Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Good Day for a Road Trip!

Yesterday the sun was shining on the snow and the air was clean and the open road beckoned. I talked my hubby into a quilt shop adventure!

There are two quilt shops west of me that have glorius reproduction and traditional fabrics and they are just far enough away that they require a day outing.

We left mid-morning, visited one of the them, Cobblestone Quilts, in its new location in the center of Townsend, MA ...


... and then headed further west to this quilt shop desitination for traditional fabric lovers, Pickering Farm, in Richmond, NH ...


... a bit off the beaten track but well worth the journey. Their fabrics are always $8.00 a yard and their pre-cuts are priced accordingly. Very pretty backroad vistas too. I bought some more 30's repros, a Scnibbles pattern for a table topper and some charm packs and border fabrics from Moda's lovely new Old Primrose Inn fabric line ...


... AND ... um ... er ... I just could no longer resist some of their 1800's repros, too. I have been wanting to make a pink/brown quilt with these fabrics for some time, so I now have a start my "stash" of these ...




I did buy a Miss Rosies scrappy pattern that would work well for these ... but I may just get my courage up and start a Dear Jane Quilt in these repros ... that would be a real challenge for me ... and I am sure it will take me a few years to complete!

When I was talking with the gal who cut my fabric at Pickering Farm she said that her husband has asked her if she really expects to finish all the quilts she has fabric and plans for in this lifetime and she said she told him, "Yes! Why not?" ... sounds like good-thinking to me!

Then we wandered up to Keene, NH, where we used to live and where my two boys were born. Always feels a bit like coming home to me even though we have not lived there for many years. This is just a nice small city in New England.

Turning late afternoon, so we headed back east on Rt 101, and I just had time for a stop before they closed to the Bunkhouse Quilt Shop high on the snow covered hill in Lyndeborough to check out their new stuff ...



This is where I bought the nice white TOT for the back-gound of my 30s quilt.

It was time for dinner so we noshed at one of our favorite spots, the Black Forest bakery/cafe in Amherst, NH ...


... my hubby loves the rare treat of a huge slice of their decadent Carrot Cake. I was too full for dessert, but I did have them pack a lovely lemon tart for me to enjoy today with a cup of tea.

After all that it was time for us to head home for the night ... where I enjoyed fondling my fabric purchases ...




"You can never have too many friends ... or too much fabric!"

:-) Pat








3 comments:

Scrapatches said...

Thanks, Martha ... Sorry, I did not mean to remove your comment from my blog! I am still getting hang of this Blogger stuff.

Thanks for dropping into my blog. We do enjoy the delicious food at the Black Forest Cafe and we made a special trip there last Easter to gather a Carrot Cake for our brunch buffet.

Hmmmmmm ... while I have your attention ... please bring back the Very Veggie Mac and Cheese! My daughter and I much prefer this to the Twisted Mac and Cheese. JMHO

:-) Pat

Colleen at Forty Something Bride said...

Very Veggie Mac and Cheese

My husband calls this a "next day" dinner. It's so good, you will want to have it again, the next day! This is a great way to get kids to eat veggies without realizing it.

450 g box Organic Macaroni
15 ml butter
250g low fat sour cream
500g mixed grated Canadian cheese
1 large tomato seeded and chopped
1 spaghetti squash cooked and shredded
1 cooked breast of chicken (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and 450g of organic Macaroni and boil for 8 minutes. Stir a few times to ensure the pasta doesn't stick together. Drain. Return to pot and add butter and mix to coat. Add grated cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, squash, chicken and mix thoroughly to distribute evenly.

Pour into an oven proof casserole dish, cover with lid or foil and bake in oven for 35 minutes.

Tip: Cook the squash the night before while you eat dinner, then scrape it and refrigerate it.

Scrapatches said...

Colleen ... Yum! This recipe sounds delicious! I love spagetti squash and whenever I cook it for dinner I have the leftovers the next day for lunch with just a bit of butter, some seasonings and sprinkle cheese on top, but I have never thought to add it to pasta. What a great idea! I am not very familiar with Canadian Cheese and it is not sold here. Since it is grated, I am thinking that this would this be a hard sharp cheese like our cheddar in the US. I am going to have to try this recipe for dinner soon! Alas, no squash in my pantry at the moment or I would cook it tonight.

Thanks so much for sharing this recipe ... :) Pat