heaven on earth

I know you've all been waiting to hear about the BIG weekend last week -- and here, a whole week has gone by before I actually had a chance to sit and blog about it. The kids are finishing up their last days of school, the rain has not stopped, and I took on the task of trying to paint Ava's room and complete it in five days time (which I successfully accomplished).

And so it's Saturday and before we head out to the state Jr. Olympic basketball competition (Edzo placed first in the 8-year-old division here in our town) I'll fill you in on the craziness that was last weekend.

Every year my girl Giuliana and I take off north to the Keepsake Quilting Annual Summer Sale. Last year we had to miss it and then spent the next twelve months in tears just waiting for the first weekend in June to roll around. So after much to-do (i.e., prepping the hubby and kids for a night without mom), G took a half day of work and we headed to Lake Winnipesaukee. We checked in to our sweet little hotel on the lake and treated ourselves to a nice dinner complete with mocha chocolate chip cheesecake. YUM!!

Now, if you are a quilter who lives anywhere within driving distance of Keepsake, YOU HAVE GOT TO GO!!! Like the woman said, heaven on earth! I'm pretty sure it's quoted as being the largest quilt store in the USA. It is GIGANTIC and has everything, everything, everything you could possibly need (or NOT need - hehe). I give you an example...

This is a photo I took of their BLUE WALL. But not even all of it -- it still goes on around the corner down there! JUST BLUE! And not even including blues that are batik, or Asian, or nursery, or reproduction or... they actually have separate sections for all of those. Get it? It's big. And every bit and piece of this store is just gorgeous. mmmmm. Heaven on earth!

Now, the Annual Summer Sale is not for the faint of heart. You have to be hard core to endure this sale. You would think a bunch of old ladies wanting to buy some fabric wouldn't really be an issue but -- oh yeah, it is. They are crazy! First, there's the line...

This is how it looked when we arrived at 6:00am. They come and sit in their stadium chairs and wait to be the first to get into the sale tent. Some even bring their husbands (oh I don't think so!) to help fold and organize their finds. Oh yeah - CRAZY! But that's just the beginning.

the line at 8:00am

One of the many wonderful perks of the Keepsake Summer Sale is their scrap bags. The girls from the shop bring out boxes of "scraps" and as many as you can fit into a bag is yours for $4.99. Here's a glimpse.

The girls drop boxes like this all up and down the "porch" and the quilters attack it like ants on a donut! It is MENTAL!! I want the good stuff too, but some of these gals are just down right nuts!

They scoop it all up and drop it in their bags then sit and sort it out later. G and I are a little bit better and a lot of us have fun with it, get to know one another and the style or theme of fabric we're looking for. For example, there was Margaret who was looking for fabric with flip flops on it and then the guy who was helping his wife find bits of orange. These are the good folk who make this sale totally fun! Me? I like a little bit of everything...

my pile of scraps

which I crammed into 3 bags -- well, actually 4 by the time we left!

G sorts her stash

The best part about this is that these pieces, in my opinion, are no where even close to being scraps. Sure, I grabbed some bits that were like 10"x12" but most of my goodies were over 1/4 yard pieces. A lot were even 1/2 yard pieces. And, Giuliana and I are pro's at packing the scraps into the bags. You can seriously tell those of us who have been to this sale vs. the newbies. There is a method to filling these bags and if you ever go, I will reveal my secrets. hehehe

All in all I got almost 6 yards of fabric in each of my bags. That means about 24 yards of fabric for $20!! And we're talking quality stuff-- Moda, Free Spirit, Michael Miller, batiks, homespuns, the works!!

OHHH!! EMMM!! GEE!!

And then... there's the tent.

The tent is packed with patterns and notions and all sorts of goodies! Keepsake is also the proud parent of Patternworks, their knitting shop, so there is yarn and knitting books and the like in here, too. They also have about 100 bolts of fabric marked down to $3.99/yard. On top of that, they took an extra 20% off whatever you bought in the tent. I grabbed a couple of things but didn't find as much as I have in previous years. But the yardage I grabbed was great!

Here is what I ended up coming home with (in addition to my scrap bags, of course).

I got some beautiful Moda and Free Spirit fabrics, sock monkeys on pogo sticks (boxers for Eddie), a fat quarter for a buck and some patterns. I love the sock hooks for Christmas time so I don't have to drive tacks into my recently painted fireplace. Oh! And see that blue fabric bundled up at the top? I WON THAT! In a raffle. It's a SEVEN YARD piece!! I'm not sure who makes it but... SEVEN YARDS!! Holy moly!



It was, of course, an amazing trip! And I love my Giuliana so much. We laughed, we cried, we drank a lot of coffee. It was awesome.



And, the house was still in one neat little piece when I got home.