Today was Day 1 of our Mainely Fun Quilt Shop Hop, and ten of us hit the road early this morning and headed south to start the shop hop. There are eight shops on this small circuit, and we visited five of them today. Two of the five I had been to before, and I found two more with a contemporary flavor that I really liked and will visit again.
We stopped about 2:00 for lunch at Mike's Clam Shop in Wells. They have an extensive menu of seafood, steak, and chicken dishes, and the food was really good. I had a scallop basket with onion rings and cole slaw. Best onion rings and scallops I've had in ages. I'm in the white shirt in the photo.
I was on a mission to find a couple of books today; and I came home with five, all new releases, plus several patterns, and a few more half yard cuts of pinks for the pink and brown quilt I want to make.
Calico Basket in Windham, one of the shops we visited today, advertises that it carries 7000 bolts of fabric and over 1000 books, and that's where I hit the jackpot. I was browsing their extensive book racks when I unexpectedly came across a brand spanking new copy of Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking. I thought I was going to have apoplexy right there in the quilt shop. I was so excited I could barely contain myself, and I walked around that shop hugging my book and never saw another thing in the shop.Liberated Quiltmaking was originally published in 1996 and has been out of print for many years. It has become the focus of a whole new style of quiltmaking, which encourages "liberated, unrestricted, outside the block" quilting. It has also spawned a blog ring and a number of blogs devoted to the method, most notably Tonya's at Lazy Gal Quilting. It is nearly impossible to find this book anywhere on the web, at least not at a price approaching anything close to reasonable. And I found it today at the same price it was available for after publication years ago.
I am going to bury myself in my books for the rest of the evening, then get up tomorrow morning and do it all over again!
Oh, I can'e believe you found Gwen's book at a reasonable price - what a Lucky Girl! I have tried to get my hand on it just to have a peek - no joy! Glad you enjoyed your shopping spree!
ReplyDeleteHugs - lurline♥
Omigosh! What a find! I've never seen the book myself, but have heard people rave over it on different blogs for months now. Lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a nice day to me, Sue, and to do it again no less! I wonder what you'll come home with today?
ReplyDeleteGreat find! Hope you find it liberating!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics....it was a fun trip...so much fun interacting with everyone...
ReplyDeleteFriends, Fabric, Food, and Books! What could be better? Glad you had a great time and found just what you were looking for!
ReplyDeletewheeee, that shop didn't know they had gold on their shelves. congrats on the find. hope you have a great time reading it and making liberated quilts.
ReplyDeleteIncredible! Lucky you to have found a reasonably priced copy of Liberated Quiltmaking! Have fun!!
ReplyDeleteOoooh - Gwen Marston!! Lucky you! I took a class from her a few years back - she is a hoot!! And, yes, her quilting style is VERY liberated and inspiring and eclectic and imaginative - I could go on and on!! Happy reading!! Would you bring it to Kay's on Friday?
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