The quilt shops on our Iowa trek.

We visited quilt shops on our recent Iowa road trip! Are you surprised?!

We stopped in Cascade, Iowa at The Quilting Tree. It's an older shop that the owner bought ten years ago right after she retired. The building and the shelving units were quite interesting. The owner's husband came in while we were there and showed us his neat collection of sewing machines - he likes one of a kind machines..

I bought a black/white fabric to back a red/black/gray quilt.

We stopped at Helios Stitches N Stuff in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. It was in this neat old school. The place was so busy, it was hard to look (the Iowa Quilt Shop Hop was in full swing). We'll definitely stop again when we are in the area.

We found Cotton Creek Mill in West Branch. It is a very nice shop and I might go back - I was a bit taken back when I was checking out, the owner asked where we lived and then went on to bash our state politics and say she couldn't leave the state fast enough! I do hope she was just having a bad day.

I found a backing for the other red/black/gray top that needs quilting.

In Tipton, IA, we visited The Fabric Stasher Quilt Shop Store and More. This was a nice little store with great people working. The town was having a kick off to summer celebration for kids so there was a lot of activity downtown. 

I found this red dot wide backing that I will use at some point - yes, I began adding to my stash again right here!

We spent one day in Kalona, Iowa and the surrounding area. We visited an Amish quilt shop - Little Prairie Fabrics. It is owned by three sisters that live next to it. I continued adding to my stash. The top fabric is a pale blue and the second is a light green (although I think it looks yellow). The rust red and the blue fabrics are wide backings.

As we walked the streets of Kalona, I had to take pictures of some of the quilt blocks in the sidewalks. They caught my attention the first time I visited there too.

We found Stitch 'n Sew Cottage right downtown in Kalona. It is a great shop with such helpful ladies. 

I wanted fabric to do a little redecorating and found this. (Something I need!)

I also found this kit for a Patriotic Door Banner and this wide Amish Squares on Navy backing. Although I don't need either, I'll use both. The clerk also slipped a nice pen into my bag.

While we were in Cedar Rapids, IA, we visited Frond Design Studio, one of my all-time favorite shops, in Fairfax, IA. I have been a fan of this shop since the very first time I took a step into the shop. It was a different name and in a different place then but still in the area. I forgot to take a picture of the store front - guess I was too excited to be there again!

I found MANY fabrics I wanted but settled on these. The five "plain" fabrics are all Plaster of Paris prints and the red with blue, white, and a little yellow is a wide back that I have purchased before. Stephanie Brandenburg, owner of Frond Design studios, designed this fabric for Northcott. I have talked with Stephanie before, but she wasn't there when we visited this week. The young lady working was just as helpful and a delight to visit with.

We had more shops to visit on our way home but when we left Cedar Rapids to head home, the air was heavy with smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Neither of us really wanted to get out of the car any more than necessary. Please keep those affected by the wildfires in your prayers. Even if one didn't lose property in the fires, I can't imagine being in that smoke very long.