Dog Days of Summer

It is HOT here.  Much too hot to do anything outdoors.  So that means I have plenty of time for sewing.  Or Cross stitching.  Or planning a nice fall vacation.

We started the month by attending the first birthday party of my great-niece.  She lives in Florida, so we don't see her often except on Facebook.  I don't often like to share pictures of myself, but her daddy grabbed my phone and got a few pretty good shots.  She's so precious.

On another day, I accompanied DH to a doctor's appointment in Baltimore, and he suggested we visit a nearby Quilt Shop.  Sure!  I picked up a Row by Row pattern and a couple of fat quarters.  My stash of dark/hot pinks is seriously lacking, and that's the color for RSC this month.  I'll be finishing those blocks later today.  While out and about, we had a delicious lunch at a deli in Baltimore, and then drove slightly out of our way to try ice cream at a creamery that we had just learned about.  It was well worth the trip.  Try the coconut ice cream if you ever get there    <3 p="">

The owners of the Creamery have planted a large field of sunflowers right next to the building, which was another reason for our visit.  The sunflowers were facing away from the sun (?) so the pictures aren't the greatest, but that didn't stop us from trying.

Bribed with the promise of a stop at Cabela's, DH also went with me to the Kutztown Folk Festival earlier in the month.  My primary reason for going was to look at the quilts.  They advertise over 2000 quilts for sale.  A few of our Guild members have entered quilts and done quite well.  The quilts are judged and the top 24 are selected for auction on the last day of the festival.  One guild member had two quilts in the auction, and one of them was selected as one of four Best of Show awards.  Simply amazing.  Unfortunately, the way the quilts are displayed was very disappointing.  They are folded so that you only see a small portion of each quilt.

After seeing the quilts, we wandered around the rest of the festival grounds.  There were crafts, demonstrations, and plenty of food.  I will go back again, and next time I'll spend more time looking at the displays and folk art.

a mule-powered ride

now that's an ice cream maker!

Yes, we're in Pennsylvania Dutch country

Have we been kayaking, you ask?  Why yes we have.

Because technically this is a quilting blog, and that's the real reason you're probably here, here are some token stitching pictures.

another scrappy quilt for our Sheriff's Department

My July stitching for Gifted Gorgeousness

I've also been doing some secret stitching, and continue working on some long term projects.  I plan to finish my pink blocks for RSC today.  A couple of friends donated some pink scraps to me in addition to the fat quarters that I purchased.  I also came home with a bag stuffed with assorted scraps that I've been playing with, and a large stack of homespuns that nobody wanted.  WHAT?!?  Okay, I'll take them if no one else wants them.....

And I almost forgot!  I attended Quilt Odyssey in Hershey PA over the weekend.  While sitting at a table selling raffle tickets, I had the opportunity to meet one of my blog followers!  How fun.  Thanks TR, I've sent you an email, and I hope we're able to get together sometime soon.

Be kind, always.     Sunny