Going backwards…

Say hello to my new Christmas tree.  The one I was walking down Main Street in Pleasanton with yesterday – while two of my sisters pretended like they didn’t know me. 

They thought I was a bit bonkers but I prefer to think of myself as a visionary.  This is for next year, obviously.  I also bought that shiny silver thing (I realize the irony of that statement since everything in the picture is silver and shiny…) in lower part of the picture.  It’s kind of tree shaped too.  And a pretty, glittery star ornament.  Everything was 40% off and bought at various establishments in Pleasanton.  My favorite being American Harvest which is just the best store ever. 

But let’s back up a bit because the whole day was pretty amazing.  Nicki and I have been trying to get to Livermore and Pleasanton for a day of shopping and lunch for MONTHS now.  It finally came together yesterday and as luck would have it our sister Kate was available too.  The first stop was Livermore with the sole destination of In Between Stitches.  It is a quilt shop owned by two sisters, Leslie and Melissa and where the adorable Pam of Pamkittymorning – yes that Pam! – works.

And I got to meet her!  She’s kind of a blogging rockstar, wouldn’t you say?  The store is beyond fabulous, as are the people that work there.  They have exactly the kind of fabrics I would stock in a quilt shop if I owned one – huge selection of 30’s repo type fabrics, lots of shabby pinks, creams and greens.  Tons of embroidery patterns.  I think I like the embroidery and applique aspect of quilting more than anything so it was just my kind of store.

I ended up picking up an embroidery pattern (future post) and a pattern for a felt runner.  They had an example in the store and I made a beeline to it.  It combines felt applique and embroidery and is the type of project that is small enough that even I can finish it with my short attention span. 

The store is full of different types of projects so if you aren’t into quilting it is still absolutely worth the trip.  While we were there a number of quilting designers and bloggers just happened to show up.  We all lined up for picture taking and I’m sure Nicki will post her pictures (my camera wasn’t there) and will identify the other quilters. 

Here is a picture of the runner pattern.  I decided to go with a more muted palette of pinks, apricots and creams.  In Between Stitches has one of the best selections of felted wool I have ever seen.  The picture above doesn’t quite get the green right – its more sagey looking in real life.   I’m hoping to start on it tomorrow so hopefully I’ll have some shots of my progress later on this weekend.

After Livermore and a hair raising drive to Pleasanton we had lunch at Fontina’s and then just wandered up and down Main Street, picking up after Christmas bargains.

Wheeeee!  I know I wasn’t going to buy any more supplies for projects but honestly, can you blame me?