I’m having time out and a welcome rest.
Di, Joan and I took off for a small town called Perham, some 50 miles from our hometown of Long Prairie.
Perham is a small town nestled among over 1000 lakes surrounded by rolling hills and woods. It was named after Josiah Perham, the first President of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The railroad arrived in Otter Tail County in 1871 and the town is dominated still by the freight trains that rumble through the centre every half an hour or so.
Its late spring, and the scenery is picture book. Rolling hills, red Minnesota barns nestled in newly ploughed fields and brilliant green grass. The temperature rose to 86 today and we drove past dozens of lakes where the locals are preparing for a Memorial Day long weekend.
First stop was the Bay Window Quilt Shop. I’ve been there on other occasions. The last time was several years ago though… The combined local guilds hold an annual quilt show in an historic village and I was the guest artist… Grass roots quilting….
The bay window is a shop full of surprises… in fact it’s almost like a small department store… each little room is beautifully decorated. Moda seems to be a favorite here and the ranges displayed take your breath away…. Amy Butler, I love her fabrics but I haven’t seen too many of them in Australia. Of course there is Kaffe Fasset, Hoffman Batiks, a huge range of baby minkies and flannels in every hue. just to name a few.
The buildings are old and huge and allows a degree of creative expression in decoration like we never see. I’ll try to make a word picture of one of the café’s. It has high ceilings and a beautifully restored wooden floor. The walls and ceiling were paneled and painted in lime wash antique….. little nooks held intimate eating places…. One that took my eye was dominated by an antique lemon and pink grandmothers flower garden quilt hanging from an old quilt frame on the ceiling… a green distressed fire shelf held cream and white vintage plates and linen… the two small tables were made of recycled timber and the glass table top showed a 20’s pink and green Suffolk puffs block that were made into a giant elongated triangle. For us it was a treasure trove… and it had a wonderful ambience…
Downstairs I found an 1876 embroidery sampler made by Sara Smith, aged 8…. It cost me $18. sigh!!!!
Other delights were found in antique shops…. The collection of sewing goodies shown $9 and the wonderful log cabin quilt for $25….
Di bought vintage postcards and another vintage quilt that was filled with an old woolen blanket…
It’s light here till almost 9.30 so we took advantage of the daylight and took the scenic route home despite a huge storm that overtook us.
Dinner was at the Coach House Restaurant in Alexandria… the special of the evening…. $1 hamburgers that were just delicious… finished of with lemon meringue pie and great conversation.
I’ve spent so much time here, I’m now a local and I have great delight in sharing the things I enjoy with those I care about… My Husband Keith loves visiting here… but with my quilting buddies we let loose in the antique and quilting shops....
