Sweet Home Quilt Co.

The last leg of my recent Wisconsin/Minnesota trip was spent visiting the 12 metro Minneapolis/St. Paul area quilt shops participating in the Minnesota Shop Hop. I cannot remember the last time I went on a shop hop; it had been a number of years since I’d participated even before I opened Sweet Home Quilt Co., and the last four years I’ve been on the shop side of the Shop Hop so definately no opportunity to actually visit other shops.  It was fun, and a different experience from a shopowner’s perspective.

I did manage to pick up a few things for my stash (what, you didn’t think I only added to my stash from Sweet Home’s inventory, did you???), and I picked up a few gifty things and some great patterns from regional designers that I’ll be testing for possible sale at the shop. This is just a small portion of my goodies – I don’t dare show all of it!

LouAnn and I boarded the shop hop tour bus early Friday morning for the first day of Shop Hop.  While the bus tour experience was not my favorite part of the shop hop, I did meet some terrific quilters on the bus and we all had a lot of fun together. I realized that while I thought the bus tour would be a smart move for me instead of driving a rental car all around Minneapolis/St. Paul, it was probably not the best choice for someone who likes to be in control! I like being able to go when I’m ready or stay longer when I want to, and obviously that isn’t possible on a tour bus. Next time, I’ll know!

Long lines were the order of the day at most of the shops we visited. When you have a busload of 50 quilters pile into a small shop, the wait is inevitable – a shopowner’s fondest wish and worst nightmare all rolled into one! Fortunately, everyone was in good spirits and no complaints were heard. After all, no one could leave without the rest of us so what was the point of complaining. Trust me, there were lots of “add-on” sales made while we stood in line!

One of my favorite shops was Eagle Creek Quilt Shop in Shakopee, MN. The shop is in an old train depot, and has a flavor very similar to Sweet Home.

I enjoyed the beautiful samples and the unique displays. Lots of eye candy and ideas here!

Fabric Town in Apple Valley, MN was another fun shop to visit. Shopowner Patti Peltz is a new friend from the retreat I attended, and her shop was a delight, too. She had lots of Civil War, which is right up my alley!  Be sure to visit the website for a tour of this great shop!

I think I took a gazillion photos at my friend Roseann’s shop, Rosebud’s Cottage. Roseann’s specialty is the folk art look, and she has loads of wool and cute vintage stuff in her shop. I was in my element there, and did NOT want to leave! This is where I was really regretting not having my car so I didn’t have to leave when the bus did!!! It was probably a good thing I had to leave when I did, though. Let’s just say I helped Roseann pay the rent that day!!!  Don’t judge! You’ve all done it, just admit it!  I’m no different …

LouAnn loved it at Rosebud’s Cottage, too. Here she is saying good-bye to Roseann (far right) and her staff (sorry, ladies, I didn’t get your names!)

I wish I’d had time to visit a lot more of the shops in the Minnesota Shop Hop, but I only had two days. It was a great way to end my “working vacation.”  Maybe next year when I go back I can visit some shops in other areas of the state. I have said I’m going back, right?!?!?

It’s early Day 2 of the retreat, and I thought I’d try to give you a quick update. I’m having so much fun it is difficult to find time to do anything but laugh and talk and sew! And miracle of miracles, I actually slept last night for SEVEN hours!!!! It must be the clean, country air and the yummy food and the terrific company. I may have to move here just so I can get some sleep!!

I had planned to bring along my traveling companion, Bobbi Jo,  but when it came time to leave yesterday morning at 5AM, she had somehow managed to get lost between midnight and 5AM. So I brought my friend, LouAnn, instead.  I forgot pictures as we were leaving Atlanta (barely made it to the gate to board the plane on time as it was!), but here’s a shot of LouAnn as we were picking up the rental car in Minneapolis.

Here’s our sporty little red car! (See LouAnn perched on the mirror? She is already annoying me, wanting to be in every single picture!) I had to upgrade my car because they wanted to give me an itty bitty little car, and I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable driving it. Remember, I drive an SUV so even this little red model is a stretch for me. But it was fun sailing around the state in it yesterday afternoon, once I got used to it!

I was first to arrive in Augusta (Wisconsin) yesterday afternoon (because I left Atlanta in the wee hours!) so I spent a couple of hours in the little town exploring. There are a lot of Amish in this area, and a great little Amish shop called The Wood Shed where you can buy Amish-made products. There are also a couple of antique shops, too. This is also the home of Bush’s Beans and they have a HUGE facility right on the edge of town.  Population of Augusta is only 1460, so I was pleasantly surprised at the shopping options available. We’ll have some time Wednesday to get out and about again so I’ll try to get some pictures to share – it was storming yesterday afternoon so no pictures!

The retreat is being held at Bridge Creek Cottage here in Augusta. This is a wonderful facility, sleeps 20 but with just 12 of us here there is plenty of room to spread out.  We have a personal chef, Jason, who fed us a fabulous meal last night. I did get a picture of the beautiful table setting that Terry and Roseann put together for last night’s dinner, but I didn’t get any pictures of the food. Trust me, it was yummy! Roseann is so creative, and she taught me how to make the adorable paper flowers! Hope I can remember when I get back home.

Here’s LouAnn getting comfy on the Bernina that Laurel brought for me to use. I was so happy not to have to lug my machine from Georgia to Wisconsin, even though I was a little intimidated by the Bernina. No reason, it is a SWEET machine!

We broke up into teams for the evening and made one of Terry’s new patterns, Pie Crust Pile-Up. It was great fun, and all the quilts turned out beautifully. These will be donated to charity. This is one of the patterns I picked up at Spring Market.

That’s it for the Day 1 recap. Everyone is up and about now and we’ll be getting started soon. Another full day is planned – two new projects from Terry! Plus today is also massage day – so far I’ve resisted, but I may give in later on, we’ll see. I’ll introduce you to everyone who is here later on; everyone is so nice and it is like being with a group of trusted friends even though most of us just met yesterday!

I’ll try to keep posting updates for you, but don’t worry if I don’t get to it…just know that I’m having so much fun there is no time for blogging!