A Happy Coincidence

Last Wednesday and Thursday I spent in northeastern Massachusetts. On Wednesday the weather was sunny and warm and the leaves were spectacular. That night I did a trunk show for the Concord Piecemakers, after dinner with Fay, Janet, and Suzanne. Their vendor for the evening was The Woolpack yarn shop--with sock yarn! No, I didn't get any--but I did find the shop on my way home the next day!

Since I was only about 20 miles from Lowell, I decided to drive there and visit the New England Quilt Museum. I had been there once before and loved it--and loved it again this time. The exhibit is MetroTextural, with contemporary quilts by the Manhattan Quilters Guild. I was impressed with the diversity of techniques used and the variety of subject matter present. I was especially taken with several quilts by Beth Carney. Her "City Pulse" quilt was one I would have loved to own. Ludmila Aristova had several pieces that presented the city skyline in such detail that you felt you were there. No photos are allowed, but one of the pieces from the exhibit is used on the NEQM's website. If you get a chance, be sure to visit the Museum. For those of you who prefer the more traditional quilts, there are several from the permanent collection on exhibit at all times, and the ones that are up now are wonderful. There is an "Album Summer Coverlet" from c. 1850 that is intriguing--so much to see and in such detail...it holds you captive for quite a while.

As I came out of the museum it started to rain quite hard, so my walking tour of downtown Lowell was scrapped. For your viewing pleasure this time, here are pictures of fall foliage and skies taken on my trip home.





And, now, the coincidence part of the story. My brother drives tractor trailer and we have never been anywhere at the same time. Until Thursday! He delivered in Lowell, MA, the day that I traveled to Lowell (from Concord) to go to the museum. We arranged to meet at State Line (the first west bound exit in NYS) and have dinner. As the fates would have it, there is no diner there now, so we headed on west. We eventually stopped at a Thruway Service Area and had dinner. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. (I forgot to tell you that on the way to State Line I did go to The Woolpack and did, in fact, buy yarn. But not for socks!!!) So I followed him all the way back to Syracuse where our paths diverged. What are the odds that we would both be out separately and end up in the same town a state away? I enjoyed every minute of it!

Also, a big shout out to Ronnie and Stacy! Congratulations on your engagement! (Ronnie is the son of Cindy, my BBFF!)

That's it for now. I'm going to do a bit of quilting today and also try to get my desk unloaded again. Why is it that any flat surface becomes a paper collection site?!?!