Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Pictures of Barns along Hwy 52 in Minnesota


a barn on side road off 52 on the way to Zumbrota MN

A Typical Red Barn off hwy 52 in SE Minnesota

A Barn or Out Building by a Cornfield

The brick detail on the Silo is Captivating

I love the weathered look of this Barn

A Red Barn Advertisement

I love this Red Barn

Road Trip with my Daughter

Barn Located North of Charlotte N.Carolina

the wood shed maybe?

 Note the contrast on this Barn Door

The old Barn Door
Yesterday I took a Road Trip with my daughter Nancy.  It was a lovley day out, a little windy and cool but blue skies and clouds were abundant.  we went down on Hwy 52 towards Rochester MN to take pictures of the many Barns that are down there.  We did get a lot of good pictures and I will post some here.  Barns have always fasinated me - I love the color and texture of the weathered wood.  I took some pictures last year when I was in North Carolina of an old abandoned Barn and outbuildings. 

Monday, August 8, 2011

Pictures

I completed this Shamrock :)

this is a small daisy called "clock" that often was crochet by the children

I croched this scroll at the Workshop


enjoying our time at the workshop

Charlotte was jusc crocheting away
Pictures of my awesome time at the workshop

Last Week was an Awesome Week for me

Starting on Friday July 29 I had a great "Vacation" - I had decided to take the end of July and 1st week of August "OFF" from my daily routine and Enjoy the summer.  on Friday the 29th I took a bus trip to visit Quilt Shops for the "Quilt Minnesota 2011 Shop Hop".  I had a memorable trip and met a great bunch of ladies who love quilting as much as I.  I was supposedto meet the bus at the Mall of America at 7:30am - arriving at the mall by 6:45 I set out to locate the bus - well I went in front, down below and all around and couldn't find the lot - after making numerous calls  to shops that weren't even open at that time panic set in...I could not find the bus - finally I got a call from Charlotte @ Charlotte's Web Quilting in Stillwater.  She was able to direct me to the lot where the bus was to be.  Buy the time I got there the bus had left, I guess, because I could not find it.  Then I decided to travel to the shop in Stillwater to catch the bus.  Charlotte reassured me that they would pick me up later that eve at the Mall.  Well after a rocky start to my day I boarded the bus and had a wonderful time.  The quilt shops were set up for us - Charlotte's Quilting Web in  Stillwater, Bear Patch & Rosebud Cottage in White Bear Lake, Calla Lilly Quilt Shop in Blaine,  Millie P's in Anoka and Cottage Quilts & Fabric and The Noble Quilter in Elk River.  Each shop was a little different and each one had it's own "gems"  I enjoyed seeing all the fabrics, sewing machines and long Arm Quilting machines.  A wonderful day of travel was enjoyed and my purchases along with 5" squares and charms from each shop was treasured.   Later I met my daughter Beth at the Mall of America and after a visit with her and hubby Derek and their cat Remmey and new additions - 2 playful kittens- I arrived home about midnight. 

Saturday July 30th was spent at the flea market with my daughter Nancy selling our "Gently used Treasures".  It was a very hot and humid day and not a lot of people out in the heat.  Despite all efforts to keep cool by 1pm I was very overheated and had to call it a day.  I did garner some $'s from my sale before dropping my "stuff" off.    My gently used but unsold treasures went to the Goodwill drop off and I went home to sit in front of my fan blowing cool air on me while I sat and stared mindlessly at the TV movies.  I felt bad that I couldn't last knowing that Nancy really wanted to sell her "stuff". 

Sunday the 31st was spent with my friends, Deb & Phyllis and Deb's friend Jean at the Knit and Crochet Show in Minneapolis.  There were many displays of yarns, needles, knitting patterns and treasures abounded.  We met Steven Berg from the Yarn Garage & Steven Be's from Minneapolis, The Ladies from the Yarnery on Grand Ave were there and Maggie from Ireland was there with her patterns and shawls.  We met Maire Treanor, Author of Clones Irish Lace Crochet and Deb and I decided to take her class on Tuesday Eve @ Steven Be's in Minneapolis.  After the Show we went to Psycho Suzy's for late lunch and met some very energetic young couples.. we sat on the patio in the heat under the shade trees and enjoyed the river and fun conversation.

Tuesday eve, Aug 2nd, Deb and I went to the Irish Lace Crochet class - I was not sure that my hands would be able to tolerate the thin threads used and the action of crocheting itself but they did and I had a lovely evening at Steven Be's Shop down on Chicago Ave.  I bought her book and decided to come back on Saturday and Sunday for her All day workshop.  (I couldn't do Friday because I had a Dr's appointment to keep). 

On Wedensday I went to dinner with my friends "ladies from St Joe's" at "Dixie on Grand", we had a great visit along with a great meal.   On Thursday my Grandaughter Zuri came over for her weekly Sewing Lesson.   On Friday morn my Grandaughter's Zuri & Heather came over to hang out and my Son Earl and Fiance Rikkie came to visit before I had to leave for my Dr's appointment. 

Saturday and Sunday were 2 very relaxing days spent at the Workshop taught by Marie Treanor learning how to crochet the traditional Irish Mofits, visiting with 6 other very talented ladies and just enjoying the ambiance of Steven Be's Shop and Work areas. I did learn a lot about the history of the "Clones Irish Lace" from Maire Treanor's Workshop and will continue to use her book and create those Irish Lace Mofits to use in my own handmade Sewing, knitting and Quilting projects... 

Steven B's has and open Studio every Sunday - Brunch is catered and is a nominal fee.  the Amience cant be beat and the creative juices flow - I would love to go down at least once a month - let me know if anyone else would like to join me.

Today is my wind down day, my home needs my attention, laundry needs doing and my kitty needs to snuggle.  I will post pictures here and on my Facebook page sometime today.  have a good day all and a great week


Monday, August 1, 2011

A Fun Day with Friends at the Knit & Crochet Show

















Well it was a fun day at the knit & crochet show.  my morning started out with breakfast at Deb's then we went to pick up Phyllis and Jean.  it was a steamy day but the hotel was cool.  I enjoyed seeing all the Yarns and Wool Rovings and we got a ton of great ideas...it was great to talk to the vendors new and returning ones.  We saw Maggi who has great shawl patterns from Ireland & Met Steve who has a shop in Minneapolis.  Deb & I signed up for a class on Lace crochet on Tuesday Eve and also put our name down for a class that steve is teaching mid August....at his shop.  saw a lot of great patterns for scarfs and fingerless gloves and lots of different yarns galore.  Gadgets and gizmo's abounded - I loved the erognomic crochet hook with interchangeable needle sizes - and purchased a neat magnetic board to hold my patterns.  of course I did buy some yarns and we even got a treat bag with some yarn in it.

After the show we went to Psyco Suzy's for a late lunch and met some really kool kids sitting at the table next to ours. (they were in thier 20's) We laughed and ate by the river patio and did have a great time. On the way home we passed the Textile Ctr were they have classes on spinning and of course Polymer Clay and we stopped at the Cupcake factory for coffee and cup-cakes. :) got home around 6pm and enjoyed sitting in my cool livingroom looking at my purchases and contiplating my upcoming class on Tuesday Eve. The teacher is from Ireland and I do love her accent. I did get some pictures to share so do enjoy!