I do believe it’s time for something quilt-y on this blog, dontcha think?  So how about a quilting adventure in Hawkesbury, Ontario.  Woohoo!

The drive to Hawkesbury takes me through farm country in Quebec.  Lots of trees and lots of green.  I’m looking forward to some great veggies and fruits at roadside stands soon.  It is still Spring in Canada.  They take that June 21st date as the beginning of Summer thing very seriously here.  And so does the weather.  We still have the heat on at night!  This morning it was 55 degrees in the motorhome when I got up.  That’s because I had the bright idea of trying to go without the heat last night.

And yes, I am rubbing it in with my Texas friends.

As you get close to Hawkesbury, rolling hills get into the picture.

This is the back of the “Welcome to Hawkesbury” sign.    Because I’m a bad blogger and I forgot to take a picture of the front.  Hey!  I was driving!

And I love this sign.  Because Ontario = English.  But alas, Hawkesbury is a very French town.  It is only separated from Quebec by a river.

And it’s a large river.  Apparently the French population doesn’t let a river stop them from migrating into Hawkesbury, Ontario.  Thus it is a very bilingual city.

This is the large bridge that takes you from Grenville, Quebec into Hawkesbury, Ontario.  Not sure why you needed to see a picture of this bridge, but there you have it.  A bridge.

I’m all about diversity of pictures on the blog.

Here’s a sign that makes me hit the brakes in Hawkesbury.  Anything with the word fabric in its name is worth a stop, right?  We’ll get into the other half of that sign in a minute.  The “Le Jardin de mes Pieds” part.  I told you it was a bilingual city.

And this sign was in the front window of this shop.  Be still my heart.

The Fabric Box and Heartworks Quilt Shop is my new favorite place in Canada.  Linda and Marie are lovely, lovely ladies.  They invited me to come for the day and stitch and hang out all day any time.  And if it wasn’t a thirty minute drive and, more importantly, if I didn’t have to get up at 5:00 a.m. in order to take Dear Hubby to work and keep the car, I might just be there every day!

Besides….. Boo and Panda would miss me.  Not.  They sleep all day anyway!  And they are totally sacked out right now and no company at all.  Wouldn’t even hear me if I sneaked out the door.  But they will get hugs and kisses on their heads any time I walk by them all day.  And they will look at me like, Aw Mom!  Did you have to wake me up?

Where was I?  Oh, yeah.  Hawkesbury.  Quilt Shop.  Focus, Barb.

So how about a tour of the shop, you say?

There is a lovely wall of batik fabrics.  And of course, there are quilts everywhere to inspire you.

A nifty notions wall.  And of course, information about classes.  Or cours if that is your language of choice.

There is a whole table of sale items.

And bolts of sale fabrics.  Sold by the meter.

A nice little classroom.

This part of the shop is the Heartworks section.

And this is Linda helping some shoppers there.  Or rather Linda’s back.  I’ll get a better picture of Linda (and Marie) next time.  Because believe you me, there will be a next time.

And remember the sign out front?

Half the shop is a shoe store!  Le Jardin de mes Pieds is literally “Garden of the Feet.”  And they look like wonderful shoes.  Comfortable and stylish.  I am definitely gonna have to buy some on one of my visits to this shop.

In the meantime, I was on a mission………

……..for this fabric.  A line of fabric called “Oh, Canada!”  I had to have some.

And Linda helped me search for a background to go with it.

So here are my purchases that day.  Need an up-close look?

Love the little beaver stripe.

And these panels have lots of possibilities for a memory quilt of my Summer in Canada.

And before I left the shop?

Linda went in the back and came out with gifts!  Oh, I’m gonna be visiting this shop a whole lot this summer.  In fact, I’ll be back there again on Friday.  For Linda’s Wool Club.  I’m making a penny rug with snowmen on it.  Very cute.  Can’t wait to meet the other ladies there.

And on the way home……

I had to have some of this.  Mostly because my friend, Stephanie, in Texas told me that I had to have some for her.  It’s called poutine and apparently it’s a Canada thing.  Just for you, Steph!

And no, that is not ice cream and caramel sauce.  Although that’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?  How about a closer look?

There are french fries in there!  Under a mountain of cheese curds and gravy.  And this vegan does not even want to know how much bacon went into the making of that gravy.  Not to mention cheese curds.  What have I done?  It’s all Stephanie’s fault.  And I might even have some again.

See the poutine on the right side of the sign?  I asked the girl what all those different poutines were.  Sizes, Barb, those are sizes you can order.  There is only one poutine.  I got petite, by the way.  I had a feeling it wasn’t very vegan.  And Dear Hubby got some of it later that night.  Reheated in the microwave.  Yum.  Or not.  You can make your own decision.

Notice it says “extra bacon” at the bottom of the sign.

This is the sign of the establishment that was serving what was, according to Linda and Marie, the best place to get poutine in the area.  And yes, all those things on that sign have something to do with ice cream.  I think.  It’s a French Dairy Queen!  Or maybe Braum’s?  With hamburgers, hot dogs and poutine.

And for all my friends in Texas…….

…… this was my thermometer on the way home.  At about 2:00 in the afternoon.  Nice.

More adventures to come.
Hugs,
Barb, 65 degrees and sunny today… at noon