A Surprise Party!

And boy was I surprised!!!

They got me!  Last night, my husband, along with 20 wonderful friends, created an evening that I will forever cherish!

Yup ... I turn 50 next week ... a half a century, five-decades, a life lived well!  It's a birthday I have been eyeing for awhile and really looking forward to and I am thrilled to have arrived (see ... there's something good about cancer ... "zero" birthdays are something you aspire too ;-).

And I couldn't think of a better way to kick it off then to arrive home last night with a house full of friends gathered to help me celebrate this milestone!

I am a lucky lady ... very, very lucky.

All the best
Lisa

Color inspirations

It is hard to believe that just a little over a week ago, we were in one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to, Istanbul.  A couple of photos from the AMAZING spice bazaar and fabulous color inspirations ...

Spices

Dried Fruit

Tea

Meats

and ... Pillows!

It was an amazing week ...

All the best

Lisa

Dutch prints

We are home safe, sound and exhausted from our trip to Europe.  While in Amsterdam, I was able to get to Dutch Quilt shop that Alison from Little Island Quilting recommended and that I blogged about here.

One of 6 remaining "working" windmills in the city

The "loot"

Some "antique" prints for my "modern" quilt ... hmmm

The very happy shopper

The view from our apartment to the canal below

My definition of a good shopping day!

I have another week to figure out what I want to do for my quilting bee with these ... but I am very excited at the prospect and truly appreciate everyone's help in providing me with potential fabric stores while we were on our journey.

Hope that spring is warming up in your neighborhood.

All the best
Lisa

Greetings from Amsterdam!

While I don't have the ability to send photos remotely right now, John & I were able to visit Dutch Quilts here in Amsterdam this afternoon.

I was told the "American fabrics" were upstairs, though I never made it ... Falling in love with lovely "Dutch" prints instead.

Though they are not my traditional fabric choices, they are traditional fabrics and I am excited to use them for my month in the Modern Quilting Bee II in May. I know ... traditional fabrics in a Modern bee ... let me work on that on the flight home ;-).

And for the trip ... 5 days in Berlin was fabulous, one morning we went for a run in the Tiergarten (the large park in the center of the city) and they were starting to close down some of the roads ... turns out that the Berlin half marathon started about an hour after we finished (with over 25,000 runners)!

We met up with some friends from the UK for 5 nights in Istanbul. Truly one of the most AMAZING cities I have ever been to and a fabulous chance to spend time with dear friends.

We arrived in Amsterdam last night and have the cutest little apartment. Where I sit now admiring my fabric purchase, enjoying a cup of tea, peeking through 100+ year-old glass at the lovely canal below.