August 3, 2010 (Day 5)

Day 5 August 3, 2010

I had an excellent nights sleep. I shifted the dirty clothes from the overnight case to the larger suitcase and the clean things are in the smaller overnight bag. This way I only have to take what I need into the room at the motels.

The shop in Walker, Front Porch Quilts, has a great front porch, with good display space and plenty of flowers. Their geraniums look great. I arrive before the shop opens and have a seat on a wicker chair. It is so relaxing just to sit and wait. Their display of shop hop samples is very good. Nice selection of fabrics.

I drive to Park Rapids for Monika’s. This is another combinations quilting and needle arts (mostly knitting) store. This shop has a pretty good selection of patterns for clothing. I’d like to make a quilted jacket, but it looks like I will have to do some alteration on the patterns. All of the patterns have the box shape to the body of jacket, and I would like it a little more fitted. This shop completes my northwest section. Now I can get my fabric that has been offered as an incentive for this section.

And this is what the main drag of Park Rapids looks like!

The next shop is Piecemaker's Quilt Shop in Hackensack. This shop has a good selection of reproduction fabrics. They have a great quilt of embroidered blocks of barns. They also have a limited selection of other fabrics. This is another shop that I have difficulty with on the GPS. It is also easy to miss, the sign for the shop appears rather suddenly.

Traveling south on highway 371 is Quilter’s Parlour. I find something that I have been looking for, a 120 inch retractable measuring tape. Mine is broken and when you are making big quilts, that longer tape is indispensable. This is another easy to miss shop when coming from the north. They have a very nice shop hop display.

On to the next shop Mother’s Originals. This shop is definitely off the beaten track! Cute little shop, eclectic selection of fabrics. They also have some real feedsacks for sale.

Brainerd is next and there are 2 shops here. Colorz for Quilts is the first one that I will stop at. They have a very good selection of batiks and also lots of items for embellishment. They also have a good selection of patterns for bags and totes. Sorry, the picture is of the back of the store, from the parking area. The traffic was nuts and I wasn't about to get run over to take a picture of the front of the store.

The 2nd shop that I stop at is Country Fabric and Quilting. This store also has lots of batiks. They also have an extensive selection of fabrics with big bold prints and more contemporary fabrics. In fact, the entire upper level is devoted to this type of fabric. This shop also won the Moda competition for displays made with the shop hop fabric. Be sure to check out the display on the United Notions website.

The day seems to be shaping up pretty well. 7 shops by 1:30. The next stop is Country Caboose Quilts. The shop isn’t actually in the caboose, but right next to it. The shop is small and crowded, but has a good selection of fabrics and lots of fabric on sale.

After a bit of a drive, I arrive at Quilts on Broadway in Foley. The shop has moved from last year and it actually just off Broadway. Bigger space and room for a classroom. Run into a group of hoppers who have finished the central west section and are picking up their prize, a clear zippered bag with fabric. Looks really nice, rainbow colors!

Next is The Noble Quilter. This is a new space from last year. Not to hard to find and a very nice shop. Wide selection of fabrics and some very nice samples have been made from the shop hop fabric.

The last shop for the day is Cottage Quilts and Fabrics in Elk River. This shop has lots of kits for 5 yard quilts. This shop is close to where my son and daughter-in-law live, so I have been here several times.

It has been a long day! I need to pick up my daughter and travel to Two Harbors tonight. We are planning to stay a couple of nights at the Grand Superior Lodge on Lake Superior and chill out for a day!