Prescott with Tie Dye Judy

On Tuesday I hit the road with my blogging friend Tie Dye Judy from Flagstaff for the fifth year in a row. Seems like just yesterday that we first met! This year we went to two quilt stores in the Prescott Valley, then found a wonderfully colorful gallery in downtown Prescott just up the street from our favorite lunch place.

First stop was the quilt store Cost Plus, which has a nice selection of cactus fabric (above) and fabric in general at good prices. I liked the Western-style couch near the books.

Then we stopped at Quilt N' Sew Connection, where I spotted two of my favorite things -- bunnies and chocolate -- at the check out counter. 

I bought a book that's new to me, "The Art of Whimsical Stitching" by Joanne Sharpe.

Techniques covered in the colorful book include fabric painting, dying, embroidery, collage, stenciling, free-motion stitching, fused lettering, needle felting and more.

Then it was time for lunch. We've gone to El Gato Azul before and knew it was good, so we went again.

The waitress's shirt shows how Prescott is pronounced by the locals.

I had a muffuletta panini and side salad -- delicious!

We wandered up the street after lunch and commented on the name of this gallery, Van Gogh's Ear. Luckily for us we decided to go in. Wow! Great artists and very colorful art! 

One of the owners was wearing these shoes carried in the gallery. They're hand sewn and painted by his daughter and son in law. If I didn't have wide, hard-to-fit feet I would've considered buying a pair.

Judy and I were also drawn to the scarves, naturally. The owner was super friendly and everything in the gallery was beautiful. Go if you're ever in Prescott.

 Have a colorful day