Whew! Did you all have a nice weekend? Ours blitzed by — we got TheSecondChild all moved in to his hovel at school. It’s so hard to imagine that this will be his senior year — it seems like we just went through all the college admission process! I felt a bit sorry for the poor guy — he’s a neat freak and he’s moving in with some um… well, much less than neat freaks. They’ll work it out though, I’m sure.
Amid all the work, the absolute highlight of my four days of moving was stopping in to Clementine’s Dry Goods. Oh. My. Gosh!!! Those girls were hysterical! Cami was there, of course. And I was thrilled that Melly went to all the trouble to come from afar to meet me too. And then sweet Rob (by now we’re old pals) and three new blog-less pals.
I left about 3 hours ahead of my guys so I had some time to shop and sit and knit with the ladies. Cami has a perfect spot at the back of the shop with a couch and chairs where everyone can get comfy to sit and knit. Oh, and, of course, EAT. They spoiled me rotten and I felt SO special! Just look at the spread they laid out for me:
We started with Melly’s absolutely amazing Banana Cream Pie. All made from scratch. Sooo delicious. It doesn’t hurt that Banana Cream Pie is at the top of my all time favorites list — right up there and maybe even ahead of chocolate! (I can hear the gasping now LOL.) Fortunately I remembered to get my camera out before we ate it all. Melly has promised that she’ll share her recipe on her blog so keep an eye out for it.
And then Cami. Gosh. She made a delicious Rhubarb Pie (a first for me) and Fantastic Chocolate Croissants. I wish I could give you one — I’m not kidding — they belong in a bakery with Melly’s pie. And that’s not Mrs. Smith’s (pick-a-name) puff pastry there — she makes all those layers From. Scratch. By. Hand. (Oooh, and I just went to get her link for this post, and she’s letting us in on the secret behind those croissants! Thanks Cami!) I can’t even imagine how she has the time — there are 5 perfectly behaved children and a hubby and a quilt/yarn shop to run.
In between all that eating there was MUCH laughing and cracking up. What a super fun group of girls — I so wish they all lived closer. All too soon, the call came from my guys that they were passing by — my clue to catch up to them on the highway to continue our trip to Nashville. Cami was so kind to send some croissants with me for the boys. Not only were they to eat, they provided a little boredom relief as I lined them up on the dashboard of the car — they looked so pretty!
Speaking of the dashboard, there was some other lining-up. Anyone know what this is?
Anyone? Cami knows. I gave the girls some M&Ms and little snickers bars and Cami squealed “Look, she’s given me some round row counters” and Melly said “And I have some square ones!” while I sat there wondering whether they do recreational drugs at Clementines! Cami says you can use M&Ms (or chocolate chip cookies or whatever floats your boat) as row counters. Just lay out the number of rows you have to knit in M&Ms and each time you finish a row, eat one. When they’re all gone, you’ll know you’ve done X number of rows. Who knew??? I put this new technique into play with my Cracker Jacks and it worked! I’ve never been able to properly count my rows…I always forget to increment that little plastic counter or put a hash mark on my piece of paper, but I certainly didn’t forget to eat my Cracker Jacks. That Cami is a genius!
All the ladies were full of little tidbits like that and they cracked me up. I learned all about how to fix a suction problem from Melly — oh! and Cami had some cute new shoes on too — they were REALLY educational! So ladies — thank you SO much for a fabulous morning. I came away with new ideas swirling around in my head — you are all so full of inspiration. And especially thanks for all the work and effort you put into making me feel so special — I Can’t Wait until we can do it again.
If YOU happen to be traveling on I-65 just south of Indianapolis, take a 5-minute detour into Franklin at exit 90 and visit Clementine’s. Cami has lots of Westminster and Rowan fabrics and some beautiful yarns for you knitters. And I hope you’ll have as much fun as I did!
XOXO,
Anna
Clementines looks like a lot of fun! And it looks like it’s not that far from where I live – so will have to check it out. Thanks for the tip!
Oh man – those pies make me hungry!!! I love your blog – and then I checked it out – the store is in Indiana, and you say you are from northern Indiana – well guess what – I am from southern Michigan! (Had I written to you before about this?) I always try to connect a bit with people nearby – cuz I think there are only five or six bloggers in all of Michigan, and they all live quite far away!
Anyway – My “baby” is also still in college but she doesn’t go back for another month! Then we ship her back to Grand Rapids!
I was just recently to Erica’s in South Bend, oh man, that was like going to heaven! Have you ever been there?
Well, would love to get in touch with you – let me know – hugs – Diane
I’m so happy to see you got time for Clementine’s Dry Goods. Looks like a really nice shop. They sure spoil their costumers.
Sounds like and absolutely wonderful day! Love the row counters. LOL!
whooooosh….another busy weekend! Those pies look so delicious, I am heading over to Melly’s blog for the banan pie recipe!
Gee..the row counters makes me want to take up knitting or crochet again.
How fun. I’m envious of you meeting such fun people. Good food too! Wowie.
I’m drooling!
Would you believe a ten+ hour power outtage killed my fabulous stitchen’ plans yesterday… the up side is I now know how long is too long for Herr Becher to be without running water. He was out buying gas for the generator at 11:30 at night! The power came back on at four in the morning, just as the alarm on his cell phone went off.
Thank you for the fantastic shout-out. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and weren’t overwhelmed by the craziness that is Clementine’s. It was so fun having you swing through town. I’m also pretty proud you’ve implemented the row/round marker program. Your knitting will be highly accurate, so long as Other People’s Mitts stay off your stash. Next time you come into town, we’ll have to get you your own pair of ‘woodies’ (isn’t that just a wretchedly wicked name for something so cute?). Hope Man of the House enjoyed his ‘petit pain au chocolat’… you did share, right? Can’t wait till your next visit! *smooches* Cami
Sounds like you had so much fun Anna, I could be tempted into trying to knit again if I had M & Ms as an incentive! Take care
Kimx
oh my. oh my. pie. croissants. yarn fabric. friends? wow!!! what an extravanganza!! i’m a tinge green with envy. just a tinge. i sooo need to learn to knit socks!! melissa is a knitter expertish type person, she can teach me. i went over to cami’s site and then ordered that baking with julia book from amazon. you guys are going to be the death of me!!!
i’m off to run errands and do work stuff.
then to pick more tomatoes at the garden and make more marinara, cha cha cha.
hope your monday is wonderful. thanks for sharing your fun trip with us.
Wow, sounds like a fun (and tasty) weekend–despite all the moving!
Your day at Clementine’s sounds like great fun and those pies and croissants look deeeeelicious!!
That is the best tip ever for counting rows – I don’t ever need to lose count again!!!!
xxx
Oh yeah, I’m so using that method for counting rows from now on. That row counter gadget is lame.
Do you think this would work with sips from a cocktail ;)
oh what a fun time…so many tasty treats!
and hope your son gets things neatly sorted with his roomie :)
What a wonderful day!!! And all that food. I wish I could have been there to help you eat it all.
Anna, could I see just one.more.photo of that banana creme pie please? Pretty please? Dang it looks good! I can’t wait for you to post the recipe, it’s all about the food you know!
Also, just a heads up, I’m doing a giveaway…..
This sounds like a place I need to visit in a couple weeks huh?? Will there be any of those good desserts left there??? Cause if so I’m leaving now.
Gotta check out those croissants. You know those are my favorite!!!!
Oh Anna it sounds like you had a fabulous time! How I wish you lived over here and could come round and sit and knit and sew and eat and laugh with me!!!! Lucy x
P.S although I couldn’t make such delicious treats as those!
You should have hollered. For a piece of that banana cream pie and a yummy croissant I would have chipped in and helped with the move!! I can be bribed!!! Glad you are back home and recovering from all that moving.
If you make a mistake on your rows, do you have to barf back the counters? With all the accessories that Bernina has come up with for their machines, I’m waiting for the snack accessory. It works like this: you fill up a tube with M&Ms, when you reach a point where you need a slight break, you press a button and an M&M comes shooting out. Mouth positioned correctly, and you can catch it and continue to sew. Positioned incorrectly, it shoots you in the forehead and makes you correct your posture. As with all their accessories, the price starts at $65.
I was just about to dig through the fridge to find something for lunch and now, its ruined. I’ve got to go find some kind of crappy banana cream pie substitute, since I can’t have one of THOSE. OH MY YUM. YUM. You have way too much fun!
Hmmm, sewing. I don’t remember any proof of that!!
What a brilliant idea for row counters. Maybe you could make a banana cream pie and eat it every time you complete a UFO. All sorts of uses for such a brilliant idea. Of course, I would just buy a block of mint chocolate, any sort would do! Cherrie
OMG using food as row counters – who knew, LOL. I’m thinking I would like it very much there and that food looks like some great hip padders. They sure put out the feed bag for ya – those are some sweet peeps. Sounds like a great day – I bet you hated to hit the road again. Now how about one of those chocolate croissants – yummmm. And by the way – what’s with prefering banana cream pie over chocolate – I’m going to pretend I didn’t read that, LOL
Hugs – Me
That looks like great fun and how sweet they were to roll out the red carpet like that! Love their row counting method, haha!
Oh Anna, you always crack me up! Fabric covered U-hauls and good things to eat. What a trip you’ve had.
Best wishes to your son on this milestone year. I know he’s going to do great. Maybe his neatness will rub off on a few of the other guys….hopefully it won’t go the other way!
Omygosh! What beautiful pies and delights!!!!
Jody
Yummy food & a sewing machine …. who could ask for more????? Sounds like this eased the pain of leaving the son behind! :) Well I am sure it didn’t really!
What a delightfully delicious post! I can just about taste that banana cream pie. (Don’t look – I’m drooling!) What a fun time you had with your friends. You deserved it with all the moving you did this weekend.
yum, yum, yum, yum, yuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm I as wanting some of that banana cream pie NOW!!! I have always heard talk of such a pie in the US but have never come across one Down Under – I need to try it! I may have to google a recipe or keep watching the blog you have linked to get it from there, droooooool =)