I’ve posted before about the beautiful Amish country of Holmes County, Ohio. My oldest daughter and I made another trip just in time for the peak colors and gorgeous landscapes.
This area is also a shopper’s paradise, particularly for quilters. My three favorite quilt shops are Helping Hands (Berlin), Gramma Fannie’s Quilt Barn (Berlin), and Miller’s Dry Goods (Charm).
Although I buy a lot of fabric for specific quilt projects, I especially love to find a bin filled with bags of remnants. I found three this trip – a 75-cent bag…
…a $2 bag….
…and a $5 bag.
The little Amish lady behind the counter told me the remnants in the $5 bag were from a quilt she had just completed. I would love to see her quilt with all those pretty fall colors.
We always stay at a cottage set in the middle of Amish farms – very quiet, picturesque and charming. There are plenty of restaurants serving Amish-style, hearty meals and lots of fun things to see and do.
I would highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in this section of Ohio.
LILLIAN'S CUPBOARD 
Beautiful, what a great trip!
I have been to Holmes county but there was a fabric shop run by the Mennonite women near me in Plain City. I loved to go there but it closed a few years ago but they still have their meats and cheeses and spices, etc. I wanted to tell you I got the cookbook that was written by Marcia Adams about the Amish in Ship shwanna Indiana and I love it. I got it on Half.com for only $5.00.
Darlene
When my baby was 1 and I came home from overseas, my mother met me in New York and we drove home to Texas thru Penn and of course I steered the car thru Bird in Hand and Intercourse. This was 1986. We stopped at a home with a hand painted sign “quilts” and a German Shepherd on the front porch.
The lady of the house, Amish, led us downstairs to her workspace and in the center was a 4 poster bed covered in more than 40 quilts and as she threw each back for us to see, we chose 2 and paid and off we went.
17 years later, we all together traveled thru the same area on the daughter’s college tour and there was the same house, same porch, same sign. The lady had not aged a day and had moved upstairs into a studio fitting her talents. The ONLY thing I have to say against it was the fabric she used was polyester blend and had I known then what I learned all too soon, I would never have bought such an expensive cheap quilt. The dark blue bled all over the cream background and ruined the quilt. I washed it repeatedly and it always left that shadow stain.
Live long enough and learn.
Where are the cottages located?? I would love to stay in one of them and visit the quilt shoppes and restaurants!
Here is their web site. Note that they have special rules about smoking, drinking, etc. We have stayed here 10-15 times and love the place.
http://www.melandmaryscottages.com/
Thanks for visiting my blog. Lillian