South American Treasures

My dear, sweet husband planned our summer get-away to South America this year while the girls were at camp.  It was quite a trip--ten planes in thirteen days, two countries, three climate zones and only one quilt store.

Moai are enormous--this guy is about 90 tons!

Our first stop was Easter Island, land of the moai.  The Rapa Nui don't have much need for quilts on this temperate island, where the temperatures hover around 70 degrees all the time, but they have a thriving souvenir industry that makes fabric placemats!  So, we went off to the artist's market and found these:

No one is left who can read the Rapa Nui written language, but they do know you start at the bottom left corner and go to the bottom right corner, then turn it over and read the line above it.  You keep flipping the piece every time you get to the end of a line.

Of course, they all vary in size a bit, but that's what setting strips are for!

The next stop on our adventure was Santiago--the home of the only quilt store in South America.  Our tour guide, Hugo, said it was the first time in twenty years he ever had to take tourists to a quilt store. 

Pilar and the other quilters were very welcoming!

Had to keep in mind that any fabric I purchased had to be carried throughout the rest of our South American adventure, so I restrained myself.

The cotton fabrics are from Brazil, while the fat quarters and die cuts are American fabrics.

Going to take a brief moment and feature a fabulous picture my Paul took of Santiago the night we were there:

Taken from our hotel window in Santiago.

Will be inspired by this trip for a long time!

New Jersey Shop Hop 2011

It's one of my favorite times of the year, a quilting quest of sorts, where I drive all over New Jersey picking up charm packs from eleven different quilt stores. This year's New Jersey Shop Hop was the 10th anniversary and pink charms with darling buttons were available for every hopper.

My new stash of pink charms!

My DH plans the route carefully--one day (the long day) visiting six stores to the north, another day driving to the three stores to the south and the last day my sweet DH joins me for the remaining two stores down the shore.  In total, put about 463 miles on the van. Of course, this year's horrible rain made it a bit more challenging to drive, but mercifully, the trip was without incident.

Those who planned the Shop Hop didn't make it easy to pick a quilt pattern!  After a few nights of "oohing" and "aaahing" over the choices, we decided to purchase the finishing kit for The Village Quilter's offering, designed by Karen Dever and the Village Quilter staff.

Guess I'm still riding the wave of the basket themed quilt show....

 

An added bonus is a day at the shore with my DH, walking on Ocean City's boardwalk and enjoying a lovely lunch.  (Anything you eat at the shore seems to taste better!) 

Don't let April fool you--the sun is quite capable of a good scorching!  I know first-hand!

I finished the hop in three days and hope to win one of the wonderful prizes.  If not, that's okay--I enjoyed a mini vacation, lovely people and a date with my husband.  Already feel like a winner!   Besides, there's always next year!

New Jersey's 9th Annual Shop Hop

Today I finished my third NJ ShopHop--two days early! This year, there were eleven stores, as far north as Vernon and as far south as Swedesboro. Chocolate colored charm squares, quilt patterns, chocolate related recipes and pewter necklace charms were offered by each store.

Chocolate Charms

Mercifully, not only were the store hours extended, but they added a day. This additional day allowed me to work within my family's schedule. Hopped at six stores the first day, three stores the next and two on the third. My DH was able to come with me for the last day and we spent a lovely afternoon at the beach, walking the boardwalk.

After much deliberating, decided we liked the quilt offered at Calico and Cotton in Ocean City. Here's the finishing kit and pattern, Delectable Mountains:

Now I'm itching to make this quilt so I can quilt it on my new frame!

New Jersey's 8th Annual Shop Hop

It's springtime and that means "hopping" around New Jersey in my third shop hop! This year, the hop was scheduled during the kids' spring break, so rather than drag them over 300 miles, my wonderful parents took them for an over-nighter. The red charm squares are the perfect color!

Started collecting five inch squares, patterns, recipes and charm bracelet charms in Englishtown, then went to Morris Plains, Clinton, Pennington and Mount Holly the first day. My DH took a day from work (and made arrangements for the dog!) so he could go with me to Forked River, Ocean City and have a date night. After church on Sunday, we visited the last store in Haddonfield and turned in my completed passport for the prize drawing.

Purchased the finishing kit from The Village Quilter for the second year in a row--Susan has a knack for designing the perfect layouts. Of course, I haven't finished last year's quilt (where does the time go?!?), so I had better get going.

If you have a free weekend in April, consider participating in the New Jersey Shop Hop (http://www.njshophop09.com/). Each shop is situated in a "charming" town in New Jersey and you come away with a unique quilt project. (Sorry about the pun--just couldn't resist!)

New Jersey's 7th Annual Shop Hop

In spite of the cost of the gasoline, I managed to complete the shop hop! My sweet DH planned my route to be done in two days. So off I went, GPS and passport in hand and collected the charm packs. This year was different in that patterns for all the projects were offered along with silver charms for a necklace. As you can see by the picture, each shop offered a variety of green charms.

As a finishing kit, I selected the purple and lime creation by the Village Quilter in Mount Holly. Loved the way the accent color complimented the greens zig-zagging through the quilt. Always pleased with anything purchased at the Village Quilter--the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Susan DiBartolo has an exceptional gift of customer service that makes the shop always feel like a vacation in a fabric paradise.

Now that I have one more project gnawing at me, I should get something else done! Usually display a quilt or two at the June quilt show at Kirby's Mill in Medford, NJ and the Shop Hop quilt would certainly attract attention. Better get started!