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Tuesday, August 2
Join us for this fabulous journey through the Quilt Gardens of Indiana and through Amish Country. The Quilt Gardens are 17 different locations where gardens have been planted in the style of a quilt. Along with this, many of the locations also have large quilt murals on the buildings outside. But the Quilt Gardens Tour is only a part of our adventure. We will also experience the Amish life visiting historical homes, talking to the people there, and tasting their incredible cooking. We will have demonstrations of cooking and gardening from an Amish perspective as well a visiting some well known Amish quilt shops. In addition we will have quilting classes and lectures from quilt artists – even an Amish Quilting Bee! One of the highlights of our trip will be spending a day at the Amish Acres Art and Craft Festival held annually in Nappanee. For more information on the Quilt Gardens visit 
We will then explore the beautiful, handmade works of art by fiber artists Diana Bennett and Lina Zerkle.
On any given day, Yoder’s Department Store carries Amish Country’s widest assortment of quality fabric, clothing, linens, hats…you name it! Yoder’s Hardware Store - just across the hall - stocks wonderful surprises like enamelware, cast iron cookware, wood-fired stoves and silk flowers. (Yes…they carry hardware, too…) 
The ladies will first serve us a delicious home-cooked, 2 meat, traditional Amish meal, also known as a Haystack supper. Then we will pull up a chair around 4 original quilt frames filled with hand pieced
We'll see a fine art collection including Tiffany leaded glass, Rodin sculptures, velvet window coverings, hand painted walls, and walnut woodwork.
After breakfast, we hop the bus, and head to Goshen to visit the quilt murals and garden, ending at The Old Bag Factory, a quilt shop featuring original and unique contemporary designs that provide for breathtaking quilts. You'll meet owners, Dave and Shirley shenk, who will explain their philosophy, technique, and showcase their unique copyrighted original designs that showcase quilting as an art form. Then, we'll shop in the artisan complex of The Old Bag Factory complete with pottery, furniture, candles, unique gifts and handiworks. 
We'll feast at a Garden Tea Party with a demonstration on making bath salts, then we'll tour and shop at the Prairie Trail Herb Farm, where we will listen to a discussion on the most popular herbs as well as a variety of uses for them along with basic information for growing and harvesting our own herbs when we get home. Complete with a “make-it-take-it” Herbal Bath Salt demonstration.
Had enough flowers? We are not finished yet! Mac Boyer loves Dahlias and considers them “the most diverse flower in God’s kingdom”. Each summer from late July through September we can witness that diversity in all its glory at the gorgeous American Dahlia Society Test Garden at Bonneyville Mill County Park. For the past 22 years Mac has managed the garden; each year testing and showcasing about 140 new and different hybrids all grown from seed. We’ll go home ready to start planting and dreaming of Dahlias as big as dinner plates!
Stepping into Benedict’s Nursery is a bit like stepping into a scene from a fairytale – tiny,remarkable plants that make ordinary plants seem huge in comparison fill garden racks and specially made containers. That’s because Esther Benedict specializes in alpines and other unusual species that are seldom seen in a garden shop. It may seem curious that an Old Order Mennonite woman living in Nappanee, IN, is knowledgeable about species that manage to survive in high altitude or harsh desert terrain, but it’s her hobby. Esther can tell us all about these amazing, slow growing little plants. She also makes and sells the rugged, rock-like hyper-tufa pots ideally suited for these hearty miniatures and gives classes on making our own.
Then, here we come Amish Acres, Nappanee. The 80-acre restored Amish farmstead, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the focal point of Amish Acres. This heritage resort echoes the simple life of Amish society through historic interpretation, dining, lodging, theatre, countryside tours, baked goods and 10 different shops. A sixteen foot covered farm wagon with padded seats is pulled by an International Harvester H tractor and gives us an overview of the historic farm as it travels down the gravel lanes, around the pond, past the historic buildings, and through the woods.
This festival is one of the Top 200 festivals in the nation and the 8th Top Traditional Crafts Show by Sunshine Artist Magazine. There will be continuous entertainment on 3 stages, roving clowns, medicine show & musicians, square & line dancing, paddle boats, cloggers, festival foods from roast pork to preaching pies, tasty ice cream to sassafras iced tea. Old time music fills the main stage while kids ride the swan paddle boats on the pond. Everyone is on their own for lunch. In the afternoon, we'll attend a matinee of "Plain & Fancy, " in the Broadway Musical Theatre, and end the day with Threasher's dinner.
Per Person Rate:
"Thanks so much for the order I received today because you sent the most wonderful pattern from pieces from my heart, a hat pattern. Very cute, How lovely to have this gift from you, in wonderful Texas, a state full of wonderfully kind people!" 
Thanks, Jane
