Hello, Friday Readers!

I am sorry to say I do not have a book review to share with you today. I even sort of forgot that Friday and a book review were "due" on the horizon! My week has been a little bit crazy, so I just forgot.

Anyway, right now I am in the middle of reading THREE books at one time. That may explain why I didn't get one completed. This method of reading distracts me and slows me down. One is an audio book, so at least it's a whole different format, so there's a bit of change-up in my routine.

Instead of books, I will tell you about my trip to Iowa last weekend. Three friends and I went to southern Iowa to attend a quilt show in Kalona, Iowa. All the quilts in this show were hand quilted, and all the quilts were also for sale. I found that interesting. Didn't any of the makers want to keep their pieces of beauty? Anyway, some of the quilts were antiques from way back up to about the 1940s, and the rest were current productions. The display was in a small space, and quilts were jam-packed in there. They were so close together that it was hard even to SEE the quilts. You'll get the idea from the pictures.

We also visited a quilt museum. One room was quilts by the "English," and one room was quilts by the Amish. I LOVED the Amish room. Quilts were spectacular, and of course, pictures do not do them justice.

My friends in the English room:

the Amish room:

Kalona, Iowa is home to the largest Amish community in the state of Iowa, so we saw a lot of horse-drawn buggies, and we shopped at several Amish shops. These were out-buildings they have right in their yard, or even a shop area right in their own house, so it meant a lot of country driving from shop to shop. I bought this rag rug, which is so colorful. I love it.

(klip klop, klip klop - what a pleasant sound)

We also saw a cheese factory, another quilt show of feedsack quilts, ate a LOT of food, and enjoyed the quilt blocks in the sidewalks of Kalona. There are also a lot of quilt blocks on barns in Iowa. They really appreciate quilts in that state! We had a great time, and enjoyed lovely warm, spring days, which we have not yet had here in Minnesota. We're getting rain, rain, and more rain!

Thanks for visiting my blog on this non-book-review Friday! And good news: the sun is just now peeking out. Hooray!