Monthly Archives: August 2016

Tu-Na Travels: Day Three on the MN Quilt Shop Hop: 152 Miles, 5 Stores, Forget the Budget

Little did I know when I awoke this morning, that I would be in for a very special treat!

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While visiting the quilt shop in Lake City, the gals told us about an event being held at the marina a few blocks away. Since my husband and I like adventures, we decided to check it out.

The event involved 30 sailboats and 110 volunteers.

Fifteen minutes later we found ourselves setting sail on a one-hour sailboat ride on the Mississippi River.

For a small donation of $40.00 to the Sailing for Leukemia fundraiser sponsored by the Lake City Yacht Club, we could set sail.

We got the “princess” seats in the back.

Two foreign exchange students enjoyed the ride way up front.

Holly, the owner of the boat and a Dairy Queen, tells me that she is a quilter, too. What a coincidence! Holly started sailing at age 10. Dianne is piloting the Royale Treat today.

All too soon it was time to fold up the sail.

Now that’s a big steering wheel.

I would have liked to have sailed longer but another treat was awaiting as we still had one more shop to visit. My top shop on the hop today was Bluffview Quilts.

Bluffview Quilt Shop is located at 1671 1/2 W. 5th Street, Winona, MN.

As I stepped into Bluffview Quilt Shop, I was warmly greeted by the owners: Mary, Pauline, and Randi. The shop opened in May 2012. This is their third year on the hop. Originally, the shop had been called Clubhouse Quilters but with some partnership changes it was renamed.

Mary, me, Randi, and Pauline

Each of the owners has an area of specialty that they bring to the shop: Randi specializes in hand applique and embroidery, Pauline in paper piecing and Mary in traditional quilting. The three work well together as a team. Pauline says, “We all have different tastes. It gets pretty exciting sometimes.”

The wall color was picked by taking a well-liked fabric swatch to the paint store. It was so well matched that if they had any more of that fabric left and placed it on the wall, it wouldn’t be found.

Mary has been quilting for 25 years. Pauline is a “born again quilter” having restarted three years ago after a 25 year hiatus and Randi entered the business as a new quilter. Pauline’s first quilt was used as a store sample and sold for $600.00 but she also says “If you look around and see the unfinished ones-those would be mine.”

The building originally held a hair salon and golf equipment. The back part (where the tables are) was a garage. It still has the original flooring.

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Mary’s tip for a beginner quilter is to talk to your local quilt shop as they will help you get started. Mary, that’s good advice. Bluffview Quilt Shop is “All about fabric, fun and friends” and I can see they have all three of these. When you visit, tell them Tu-Na sent you.

What I Learned Today:

Spontaneous activities can be lots of fun.
Slow down; enjoy the ride.
It is hard to shop hop all day and try to write a post at night.

Question: What have you done at the spur of the moment?

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two on the MN Quilt Shop Hop: 507 Miles, 10 Shops, Made a New Budget

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Our daughter, also a quilter, joined us for day 2.

We are enjoying some mother-daughter time sitting on the front porch waiting for opening time.

The day began early as we left her house around 8. After a quick stop for coffee, we headed down the road. Making our way along I-90, so close to the Iowa border we could almost see it, we stopped at Old Alley Quilt Shop in Sherburn. You can find more photos and info on their website.

Come along with me and I’ll show you why this shop scores a perfect 300! Located at 115 N. Main St. in Sherburn, MN.

The two owners had been school teachers and friends and shared a love of antiquing. Sharon was the quilter with Becky having no interest in it. During those antique-hunting trips, Sharon would drag Becky through some quilt stores and somehow, neither can quite remember how it happened, a quilt shop business idea was born. The big question was where. Sharon had lived in Sherburn for many years and had never thought that the old bowling alley would make a good business. Goodness, it had been abandoned for five years. After a quick inspection at 4:30 pm on Halloween night of 2003, they discovered this “diamond in the rough” complete with bowling balls, pins, and even cases of beer. Using a flashlight, brave Becky inspected the building walking through to the back while Sharon stayed and guarded the front door.

I think only these two could have seen the potential!

Becky’s husband, Joel, counseled them, “Don’t let a hole in the roof stop you.” So with that advice, they bid a $1.00 and scored the building for $125.00 after additional fees.

They spared no expensive, putting on a new roof first. No more hole in the roof now! The inside was completely gutted.

Renovations took a full year, even with the help of family and friends, and finally on October 30, 2004, they opened their door for business. By now they’d moved the front door to the side of the building and added windows.

The outside sports antique sewing machines and flowers. Becky is the nature lover and keeps those flower beds tidy.

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They kept the original bowling lane flooring.

Close-up of the floor.

Extra original flooring was used as a cutting counter.

This was the back of the bowling alley as you can see the places to set the pins.

When you visit Old Ally Quilt Shop (it is worth traveling out of your way for), be sure to look on top of the shelves as you will find more antique sewing machines.

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Sharon has her mother’s and her grandmother’s machines on display and says that people are now bringing their old machines to them.

The inside of the shop was furnished by dumpster diving and curb shopping. They held a rummage sale selling off the items found in that old building.

Sharon is showing the thread cupboard that they purchased for $3.00.

So where was Becky today? She’s gone fishing. According to Sharon, “Becky has come a long way (she now quilts and runs the longarm). I don’t fish.”

Thanks, Sharon, for telling me about your fabulous shop!

If you get the chance, and it’s worth going out of your way to find it, do stop in at Old Alley Quilt Shop to look around, talk to the gals, look at their scrapbook of before and after pictures, and of course, shop. Tell the gals that Tu-Na sent you.

During our drive we enjoyed watching a storm build.

There’s much more to tell when I get home and have better internet connections. In the meantime, here’s the three of us at the end of the day.

One more store to visit and we will finish the southeast section and earn a 12 fat-quarter bundle.

We each earned a 12 fat quarter bundle of Ariel by Robbin Rawling from Quilting Treasures.

What I Learned Today:

There’s beauty even in storm clouds.
Quilters and quilt shop owners are some of the friendliest people I’ve met.
A bowling alley makes a great quilt shop.

Tu-Na Travels: Day One: 635 Miles, 8 Shops, Blew the Budget Already

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The alarm rang at 4am signaling that our adventure was about to begin.

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By day’s end we had traveled 635 miles, visited 8 quilt shops in Minnesota, and bought many yards of Minnesota fabric.

The first shop was 250 miles away from home. When we arrived, we filled out our passports.

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Each shop on the hop will stamp their spot. We will also receive a pattern for a specially shop-designed block and a 5″ square of the Minnesota fabric.

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I love road trips as there is so much to see while traveling. Each day on the hop I will choose one amazing shop to showcase here. Picking today’s featured shop was difficult as I had many favorites from which to choose.

And then I found it!

Quilt Haven on Main is located at 7 Main St. in Hutchinson, MN.

Quilt Haven on Main in Hutchinson, MN will be celebrating their 4th year in business in November. Learn more about them here. This is the third year they have been participating in the hop.

As I entered the store, I could tell this was a place with some interesting history.

Interesting signs and other items greet you in the entrance. Be sure to look for their beehive and bee cookie cutters.

When I visited, the owners had left the shop for the day in the good hands of their employees: Marcie, Connie, Linda, and Karen. After talking with these gals, I knew they were partly responsible for putting and keeping the “fun and inspiration” into this shop.

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The building was built in 1913 and initially housed a furniture store. However, my husband remembered there was more to this story and I pressed Marcie for more information. She, rather reluctantly, said that furniture stores in that era were responsible for making caskets. Yes, caskets had been made downstairs in this building.

Later, the building became the design studio for Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries with an attached Thimbleberries store. The store and design studio closed in 2012. However, Lynette continues to design for RJR. Sometimes customers ask the staff at Quilt Haven if they still carry “Lake Life,” Lynette’s fabric line.

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When visiting this shop, be sure to look up at the original tin ceilings which are found throughout the building including the basement. And don’t forget to look all around at the beautiful quilts on display on the street level as well as upper level.

Speaking of the upper level, Quilt Haven on Main offers “Laughter in the Loft” on the first Friday of every month. The girls will tell you that Laughter in the Loft is the free open-sewing time that is sure to inspire you to create in the presence of friends. Be sure to call ahead ((320) 587-8341 or (888) 843-8215) to reserve your spot as they are often filled. I know if I lived closer, I would be there often to sew and share.

When you visit Quilt Haven on Main, take a walk up and down the “Scarlet O’Hara” staircase so aptly named by Marcie.

“Oh, Rhett, I’ll take a yard of that red one and maybe three of that.”

Marcie, Karen, Connie, and Linda will welcome you to this shop and help you find fabric for every project you have in mind and even some you don’t. But then again, with so much variety to choose from, how can one resist adding some to your stash?

What I learned today: