Bus trip to Lancaster, PA

Three things to be happy about:
(1) the crunch of a gravel path
(2) handicrafts
(3) keeping old traditions

Yesterday was the annual fabric shopping trip to Lancaster, PA given by the Faithful Circle Quilters guild in Columbia, Maryland.

And what a gorgeous day it was for a trip!  The weather couldn't have been better - it was sunny, warm with a slight breeze - no rain in sight anywhere!

As usual our first stop was at Sauder's fabrics in Denver, PA, and inside  - paint chips!


Several ladies who are doing Bonnie Hunter's winter mystery, Grand Illusion were choosing fabrics, comparing them to their paint chip cards.

It was fun to overhear shoppers who didn't know about the mystery ask "what's with all those color cards everybody has??"

what beautiful gourds and zinnias!  

After Sauder's we went to Shady Maple for lunch, what can I say but bring it on!  We always enjoy the smorgasbord at Shady Maple!  After a quick trip "down the hill" to the Shady Maple farm market and Goode's drygoods, we hopped back on the bus for the Kettle area in Intercourse, PA.

an Amish family driving near The Old Country Store

I'm fascinated by these scooters the ladies use; it can't be too good on their shoes though - they propel by pushing with one foot

My interest this trip was in bulking up the neutrals in my stash, especially since I raided them for the upcoming cruise with Bonnie!  Here's my haul:

Great restraint, right?  I bought a total of 12 yards of fabric for less than $75!  We got discounts at Sauder's and Zook's, which helped a lot.

I also bought some black and whites..

that piece on the right was on the last-cut table, just over 1 yard at $3.78 plus a 10% discount wasn't bad!

We had great time, and as usual we shopped til we dropped... I slept most of the way home!

I'm sew looking forward to next October...sew forth and sew on til later!