The most recommended place

Hi all,

After staying at Fremont for the night we drove to Shipshewana. This was the place that was most recommended by my online friends, AND I got a chance at meeting one of them there too!!
We took the toll way on the I80 and in Jamestown, Indiana, we left the interstate to go a bit to the south to catch the US20 until we reached Shipshewana. It struck us as very odd to see so many big trucks on this road while the Interstate is almost next to it. We would think that heavy traffic like that would take the bigger road.
Before we had left home, we had made arrangements to meet Sallyann and a friend (called Jan btw, so to avoid any confusion I won't mention her name again... LOL... If I remember correctly it was short for Janice) at Yoder's in Shipshewana. At Yoder's we waited for half an hour wondering who could be Sallyann. Neither of us knew what the other looked like. I only knew she was coming with a friend. I had gone up to one of the store owners to ask if there was a way to page her, but no such luck. Paging in Shipshewana amongst the Amish?? I should have known better of course. They were extremely helpful though and within the mall they walked us from one place to another to say that we were "the belgian couple" just in case someone would mention something like that to them. Then they'd know who we were and could point us out. Finally a light bulb went off in my head!! I got out a marker and piece of paper and wrote my name on it and pinned it on my shirt in hopes that Sallyann would see it. I started walking around through all the stores and making sure everyone saw the sign. In the mean time Jan was getting very bored of the waiting and started studying the city map of Shipshewana. And guess what??? He found that right across the street, there was another mall called Yoder's!!!! So we went to check that out. Oh yeah, of course we had been waiting at the wrong Yoder's!! We had a kind of déja vu feeling with this incident. Many many years ago we had a rendez-vous with some dutch friends in a small belgian village at the church entrance. We couldn't possibly miss each other that way. But guess what?? There were TWO churches in that small village!! It looks like are born for this kind of funny situations, doesn't it?? LOL
When we came in to the other Yoder's we immediately saw a sign saying "hi Wezz" so we knew we were in the right place this time. :-))
Me standing there with a large sign with my name on it, and Sallyann and her friend sitting on a bench with a big sign too immediately broke the ice. We laughed from minute one and didn't stop anymore, right up until the end of our visit there!! They told us they had been so worried we might have been caught in a very bad traffic accident on the I80 which resulted in both directions being closed. So, THAT explained all the big trucks and heavy traffic on the US20!!! Guess we were lucky to get off the I80 when we did!!!
We had lunch with Sallyann and her friend at a local restaurant where we exchanged goodies. Of course, what else, right??? LOL
She gave me the nicest small scrapbook for putting in some of my best pictures of this trip and also a folder with a bunch of pre-stamped images for me to color in. Plus a magazine or two, and a stamp or two....
After lunch we almost ran to the local stamp store run by Amish. Yet another big mistake according to Jan. Our bellies were already aching from all the laughter and it only got worse, but we just had soooo much fun!! The stamp store didn't look like I would have expected a stamp store to look like on the outside. But since there are no stamp stores in Belgium, of course, I wouldn't even know what a stamp store should look like anyway. hahaha!!
Inside, the store was very well organized with the bargains right in front... (ggg)
The amish guy jokingly told us we could get bigger baskets if needed, and I was the good girl saying "no thanks, I can't, my husband is here with me"... ROTFLOL!!
I found some Ancient Page inks on the bargain table. Regular price was already less than half the price in Belgium and they were 50% off!!! Wow!!
The stamps were very neatly organized, with the mounted ones categorized and the unmounted ones right next to their mounted counterpart, so you could immediately see the image. No fooling around with a mirror or guessing what it might look like. Also very easy to see if they were out of some unmounted images. I got just a few... LOL
One of them was a squirrel, I was so happy to find that one!! :-))
Jan didn't even complain about my shopping there, and when I later asked him about that, he said "well, I could see things were cheaper there, so it didn't really bother me". HUH????? Is this MY Jan???? I couldn't believe my ears!!
I then proceeded to explain that most craft things are cheaper here than at home, if I can even get them at all. He said I shouldn't push my luck.... hmmm... LOL
The Amish people at the store were really interested to know what life is like in Belgium, how come we speak so many languages, and how come I could understand his "Amish talk" too. I believe he said it was Pennsylvania Dutch, but I could be mistaken. It sounded like german to me. But because he said "dutch" I thought he might understand me too as that is my mothertongue. But alas, he didn't, though his wife kinda did. Probably the Pennsylvania Dutch is actually "deutsch" which is german and would explain why he spoke some form of german to me.
When we were done shopping, Sallyann drove us back with her real american Cadillac car to where our real american Suzuki was parked and it was time to say our goodbyes. With lots of pictures, more laughs and hugs of course!! Sallyann tried real hard to convince Jan to come back again to visit soon!!
Well, I wouldn't mind at all!! (ggg)
When we left Shipshewana it had just started to rain. Blèch, feels too much like belgian weather!! I like a lot of things belgian, like chocolates for instance, but I'm not that fond of the rain!! LOL
We had spent a lot more time in Shipshewana than planned (more Jan's plans than mine, I never mind staying longer... LOL), but had so much fun that we didn't really mind. Especially since driving to Chicago that day we crossed a time zone and gained an extra hour that way!! Ain't that nice??? LOL

hugs,
Wezz

Hit the road Jack... err, Jan...

When we left Jennifer's place we drove through the nice scenery of Connecticut, stopping once in a while to take some pictures. Not as often as I wanted though (and this goes for the whole trip), as I can't expect Jan to stop every time I see a good photo opportunity. Kodak moments just happen way too often. LOL
I should have taken a picture of a sign that said "Adopt a Highway Program" while driving through Connecticut. But hopefully I'll get a chance to do that in another state where they have this program too. It's definitely something we don't see in Belgium!! Maybe this has got something to do with the condition of the roads here.
It's just such a smooth drive, nothing like in Belgium. There's got to be a reason for the good condition of the roads here!! In Belgium I could never type on the laptop while on the road, here that's no problem at all. I could never do any crafty stuff of any kind in the car in belgium, here that's no problem at all.
As we were continuing our trip along the Interstate 80 we really enjoyed the views. We can't believe how GREEN this country is!!! Someone had said this might be a boring piece on our road trip but nothing could be further from the thruth. Jan just loves to drive and is now really getting used to driving an automatic. I jokingly
said that once we get home after three weeks he'll need lessons again to learn how to use the manual gear box again of our own car. LOL
We both enjoy looking outside as the world passes us by. The sun is out and everything just looks so much nicer then!! I can imagine this could be a boring part when the weather is not playing nice though. But lucky for us it is!!
Even the ton of roadworks we pass along just about every route we take don't bother us as the traffic is still moving nicely. I took a wonderful picture (okay some may think this is just weird) of a truck that was behind us in the next lane. I took the picture from the truck using the rear side mirror of the car. It was black and all shiny in the sunshine. Very american. :-)
We had booked a room in a bed&breakfast type of place in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
I actually got the address from Manda, one of my many cyberfriends, and I can't thank her enough for pointing us in the direction of that place. If you ever want to go on a short break or little getaway, this is definitely THE place to go to!! Wonderful people run the Narrows Creek Inn, the rooms are absolutely gorgeous, the garden is amazing, and the breakfast... well, what can I say. It was of course home cooked and absolutely de-li-cious!!! Owner Linda brought it to our room even.
And it's only about a mile away from the Interstate 80 too, very easy to find!!!
Check it out here: http://www.narrowscreek.com/

We're just sorry that we didn't get to meet Linda's husband Henry. We were told that he's quite a character!!
After we settled in and I had shopped at their wonderful store (okay I'm running out of more different words to describe this place!!) for some gifts for the family back home, we met up with Manda, a british lady living in Dubois. She took us out for a meal at the local Ruby Tuesdays, we talked and talked like we had known each other for years and years!! Then she took us for a ride and showed us where the rich people live in that area ("Treasure something" - sorry, can't remember the full name of the place). Man, such nice houses!!!!! But not so nice prices.... LOL
Wow, and the deer just walk out on the street and in the front lawns. They're not afraid of people walking by or cars passing on the roads. They just wanted their dinner I guess, they ate all the flowers from the rich folk's gardens. I tried taking a few pictures but by then it was already too dark for that. Of course I had some belgian chocolates for Manda and a british stamping magazine. I don't know if you guys can get these over here or not (I haven't seen them yet), but I hope she likes it anyway. It even comes with a small stamp too!!
After we said our goodbyes we took a long relaxing bath and had a really good night's sleep. First time really since I got here. Guess the first three nights the jetlag and excitement still got the best of me. LOL
Btw, the sleeping is getting better and better with each day now. :-)
In the morning before we left I took loads of pictures of the garden, I already had taken some picture of the room we stayed in, and the amazing shop too!! Heheh, yep, photography happens to be another hobby of mine. (ggg)
I'm sure gonna try to keep in touch with everyone I meet on this trip!! They're just the nicest people!! Or is that just coz they're stampers?? I'm really such a lucky gal to be able to meet them!! :-))

Many hugs,
Wezz

Funky bag

Felted bags seem to be all the new rage nowadays, so I really can't stay behind, can I??? I just HAVE to give this a try too!! Just so I can say "I did that too"... LOL
Well, it just so happens that I have had this wool sweater like forever and have practically never worn it, and after living in my closet for maybe 15 years, I decided it was time to let go. But let go of such a good quality sweater?? A wool one, with a jacquard pattern?? Hmm, maybe I should just give it a second life?? As a funky felted bag!! Yeah!!
But then the questions started pouring into my little brain... Should I just felt the whole sweater and then cut it up and sew the bag, or should I finish the sewing first and then felt it??? Wouldn't the front and back get stuck together, or a sleeve stuck where it's not supposed to be?? I'm sure I can do the felting in the washing machine, right?? It's one of those handwash type sweaters. How much would the shrinkage be, on average?? I could try with a little piece of the collar first to try that out maybe. I have only one of these type of sweaters that is 100% wool, suitable for felting (I guess?), and I don't wanna mess up my one chance at a felted bag.... LOL
I'll use the body of the sweater for the bag, and the sleeves for the handles. Should work, right? Of course I'll be taking pics of every step and upload them when I'm done. But only if it's worth it, okay?? LOL
So, I thought I'd start with the felting of the sweater last weekend. Figured I'd see at least *some* result after a cycle or two, and then it would still be easy to sew. After the sewing, I would continue the felting. Before I put it in I checked the label again, and saw to my horror that it was only 60% pure wool!!! Aaarrgghhh!! Was it not gonna work?? I figured I could give it a try anyway, since I was definitely not gonna wear that sweater anymore anyway, so just for the fun of it, I went ahead. Of course, after just one cycle I was really curious to see if there was any change yet. heh....
Hmm, it appears it only took one cycle for the felting!! I did run the machine on the hottest and longest cycle (and that is NOT a gentle cycle, but the roughest I have!!). I put the sweater in one of those netted zippered bags, and added a plastic cup with some laundry soap (not the gentle wool type though) IN the washing machine on top of the bagged sweater. Must have helped with the beating. Because of the hot water and the type of soap I used, the bright colors of the sweater have now faded, but that's okay, I wasn't too fond of the colors anyway, and they're much more muted now. And apparently cold water rinsing in between wasn't a problem for the felting process either. :-)
The sweater has shrunk so that it now may fit a 6 yo, and the fabric has gotten very thick!! I wasn't too sure how I'm was sew that, but my machine can handle jeans if I use a special needle, so I figure it would work out okay. And it did. I took it to sewing class with me on Wednesday evening. The teacher was very intrigued and helpful. I was curious to see/hear my fellow student's reactions though. I didn't tell them about my plans. (ggg) They were all very interested in what I was doing, cutting up an old sweater that I had washed the wrong way... LOL
But now, I bet they'll raid their closets for old wool sweaters after seeing this though!! LOL
I told DH what I was gonna do before putting the sweater in the washing machine, and he thought I was nuts. After the little sweater came out of the washing machine he just couldn't stop laughing. He still thinks I'm nuts.... LOLOLOL
The bag should be finished this week, and I'll upload some pics if it turns out okay.
I can't wait to see the final result!! This is exciting! ;-))

Hugs,
Wezz