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
A couple weeks ago, Kelli and I visited the Amish to the south of us, stopped at the quilt shop and took a flying run to Cedar Rapids to visit my niece Jody while she was in the hospital. I’ve told you about all it except the trip to the quilt shop.
Some of you might remember Lou Ann’s Quilt Garden and Retreat. It’s was in Oelwein Iowa and that’s the location that we held the retreats. We have long loved Lou Ann and knew that she was thinking of retiring but wanted a buyer for the shop and retreat. At one point, Lou Ann had even asked Kelli and I if we were interested in it. NO WAY!! I am not a business woman at all!
We had heard the shop had sold and wanted to take a look. It’s now called Farmer’s Daughters Quilts and Retreat Center. You can find their website HERE. We were hoping we might get a chance to meet to the new owner but…she wasn’t there. We also wanted Georgie to have her first trip to a quilt shop.
Inside, this is what greeted us. Oh…LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I told the gal in the shop that it was my first time seeing Lori Holt’s fabrics in person. The gal working was shocked. She figured being we sew as much as we do that we are in quilt shops all the time. Seriously, we are not. In this last year I’ve been to more cross stitch shops than quilting shops!! I never have been a big quilt shop goer. I have lots of fabric already. I sure was tempted by these Lori Holt prints though.
I went back to the prints several times but left without any. Someday When Georgia is a big girl and gets a big girl bed, I want to make her a Farm Girl quilt. There’s a sequel to the Farm Girl Vintage book and I already have it on pre-order. I can’t wait to get it.
There were fun things in the shop…
Lots of cute little spots decorated up with goodies.
I love the checkerboard quilt… Continue reading