2025 Fall Trip Part 3 of 3

First, I need to remember that we shouldn't be driving distances on Mondays - too many quilt shops are closed! On this trip, we traveled on three Mondays; thank goodness I still found some open shops! I even found more than the items on my list.

Our first stop was a return trip to Nancy Zieman Sewing Studio and Quilt Shop in Beaver Dam. This store has lots of brights which I love. I was able to find two backs for quilt tops I've made. 

backs with finished tops

 

Our second stop was at Quilting Legacies in Fond du Lac. They had a long arm class going on that I was invited to attend (but didn't since we were traveling.) We were able to look around in the store but there was no one to help us. I'd like to stop another time - it was a nice shop.

On Washington Island, we stopped at Sievers School of Fiber Arts. They have a shop where they sell a variety of art and supplies. They had a little fabric and I found a couple pieces for my stash.

In Sturgeon Bay, we found Barn Door Quilt Shop. The owner was really nice and I was amazed at the variety of her stock. I remembered to take photos outside her shop but they aren't good. I'll definitely stop the next time I'm in the area.

I found two backs that will go with my scrappy two-inch squares. There will be four of these quilts total so I now have 3 backs.

backs with a finished top

I've been to Plum Lake Quilts in Sayner before. They carry lots of wool and muted colors. This is a place I love shopping for things for us.

I left with four kits. Ray was quite interested and all of a sudden, I had four kits instead of two. Yes, my husband is an enabler!

A wool Santa wallhanging

A quilt kit that I've looked at before

A cute wool pillow

A wool table runner

We found the Fabric Patch in Ironwood, MI

  

This is a superb shop with a large selection of fabric on two levels. The lady working was related to the owner; she was very helpful and friendly. I found fabric for 3 backs.

The red will be the back of 
the blue and paint splotch quilt.

The fourth of the 2" square quilts, scrappy nine patches
with red sashing will look nice with this navy back.

Finished top, binding, and new backing.

Quilt Elements is in Ashland. I found this shop many years ago in Bayfield, when it first opened. A mother and son worked together and after she passed 9 years ago, the son moved the shop to Ashland, renamed it, and expanded. Since the items on my list had all been checked off, I decided to go with a new quilt. The sailboat fabric spoke to me so I added the darker blue and the red. The fish fabric is for the back. The design is still a bit sketchy and lives in my head.

The last shop on our trip was new to me. We found A Little Piece of Mind Quilt & Yarn Shop in New Richmond.The friendly fellow working was a quilter and a knitter. He was working while the owners were at a quilt show a ways away. There was a large, great selection of fabric and yarn.

I loved the print below - I think being around water for the last 2 weeks has influenced my fabric choices! I thought I could use it with the leftovers when I make the quilt from the last shop. Of course I now know they aren't the same color so I'll find something in my stash. The solid fabric is wide backing and may be used with the print or just stay in my stash.

This was a great trip. Now it's time to sew!

2025 Fall Trip Part 2 of 3

On the mainland in Door County, we saw the sunset at Garrett Beach one night. 

 

Just down the road was Newport State Park, an International Dark Sky Park. We hoped to go there at night and view the Milky Way but we had some cloudy nights. It was also rather cloudy the day we were there. This is a panoramic shot when we walked to the water - lots of sky and no lights.

Cana Island Lighthouse was nice to visit again.

 

At Peninsula State Park, we walked up the 850-foot canopy walk to Eagle Tower looking over Green Bay.

view of tower while on the canopy walk

Green Bay (Lake Michigan) from the tower

We took a selfie at the top of the tower

While in Peninsula State Park, we visited Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.

 

After a wonderful, relaxing time, we left Door County and stopped in Rhinelander for the night. We were seeing lots of color in the trees by then.

The next day, we saw even more color as we headed toward Bayfield. 

 

We stopped in Hurley and took a short hike to Interstate Falls. 

 

In Bayfield, we took a boat trip – the Grand Tour of the Apostle Islands. It was a gorgeous fall day with beautiful colors.

 

We saw the sea caves on Devil’s Island. 

 

After a couple days, we left Bayfield and headed to Shell Lake and Hudson to visit family. It was wonderful to spend time with one of my brothers, my SIL (my oldest brother’s widow), and my aunt. I also celebrated my birthday while there and I think we just ate our way through each day! It was all good. 

While in Shell Lake, we did see a little of the cranberry harvest.

Looks like they flooded the bog and then had a giant lasso around the cranberries with men wading in the bog, corralling the cranberries towards the machine that sucked them up into the wagons.

 

On our way home, our last stop was Prairie du Chien. Our last night on the road was very relaxing as we both enjoyed this fantastic massage chair. 

 

It is always nice to come home and even nicer now that the laundry is done.

 

  TOGETHER IS OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE.

 

Part 3 is all about quilt shops along the way.

2025 Fall Trip Part 1 of 3

We decided it was time to take a road trip in Wisconsin. (We also had a little travel time in Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa.) We tried to allow lots of rest time. Ray is feeling better but had quite a setback recently with major surgery for melanoma cancer. The anesthesia really zapped his energy again and he is slowly improving.  
 

We headed north and spent the first night in Green Bay. Then we drove to the north end of Door County and ferried to Washington Island. We stayed near Schoolhouse Beach which has the small, rounded, and smooth limestone rocks instead of sand. 

a close up shot

 There were a number of cairns. 

The sunset at West Harbor on Washington Island.

 

We visited the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop. The lavender was already harvested for the season - you might want to check their website to see lavender photos. We did enjoy their wildflowers and some lavender treats while we were there.

 

The Stavkirke (Church of Staves) was built based on drawings of one built in Borgund, Norway in 1150 AD.  

 

We hiked to Little Lake which is a lake on an island on a lake. 

A panoramic with Green Bay (Lake Michigan) on the left
and Little Lake on the right and the hiking path in the middle.

Green Bay (Lake Michigan)

Little Lake

We were able to visit Sievers School of Fiber Arts. I’ve always thought it would be fun to take a quilting class there. 

 

Lunch outside (it was 55 degrees) at Jackson Harbor Soup was wonderful. 

View from our table

Overful cup of chili, hot bread, and pie. Delicious!

 

On another day we had hamburgers outside at the Albatross Drive-In. No pictures, but we'd recommend them also!

After a couple days, we ferried back to the mainland and stayed in Ellison Bay. Our rental was in the woods and we loved it. It might be my favorite Airbnb. Behind the kitchen and stairs is a bedroom and bathroom. Upstaiirs is a loft with two double beds, a couch, and a desk.

Ray is facing the TV and fireplace

Fireplace was used nightly

The fireplace is just to the left in the picture below. This is half of the room which was similar to a porch with all of the windows. The other half was a dining room.

.

A closer view of what became my favorite spot. I spent some enjoyable time stitching there.

This 'perfect' flower was outside our cabin. Ray thought maybe we should stay and see how long it lasted. If the cabin hadn't been rented, it would have been tempting.

Coming next:

Part 2 - our time in Door County on the mainland and more

Part 3 - quilt shops