieced tops and with the batting and back make our quilts come alive!  Well - not really breathing alive but they sure do look more lovely when the quilting is done.

Lots of samples of quilts hung on the walls and we were awestruck with the designs, colors and quality quilting.  We each found our niche at the shop and here are the fabrics that I will be working on.

I'm making the bottom one with the Baltimore Oriole

I love poppies and this will be a table cloth for my kitchen

After a great Mexican buffet lunch, we were off to another quilt shop.  Rosebud's Cottage in White Bear Lake where I had to have these fabrics.

I'm not sure what these fabrics will be when I grow up.

It was a very full day - full of laughter, food and shopping!  I got home, made supper and then took an unscheduled nap.  After which I finally finished my second locker hooked journal cover.  It is made of muslin and red pillow ticking -  nice and plump and feels good as you carry it around to record important stuff.

I added yo yo's and a large pearl button as a closure.

I had a great time and found such wonderful treasures!  Spending time with good friends is priceless...

Have you taken the time to enjoy your friends lately?

Take care,

Bonnie