More Hexie Action

I had a reason for pulling out the flower hexies late last week, and working on that flower Saturday night (see previous post). I was preparing for a road trip and this is the small stitching I planned to take along for the road.

Needle, thread, scissors, templates, and bits of fabric were all that I needed to prepare a bunch of hexies for action. The dim hotel room room lighting turns white into yellow here, but you can see a bit of what the first day's travels yielded.

Can you tell where we went? That is Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, as seen from our hotel parking lot. Our Cleveland Guardians were in KC for a 3-game stand, and we decided on very much of a whim to go to a game. Because we took along my brother-in-law, I was a backseat passenger, which ensured my having lots of time to stitch.

We had a beautiful night for baseball. We had an easy walking path from our hotel to the stadium and the temps were comfortable. I'd heard about how beautiful the KC stadium is, and it was as good as described. Really attractive outfield features - waterfalls and fountains! - and the friendliest staff ever. We had a great time. We got an extra inning of baseball, too, and - best of all - a win!

Now, back to the hexies. My plan was to make 12 matching hexies to add around these small flowers. I'd made these small flowers ages ago, and they were just taking up space in the sewing room. Sometimes I just make random stuff and because I have no immediate firm plan or idea for that random stuff, I end up with little projects just waiting to happen. Proof: many of these hexies were made in 2017, and I have all manner of "plans" for them, according to past posts! One is reminded of the squirrel effect. I'm afraid that Squirrel Club is one I ought to join.

I had already added the next row of hexies to a few. The one I did on Saturday night is at the bottom of this pile. This all seemed very doable with very little effort while sitting in the backseat of a car for 10 hours - both ways. 

Was it worth it? Driving so far to see a baseball game? We think it was. Our seats were fantastic; the ticket prices were rock bottom (KC is having an off year); and we had a crazy little adventure. What better way to spend a couple of days? That's what retirement is all about, isn't it?

DH and I alongside his brother Mike.

I have continued making hexies and flowers; some progress pictures might show up here later this week. Now that we are back home, I want to return to working on the William Morris/Lil' Orphan Scrappy quilt. All those blocks are now made. I am working on outer units which (hopefully) will form a  zigzag outer border.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Day Trip to Indiana - Part 2

The first part of this quilter's journey appeared on Saturday's post, which you can read by clicking here. Today, I will share the second part of our trip - the store in Greenwood, Indiana, called Back Door Quilts. We'd planned to go back in the winter time, but were snowed out, so Friday was our reschedule date, and what fun we had! Five of us went to see what mischief we could find, and bargains, too.

Back Door Quilts did not disappoint. We had to make several u-turns to find them, but we made it and were well-rewarded with eye candy all over the store. Never have I seen so many samples made up and displayed as I have in this shop. It was a quilter's heaven, for sure. I saw in one of the display cabinets a certificate identifying them as a featured quilt in APQ's Quilt Sampler. I am going to dig in my stack of issues to see if I have it. Stay tuned for that.

I took a ton of pictures, so I won't waste your time with my talky-talk. Instead, I will just let you enjoy the same eye candy that we all enjoyed on Friday afternoon. Just look all those samples on display. It was really great seeing so many and it definitely gave us all ideas for projects we just had to have. You know how it is, I trust.

Can you guess that I also did my part in boosting the local economy here, as well as in Liberty? I have a nice little stack of new stuff all set to share with you tomorrow. I hope you'll come on back to have a peek.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Day Trip to Indiana

We left at the incredibly early hour of 7am yesterday to begin our 3-hour journey to central Indiana to visit Back Door Quilts. Five of us made the journey, and our driver Jan had an additional stop for us to make which was on the way.

Pohlar Fabrics is located just off I-70 near Liberty, Indiana. It is owned by Kenny and Rose Pohlar, and managed by Megan Pohlar McGuire - the whole family was there when we arrived, including some grandkids, too. Their website says they have been around for 25 years, but this fantastic building sure hasn't. It looked and felt brand new. It was spacious and filled to the brim with samples and products. Here are just a few pictures I took.

Friendly staff greeted us when we came in.

Embroidery thread in the foreground and all the fabric in the distance.

A wide variety of notions, patterns and samples.

Precuts of all sizes to suit all needs.

The back wall had thread and more samples.

A family-run business that makes room for the baby - the sweetest little guy!

None of these photos show the long-arm machines they have in the shop; I saw at least two. I think they must do a good business in quilting for customers, as I saw a woman come in while we were there and leave a quilt. After 25 years in business, I am sure their services are known far and wide.

And yes, I did manage to drop a few dollars into the local economy. I found several things that were on my list, and I will be sharing those in a few days. All the girls seemed to be able to find goodies to their liking, as well, and we had a fun show-and-tell when we got back in the car.

Tomorrow or Monday I will bring you the details on Back Door.
Happy Quilting, Friends!