Out and about to New Ulm!

I've been so busy lately that regular blogging has just not been happening. Two weeks ago today, my friends, Laura and Sharon and I took a "day out" and headed over to New Ulm, MN. Yes, it has taken me two weeks to get around to writing about it. But here it is and we had a fantastic day!!
First, though.........if you are not familiar with New Ulm just go here. You'll learn all about this great Minnesota city and it's connection to Germany. Interestingly several years ago, I visited Ulm, Germany but had never been to New Ulm which was just fifty miles from where we lived at the time. Funny how that goes. Now I live just about 30 miles from New Ulm but even now, this was only my second visit. Years ago, I visited with my daughter, Collette and we are planning to make another visit next weekend. It's the Christmas theme that is drawing us back to New Ulm. On this day with Laura and Sharon............we were in pursuit of quilt shops. Imagine that?!  LOL!
Our first stop was The Thimble Box on Main Street. We have just arrived and Sharon is heading toward the back where she spied a Thimbleberries panel she had been wanting.

That's Laura checking out lots of brights...........

The samples in the classroom were lovely but it was this little vintage sewing machine on the worktable that caught my eye............

and then I loved this yo-yo pumpkin and his yo-yo buddies. That snowman looks like he's melting, don't you think?

Some of you may remember that I was planning to not buy any fabric for this year. I did say though, that if I took a vacation or some special trip, I could buy fabric. And so, I must tell you that yes, I bought something............the panel in the center below. It's a Christmas gift for someone so don't tell. And that makes it okay to buy because it's not really for me. :-)

Next stop was lunch at Joni's*Restaurant&Catering and it was really good. We all had grilled chicken sandwiches and enjoyed just savoring the time to visit with each other!

From Joni's we headed to Lambrecht's and oohed and aahed over all the lovely Christmas decor...............

And while there was no fabric at Lambrecht's, there was this wall of scarves that really wowed us. We happened to be there on the day of their Christmas Open House so the store was bustling with shoppers..........all women! And that's because it was opening weekend of deer hunting season here in Minnesota!! Oh, and if you are wondering did I buy a scarf. Nope, I didn't but Laura did. I treated myself to a really pretty necklace that I'm saving for Christmas. I might have to buy a scarf when I'm in New Ulm with daughter, Collette.......... :-)

 
The second quilt shop that we visited was Spinning Spools. The entrance is that arbor covered walk-way and to the right of Laura and Sharon there is a lovely garden. I'm sure it's prettier when in full bloom but it was still lovely even in autumn.

Shop owner Val can be seen at her cutting counter. To check out her shop on-line, just go  here. And yes, I bought a fat quarter here and it's a gift that I can't show you or someone will know it's for them! As we were leaving the shop, Val gave us a card for craft shows that were being held in New Ulm that weekend. They were at various homes and businesses and the event was called "Gnome Made". Cute, huh!
One of the craft sales was at the Lind House. If you get a chance to visit New Ulm, you will really enjoy the homes and architecture on the cities streets.

The Lind House is available for events but is not open to the public on a regular basis so this was a treat to visit the home. The handcrafts that were offered for sale were lovely but it was the interior of the home that fascinated me. Look at that wallpaper in the dining room and the fireplace and mantle. It was even more lovely in person!

  To learn more about the Lind House just go here.

Another house on the "Gnome Made" tour was the Wanda Gag house. You may be familiar with author Wanda Gag and her book "Millions of Cats".  It was such a charming little house. That's the three of us on the front porch of the home (thanks to the kind lady who took our picture!). 

Inside the home there were ornaments for sale on this Christmas tree and lots of felted wool mittens and other goodies. Again, it wasn't the handcrafts that caught my eye, but the paintings on the wall. They tell the story of the U.S. Dakota War of 1862. To learn more about this house and the panels, just go here.

And so, you can see that we definitely had a fantastic day. I love to spend time with my quilty friends. So relaxing and sew special!

More quilty friends to tell you about soon and other stuff. Today we put the Christmas lights on the front porch but once we made sure they all work, we turned them off until after Thanksgiving. Husband Steve brought the box with the big Christmas tree up to the living room and tomorrow I'll start decorating it. That's after I get home from church and the wrap up of our Silent Auction event. Will have to tell you about that and also coming up is news on friend Monica's mission trip to New Jersey. And then there will be a little bit of giveaway fun that will begin on Monday. And here's a secret..........there will be a giveaway on Tuesday, too. Also, one on Wednesday. And even one on Thanksgiving Day! And it's all thanks to a special blogging friend. Stay tuned!

Have a lovely Sunday!
Sandi