Ever since I realized I forgot a fabric for my Lucille quilt, I've been chompin' on the bit to get to some quilt shops.
Yesterday I drove an extra 25 miles north of where I needed to drop off my 3 oldest girls to camp, just to see if a shop had it. (well, not just to do that.....I had to drop off my oldest who is a counselor 3 hours before I could drop off my other two, who are campers!!) So anyway...I check the website for this shop and it says open Sundays 'til 5 p.m. I get there at 3:20...SHOP CLOSED!!!! There was a piece of paper covering the 5 p.m. with a 3 written on it!!:-( I was so incredibly bummed.
So today we head north again.....but this time much farther north. The first stop was in St. Cloud, MN. I stopped by the sewing center there to see if they had a 1/4" foot for my Featherweight. Hubby had stopped by a store in the Cities to ask about a quilting foot, but they gave him one with a guide on it....personally I hate those....I was looking for one without a guide. The sewing center in St. Cloud knew exactly what I was saying and handed me a foot that was $7 cheaper than the other one hubby had found......I like a good deal. They were also super friendly in the store. I think I'll have to go back.I checked Gruber's for my missing fabric.....NO LUCK!! And Gruber's is one... if not THE.... largest quilt store in MN.
Then on to two more shops in small towns in MN that I won't mention the names. I was not impressed at all. The selections in these stores were rather slim. Not much to mention about these stores. In fact I was beginning to get a little disheartened. After yesterday's experience and then walking into Gruber's.....who has a large selection, then these two small shops with no selection....bummed I was.....but we continued on......
On to Fergus Falls, MN. This is where I hit the jackpot!! Quilter's Cottage HAD MY FABRIC!!!
At first I didn't see it because there was just so much good stuff to see in this shop. The fabric line was right near the cash register.....which is normally the last place I look. (Don't you find yourself doing that?.....going away from the cutting tables and/or cash register when you first walk in a shop? Well, I do...) ..so anyway.....hubby is calling me to tell me he is done with his appointment when I rounded this corner and I let out a squeal...."THEY HAVE IT!!" He takes that as a "She's not done yet!"
I not only found my fabric I got a pattern and fabric for these cute little crayon/marker purses by Clothsline Quilts. My 7 year old loves taking markers, paper, and coloring pages with her to church, but she has a hard time keeping track of her markers......and they make a lot of noise. When I saw this sample I knew it was what she needed. I showed the sample to her, but she had a really hard time understanding that she didn't have to choose those fabrics. She kept saying she didn't like it, but what she didn't like was the fabric, she liked the purse. These are the fabrics she chose......aren't they just yummy!!?!!!
Oh, I wanted to walk out with so much more and spend more time. But I only have so much money, and with the family waiting only so much time. I did end up writing down many notes for future reference!!
We went to one more "dud" shop, but after that I was spent. No more shops!! Maybe on the way back we'll try one or two that I missed.
I really, really wanted to bring my Featherweight and sew, but I had to be realistic, who am I fooling? I would probably bring the machine along and never have time to get it out of the case to sew!! So instead I brought my knitting. I finished two washclothes along the way. Not bad considering my wrist has been bothering me.I'll end with a crazy family photo....well, part of my family.....it's been incredibly weird having just a 7 year old and 5 year old. So this is what it's like with just two kids this age? I never had this.....by the time my two oldest were this age I had two more. So this is fun.....yet my heart is aching for my others. I wonder what they are doing, if they are sleeping o.k.....and then tonight we watch the news from back home to find out they'll be getting severe thunderstorms at their camp.:-( So yes, my heart is aching and longing to chat with my older girls, but for now I'll take the memories we're creating with my youngin's!!:-) So......on to the crazy family photo......
No comments:
Post a Comment