Ribbons "Down the Shore"

The Ribbon Lady and family had the pleasure of two weeks "down the shore" in Ocean Grove NJ.  I am always looking for fellow ribbon lovers, and the quaint little Victorian town of Ocean Grove delivered.

Ocean Grove is one mile square with a huge Methodist Auditorium and "tent city"smack dab in the middle where traditionally, the Methodists lived to be close to the church. You can still hear the large choirs as you walk by.  The town and auditorium date back to the 1800's, it's only been in the past 20 years that the town has allowed people to drive on Sunday.  Go to http://www.oceangrovenj/,  for a more extensive description of the town. One visit there and you will fall in love.  You just feel like any minute John Phillip Sousa,and 76 trombones will  come marching down the street all at the same time, while playing Stars and Stripes Forever!

Lovely Victorian wreaths, red white and blue buntings,and charming "painted ladies" abound.  Of course there were lovely ribbons on the wreaths, one home had celebrated a graduation with school colored ribbons all along their white picked fence, but my personal favorite was the basket of impatience, with the double face satin ribbons streaming from the planter.

So my friends as summer starts to fade, I will remember fondly our special family time "down the shore" in Ocean Grove.

What is your favorite summer time memory?

It's July 5th, that means yesterday was the 4th of July.


These holidays always bring a large surge of patriotism to my sole.I am one of those that cry at parades, and the Hallmark card counter.

I missed the parade yesterday, but didn't miss the family picnic---I love watermelon on the 4th,I know it has a lot of carbs but I enjoyed it.

The patriotic spirit took me back to Memorial day weekend, when I visited with my friend Donna in Auburn NY. One of the local Schools sponsored a fund raiser. Residents were offered an opportunity to purchase a flag, in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one. Each flag was tagged with names of the donators as well as the honoree. All were carefully placed in alphabetical order so the donors could claim their flags after the weekend.

To see 4500 Flags around this lovely pond, with a beautiful gazebo as it,s centerpiece was quite a site,and touched me deeply.

Only one thing could have made it better-----attach the tags with Over the Moon Ribbons.

May the Star Spangled Banner wave

Bring out the Artist Within

This past weekend we had the pleasure of a real get-away, with no agenda!

We escaped to a little town in New Jersey called Frenchtown. A B&B seemed just the thing, so off to the Widow McCree house, a charming 1800's home with many modern but well done updates.

Hunterdon County (NJ) and Buck's County (PA) are separated by the Delaware River, they are truly a weekend getaway delight.

Two of our BFFs met us there, so we were off to a weekend of fine dining, fun, shopping, and viewing of artists galleries. Which brings me to the meat of my story.

In one of the chichi galleries, there was a framed ribbon weaving in the tumbling block style. Although well done, I was dismayed the artist didn't use prettier ribbon. To top it all off, it was was mounted on a fabric covered box but the fabric was badly wrinkled.

I was curious to know how much one could charge for a piece I knew I could create better. It was a mere $400.00.

And so my fellow ribbon lovers; Google "ribbon weaving-tumbling block pattern", and you too can become an artist.

My personal favorite is Elaine Schmidt's book The Complete Guide to Ribbon Craft available on Amazon.

Send pictures, and keep on playing with ribbon.

Alice aka The Ribbon Lady