The Gathering was great as usual

The Gathering in Port Hope was great as usual. These ladies really outdo themselves every year. As soon as the vendors pull in everyone spills out into the parking lot to help us unload and get setup. At the end of the day when we are all tired, these same ladies help us carry everything out to the car and help us load up to go home. A big thank you to them and to the rest of you who are organizing shows I have to tell you that it really makes the vendor feel welcome and appreciated. Thanks again. Oh yeah, and they bake and feed you all day. Love it!\
Lamburgers were terrific as usual and I was able to get Jasper his peanut butter dog bisquits.
I had my Noro knitting books on sale at the show and will leave them up for this week at 50% off. With the regular price for these books being $27.00 I think it's a bargain that some won't want to miss.
This coming Friday is our Hook In and is booked solid for now but we do have a waiting list if you are interested in leaving your name. We hook from 10 a.m. till noon for beginners on Wednesdays and then from 1-3 p.m. for intermediates at a cost of $5.00. Janice is there to help but she opted for this instead of classes at this time so that she can get things finished for the annual and yet you can still get some help in the meantime. It also allows you to take a day off if necessary and not miss a class. Thanks Janice.
Well, my baby boy turned twenty yesterday and from the look of him on the couch at 4:30 a.m. I think he had a good time.
Anyone missing a set of truck keys? If so, we have them. Let me know if you extra set is missing.
M.

The Gathering

I'm off to The Gathering in Port Hope tomorrow. Show times are 10-3 at the Port Hope Community Centre. This is a must attend show. What a great time I have at this show every year. They are the friendliest bunch of people you'll ever meet and share their knowledge freely. If you have any interest at all, take the time to drop by. Lots of vendors and if you are a knitter this is the place to find the unusual. I always pick up home made doggie treats for Jasper every year from one of the vendors. I've been packing all day and when I finally closed the van door I stood back and thought "gee, do I have to much"? Oh well, it's all in there now.
Hope to see you all there.
M.

Deseronto Storm Win Russell Cup

Apparently I forgot to post this? Wow, I guess I'm not getting enough sleep. Thanks to Janice for bringing this to my attention.
Rarely do I take this kind of time for myself but during the Shop Hop I slipped away early on the Thursday afternoon to go to a hockey game in Bracebridge. Not just any hockey game but game 7 of the Russell Cup featuring the Deseronto Storm and the South Muskoka Shield.
I am so glad I did. We won!!!!! Some of the fans were rabid but when our fan bus arrived I think we stunned them. Approximately 200 Deseronto fans made the trip either my car or bus and never stopped cheering our boys on from the moment they stepped on the ice during warmup.
We went up 3-0 very quickly and maintained the lead throughout the game. Final score was 4-1 for Deseronto. We arrived home at 4 a.m. and I was able to sleep for about 4 hours until I had to get up and go to work. The boys celebrated for 3 days and by the Sunday afternoon dinner for them at the United Restaurant in Deseronto everyone was tired out. I came home and went to bed at 4 p.m. and slept through till morning. The grin is still on everyones face. Travis has played on lots of great teams but you don't always get to win a championship and those boys are riding the wave. Good for them.
M.

Shop Hop huge success

Every year I do worry about how things will go and no one disappointed me this year. The Shop Hop was a huge success for everyone as far as I can tell. I am so glad. Lots of work go into these events and we are always left wondering what could be done better but things went very well this year. Thank you to all our regular customers who participated and a big thank you to all of you who drove quite a distance to come and support the hop. We really appreciate your commitment to quilting.
Next is The Gathering at Port Hope community centre. I'll be packing this week and hope to see all the spinners, weavers and knitters there. This is a great show for us. I like to go just to visit with everyone and the girls that run this show are fantastic. They help me carry everything in and out at the end of the day and then on top of that they also feed me. They are great cooks and if you have never been to this show it is an even you don't want to miss. The whir of the spinning wheels and lots of people bring their knitting and some of them bring their hooking. Hope to see you there.
M.

Quilters SHop Hop

For those of you who have been keeping track of Travis's hockey we are on to game 7 in Bracebridge against the South Muskoka Shield on Thursday night. I figure we should roll in about 2:30 on Friday morning but I will either be up from the win or tired from the loss. This may be the last of hockey for me after about 16 years so I have decided to make the trek to Bracebridge and cheer the boys on. Go Storm Go!
Tomorrow our Annual Quilters Shop Hop begins and will run until Saturday . Take an opportunity to visit the five shops in the community as we all have our specialties and are independently owned. I am always amazed at the number of people through the door lately that I have never seen before. Hopefully this is a good sign for the future.
Mango Moon Tibetan Handbags are bag in stock. They are beautifully woven and colourful and at $30.00 you can't beat it. Makes a great gift for any crafter, quilter, stitcher and hooker. Bags are in and the price is right. You are supporting women around the world when you purchase Mango Moon.
We have lots of quilting books that will be from 30% off to half price. There are even some very nice books for $9.99 and I don't think you can even purchase a pattern for less than that today.
We are clearing some ends of the bolt at $5.99 metre and fat quarters are buy four and get one free as always. We still have some of the Olympic Flannel in stock for those of you who are still looking for those fabrics.
I look forward to seeing you out to the Hop.
M.

Back to the Grind

Well, I am back from my weekend away. I had a great time despite the fact that we lost both hockey games on the weekend. One in double overtime and the other with two minutes to play in the game. I could live in Northern Ontario. What a beautiful place to visit. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be alot going on except tourism. If you can live off that then you are all set. I could not believe the number of people out shopping in Bracebridge on Saturday morning. It was like being in a very busy small city. Cars everywhere and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. I, on the other hand was the tourist just taking it all in. We stayed at the Sleep Inn, a very nice hotel that allowed the dog to come with us. Jasper was a very good traveller and Gilmour stayed home with Grandma. There was no fabric store or knitting store in town. Only places like Zellers or Walmart to look for this type of thing which really surprised me.
Cliff and I had a few hours to put in before Saturday nights game so we went to the Falls in Bracebridge and viewed the generating station and the falls were beautiful. At the far end, away from the falls little children were in swimming. Ah, to be young again. It was Freeeeeezing!
Don't forget that the Quilters Shop Hop will be happening this weekend. Every year it seems we manage to get some rain so I hope that it is a good weekend and lots of quilters are out.
Hope to see you there.
M.

Happy Easter

Today we stitched. Linda's piece is coming along beautifully. After much research she is really moving on it and it is very lovely. Her hydrangeas turned out really well and look like the real thing.
Mango Moon is back in stock. I received a new shipment of the Tibetan purses as well as some recycled silk and a very interesting skein of batik . It is a little wild looking but I have seen a vest knit out of it and it's really kind of neat.
Everyone must have been quilting all winter as I seem to be selling quilt backs and batts at an alarming rate. It is so nice to see everyone completing projects that I have sold them fabric for.
I find all the groups that we have meeting in the shop very satisfying. Knitters are turning out garments at warp speed and the Hookers are really turning out some amazing pieces as well as the stitchers who meet on Thursday morning. Judy has hand pieced several sets of placemats as well as quilts and Bad Betty finishing off her tapestries . I have put my smocking away somewhere in the storeroom and can't locate it but I did manage to get the binding on the puzzle quilt today. Fran we missed seeing you too.
This is the end of our hockey this weekend. If we win the next two games we win the Russell Cup and I can retire from the hockey circuit. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm taking my rug, my socks that I have just started and my Crofter DK sweater that needs finishing. If it is like any other trip I won't get anything done on any of the items.
The weekend looks like it's going ot be a great one so all of you have a blast and Happy Easter
M.