Tommy Time!

Tommy (bot left), me, Irene (left top) and Gayle

My weekend was wonderful!!  Three of us have been part of group projects  that Tommy has invited us to over the past three years.  This past summer Tommy put out another invite for us to visit for a sew in weekend at her home!   Tommy lives just over the Michigan/Indian line right on Lake Michigan.  Wonderful views.

Anyway,  Friday a.m. I left to pick up Irene in Lansing then off we headed to meet up with Gayle at Tommy's house (go to Tommy's blog to see her post of our show & tell - no point in me re posting same pics).   Well, on our way, we did have one stop!  The Chocolate Garden!  It's only a mile off the expressway!  And well worth it!  Exit 39 off I-94!  But that wasn't the best of the trip!

We arrived at Tommy's around 2:00 Michigan time and were welcomed  by Bella!  Is she a sweetheart or what!!!  Yes, she always sits like this....just adorable...I couldn't keep my hands off her.

Tommy wouldn't think of us eating lunch on the way so she had lunch prepared upon our arrival.  Hot, steamed bagel sandwiches!   Tommy made them with Turkey, cheese, cukes, mayo and steamed them.  AND the best chocolate chip cookies ever!!  Don't know what made them so different but they were SO good.  I think I ate two that afternoon.   After we ate, off we headed to Tommy's studio to start sewing!  And sew they did!!  More on what all we did in tomorrow's post!  Today is all about the food!  Tommy is a great cook, as you'll see...and if you want some recipes, check out her blog or her food blog here.

For dinner, Tommy prepared a feast of "'pu pu's", as she called them...started with deep fried pickles!  They were fantastic!  And yes, that is a box of chocolate chip cookies behind the pickles...and yes, that is a bottle of wine!  I was so busy sewing and eating I didn't get any more pictures of the rest of our "pu pu's" but they consisted of:  Brie Puffs, Mini Sirloin burgers, Sauerkraut balls, mini pizza's, Buffalo Chicken puffs, mini potato latkes and  mini Smore's for dessert!

This is our gracious hostess, Tommy!! And she is as cute as a button!  And the best hostess!!!

Gayle was working on a quilt top on the design wall - Irene was sewing, cutting and ironing her blocks

Irene sewing away - yes, that's my peacock sitting on the chair!

We stayed up until after 12:30 sewing, eating, talking and laughing!  What fun!!!   Saturday morning after eating some of Tommy's wonderful strawberry and banana bread(s), we were back in her sewing studio working away!  At noon, Tommy had us stop work and we headed out into 'town'...we drove around looking at some of her old homes she lived in then stopped at a local grill for a great lunch.  Of course, we had lots of stories to tell and we laughed a lot...no surprise there, right!  

Back to Tommy's, after trekking around town to do more sewing!  OK, more eating!!!   Tommy was busy in the kitchen preparing our next meal and this is what we had!!  So cool!  

You put polenta onto Kraft paper then top with roasted veggies and grilled sausage!  YUM...I did take a bite of the sausage but the veggies were wonderful!   You know me and beef...but I did eat the mini burgers Tommy made Friday night...go figure.

Anyway, Tommy also had fresh baked bread you could dip into the polenta and veggie mix...this was my 'dish' so to speak!  And Tommy had chocolate cupcakes for dessert...hard to believe but I didn't eat any!  I was stuffed!!!

It was such a fun get away for me!  I got to meet and bond with some great ladies...ate well and even had a nice fall drive to and from Indiana.  Tomorrow I'll post pics of some of the projects everyone worked on.  It was a very productive weekend!!!