Sunday, July 29, 2012

Shop Hopping!

I've been up and down the state of Minnesota seeing friends and making new ones at many quilt shops! Here's a few of my favorites so far.
Nikol's shop,
Sewtropolis. She has a BIG bright new space in Minneapolis and still the great eye for fabric pickings... You will be Abel to find some luscious brights fabrics, vintage patterns, new patterns and just get crazy inspired by all the color. Great store!  OH! And that white and brown lamp(top photo), I'm ready to go back and steal!  My grandmother had those in her living room! Better keep if glued down Nikol!


Earlier I had gone up to Duluth, where I used to live. (BQ)  (Before quilting!)  LOL!  Visiting friends and hearing I needed to stop by Hannah Johnson Fabrics.  Another Great SHOP!  Great fabrics, and yes I came out with quilt a stash of fabrics...(as I also did in Nikols)  I liked that they had a big display of my friend Hoodie's fabrics right in the front. ;-)



I also did some damage at Gruber's in St. Cloud, But I forgot to take pictures...  You can see here I had some itchy fingers last night and got out my dull kitchen scissors and started cutting up the fabrics I purchased for a hand sewing project. (Possibly inspired by my quilt on my bed?)


Another treat has been meeting up with Sandi from Legacy of Stitches.  We've been facebook buddies for some time, and blog followers... Fairly recently, I had an email from Sandi about some health issues, and I quickly told her she should get checked for Hystoplasmosis, something I have had from the age of 15. Turns out it was, and now, we're kindred Hystoplasmosis buddies.  What the heck is that, do you say? Well, It's a tree fungus that get's into your lungs and causes your lymph nodes to swell to the point many docs first think it's cancer.  But it's not. I was the guinea pig for the discovery of it as a teenager, they found my illness after a year of tests and treatments,  and it became known as the MINNESOTA SICKNESS....  We used to cut down all our dead trees on the farm growing up to burn in our wood stoves, and wood splitting all that wood sent the fungus into the air and into my lungs... My only issue with it now is the scar tissue it has left in my lungs...   weird huh?

Sandi brought along a picnic and quilts to view!  Isn't this lovely?  We had a great meet up and also stopped in Eagle Creek Quilt shop. Yes, more damage was done there... Thanks Sandi for a Lovely Morning!!!!

Well, a few more days then I pick up my friend Michele, and we road trip to Omaha, for the Quilt Alliance Board Meeting and Quilters Take Omaha event.  More travel pics to come!  Off to spy a few more LOONS before I leave Minnesota!

18 comments:

  1. Delicious! You are having too much fun! Love all the quilt eye candy. Keep it coming. Have a safe trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like you are having a wonderful time! When you started about the tree fungus I thought you were going to make a joke about it. Sorry to hear about a real illness. I hate to think the trees I love could make someone ill. Hang in there girl!
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are having sooooo much fun. I have not been to Gruber's in ages. I need to make a road trip north but first comes a road trip to Sewtropolis. My pledge to buy no quilting cottons may got out the window when I get there! We had a perfect day to meet, greet, eat and chat. Our morning made me smile all day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like the part about cutting fabrics with shears , I recently wrote a post on my blog about how satisfying the process of cutting with shears is, there is a short film called Oma's Quilt in it there is the sounds of shears cutting through fabric I like this LOL very much...Kool stores.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks like you are having a wonderful trip and taking in a lot of wonderful shops and friends along the way.

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  6. love that quilt of Sandi's with the mint green. so sorry you've both had to deal with the tree fungus.ugh!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A real trip HOME with a shop hop to give it new sparkle. Soooo much eye candy on beds and in the shops.
    Keep enjoying the trip

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hmm...what year was it they discovered hystoplasmosis in you? Just wondering if that's what my daughter had. In fall of 1981 she had a swollen lymph node in her neck, and they thought it was cancer... I'm going to do a bit more research on this. She has had some lung issues.... so curious now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! Knowing you was a blessing to Sandi for sure! Looks like you are having a great time. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are making me homesick for Minnesota. I moved away before all those beautiful quilt shops appeared. Would be hard to leave it now...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sounds like you're having a wonderful vacation! And you're meeting so many people, and seeing some cool quilt shops along the way. Love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sounds like a fabulous vacation. My mom got "valley fever" while wintering in AZ and the dr's in canada had a horrible time trying to diagnose. It's an airborne spore that settles into your lungs, but with my mom, it bypassed and went into her bloodstream. Strange stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  13. so jealous of all that minnesota time you're having this summer! - but happy for you too. thanks for sharing your story :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm gluing the lamp down as I type this. I found those lamps on Craigs list (there is a pair of them) for $20 each! A steal if you ask me! Thanks for featuring my shop and hope to see you yet before you leave. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your summer seems to be filled with friends and fabrics and fun! Hope you'll enjoy the rest of it just as much!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wish I could have joined you in your shop hopping. Looks like you had a lot of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Glad you're having such a wonderful summer. Looks very fun and relaxing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a lovely picnic. Beautiful quilts, a quilting friend and lunch :-)

    ReplyDelete

Hi! Thanks for leaving me a comment!
I appreciate your taking the time to say hi!
Have a fabulous day!