Over The River And Through The Woods........

To Country Loft we will go!

Yesterday morning, 7 friends, bound together by the threads of quilting, ventured out into the relentless pouring rain, into a charming town in San Diego to visit what many quilters in this area call the BEST quilt shop around!  The Country Loft.  I have been quilting for over 10 years and have heard of this shop many times, but had not yet had the opportunity to visit.  What a treat!!!  Despite the terrible weather, our spirits could not be dampened, as we knew we were in for a wonderful day!  Our first stop was to be the farthest out, about an hour and a half from our town.  Walking through the doors of this period home, immediately set the mood for what was about a 2 hour piece of time that had each one of us dreaming of projects we would do, with fabric , thread and wool, and patterns, and books, that offered endless ideas, and also encouragement from other fellow quilters who loved the needle arts as much as we do!  We were like 7 little girls on Christmas morning.  What fun we had!  Our first greeting was from the owner who met us with smiles and a warm welcome, extending an invitation for us to go into the country kitchen and help ourselves to home made scones and fresh fruit and coffee.  

We each had a yummy scone and enjoyed some fresh fruit and warmed up with a cup of coffee before we began our shopping extravaganza!

And we were off..........................

There's our little J-bird getting right down to the nitty grilly of her shopping.  The owner opened up a big brown Kraft sak for each of us, and placed it by the front desk for us to leave our purchases in until it was time to check out.  This was going to be dangerous, I could already tell!!!!!

So much to look at, so many beautiful quilts and wall hangings, and runners, and table toppers.  Everywhere the eye could see.

Two of the ladies in our group had placed a book on hold at one of the shops that was to be another destination later in the day.  But lo and behold, not only did they have the book here, they had the author and artist of this book HERE in the shop, teaching a class and signing copies of her book!  What luck. What a treat.  What a nice lady!!  Renee Plains is the artist, and the book is called A Bird In Hand - folk art projects inspired by our feathered friends.   Anyone who knows me, knows I love birds!  I spend a good deal of time feeding, documenting and enjoying birds of all types at my house in Corona.   I bring binos on every trip I take and a field guide to identify and document birds.  I love them.   So even though I didn't know of this book, I was thrilled to buy it and meet the artist and author who wrote it.

Here I am with Renee Plains after she had signed my copy.

We almost look related in this photo.  Black and gray on, similar hair, she could be my sister.  I did get the chance to leaf through the book last night and I can't wait to make several of the patterns in there.  What a nice lady she is.  Go visit her blog.  It is called

LibertyStar

Every Day

 We met up with two other quilting friends at Country Loft who happen to live nearby.  LUCKY ladies!!  I had not yet met these two in person, but on eof  them, Tammy, has a blog that I like to read.  Ginger Patches is on my blog roll.  Check it out.  Her friend Janine was delightful and fun!  We continued to shop, for what seemed like only a few minutes, but in actuality was more like two hours.  And we could have stayed all day.  Here is Nancy and Janine, admiring a beautiful quilt.

  Below is a photo that someone took of our whole group.  Next stop, lunch.  I didn't take my camera out after this shop because it was pouring so hard.  I left it safely in the car.  We had a wonderful lunch, and then said goodbye to Tammy and Janine and the rest of us went on to Fat Quarters in Vista where we managed to find several other things we could not live without.  

Then on to Temecula where unfortunately, we had arrived too late. All of the shops were closed.  So next field trip will be just for the Temecula shops.   Can't wait.  Nancy, thanks so much for being our driver.  You have nerves of steel to have navigated us safely through the pouring rain and back.  We had a fantastic day!

 Left to right, me, Nancy, Linda, Jae, Debbie, Tammy and Janine.  I am anxious to see who makes what first!