Thursday's Travel and Throw-Back Meal

 Not too much stitching this morning as we headed to Bluffton to preview three quilt shops for November's All-Carolina Shop Hop. I worked on Rhoda's Haunted House while Barbara continued making her black and white squares.

First shop was High Sewciety Boutique. Finding proved a mini-challenge. After we asked a nice guy walking his two dogs, we learned the shop is located over the garage of "That house right there on the corner.  My friend's wife runs its. Just open the gate and go upstairs." We parked in her driveway as there was no street parking and went up. Nice little place with a variety of fabric, some very interesting panels and notions , but very small...truly a boutique. 

She gave up directions to our next stop - Blue Heron - warning us of the long driveway and that if we passed the Squat and Gobble Restaurant, we'd gone too far. Brandy welcomed us the instant we walked in the door of her shop. Blue Heron is like an Aladdin's Cave  for quilters and stitchers. We spent nearly an hour, chatting, fabric-ing, swatch-matching. We each came away with fabric choices and a vow to return in November...

Lunch was a trip down memory lane. We'd planned to eat at Bluffton Oyster Company restaurant because we could not remember the name of the place we so enjoyed a few years ago and I had neglected to be specific in my blog post! As I drove around the curve, I exclaimed, "Barbara! THIS is the place we couldn't remember!!" Toomer's has seriously delectable food. I savored my calamari, which is served with banana peppers accompanying the marinara sauce. Excellent mix of flavors. The fried oysters were superb as most places bread them too much; not here.  I'm not much of a hush puppies fan but I could have eaten half a dozen of these; made with real corn and so moist, it was like eating a cake pop!

Our last shop was Sew Suite, which is new to this area; the owner's other shop being in Summerville. Light, airy space with lots of room for machines and classes. A nice selection of fabrics including a variety of batiks. 

Then we walked next door to Off Island Thrift and got lost in a kind of wonderland of clothes, jewelry, purses, hats, wedding gowns, ball gowns, tuxes, boots, stilettos, sandals.....I held my ground and did not buy a Coach large wristlet (though I would have, if I were still traveling a lot).

Back at the condo, we stitched and napped and chatted, finished another bottle of wine and head to the sheets.