Playtime's Over

Print This Post Mike and the fire guys used to have a saying "playtime's over" when R&R days were done and it was time to go back to the flames. Melissa and I and the rest of our gang just returned from spending 4 days along the beautiful North Shore. Out destination was Grand Marias but we meandered getting there. Grand Marais smiled on us with perfect weather,sunshine filled days and gentle nights. It is a hard town to leave. Our last evening up there we traveled up to "Trail Center" (30 miles up the Gunflint from Grand Marais, a must go). A local fellow, a musician was home from Nashville visiting his family. After some encouragement he opened the old upright piano in the corner and rocked the bar with "Great Balls of Fire". Perfect end to a great vacation. One of those moments where we were in the right time and the right place. His name is Tim Styles and I looked...he has a website. Take a moment and check it out.
So for us it truly is "Playtime is over" as we prepare to host old friends and new for the "Great" Minnesota Shop Hop. I know many of you are formulating your travel plans. I fielded some phone calls yesterday regarding hours etc. We have a dear and valued customer who has family come from the west coast and they travel most of the state in the next two weeks complete with 3-ring binders, with ideas, patterns and sites to remember. If you are lucky enough you may run into them somewhere, they will be the three that are just having the best time. Here at "Seams Like Home" we are ready. The welcome mat is out. The coffee pot is ready. The Minnesota Fabric is the first thing you will see as you come in the door. If you don't have ideas for a project, believe me when I say, we do.
New to the shop this week. Apron panels and embroider able tea towels on the bolt. Fabric is RJR and could not be cuter. The newest "Snap Sack" arrived yesterday and in the spirit of the new RJR fabric I chose a retro summer look for the fabrics. Sample will be done by days end. Stop in and see. The "Snap Sacks" have really caught on. Fun, Quick and everything you need for just $12.99. You only have 3 more days of "Christmas in July" hurry in and get those projects while all things Christmas are on sale.
And then there is this. When we were in Boise this past spring my husband and I were visiting with some folks from Yellowpine Idaho when the woman mentioned to me that she was a quilter. We were 48 miles up the mountain, single lane road on the edge of the "Frank Church Wilderness River of No Return", I think you can understand the remoteness of this place. I asked if I could see some of her work. She graciously said yes and took me into her sewing room. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I saw was an early model Gammill on the frame and more shelves of fabric than I have ever seen in a personal collection. This wonderful woman was well into her 80's with a passion for quilting that picked you up and swept you along with her. She gave me a "show and tell" that was beautiful and inspiring. She loved to do applique and had quilts on every bed in the house. She told me though that her eye-sight was failing and that all the corrective measures available had been tried. She was no longer able to sew. She walked through that room though and touched her fabric as though she were planning "the next project". This was the lesson. Here at the shop I so often hear, "I have so much fabric, I don't need anymore" when nothing really could be further from the truth. If it is your passion, feed that passion. There is a woman in remote Idaho we could all learn from.
Till next time!