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.