How does time go by so quickly?

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I went to visit my friend, Sue, in Iowa. I posted about the program I did for her quilt guild and then I had other stuff to share and never quite got to it. Life is really, really busy right now and those computer problems totally threw me for a loop. No one ever really gets caught up but I am woefully behind these days so I keep trying!! I do hope that I didn't pass that computer virus issue on to any one else!
So, here I am tonight and it's a bit quiet right now, a good time to get back to blogging. I had a great day today. First of all, the sun was shining today and it was much warmer. That snow last weekend was too early! The day started with a birthday party........the Henderson Library was 60 years old! I stopped in to sign the birthday card and have some birthday cake and coffee. Then, I was off to the Historical Society in Shakopee. My friend, Sue, had come up for a program at our exhibit of crazy quilts so it was nice to see her again. Afterword, we went for a quick burger at McDonald's (yes, McDonald's) and had a nice visit before she had to head back home. Then I ran a couple of errands and I was home again.


Enough chatter, though, as I suspect you are looking for some photos or something quilty and pretty to look at. Well, there aren't many quilts to show but I there are pictures of the two shops that I visited on my way home from Sue's (two weeks ago.....better late than never).
My first stop was only a few miles from Sue's house.........a little shop called Saintly Stitches in Mason City. There are actually two Saintly Stitches shops as there is also one in St. Ansgar, Iowa. I was a bit early but was happy to wait til the shop opened. And as I waited, I noticed some ladies quilting in a room next door to the quilt shop. I recognised them from the Lake Area Quilt Guild meeting of the night before and waved to them. They motioned for me to come on in and so I did. I got to see some really lovely quilts and thought I would share this spectacular one with all of you. I only wish my brain could remember this quilter's name! (Sue or Vivien, please help me out here.) She said she just used different flower patterns then bordered them with the square-in-a-square blocks. I thought it was just gorgeous.
Yay! Sue helped me our and this is Kris Brockmeyer in the photo with her lovely quilt. I had asked her if it was okay to share this on my blog and she said "sure". If I had been thinking, I would have written her name down then, too!


When the shop opened, I, of course, ......shopped. What did I buy? ..........

Well, they had the cutest wintery snowman fabrics so I had to get a little bit of everything. And then I found a patriotic print for my "Grace and A Prayer" quilt and decided that was enough for my first stop. It was a lovely little shop and I would go back again, only next time I will also take in the shop in St. Ansgar as they carry different fabrics from the shop in Mason City.

It was a really rainy drive back to Minnesota but I didn't mind too much for neither rain nor snow will keep me from my quilting destination. I take that back. This is Minnesota and, of course, snow often keeps us from getting to our quilting destinations but we just reschedule whenever possible!! My destination this day was.........Calico Hutch in the little town of Hayward, MN. It's located just east of 35W and/or I90 near Albert Lea, MN. I had never been to the shop but Carol, the owner, has purchased patterns from me. It was nice to meet her in person!

The shop looked inviting and from the front, it looks like it might be small. However, that's not the case..............

When you open the front door, you walk into a room that is loaded with colorful fabrics. I glanced to the right, though, as I entered and I saw wool, lots of wool and I headed right into that room! Just look at all those samples and patterns..........

and look at all the colors of wool that line the walls!!!

I pulled myself away from the warmth of the wooly room and crossed through the front room and into a large room at the center of the shop. There was so much fabric!

This young woman was buying fabric for a quilt and is proof positive that the art of quilting is enjoyed by younger women, too. I know that the demographics say that the average quilter is about 59 but that's only the average. My quilting friends range in age from 7 to 95. So much for the average......

Anyway, I wandered around the center room and then noticed the door into what looked like a large classroom. Three ladies were working on projects but didn't seem to mind that I wandered around the room. It was filled with more fabrics and oodles of sample quilts hung on the walls. This was a great shop with friendly, helpful staff and one I'll return to again! If you'd like to take a peek at the shop's website just click here .

And did I buy anything here? Well, of course............

I picked up some pretty wools and some fun fabrics that will end up in holiday projects. Then I spotted the little paper pieced patterns from LittleBits and decided I would give one a try.......but not until this winter. There'll be plenty of snowy days when I can do this one.

That's all for tonight. It will be a few days before I can catch up on e-mails and my Yahoo group. Maybe I'll finally get caught up when we get that hour back in a couple of weeks. LOL!

Time to turn out the lights. I was in bed by 10:00 p.m. last night and tonight I'm going to be in bed by 11:00 p.m. So, so tired. I need a couple more night's of good sleep and then I'll be fine.

Have a good Sunday!

Sandi