How I spent my money...

On our way home yesterday, we enjoyed lunch with Ray's brother and his lovely lady. It's always fun to spend time with these two.

Thought I should include a picture of us too. Can you tell the guys are brothers? Ray is older by 14 months.

I promised to share my treasures from our trip to Missouri Star Quilt Company. I went with a list this time and didn't stray too much!

First, I have four layer cakes for children's quilts.

This flannel layer cake is for a baby quilt with the yellow dot flannel as a border. The orange/red Minkee (in the background) will be the back and the orange/red fabric on the right will be the binding.

The two navy flannel pieces are for borders on some flannel quilts that are works in progress. The knitting sheep fabric was an impulse purchase. I think it will make a great knitting project bag or two.

 

I needed a few notions; I really did need the needles and the batting tape. The quilting gloves will be used when my current ones wear out. Those red glasses were already used today! They help see the tonal value of different colors.

I didn't plan to buy clothing but I did! I really wanted the dark teal t-shirt but they only had very large sizes. The pink shirt is a t-shirt while the gray shirt is a hooded sweatshirt.

I was given the bracelet chain on the right when I walked into the main shop. You can purchase charms but you get free ones when you spend a certain amount at one time. I evidently spent the required amount three times!

On our way home, we stopped in Cameron, Missouri at Crossroads Quilting. I bought this paper piecing pattern. This was an impulse purchase but something I've thought about doing for some time. I hope to begin it later in the summer.

Yesterday we stopped at Delve in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I wanted more of the fabric that is on the far left and they had it! The yellow fills a spot in my stash while the piece on the right was just neat - definitely an impulse purchase! 

Now we are home - we are unpacked, the laundry is done, we have groceries, and we are on the move. Yup, the calendar has something on it for most days. I also have a couple of big non-quilting projects coming up - we are back to reality! 

I did find a little time to begin that baby quilt today. I hope to have it done or very close to done by the end of June.

Missouri Star Quilt Company visit

We had a beautiful day for traveling yesterday although it was windy. Gas in Missouri was just $1.98. Nice!

When we arrived in Chillicothe, Missouri, we were able to take a walk before dinner. We once again stayed at the Comfort Inn there - it's very nice! The owners have now built a Fairfield Inn next door so there should be plenty of rooms.

This morning we headed to Hamilton; it's about a 30-40 minute drive. We wanted to be there when the stores opened at 9. We were a few minutes early and met a couple we had said good morning to at the motel. They were from northern Michigan. 

The shopping began and I was armed with a list! I was able to find most things. I'll share pictures of fabric when we get home and unpacked.

Lots of people were arriving for the 1st Quilt Academy which begins tomorrow. I was so surprised to run into Laura, owner of Prairie Star Retreat Center - she lives 17 miles from me! Later I ran into Sue, a long arm quilter that I often see at Prairie Star retreats.

We had to stop by Man's Land. Ray didn't stay long - I think he wanted to see everything and he did carry all of my packages along with an umbrella!

A new mural was in progress.

The first drops of rain started about 11AM and it didn't stop. We had lunch as the Mama Hawk's, a small bakery that is new since we last visited. Just as we paid for our order, the power went out. Ray had ordered a chicken salad sandwich, I had decided on a panini, and we both were getting soup. Some quilters from California join us as we waited. Most everyone was visiting across the room so our wait went quickly. I think the power was off for 15-20 minutes.

After we left MSQC, we headed to Cameron, Missouri and visited Crossroads Quilting. It's a great shop with some very nice people working there. Then we headed on north to our rental that is responsible for this trip. You can read about that here. 

The rain stopped a while before we arrived - I'm not sure it even rained here. The sun may come out after while. I am sitting with my feet up and Ray is outside taking photos. We are in a small barn that is all done in a rustic, outdoorsy decor. 

There are gardens, a pond, some little waterfalls, more flowers, interesting landscape... This place is gorgeous - both inside and out. 

It is very comfortable and Ray is loving it. He just got a great picture of a bull frog and a water lily before moving on to the clematis. I think he's taken over 50 photos already!

I'm so glad we are here to enjoy this place. It has been a great trip so far and tomorrow we get to meet some family for lunch - we are looking forward to another great day!

My Birthday Celebration Continues On

I celebrated my birthday on Sunday. Then we left for Missouri on Monday and spent some time in Kalona, Iowa, on our way. You all know that we believe in enjoying the journey. After seeing a few shops and the quilt blocks in the sidewalks, 

One of many quilt blocks in the sidewalks

we headed over to the semi-annual Belgium Horse and Buggy Auction. We've never been to an Amish auction and it was quite interesting - I checked out all of the sewing machines. We might have spent more time if the wind hadn't been so strong. We were in a dirt/gravel area and felt a little like we were eating grit. 

Buggies at the auction

We stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Chillicothe, Missouri both Monday and Tuesday nights. As luck would have it, they had a free meal Monday night! The motel was very clean and very nice - we'd definitely go back.

Tuesday we headed for the Missouri Star Quilt Company and arrived just a couple of minutes after the stores opened at 9AM. Rick met us at the door and explained the layout of the town with a map. Rick is the CEO of MSQC and we saw him many times as we wandered around. Although we arrived in rain, the rain stopped before we left the first store and we had a gorgeous, very warm day. I'm not sure which shop was my favorite. EVERY employee was so nice. It was FUN!

I didn't get a photo of every store we were in but this is most of them.

Main Store

Civil War, Kansas Troubles, etc store

 J. C. Penney's 500th store. Chillicothe was his hometown.

The Batik store

The store with the seasonal fabrics

We were able to wander around the retreat center - gorgeous!

We missed a couple of stores that are opening next week - the sewing machine store, the bakery, and another restaurant. There are also more fabric stores coming soon. The Man Cave will open in a few weeks - theater type seating and big screen TVs. The knitting store will open mid- 2016. Guess we'll have to go back!

Of course there were quilts EVERYWHERE!

One of the murals

In the retreat center

Cameras were welcome everywhere - I was told that I could take photos of anything I wanted! Of course, I was a little busy shopping.

We ate lunch at J's Burger Dive right next to the main store. Great burgers and fries! 

We drove northwest to Jamesport, an Amish and Mennonite area. There were lots of antique stores downtown. We did drive around the country and visited a couple of woodworking/furniture shops, general stores, and a couple of fabric stores. 

The Fabric Barn, an Amish store

Shearwood Crossing, an Amish store

When we arrived back in Chillicothe, we stopped at Cuts and Bolts and found a few more treasures. The owner was really nice even though we interrupted her - she was watching the Royals game.

I did find more than a few treasures - enough that I didn't want to haul them all into the motel for pictures. I'll share when I get home. Mostly I am just adding to my stash, filling in the weak areas.

Today we are headed toward Illinois. We'll see what we can find interesting along the way home...