A rainy Friday

The first stop for today, Friday, is The Quilter's Parlour in Jenkins. I'm here a little early, as some of the shops will open earlier that their stated hours. I do need to do some planning for today, decide on the best route. I will have to skip one of the shops on the way north if I am to stay with the schedule. I think that the shop in Floodwood will have to wait for tomorrow.

The Quilter's Parlour is just off the highway and very easy to find. This shop has a shop designed tote that has been made up in the gray script and dark gray 'woven' fabrics and is quite stunning. Needless to say, this shop is out of both fabrics! It is being shown as a grocery tote, but I think that it would be a great bag for work, as it is very sophisticated. I get the pattern, as this could be a great gift idea. Forget to get a picture, I'm so distracted.

Off to Brainerd, where the are 2 shops. Country Fabrics and Quilting in Brainerd, Minnesota is about as far from country as you can get. Most of the fabric in the store are by contemporary designers or batiks. The store also sells sewing machines. The store has a lot of sample garments made up, especially for children. There is a special section of prints that would be appropriate for juvenile clothing on just before you go upstairs. There are also adult garment samples.

This story is the first in the Central North section. This section is requiring a five dollar purchase at each of the shops in order to qualify for the prize at the end of the shop hop, which is a sampling of Cherrywood fabrics coordinated with the Minnesota shop hop fabrics.

The second shop in town in town is Colorz for Quilts. This shop is smaller that Country Fabrics. They have a nice sample quilt on display and snacks for the hoppers. The have mostly contemporary fabrics. Parking is in the back of the store, as it is on a very busy main street.

The next stop is in Aitkins at Aitkins Quilts and Fabrics. This is a new shop to the hop this year. Smaller shop with wide selection of fabrics. They also have a "Man Cave" set up in the back of the store for all the males who are being 'dragged' along on the hop. This shop is on a very busy street, so be aware.

On to Timeless Treasures in McGregor, MN. This little log cabin is again not on the GPS and it doesn't even recognize the roadway as having an island. This is a great shop, wide range of fabrics, lots of patterns and tools. Shop like this, that are further away from large metro areas really are treasures!

The next shops will be back in the N Central section of the hop. There are several shops clustered close to and Grand Rapids, so hopefully this will go pretty quick. I am starting to realize that I probably should have called the shop in Warroad to see if they would have waited for me to get there on Wednesday, I could use that extra 1 1/2 to 2 hours of time that the drive from Warroad to International Falls cost me the next day.

The next shop is ABC's of Quilting in Grand Rapids. This shop in an old school building in the center of town with several other shops. Grand Rapids is also the birthplace of Judy Garland and as you can see, there is a Yellow Brick Road leading from the sign in the picture up to the school. This shop is smaller, but has a nice range of fabrics, including flannels, They also have a long-arm in the shop. Quite a few of the shops in Minnesota also do long arm quilting.

The picture at the school does not really show it, but it is starting to get cloudy and it looks like it could rain. The next shop is in Deer River is Heart to Hands Quilt Shop. This shop is in an old church. The area where the altar would be has been made into a display area for a number of sample quilts. The shop is roomy and the fabrics are nicely displayed.

You can see in this picture that it is clouding up and it started to sprinkle as I was walking to my van. The GPS wants to take me back through Grand Rapids to get to Nashwauk. I ask for an alternative route, as I want to avoid the traffic. On my way, I get caught in a horrible rain storm. The rain is blowing across the road in sheets of water and you can hardly see the road at times. I keep driving, even though other vehicles have pulled over and are waiting for the storm to subside. I do drive out of the rain before I get to Nashwauk.

I make a quick stop at the Quilting Patch. This little shop is in an older home. They have a classroom area and some cute ideas using Minkee. Sorry I couldn't stay longer, but I want to try to keep head of the storm.

This picture doesn't really show how bad the clouds looked at the time. I hear on the radio that a flash flood warning has been issued for the area I just drove through. I can believe it, it was really raining hard.

The next stop is Quilts Around the Corner in Hibbing. This shop really is around the corner, you nearly have to make a U-turn to get to the store. This shop always has some great samples made up and this stop does not disappoint. I am seeing a wider range of the MN fabrics in some of the recent shop. Prior to this, some shops were running out of some of the colors. I am now back in the NE section.

It is getting late in the day and I need to make a decision on where I go from here. I decide to stop at Terri's Treasures in Iron, MN. This shop is in a mobile home. The storm catches up with me on the way to Iron. I get into the shop without getting to wet, in a break in the rainstorm. Smaller shop, obviously, but very friendly.

Minnesota State Quilt Shop Hop version 5

Well, Minnesota quilt shop hop starts again. I have been asked by my niece if I am planning to blog again this year. I do think that will be a little easier since I am now able to dictate my notes instead of typing. I am an extremely slow typist.

I started my trip this year at a new shop in Anoka, Minnesota. This is the first year that Millie P's is on the shop hop. It is kind of fun to be able to start the Minnesota shop hop at a brand-new shop. This shop had a really cute area display of items made with Minnesota State shop hop fabric. They also had quite a few very nice samples and displays. I do think that it helps to see a sample pattern constructed. Even if you don't use the same fabrics, it still gives you a good idea of what you can do with your fabric.

In addition the shop is next door to a small coffee House and across the street from an antique shop. This new shop is on Anoka's Main Street. And it is quite easy to find.


The next shop on the hop is Fat Quarter Quilting in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. This shop moved to a larger space in the same shopping mall last year. They have an excellent display of batiks, and I am able to find a border fabric that I have on my list. This year I decided to be a little more organized, and made a list of various fabrics, patterns, etc. that I was looking for, so that I had a better idea of what I needed. Unfortunately, the computer at the store was not working properly and they were unable to take my credit card. Lucky for me, I had some cash on hand to spend today.

I have a couple of options at this point. I can go to Rush City so that I can finish all of the shops in the Central East section, or I can skip Rush City and go the shop in Blaine. The decision will be made on time. I will have to take nearly 2 hours for a round trip to Rush City, so on to Blaine it is.

The Calla Lily Quilt Shop and Gifts is a smaller shop on the hop. They always have some nice samples made of the hop fabric. The quilts that they have this year are the pattern Sidelights and a pattern by a shop designer. I did try to get some photos but couldn't

The two shops in White Bear Lake are next. Parking here is always interesting, as there is a huge farmer's market in the downtown area as well. Too bad I don't live closer, I would really like to get some of this produce.

Rosebud's Cottage is the first of the shops that I go to, simply because I can park the closest. This shop has a lot of crafting items as well, including some vintage bottle caps! They have lots of small project made with the shop hop fabric kitted. Unfortunately, I also am here with a bus! Lots and lots of people.

Walking down the street and past the farmer's market, I arrive at Bear Patch Quilting Co. This shop always seems to have some great samples made from the Minnesota fabrics, and this year does not disappoint. Several cute 'non-quilty' sample like aprons are among the offerings. This shop has a wide range of fabric, lots of batiks and sells sewing machines.

It is almost time for lunch. There is a great little bakery and deli just around the corner from Charlotte's Quilting Web. This shop always seems to have a lot of sale fabric, so if you're looking for bargains for backs, there you go. This shop is much quieter, no buses.

Stop for lunch, but forget the cord to download pictures in the van! That will have to wait for later. I have been checking in with Foursquare. So far the day is going a little slower than I had planned, but no worries, it is vacation and I am really trying to not stress so much. I get enough of that every day!

Day 6: August 4

We arrived late to our hotel, Grand Superior Lodge, north of Two Harbors. If you go to the

web site, you can click on Lodging and Rates and click on the Lodge and then on the virtual tour and see some great pictures of the rooms, restaurant, etc. Mostly quiet (some people's children never learn about slamming doors!) and very restful. Maggie and I get a late start, but we do finally make it out of lodge.

First stop is at Quilt Corner in Beaver Bay. This is a very crowded shop. Maggie finds some kitchen towel decorated with the picture fabric from last years hop and it is on sale, so she picks some up to decorated some towels for herself. She wins a fat quarter by picking a purple Hershey's kiss out of the container. Some people have all the luck.

The small shopping center also contains a shop that has Christmas decorations. I collect tall, thin Santas and I do find a couple to add to the collection, one is on sale!

The final quilt shop for the day is Behind the Seams quilt shop in Silver Bay. Maggie finds some more fabric and announces that she is not going into any more quilt shops because she is buying too much. This shop has a good selection of sample to view and an eclectic mix of fabrics.

That's Maggie in picture of the shop. It is definitely not me!

We stop at the Split Rock Lighthouse which celebrating it's 100 Birthday! They have a video that is repeated every 30 minutes and is very informative. Maggie and I climb up in the lighthouse, no small feat for me, as I am afraid of heights. There is a great view from the top of the lighthouse. The park also has one of the keeper's home open for tour. One of the re-enactors is sewing using a treadle machine.

Picture of Maggie at the base of the lighthouse.

We arrive back at the lodge for a late lunch and nap. Man, I love vacations! I do have some time to take some pictures of the lodge and of the lake shore.

Gooseberry Falls State Park is just down the road so we make a quick drive to the park after a nap. It is sprinkling slightly, and when the sun comes out, there is a rainbow.

Back to the lodge for a great dinner and off to bed, we have an early start in the morning as we have to be back in Minneapolis by 4 pm. It's been a great day to kick back and enjoy some time with family!

Sunday, Aug 1 (Day 3)

Up a little early today, to try to do some blogging and sort through things in the van and organize a little bit. I would like to keep the patterns that I am getting organized by section and actually have the sections divided in my notebook. I do have the Metro area done, so I am that much further along from last year!

I am hoping that the shop in Warroad will open early today, because if it doesn't, I am only going to be able to get to 3 shops today and that is if I really haul ass. That plan was immediately shot all to hell by the detour just east of town., which means that I will not get to International Falls today! The detour will add about 1.5 extra hours of driving, so I have to make a different plan in a hurry.

The shop in Warroad, Northern Exposure Quilts is new to the hop this year. It is so new that it doesn't have a sign on the building yet. It is open early!! It is a cute little shop and has some great sample quilts, including a round one by the register. I like the potholders that they have made using the hop fabric and buy one of the kits.

On to the detour! Now what to do? I realize that trying to backtrack today is not going to work, so it looks like I am headed to Bemidji. On the way, I will stop at Anderson's Fabric Warehouse in Blackduck. The web site only lists the info about their decorating business, but they also have an area that carries quilt fabric, patterns and sewing supplies. The bus is here but they are leaving, talk about perfect timing! And they are going to Warroad, so even better.

This shop has lots of sample quilts and they also have upholstery good that you can purchase as well. Need to clue my youngest daughter (interior designer) in, maybe she can come with me next year.

Next to Emily's Country Cottage in Bemidji. As you could guess from the name, this shop has a country theme to the fabrics that they sell. They also sell other country related item. They usually have a great sales area downstairs, and a holiday themed area upstairs. I find a roll of fat quarters on sale for $25 and they have some coordinating fabric for a border and binding!

The shop in Deer River, Heart to Hand Quilt Shop is in a building that previously housed a church. So many quilt shops are doing a great job of re-purposing spaces. This shop has a great display area in what would have been the front of the church. I find some nice coordinating pinks for a project that I saw in a magazine that I would like to make. This is the first shop that I have been to in the northeast section.

The last shop for today is ABC's of Quilting in Grand Junction. This shop in an old school building along with other shops. I find a Laurel Burch fabric that would make a great bag for friend. This is a very nice little shop.

I do not have time to make it to Nashwauk today. Instead, I head to International Falls to spend the night and start my day tomorrow. And run into more detours. US 169 is being worked on. Now this is a divided 4 lane highway and one would think that the traffic would be detoured to one side of the divide with a single lane of traffic traveling in each direction. Seems logical, right? So what does MNDot do? They tear up both lanes of northbound traffic and make everyone drive on crushed rock for over 1/4 mile! What are they thinking or maybe were they thinking at all! Luckily it wasn't raining at the time! (It was raining further up the road and the road was paved!) Make it to International Falls and literally, fall into bed. I will need to push it tomorrow to be in the Twin Cities to meet my daughter on Wednesday.

2010 MN Shop Hop Day 1, Part 2

2010 MN Shop Hop Day 1, Part 2

The afternoon of 7/30 starts at Quilt Cove in Eagan. This store has lots of fabric but needs more space. A lot of the fabric is sitting on the floor and is therefore hard to see. They have a great notions wall!

The next stop is Quilter's Haven. This store in Rosemont has a nice space and lots of room, They also sell Bernina sewing machines. They also have several samples made up with the shop hop fabrics including a quilt as you go bag by G.E. Designs from the Fast and Furious book. This looks like a quick project and is a good sized tote.

On to Fabric Town in Apple Valley. This is another shop that my Garmin GPS can't find and I am not going to spend $199 to upgrade. For that kind of money, I could buy a new GPS. This shop has a Cher song on the sound system and we are singing along. Is there a better way to spend an afternoon? This shop has nice displays and isn't too crowded. One does not feel like you are tripping over bolts of fabric to get to the one thing that you want.

The next stop on the list is Eagle Creek Quilt Shop in Shakopee. This shop is fun inside and out. They have a lot of flowers and bushes around the shop, which is an old depot. Inside is a great selection of fabrics, including a large selection of oilcloth (vinyl covered fabric). Lots and lots of wool and batiks.

Sorry that the pictures weren't much better, but it was starting to mist. This misty/drizzly/messy stuff continued the rest of the day.

The next shop is the furthest west of all of the shops today. Heavenly Patchwork Quilt Shop is in Wachonia. This shop is owned by the mother of the designer for This and That patterns and Sherri has designed a special quilt for the shop hop. This shop has expanded in size since my last visit during the last shop hop. This shop is worth the drive!

Now back to the main metro area and to the The Sampler quit shop in Chanhassen. This shop has more contemporary fabric lines. This shop is also a Bernina dealership. They also carry rayons, corduroy and other unusual fabrics.

The weather is slowly getting wetter and it is getting close to 6 PM. I will not be able to get to the shops in Rogers and Elk River today. The last stop today will be Blue Bamboo in Plymouth. This shop has a huge selection of oriental, batik and contemporary fabrics. I would like to compliment the store on their update! Everything is organized, on shelves and easy to see. I am able to find the Judy Neimeyer quilt pattern that a friend asked me to look for. I also get the last charm for my necklace.

I decided to put split rings on the necklace to make it easier to put the charms on as I received them. This really helps keep me from loosing them as I collect them. 14 shops today, not a bad day's work. I do think that if I do this next year, I may do the route in reverse as think that I could get to more shops that way. A big thank you to all of the shops that were open early and late as they made this long day possible!

2010 MN Shop Hop 7/30

I must admit that I am a terrible blogger, I feel like I never have anything interesting to say. That aside it is time for the 4th annual Minnesota Shop Hop, so here we go again. I have a new much faster laptop this year, so maybe that will help too. (ha ha)

I have to post this first. I went out Thursday morning to water the pots in front of my house and I find this little gal (guy?) in one of the pots. She sat still while I watered the plants, went in the house to get my camera and took about 5 pictures. Then the flash went off, and away she went! I was about 18 inches away from her most of the time. Mom and Dad Robin didn't like me much. I'm sure that they were probably swearing up a storm, they were noisy enough.

Day One of the 2010 MN Shop Hop

Try to get the day off to an early start, so head to a shop that opens at 8 AM. This is 2 hours before the usual hop times. I start this year at Silver Lane Quilting in Forest Lake. This is really nice little shop. The owners son Doug is the designer for Antler Quilt Design. Shop has Doug's Warm Winter Wishes quilt using the shop shop fabrics behind the counter. The kits are gone, but Doug has a insert for the pattern that lists the fabrics he used in the quilts. I can't seem to get any of my Garmin products to find this shop, so they put their coordinates up on the website and it is easy to find.

Next shop on my day 1 hop is Fat Quarter Quilting in Coon Rapids. This shop is the first one in the Metro Section that I will visit today. The metro shops offer a charm with a $10 purchase. I will not let any know hop much that I really spent, but I have to spend at least $120 to get all the charms. (A real bargain!) However, I do have a list of fabrics that I need for a quilt that I want to make and a hop like this is a great way to gather a diverse number of fabrics for a scrap quilt. Fat Quarter has moved down the sidewalk in the same shopping center and is in a new space that is much bigger than their old store and has nice classroom space. I don't that I have been here since the last state hop. Used to get here more often when my daughter lived in Coon Rapids. The shop has some great sale items and they have a Lazy Girl bag made with the shop hop fabrics that is really cute

Back to the charms. The charms this year all have a winter theme. Before the hop started, I decided to make a necklace to put the charms on. The fabrics are blues and grays and white and so I choose blue beads and a matching pendant on a silver snake chain with silver findings. I have made 2 bracelets and a necklace with previous years charms. I wear them for the time that I am on the hop and the rest of the year they hang on the bulletin board in my sewing room.

Shop # 3 is the Calla Lily in Blaine. This shop is part of the Central East section and the section is giving away snowflakes that can be used to make a candle mat or table topper. This shop has a great display of the items made with the hop fabrics. I would like to show more pictures of the inside of the shops, but due to concerns about copy writes, etc., I'm sticking to just showing the shops.

Shops 4 and 5 are both in White Bear Lake.

The first shop is Bear Patch Quilting. I didn't realize that Friday mornings are evidently Farmers Market day and so the downtown is packed with people and cars and I have to park about 4 blocks away. What a baby, you might say, and you would be right. I does however make a difference latter when I have about 5 plastic bags of produce to carry back 5 blocks to the car! I think that it must have weighed about 20 pounds.

This shop is quite eclectic and has numerous display quilts and bags to help you choose just the right purse, bag or quilt that you would like to make. They also have a quilt with hand embroidery using the hop fabrics. In addition to the 5 inch square of the hop fabrics that you get at each of the shops on the hop, as well as a block pattern, Bear Patch has the pattern for a couple of hand stitched quilt tags.

About 2 blocks away is Rosebud's Cottage. This shop was in North Saint Paul on the last shop hop. The store is at one end of the street where the farmers market is being held. This shop was quiet at the time that I was there, so I had a chance to talk to the owner for a little while. This shop has some cute Halloween fabric in the window.

Now I have to walk back to the van, through the farmer's market. I am not going to be able to eat any of this stuff, but my son and daughter-in-law and my oldest daughter live in the metro area and they can use this up.

This is a picture of all the stuff that I hauled back to the van. The picture does not include the slab of Alaskan salmon that I purchased as well. It's in the cooler.

I also had a bag of quilty stuff to carry as well. I need to do some weightlifting!

Down the road to Stillwater and to Charlotte's Quilting Web. This shop is a little tricky to get to off the highway coming from the west, and I seem to mix it up every year! Oh well, what's a little more driving. This shop is full of shoppers and is pretty crowded. They have a great sale fabric area and a nice selection of batiks. I am able to find a couple more of the teal and brown fat quarters that I need for a quilt that I plan to make.

Just around the corner from the quilt shop is a great bakery and restaurant, Fresh Fields. It is time for lunch!