tues-day-on-pic-kle

 Happy Tuesday Pickles! 

The SUN is out!  

Ooops!  That’s Paris Hilton’s MOON.

    Ah, that’s better! 

Deer in the yard…eating Jeff’s bushes!  YIKES! 

Jeff and I drove to Clinton, New Jersey again to take in the show by Cuban artists at the Hunterdon County Art Museum the other day (this Cuban thing is beginning to become a weird theme).   We had to drive through the neighboring town of Oldwick, so we stopped for coffee and snacks.   I thought I’d share the town with you….

OLDWICK

  This is the Oldwick General Store and the main street of Oldwick.   It’s just a stone’s throw from Pickle Road and this is the joint where I get my coffee on my way to the airport and to my local quilt shop!

 

What I love about this store is that the floors are original and it still holds the ambiance of the old days.  I like how they have old, antique shoes and lanterns hanging from the wooden ceiling.  

 

Now, in spite of what you see on the main street, this place smells of old money.      Some of the surrounding farms and estates are breathtaking.  Former NJ governor Christie Whitman has a place here. 

 

It’s horse country! I’m sure these folks participated in the horse competitions with the

 Jackie Kennedy’s who had a farm in another close town, Gladstone and Peapack (yeah, Malcom Forbes lived there, too.)

  This is the library. The homes and businesses on the main street are Victorians.   There is a farm stand on the main drag where you can pick apples and peache when they are in season.

 The General Store has the best homemade apple turnovers  ever — and they are gigantic.   By the time we got there, at 11-ish, they were already sold out, so we got the apricot and strawberrry twists (which were still warm). 

 

Across the street from the General Store is Zion Lutheran Church and the old, original cemetary. 

 

 

The dates on the grave to the left are b. 1784 d 1833  

Clinton

 

I loved this soapbox derby display in the old Pharmacy window.  My dad made mine and I can still remember how angry he was that we lost!   Old habits die hard.   I used to do Evan’s stuff for him!  

  Boots in the window that I thought you’d like. They look good but I bet they don’t look so good after a week of snow and slush.

This is the Hunterdon Art Museum.  It used to be a grist mill.

While looking out the side windows of the museum, I got a few good shots of the Red Mill across the pond.   It’s one of my favorite places — during every season.

 

My attempt at artsy.  I need to stick to quilting.   All original floors and structure.

    

A few weeks ago, on the Pickle List, we chatted about using human hair in knitting and crafting projects.   I took this photo — of one of the exhibits at the museum. It represents the flag of Cuba and is made from human hair that is wrapped and affixed to the piece to pay homage to the soul and people of Cuba. 

 

In the studio area there was some kid art.  I liked the primitive way this was put together — and given it is made of fabric — a quilt of sorts, I snapped it for you.   I love that puce color!

 

Last night we ended up at my favorite supermarket in Bridgewater, New Jersey.  It’s a Pennsylvania chain called Wegman’s.   It is remarkable and if you can’t find what you’re looking for there, then it hasn’t been invented yet!   

The place is massive.  These pics don’t do it justice! 

Look at only a PART of their candy section.  I couldn’t fit it in but it goes on for miles.   By the way, what a nice stripe those colors would make as a quilt border.

We found this GIANT Chinese grapefruit.  It was MASSIVE!

I ended up buying lox and bagels for Evan (it’s his favorite).

 

 

I thought that these were kind of weird and unique.  Maybe the latest thing for summer?

One of my spring favorites is the Hyacinth.  They were only $5-bucks.  We bought a few. I love that smell.   I was half tempted to buy an orchid, too, but I’d kill the damn thing.

  Aren’t they amazing.  And not very expensive at all!

Now when I see pottery, I’m always on the look out for designs that can be turned into patchwork or applique.   Here’s what I found that night:

 

I don’t ever remember seeing this color on a Heinz product before but I really, really like it.  I’m now on the hunt for fabric of the same color!  Neat-o, eh?

PROJECTS:

I finally finished writing the Foreward for Karen Griska’s new AQS book.   Shit, that was hard!  I’d never written a Foreward before and I panicked!   Funny?  Serious?   Dr. Spock?  Dr. Doolittle?   I hope she likes it.  I release it tomorrow.

 I’m still plugging along on my own book.  That’s another cross to bear.  I never dreamed it would be this difficult.  Of course, I am my worst critic and I want it PERFECT.   I hope to have that off to C&T by Friday. 

STOP AND SAY ‘HELLO:

Pickles, I’ll be in The Craftman’s Touch Books booth  this Saturday (March 1), signing copies of Mark Lipinski’s Quilter’s Home.   This is at the Mancuso show, called Quilt Fest New Jersey in Somerset, New Jersey.  Click here for directions and to read all about it. 

Meg Cox will also be there signing copies of her new book, so stop by! 

SPEAKING OF QUILTER’S HOME:

I want to show you the just completed cover for the May/June 2008 issue.  I think it’s a lot of fun – hanging upside down was not!  LOL

Click on the thumnail to see a full size version!  

FINALLY:

I just got a bunch of new books that I want to share with you.  And don’t forget that I’m going debut 1 piece of my new line for Mark Lipinski Home for Northcott — califon!   So keep watching!  xoxom

FRIENDS AND FOES:

 You will die when you see the horribly hysterical Pickle Prize that was created and awarded to Randi on the Feathered Fibers blog!   Click here to see it (and make sure you swallow what you’re drinking first!).   If you click on the thumbnail of the award it gets much larger for even a bigger laugh! 

Knitting is Kneat-o’s blogtalks about using Katmandu fabric for a project that she has pictured.  Click here.

Here’s a Flickr entry that mentions my talk in Connecticut along with the most beautiul applique quilt called Ladies of the Sea.  Click here to see it!

 Needle Girl’s blog writes about her book on The Blog of Pickle Road.  Click here to read it!

AllenQuilts blog’s cup runneth over.  She’s sweet (and talented)  Click here to read it.

A Peach in Stitches’ blog on February 20 talks about “fake cleaning her sewing room.  Click here to see it.