Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Clear Lake Trunk show and other half of my All Iowa Shop Hop

Here's the trunk show I  did in Clear Lake.  Decorating Seasonally with Quilts is what I call this presentation.  Thanks ladies for having me come speak!

On the way home we traveled a different route than we did on the way up so we could hit more quilt shops.  I used the All Iowa Shop Hop map to plan our route.  The picture below is at Country Threads just outside of Garner. 

 Next stop was Seams to Me, in Algona and then on to the Grotto below in West Bend.

 Below is a little peek at Quilting on Main at Pocohontas.
 Next stop, Towne Square Quilt Shoppe in Lake City.
 In between the quilt shops we stopped at this fun garden center in Sac county. 
 Below was our last stop of the day  at The Yarn Basket and Quilt Shop in Carroll. 
Check out all these shops and more at the All Iowa Shop Hop, June 1-14.  I hope lots of you can go on the shop hop, it should be lots of fun!  I will be having an outdoor and indoor quilt show...and garden show, depending on the weather!  I still have lots of spots left to stay the night while you're on the shop hop, for just $25 a night, so take my number with you and give me a call while you're on the road, if you need a place to stay while you're on the hop.  I am about half-way between the Creston and Clarinda shops.  Please take the time to come on down to Southwest Iowa... The Quilt Coop,  down in the country, south of Clarinda, is definitely worth the trip.  It has been nominated as one of the 10 best shops in the country, so if you haven't been there, make sure and check it out!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

More All Iowa Shop Hop

 I'm sorry I'm so slow in posting...May is a busy month here at the Farmer's Dotter. I've been trying to get my yard and flowers to look presentable for the AllIowaShopHop.com/ , so I may not be posting a lot.
I'll try and put a few more pictures of our shop hop, but I forgot to take my camera into a few of the shops....SORRY! 
THE REST OF THE 1ST DAYS STORY!  After leaving Creston, we headed on up the road to Winterset to the Fons and Porter shop and to the Ben Franklin store, where we found a few more goodies, of course. 

 From there, we headed to Adel, where Jacque Johnson has a cute little shop called Adel Quilting and Dry Goods.  I found the cutest little scissors there that had polka dots on them, so I had to get a couple pair...like I need any more scissors or things with dots! That's Jacque above, with a
t-shirt quilt she was working on when she and a few of her friends came down and spent a couple nights with me almost a couple years ago.  They were a fun group, as usual! 

 Next we went on to Des Moines, where we stopped at Creekside Quilting in Clive.  I had never been in their shop before, it looked like they have a lot of interesting quilting goodies!  A few of the girls seemed interested in coming down for a retreat...I would love to have them!

Next we tried to find the Quilters Cupboard in Ankeny, but I'd loaned my GPS to the kids, so we didn't make it there, darn! 

Remember, all these shops AND MORE, will be on the shop hop, so make sure you have lots of time!  I was headed to do a trunk show in Clear Lake that evening, so we were kind of on a time schedule.

From Ankeny, we headed north, taking Highway 69, to Ames.  I love to travel the back roads, and spring its such a beautiful time to be out and about!   Below is a picture of  the Quilting Connection owner, holding the All Iowa Shop Hop paper.  I have those here at my house now, and the passports, if anyone wants to pick one up, so you can start planning your trip!  The Quilting Connection is like 2 shops..I think it was actually 2 stores to begin with, they have a lot to offer.

From Ames, we got on Interstate 35 and headed north to Clear Lake, just in time to check into our motel and meet up with a few of the guild ladies for supper before the trunk show.  More on that later...sorry I'm so long winded today!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

All Iowa Shop Hop a month early

I feel like I've been around the world and back....not really, just around Iowa and back!  This was our 1st stop on our adventure. Above is Joyce Franklin, the owner of Quilts and Other Notions at Creston.  She has been a really busy lady getting the All Iowa Shop Hop organized.  She has a HUGE shop and inventory...so stop by there while you're out shop hopping!
 My good friend, Diane Ware went with me and this was our 1st stop on the shop hop (a month early).
Click here: All Iowa Shop Hop.com/for lots more info on the hop.
I still have beds at my retreat available for $25 a night, so give me a call to reserve  a twin sized bed with polka dot sheets!  I'll also be having an open house/garden/quilt show during the hop.  Should be fun!
More details on my trip later.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Decorating seasonally with Quilts

Tomorrow I'm heading out on a little adventure here in Iowa.  I'll be giving a trunk show presentation titled, Decorating Seasonally with Quilts, at Clear Lake, way up in northern Iowa.  The program is tomorrow evening at their city hall at 7:00, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if anyone wants to come visit.  The picture above is the next season I'll be decorating for; red, white and blue, whoo hoo!

On the way up and back to Clear Lake, I'm planning on going on my own little shop hop in Iowa.  I have scoped out the shops that are going to be on the All Iowa Shop Hop, June 1-14th and I'm planning on trying to go to 19 of them in 2 days.  I won't be able to go on the shop hop myself, since I'm one the 80 shops on the shop hop, so I thought I'd try to hit a few before and let people know about my $25 a night spring special AND my open house/quilt/garden show during the shop hop.  I still have beds available, so give me a call...712-523-3508. 

My gardens should be doing great by then, so stop by and take a look around at quilts inside and out and see my retreat.  Above is a picture from a couple years ago of my hosta garden, under my deck.  It is just outside the main sewing room and is beautiful to look out to on a hot summer day.

I'll try to take lots of pictures on my little trip and give an update when I get back home.