(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . DK Quilt Guild: Look what I found on my way home... [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-29 Well I’m back from my visit with grandkids in AZ… I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about since I haven’t been in my sewing room for a while. With the first snow today (barely) it’s time to hunker down to some serious quilting. But first there’s still some yard work before the winter really sets in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DK Quilt Guild: A place for quilters to gather, share ideas, projects, and to make the world a better place, one quilt at a time. Join us and share your thoughts, projects, questions, and tips. Quilters here are at many different levels of skill. Beginners and non-quilters are welcome, too. We NEED diarists! Your diary can be elaborate and full of photos, a simple story of your own quilting history or that of someone you love, a discussion of a current project or a technique you're learning, new adventures... You could post quilt retreat-day recipes (things like crockpot meals, so food appears without much attention from you)… We could do show and tell or open thread, also, but either way, we need diarists to host. It is EASY if you're willing to take the chance.We NEED diarists! Your diary can be elaborate and full of photos, a simple story of your own quilting history or that of someone you love, a discussion of a current project or a technique you're learning, new adventures... You could post quilt retreat-day recipes (things like crockpot meals, so food appears without much attention from you)… We could do show and tell or open thread, also, but either way, we need diarists to host. It is EASY if you're willing to take the chance. Diary Schedule 11/05/23 — OPEN 11/12/23 — winifred3 11/19/23 — OPEN 11/26/23 — OPEN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anyway, it dawned on me that I could share what I decided to do on my 1500 mile drive home this year. I took four days instead of trying to do three 9 hour days. With the extra time, I made my own mini shop hop to break up the time with the goal of not to buying anything that I didn’t already have a project in mind. I have an aunt in Albuquerque that I usually stop at (one less day in a hotel). So I visited the shop Quilt Works Ole that I used to go to when I lived there 20 years ago. They had changed owners and location but I managed to track it down. When I walked in the door, the first thing I saw that was a fabric that would be a great border for the National Parks panel that I already had. My son has a framed print that he had inherited from his grandfather of the original WPA artwork of the Grand Canyon:Mather Point and I knew that it would have special meaning. And as they were cutting the fabric, I saw some interesting things that I couldn’t resist. This was my first strike of my goal. The extra yards of fabric did coordinate with fabrics in my stash and I could see what I could use them for, but they didn’t really fit in the category of “projects”. Got the border to go with the panel... Since I got on the road later that anticipated (my aunt and I always have a hard time stopping visiting) I drove straight through to Guymon, OK. Not much to say about this stretch since I’ve driven it what seems like a hundred times and there still isn’t much interesting to see. I got an early start on the third day because I was on a mission… I try to make a stop in Hutchinson, KS to replenish my jars of Sand Plum Jelly every year. My Grandma always made it and when I lived with her breakfast wouldn’t be complete without toast and jelly. I realized when I stopped that this was the 50th anniversary of living with her for a year during HS. After picking up the jelly I made a stop at the local market to pick up some peanut butter bar candies that my Grandpa always had on hand. Isn’t nostalgia great, even when it makes you feel older that the hills. I drove up Main Street to hit my first quilt shop of the day, Sew in 2 Quilts. As I entered the store and the clerks asked how they could help me I explained that a quilt shop was just too tempting to pass up on a long trip. I found a Tiger print that would make a good backing for a quilt I had planned for a granddaughter and they had Kona solid fat quarters on sale (believe it or not, I really didn’t have any black solids in a sizable stash at home) that were perfect for some of the piecing on the top. On the left is the backing for Coco’s quilt Next stop was a shop a few miles up the road in McPherson, KS at Stitches Quilt Shop. Though this is a very nice shop, the fabric selection wasn’t my cuppa tea but the shop owner greeted me and once again I explained my mission. She had just bought the shop a couple of months before and she told me that I had just missed the Kansas Quilt Shop Hop that had ended the week before. Then she gave me the magazine listing all the Quilt Shops that had participated. I asked if she could show me the Shop Hop line of fabrics and she told me that they tried something different this year. They had only made one fabric that each shop in the region made a different distinct block choosing their own coordinating fabrics. It incorporated a quote from each shop and the colors just spoke to me. Okay, a possible strike 2, I bought a 1/2 yard because it was just so beautiful. I justified it that surely I could find something in my stash that would work with it, if nothing else making a tote or small wall hanging. There was also a sale on fat quarters so I got four that would blend in with my collection of reds and beiges that I had already picked a pattern for. All Kansas and Nebraska Shop Hop fabric I selected a shop in Chapman, KS, Lucky Charms Quilt Shop from the magazine that would be my next stop. I was a little confused when I got off the I-70 Turnpike to look for the shop. Every store along Marshall Street had a Barn Quilt block above their door. Talk about confusing when you’re looking for a quilt shop. The shop was very small… Kinda like the town with a population of 1,500 people. I tried to the sale rack, feeling a little guilty that I should buy something to support a small local business. There was a children’s cloth book panel on the sale rack. I have made quite a few of these for baby showers and other occasions. There was also some reds and beiges for my existing collection. Would this be considered strike 3, I’ll let you decide. Lucky Charms Quilt Shop sales rack finds. Hitting the road from Topeka, I must admit, there were shops in Kansas City, Iowa and just outside of Albert Lea, MN that I would have loved to stop at… But I had been gone from home for a month and could only think of sleeping in my own bed that night. I love to drive cross-country when I travel so that I can stop in the ”off the beaten path” towns. And I’m glad I took the extra day on the return trip home, especially after many years taking this trip in two or three days. I’m retired and every year is another year older and I just don’t have to be in that much of a hurry. I mostly stuck to my goal of not adding unnecessary fabric to my stash (who am I kidding) or at least I justified it well enough. Well, that’s it for now. Hope you enjoy… And what have you been up to lately? 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