Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Somewhere in Pennsylvania!!

Its been a busy 3 days since l landed at JFK on Friday evening, and met with Randi from Norway, my travel partner for this trip. Our first visit on Saturday was at the AQS Quilt show in Lancaster, followed by a visit to the Lancaster  Quilt and Textile Museum, where we saw a small collection of Amish Quilts.

Here is Randi putting a few stitches in a quilt that will be hung at the museum.

After filling the day in Lancaster, we headed on to our B&B for the night, in nearby Mount Joy. This is Cameron Estate Inn, and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in their restaurant before retiring for the night.

The next morning saw us up bright and early for our drive to Bedford.
Here we visited the National Museum of The American Coverlet, which is housed in an old school building.


 We were taken on a wonderfully informative tour by Lazlo, who told us everything we needed to know and more about the history of Coverlets in Lancaster and Pennsylvania. Do visit if you are in the area, and tell him the ladies from Australia and Norway sent you.
 



We even found a red and white coverlet.





Our next visit for the day was the blue building above,
which houses the quilt shop, owned and run by Mary Koval
We enjoyed a wonderful visit with her and Theresa at the shop.
( Oh look! A red and White Quilt!! )

Here are a few shots inside. Warm and cosy, and full of Mary's fabric lines.


 That evening, Mary shared with us many of her stunning quilts from her private collection.





 This morning, we took a drive around the surrounding area, and found a covered bridge,

 

and a beautiful old Quaker church and graveyard.

 Then this afternoon we drove back to Lancaster, and headed 
out to have dinner with an Amish family.
As the sun started setting  over the house,

we wandered around the farm, and took in the beautiful old barn,

with the buggy stored inside.


these curious  calves wanted to know what WE were looking at!!!

And as the sun finally sunk, we went inside and
shared a  wonderful home cooked meal,
with Rebecca, Jacob, and their 11 month old son, Daniel. 


Tomorrow we head to the shops in and around the Amish district, looking for those red fabrics, before we head off to Doylestown, for our next exciting adventure. A meeting with Kathie from Inspired By Antique Quilts, and a great antique quilt historian. We are so excited, we can hardly wait!!!!

Thanks for visiting, and joining us on our tour. l hope you enjoyed it as much as we have.

Linda and Randi.
Somewhere in Pennsylvania!!

14 comments:

  1. Wow Linda, what a fabulous trip. I have been to all the places you've visited, but I haven't meet Kathie! Please give her a big hug from me. Lucky you meeting with Kathie so envy! Have a lovely time - see you when you get home to Oz - Hugs Nat

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  2. Looking forward to our visit :)
    oh I will put the National Museum of the American Coverlets on my must see list and Marys shop, looks darling and just my type of fabrics, LOL!
    Kathie

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  3. Oh my goodness Linda - you sure know how to pack your days full to overflowing! Any of those gorgeous quilts of Mary's stick to your fingers???

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  4. You sound like you are having a great time. I hope you save some dollars for NYC. I envy you seeing Mary's quilts and hope I can touch base with her in NYC.

    Only 2 more sleeps for me.

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  5. So few days into your holiday and you have done so much already. Great pictures. What a wonderful opportunity to meet up with Kathie. Looking forward to seeing photos. Have fun, or is that stating the obvious?

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  6. Sounds like you two are having a grand time! How was the dinner with the Amish family? My DH and I have considered doing this in the past, but never did...wasn't sure if it would feel awkward or not. Tell us more details! :)

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  7. I loved hearing all about your trip so far!! So much fun!!!

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  8. I'm so jealous! Sounds like you are having a fabulous time!

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  9. What a packed trip, you are seeing so many great places and meeting some wonderful people. Hope we connect on Monday in NYC.

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  10. It is great hearing about everything you're doing. You are making the most of your trip. Your photos are amazing. I especially loved the covered bridge and the picture of the house with that amazing skeleton tree beside it. Keep it up. Hungry for more news from your trip.

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  11. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time and those antique quilts are to die fo. Say hello to Kathie for me and keep having a great time.

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  12. It sounds so exciting and you're packing your days to make the most of everything. Thanks for sharing the trip as it's happening, next best thing to being there.

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  13. Linda and Randi, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful trip - you are really making the best of it! Good for you! You must be ready for a glass of something each night...
    cheerio, Kirsten

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  14. What a rich and wonderful experience you have had. The Amish life seems so organized, and pristine. No clutter. Just simplicity and harmony. You are so lucky to have gotten to visit there.

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