Last Saturday I decided I couldn’t stand to be in my house any longer.  The boxes that were stacked up here were getting my nerves.  I hadn’t told you all that I needed the mail situation to change.  I was nervous to say anything and didn’t really know quite how to go about changing things.  Kalissa was driving home from working an overnight shift.  She called are we were chatting.  I told her I didn’t know what I wanted to do that day.  I knew I should stay home and tackle the mess but I really wanted to just get out of the house.  Then Kalissa said, “What could you do today that would make you happy by the time you went to bed?”

Hmm.  I told her to have this mail all taken care of would be my ideal.  She said well stay home and do it.  I just couldn’t.  I was so needing a break and time away to think it all through.  So…I wrote the blog post telling you all about the changes in the mail program.  Find that HERE if you missed it.  I scheduled it for the evening post.  I sent a copy of the blog post to our three daughters.  I asked them for their opinions…away I went.

As I drove away from my house I could feel the stress of it all lifting.  Whew.  I finally did it.  I went and shopped at the Amish settlement near Hazelton, Iowa then cut cross country to Merry’s Stitchins near Jessup Iowa.

As I drove I decided I was going to buy a wool kit if I could find one I liked.  I’ve seen several cross-stitchers pick up wool projects lately.  I’ve done several wool applique projects in the past and would love to do one again.  I really wanted to make a pillow for my dough bowl.

They had some cute wool things…

I liked this Welcome Sign but …
Continue reading →

Kelli, Kayla, and I had a day away getaway on Saturday.  It wasn’t a fancy day away…We had a couple of goals.  We wanted to see some fall foliage.  We wanted a casual day…

We stopped at a garage sale and thrift store along the way and here in Prarie de Chein Wisconsin.  This little place, Valley Fish and Cheese has awesome treats.  We had smoked shrimp here along with cheese curds.  It was so yummy.

More amazing color….

But, this was our destination… Continue reading →

When I was in Rochester for all of my doctor appointments last week I made a stop to Pine Needles Quilt and Sew.  I had messaged Connie and suggested we meet.  She was happy to drive my way and shop so we did.  We were good girls, kept our hugs to ourselves, used masks and hand sanitizer.   The shop had good safety precautions in place so we felt comfortable.

Some of you might not know but I know Marsha that owns the shop (and her daughter Suzie).  Years ago my husband Kramer worked for Marsha’s husband and her dad on their farm outside of Chester Iowa.  That was back in 1990.  Marsha was a big time quilter crafter then and continued to be.  It was so surprise to me that she decided to buy the quilt shop in Cresco (and eventually move it to Rochester).

Marsha and I have run into each other off and on through the years and I’ve always appreciated the times that we have.  I always feel like she’s a bit of a kindred spirit…both of us are farm girls with farmer husbands and both of us love crafting.

I don’t get to Rochester often and when I do typically have a giant list of errands.  With covid and no errands to do, I thought stopping at the shop would be perfect.

I got there before the store opened.  I sat in the truck and waited until Connie arrived and the store opened.

The store is well-known as the local Bernina sewing machine dealer.

They also handle Baby Lock machines.  Much of the store is designated for machines.

The store will be moving to a neighboring store in the near future.  I was told the new store will be bigger with a bigger classroom.

The last time I visited I saw this great pineapple block bag.  I ended up getting the pineapple ruler but haven’t used it yet.  Seeing the bag reminded me I need to give the ruler a try.

New in the shop is Halloween.  This big pillow was cute.  I love the pumpkin motif that was quilted into the piece.
Here is the section for the Halloween fabric.  Don’t you just love the softer colors… Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I took a Saturday and went exploring.  I hit the Amish stores near Hazelton Iowa first…Rolls!!…

and the off to Merry’s Stitchins.

Merry’s is a quilt shop in the country just outside of Jessup Iowa.  If you’re even in the area, I highly recommend that you go.  For me it’s only 9 miles for the Amish stores I frequent…and Waterloo and Hobby Lobby is only a few miles after that.

Merry’s Stitches is owned by MERRY!!  Merry is the mom of Julie from Patchabilities.  Julie lives in the neighboring town to me.  Each of these gals is true talent.

My computer is acting up and won’t give me the pictures in order so here are the photos I took in no particular order.

I went as I was on a mission to restock my white based neutrals.  Seriously, when I go to quilt shops, often they only have 10 different ones…NOT MERRY’S STITCHES.  She was LOADED with white based neutrals.  Stop by tomorrow and check out what I bought.  I say I spent most of the fabric budget in one stop would be VERY accurate.

The store is really big.  The ceilings are high so there is lots of space to hang samples…have I told you how much I love samples??

Fabric is sorted to genre.  Kim Deihl fabrics are taking this area.
Julie of Patchabilities has her own space with all her samples.  It’s great that they have many of the hangers for the projects too.

Here are more of Julie’s creations.

This is the Civil Wars…. Continue reading →