Somehow, I missed showing you this gorgeous barn quilt that we saw on Day 7 (post found here). We found it on the drive between Wahkon and Rush City. I thought I’d include it here as it’s just too nice to forget about.

After closing our hotel room door on the second floor, I stopped to take a close-up pic of that moose head above the fireplace.

While I was doing that,  I happened to notice Tu-Na Helper waiting patiently for me in the lobby below.

Since we spent last night in Moose Lake, we didn’t have to travel far to find:

Today’s Top Shop on the Hop

Kathy Lundgren opened Kathy’s Country Square about 20 years ago in a building that once housed a furniture store. In addition to fabric, she sells home décor items. I also found antique items scattered throughout the store including several antique quilts hanging on the wall that are for sale. Kathy suggests that people get more than one opinion if you have an old quilt before you get rid of it.

This is the seventh year, Kathy’s Country Square has participated in the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop. She says it’s definitely worth all the work. She thinks the public’s idea for the hop has changed through the years. “(In year’s past), hoppers expected things for nothing and now hoppers are sweet and more are making purchases.” She has seen her shop sales growing because of it.

Kathy tells new quilters, “Welcome to the world of quilting.” Kathy’s daughter, Loretta, was working in the shop with her mom, today. Loretta says “It’s (making a quilt) not as overwhelming as it looks.” She started making some potholders and then her sister said “a quilt is just a lot of little potholders put together.” However, Kathy still hears people say making a quilt is too overwhelming.

You could spend hours in this shop on it’s two levels. When you’re there be sure to look under the stairs.

Kathy discovered receipts, sale bills, and other memorabilia that her parents had saved and lovingly placed in bags. Not wanting to throw some of those pieces of papers of her past away, she decided to use them to wallpaper the space under her steps to the upper level. I asked her why she did that and she replied, “If I put them in a box, no one is going to look at them. So I put those there so someone will look at it.”  While she didn’t keep everything, she did keep the bits and pieces that meant something to her such as the receipt from the baby buggy her parents bought for her use when she was little. Harry Potter probably would be envious of that space under the stairs.

Kathy has a long arm quilting machine in her shop that she uses to quilt her own personal quilts. She teaches quilting classes in  the classroom located in her shop.

Kathy says, “I’m happy to be here.” Her daughter agrees. We were very happy to stop in and visit and I spent a lot of money here on a new project. I’ll show you that later when I reveal all the loot I found on this trip.

Check out Kathy’s Facebook page for more information. We found Kathy’s Country Square a bit difficult to find but is definitely worth searching for (watch for the sign) and when you do, say Hi! to Kathy and be sure to check out underneath the stairs. Oh, and tell her that Tu-Na sent you.

While we were in Kathy’s shop, Debbi from Rosemount, MN, caught up with us. She had read my posts from last year’s hop.

Before we left Moose Lake, we did a little rock hunting. Kathy told us that the World’s largest Lake Superior Agate was found nearby and is on display at First National Bank in downtown Moose Lake. So we set out to find it.

After our rock hounding, we were anxious to get to our next shop as we would be checking out of the East Central Region. When we arrived at Timeless Treasures in McGregor, I felt like I had returned home as Diane and I reconnected like good friends. I featured this shop last year here.

After stopping at the Quilted Dog Quilt Shop in Cloquet, we headed to Hannah Johnson Fabrics in Duluth. This is a fun shop specializing in bright modern prints and I found the perfect strip of minky elephants to add to the back of the elephant quilt that needs to be finished before that baby turns one.

Before heading to the car, we stopped at Lakeside Bakery & Coffee Shop located right next door to Hannah Johnson’s. While I couldn’t find any treat that I could purchase, my husband bought himself a delicious looking cinnamon roll. While he was driving, I unwrapped that roll and took a whiff before handing it to him. It was indeed delicious smelling and I sniffed so long and hard that I sniffed the smell right out of it. There was a lot of satisfaction in that.

Our visit to the North Shore wouldn’t be complete without stopping to view Split Rock lighthouse located just outside of Two Harbors. I’ve been inside of it twice and have lots of pictures. Some day, I’ll do a post about it.

Continuing up the North Shore drive, we arrived at Quilt Corner in Beaver Bay. Although it was still early, we wouldn’t be able to arrive at the next shop before closing time since it was almost a 2 hour drive, so we started looking for a hotel room. My husband started searching the internet on his cell phone. There were no vacancies near the next shop we’d be going to in Cook or nearby Virginia. He then started searching for rooms available around the Beaver Bay area going all the way back down to Two Harbors and found nothing. We didn’t want to drive all the way back to Duluth.

I was just beginning to think we would be spending the night in the car when he exclaimed, “I found one and it’s only $60.00 a night.” “Hmmm,” I thought thinking that it was too good of a deal to be true, or good, or clean. He told the owner/manager that we’d be there soon as it was only a few miles away in the direction we would be heading in the morning.

During that short trip, Tu-Na Helper nonchalantly mentioned that our room would be upstairs in the lodge and we wouldn’t have internet. I started to get a bit skeptical when he continued, “We won’t have a private bath but would share the bathroom with the campground.”  Shortly before we arrived at the lodge, the owner/manager called back and said, “Bring cash.” Now I WAS skeptical!

We drove up to Lax Lake Resort.

After checking out the room, Tu-Na Helper returned to the car and said it would be fine. We have differing definitions of “fine” so this was not comforting at all. But I agreed to give it a try. After all, this is an adventure.

We found Wi-Fi in the office to use to check our email. Our bedroom was very clean with just enough rustic charm to give it some character. The mattress seemed very comfortable. The bathroom, located on the first floor below the 4 upstairs bedrooms, was also very clean and was equipped with 4 pay showers. We found $2.00 in quarters on the dresser in our room. And then we pulled back the vertical blinds covering a very generous sized patio door and discovered…

We ate supper at Lemon Wolf Café in Beaver Bay. This great restaurant is 17 years old and the chef accommodated my limited dietary choices.

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When we returned to our room, I sat at the table in front of the patio door looking at the lake and writing this post until the light faded, darkness overtook the lake, and the moon rose. Ahhh, the room was great!

Block of the Day

Many of the shops had block kits for sale and I bought them. Because I couldn’t choose just one to make, I decided that this was a good day to make three blocks.

What I Learned Today:

1. Keep the camera ready-to-go. One never knows when a photo op will suddenly appear.
2. My husband is very observant even when driving. He saw an eagle sitting in a tree far off the road. By the time he pointed it out to me, we’d driven past. He later pointed out some cranes and we stopped to look.
3. Tiger lilies still remind me of my grandmother

Question: Have you seen a barn quilt? Where? I’ve seen several now and I’ve also painted a small one:  2′ x 2′. I’ll have to post a photo of that one soon.

Coming Soon:

• Day 9 and 10 posts
• Update on Johnny’s quilt
• A look at the loot
• Tu-Na Quilts: Starting the New School Year Right with Breakfast and a New Apron. Scheduled post for Aug. 21st for the Back to School Blog Hop hosted by Jen at Faith and Fabric.

The Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop has now concluded and we are back home. I will post these items as soon as I can.

I read and appreciate every comment I receive. I’ve either been busy writing posts or shopping or sewing up those blocks so I  haven’t had time to reply but I do plan to when I am home and recovered from the trip. Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

See my other posts about the 2017 Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop:

Tu-Na Travels: ♪Over Hill. Over Dale. We Will Hit the Dusty Trail. As the Quilt Hop Goes Rolling Along….♪

Tu-Na Travels: Day One, 352 Miles, 11 Shops, Only 55 Shops Remaining

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two, 334 miles, 7 Shops, Only 48 Shops Remaining

Tu-Na Travels: Day Three, 210 Miles, 4 Shops, 44 Shops Remaining

Tu-Na Travels: Day Four, 276 Miles, 9 Shops, Only 35 Shops Remaining

Tu-Na Travels: Day Five, 274 Miles, 8 Shops, Only 27 Shops Remaining

Tu-Na Travels: Day Six, 243 Miles, 8 Shops, Only 19 Shops Remaining

Tu-Na Travels: Day Seven, 259 Miles, 6 Shops, 13 Only Shops Remaining

All the links to my posts for last year’s Quilt MN Shop Hop can be found at the top of this blog under the Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats title. Click on the Shop Hop tab; in the drop down menu, click on 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop Posts.

At this time, I have no affiliation with any of the shops, products, companies, or services that I mention here on Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats.

Linking to:

Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Midweek Makers at QuiltFabrication

Jo’s Country Junction

Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict