Road Trip to Penn Yan

I can't find the post but last month I lamented that I wouldn't be able to make my road trip to Penn Yan when I had wanted. Well...it finally worked out last Friday - yeh, during fair week - what was I thinking??

Penn Yan is home to Penn Yan Sewing Machines, a machine sales (Bernina) and repair (electric and treadle) shop ran by Mennonites. It's well worth the 2 hour drive since you can make an appointment and have your machine back the same day instead of leaving it at the more local repair shop for 2 weeks. That would drive me absolutely bonkers. Oh, stop laughing...I am not already bonkers...

I started the trip by stopping in Dansville at one of their LQS and ran into a friend as I was getting ready to get back on the road - what a lucky surprise. I just couldn't pass up a yard of this wonderful fabric. Can you see how one selvage is more blue and the other more green? I loved that.

The sites were great as I continued down the highway. Rte 390 winds thru a lot of pretty hills and after getting off the expressway there is a lot of lush scenery including the Finger Lakes with it's grape fields and farms to look at. No pictures as it was just me on this trip and I can't photograph, listen to the GPS lady recalculating while I take a quicky side trip and drive all at the same time. I stopped at a fav little Mennonite nursery that always has perennials on sale this time of year - picked up 3 Russian sage for $10.00 - car smelled great the rest of the day.

I dropped my machine off and ran over to my fav quilt shop - Golden Lane Fabrics. Most fabrics are $6 or $7 a yard with a $3 close out shelf. I headed straight to the FQ bin to see if anything matched that new blue/green fabric and then started perusing all the bolts. I came across a row of Moda Marbles and it dawned on me those colors would work great with the new blue-green fabric. I've started with the following colors but I figure I will add a few more before I'm done.

I plan to pick a pattern out of the book that I also picked up in Dansville. I had seen the book online and after viewing it in person felt it was worth the money. I hemmed and hawed about the (expensive) ruler - I really could do these patterns without it but as my friend said - she's all about convenience and the ruler came home with me.

Then I walked the historic district in down town Penn Yan - you know where my camera was? right? In the car! Next summer, I promise. I ate lunch at a little cafe run by volunteers and all their profits benefit a weekend backpack of food program for kids who don't get enough to eat. After receiving a call that my machine wouldn't be ready on time, I took the long way back to the shop. I stopped at a little dry goods place. There wasn't anything that I just had to buy but the pet fawn playing with the girls in the yard was priceless. I also got to drive along another of the Finger Lakes. I found a great place to park and eat a picnic lunch for next summer.

My machine was finally ready a little after 4 and I had to be at the fair by 5. Oops, that won't work. I made some calls that I would be late (it helps when you "work" for your parents) and boogied back to Wyoming County.

Penn Yan was a nice little jaunt and now I need to pick a pattern for my new fabrics...will I use the blue/green as a panel? 3 long panels? borders? Yikes - too many options...