After a fun-filled, busy few days it was time to head back home. I had planned a few stops on the way and met some great new people at The Muskoka Quilting Company in Bracebridge ON and 3 Gals and a Quilt Shop in Huntsville ON. I even ran into Laurie from Northcott at the 3 Gals shop! It was good to reconnect with her and I even loaned her a sample of the new design “Old Friend”. Guess  I have to make another now.

I hit the road around noon after a busy morning at Sue’s shop in Orillia, Thimbles&Things. It was a gorgeous day and just before Gravenhurst I decided to stop for coffee. Before I pulled back on the highway my phone rang and it was The Creativ Needlework people calling about their show in Toronto in October! We chatted a bit, I sent some pictures from my phone and we started organizing a vending/teaching gig at their show. A big thank you to the ladies at 3 Gals who let me use their internet to get some of the info from the show and allow us to do some planning! By the time I left Huntsville we were well on the way to planning two classes and a vendor’s booth. When technology works it’s awesome!

I got to the West Gate of Algonquin Park at around 4 and continued my magical drive home. At Kilometre 1.5 I saw a gorgeous Algonquin wolf crossing the highway- beautiful red-ish coat! At kilometre 20 I saw a cow moose and her baby in the bog along the roadway and at various other points saw deer, rabbits, hawks and other wildlife. It was so nice to be back even if it was only a drive through. I stopped at Lake of Two Rivers and ate my delicious picnic lunch/dinner prepared by the amazing Tony from Orillia, then continued on my way. The rest of the drive was quiet with not many cars on the road and lots of scenery and wildlife to see.

Got home just before dark, left the car unpacked, came in to greet my family including my furry friend who had never been away from me before and went to bed (with my 120 lb furry friend lying on me!). Good to be home and an absolutely awesome, inspiring trip from start to finish.

It’s been a couple of weeks and trip memories still make me smile. I can’t wait to do it again in September. I have been tying up loose ends and fulfilling promises from the trip-the Simcoe County and More Shop Hop quilt is done and the designs sent out (no peeking till September but I couldn’t resist this little piece…

I will be back in the Barrie/Simcoe/Muskoka area the last week of September to teach, demo and have some fun. I am hoping to organize classes before the hop on September 25-27 and it looks like I will be doing a Trunk Show right after. The details for The Creativ Festival (October 23-26) are finalized and I will be teaching two hand work classes- Fabulous Flowers (applique, beading and embellishing) and Crazy Memories (sort of like scrapbooking on fabric) more details to follow. I will also be vending patterns at the show and hope to make lots of new contacts.

Looking forward to a busy fall!