Today, my friend Amber and I decided to head to the cool pines of Prescott, Arizona for some fresh air, fabulous shopping and culinary adventures. The weather today was wonderful with a nice breeze--so welcome since the heat has returned to Phoenix. We hit some of our favorite haunts...Fancy That, Edelweiss, and a few antique shops as well....Amber was on the hunt, and she was able to find one thing on her list right away, so we were off to a promising start.

The photo below is of a quilt shop called "Seams Sew Right", and if you haven't been to it, you need to hop in your car and check it out. It has a funky/contemporary vibe to it, and those of you who enjoy modern quilts will feel at home. You can check them out at www.seamsewrightquiltstudio.com

After the quilt shop, we went over to Firehouse Kitchen Restaurant where we sampled a delicious salad, and these wonderful little "pop-overs".  Let's just say we cleaned our plates and will return again soon.

Pop-over, and my little cup of dressing for my salad....yummmm

A Book Signing with Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co at the Olde World Quilt Shoppe

Amazon.com: Another Bite of Schnibbles: 24 Quilts from 5" or 10" Squares (That Patchwork Place) (9781604680584): Carrie Nelson: Books

One of my absolute favorite shops, Olde Worlde Quilt Shoppe had one of my very favorite pattern designers last Saturday for a book signing! It was so nice to have the opportunity to meet Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. and visit with her. She is so charming and talented. She also has a wonderful blog you can check out http://www.laveenrosie.typepad.com/ for inspiration, laughs etc. If you haven't bought one of her books or patterns, you really must. They are well written, easy to follow and are absolutely exquisite--destined to be family heirlooms. She even has a line of patterns called Schnibbles that are made with precuts--most go together quite quickly, and the small ones make such nice gifts. Also if you are ever in the Phoenix area, be sure to check out Olde Worlde Quilt Shoppe--it is such a warm and inviting shop, everyone there is so helpful and their fabrics are to die for!!

I recently finished this quilt for my friend Marge. She worked on this project at quilt camp and it was fun to see it come together on the design board. It is interesting because all the fabrics are essentially solid. There is a trend out there called Modern Quilts and there are Modern Quilt Guilds, and they really do look different than the quilts Grandma used to make. When you're working with solids and graphic quilts like these, it takes some time to come up with a quilting pattern that compliments the design. In the close up, you can see that Marge and I found a pattern that I think really works well-it's called Geometric Path by Kristin Hoftyzer--I think it looks like a circuit board and really adds another element to the quilt. The quilts in the book would be great for men & boys and anyone who prefers a more contemporary design in their homes. Be sure to check the book out sometime, there are quite a few interesting designs inside. That's all for now....Happy 4th of July!!