Tag Archives: Tu-Na

Tu-Na Travels: Tu-Na Helper’s Side of the 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop

You’ve heard from me about how fantastic our 2016 Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop trip was and I know at least a few of you have asked what my husband had to say about it. To satisfy your curiosity, I asked my husband if he’d share his thoughts about the trip. He was my helper: paid for everything, chauffeured me around, found things for me in shops that I had missed, and was in charge of taking interior and exterior shop photos while I interviewed and shopped. Without further ado, here’s Tu-Na Helper….

Hi everyone! Who’d have thought that I would be the talk of the internet (or at least this blog) and I am not even running for President! Yes. I accompanied my wife Karen on the MN Shop Hop not only this year, but for a total of three years now. I’m sure some of you think I may not have a life of my own. Not true! I have my own interests and hobbies that keep me more than occupied at times.

Here we are taking a selfie at the giant mosquito poster just outside of the Sweetwater Cotton Shoppe in Paynesville, MN. Had I known that this would be my internet debut, I would have combed my hair!

But first, where did my nickname come from? Well, we offered to bring my sister-in-law along for a day on the hop. Karen explained to her that she was going to blog about our journey and that I was taking photos for her blog. Karen told her that the name of the blog was “Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats”. My sister-in-law immediately piped up and said ” Oh, so that would make you Tu-Na Helper”. We had a good laugh about that. But unfortunately for me, the nickname seems to have stuck. What makes it even more unfortunate is that I do not even like tuna (fish)! Oh well, I’m a tough guy. I can take it.

So why would a husband agree to spend all this time shopping for fabric with his wife? I guess I do not think of it as lost time. I get to spend quality time with my wife doing something she enjoys (which also means she is in a pretty good mood). I enjoy looking for unique quilts and decorations that can be found on display in the shops. We also get to see areas in Minnesota that we otherwise would not get to see. Even after three times around the state, we manage to find something new and interesting. We are usually pretty focused on getting to our next destination, but we do look for some unique eateries for our evening meals. A couple of my favorites were Sherwood Forest near Nisswa, MN, and The Sawmill Saloon in Virginia, MN.

I found this quilt design particularly intriguing. It is called Gentlemen’s Agreement and was displayed at the Calico Hutch Quilt Shop in Hayward, MN.

On this trip we also took time off one afternoon to take a sailboat ride on Lake Peppin. It was both exhilarating and relaxing. On our way back to the dock we saw this hearty group of sailors out for a spin. I could not resist taking a photo or two. One never knows what wonderful sights you will come across when you take in the world around you.

I do enjoy helping Karen find some of the fabrics she needs. I have a fairly good eye for color matches if she has an idea of what she needs or a piece of fabric she is trying to match or contrast. I also monitor her spending to some extent. I know that it may not seem that way now that you have seen her loot, but believe me, it could be worse.

One of the sayings she frequently hears me remind her of is to “Spread the love”. What I mean by that is that she should not buy all the fabric she wants in one shop. Since we plan to visit all the shops on the hop we try to spread our purchases to as many shops as possible. We did not find items to purchase in every shop, but there was only a handful that we missed. The shops all go through a lot of expense and effort to hold the shop hop. Their reward is some additional business, sales, and recognition. While I understand that it is unrealistic to make a purchase in every shop, I feel that is also rude for a hopper to run in, get their passport stamped, and run back out without even looking around the shop a bit. Half the fun of the hop is talking to the shop’s owners and staff and seeing some of the fantastic quilts they have in their shops. Sorry about that, I will get off of my soapbox now…

A little more about my role as “Tu-Na Helper”. Using the Quilt Minnesota website to get the list of participating shops, I plan our route using an online site to find the most efficient route. While this is very helpful, it usually changes more than once along the way. Load the car, fuel the car, and we are on our way. My new role as photographer for the shop hop posts kept me busy while Karen would talk to the staff and do her shopping. I always ask someone on staff if they have any issues with me taking pictures in their store. Most shops have no problem but there are a few who prefer that no photos be taken. I honor those requests. I take my photographer role ‘very’ seriously. So seriously, in fact, that I took over a thousand photos! See what I mean!

This cute little saying met us at the door of Sadie Rae’s Quilt Shop in Wilton, MN. It applied pretty well to Karen. The amount of creativity that is shown in all the quilt shops is simply amazing. And yes, I said “cute” and I am man enough to admit it.

We usually do not know where we will end up at the end of the day. By mid afternoon we have a better idea and I can check ahead to see where we can get a room. It’s more exciting that way don’t ya know! The only time we had much of an issue was last year in the southern part of Minnesota along Interstate 90. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally overlaps the Quilt Hop and every room within 30 miles of I90 was booked. In calling around I tried the Old Railroad Inn Bed & Breakfast in Jackson, MN. Luckily, they had just had a cancellation from a biker who had engine trouble earlier in the day and was not able to get to Jackson that day. We had a great night there!

Earlier I stated that I had my own interests too. I am an avid gardener and tend to supply my family with all the summer vegetables they can handle. We have a small fruit tree orchard as well. We have nine apple trees that are providing a record harvest this year. We have been cidering apples these past two weekends and have already pressed 134 gallons of apple cider with our cider press along with the help of family and friends. So what do you do with that much apple cider you may ask. Well, you ask everyone you know if they have any freezer room to store it. So far so good! Actually, fresh apple cider is a great tasting healthy drink. If that doesn’t suit you, we also take several gallons of cider to our local vintner to turn into apple wine. Doesn’t that sound better!

This is the reward for a day’s work at the cider press.

I also enjoy photography and reading ( I prefer science fiction stories). Having retired from an information technology job I still try to keep up with what’s new in that field as well as any new personal technology developments. I have started entering my photos in some local contests with limited success.

This photo, “Apache Lake Vista”, earned an honorable mention in a people’s choice photo show.

This past week our local library had their annual used book sale. Books are sold by the pound at the sale, at one dollar a pound. Now that’s a deal! I got a little carried away, but in my defense I was shopping for four people. I even picked up one book for Karen. However, the vast majority were books for me. My purchase totaled sixty dollars! When I told Karen how much I spent she didn’t make a fuss. After all, what could she say after all the loot she picked up on the hop? Hmmm… I wonder if the library book sale is still open tomorrow…

Well, I think I have used up enough space here. I hope you enjoyed it. I know Karen is excited about her blog and hopes that you will continue to follow her posts. Her blog is currently being read in 42 countries. I certainly never expected her to have so much success in such a short time. Enjoy life and stay safe!

What I, “Tu-Na Helper,” Learned Today:

A person can get pretty cold while picking apples on a windy 40 degree F day.
We would never be able to use up all our apples without the help of family and friends.
Happy wife, happy life.

Question: What is your favorite apple desert?

Thanks to my husband for being a good sport and writing this guest post. I’ll be back soon with a story about that plus quilt and some apple eats.

Linking to

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop (button on the sidebar)

Finished or Not Friday (button on the sidebar)

Em’s Scrapbag Moving It Forward

Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday (button on sidebar)

Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making

Tu-Na Quilts: Voting Has Begun for the Blogger’s Quilt Festival

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There are many beautiful and some really unique quilts over at Amy’s Creative Side for the Blogger’s Quilt Festival.

You can even vote for your favorites. Voting closes September 30th. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, put your feet up, and be prepared to be dazzled.

I’ve provided direct links to each of the categories below. Be patient as it may take a bit for the inLinkz to load each category. Once the inLinkz is loaded, you should see a picture of each quilt displayed under the blue box that says “Baby Lock Sewing Machine Giveaway.” You can enter that giveaway by clicking on that box. For other chances to win fabric and other prizes, leave a comment on the main festival page. Be sure to leave your email address.

You’ll be looking at a lot of quilts at the festival so I thought I’d give you something else to see. This is Chihuly in the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, AZ in January 2014.

Now vote for three of your favorite quilts in each category by clicking on the heart in the upper right hand corner of each quilt. To read more about a quilt or see more pictures of it, click on the picture of the quilt and you will go directly to the quilt blog post. The green check mark displayed on the top left of that quilt picture on the festival page means you’ve visited that blog post.

Here’s the links for each category. Enjoy!

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Mini Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Small Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Large Quilts I’ve entered my Little House Story Quilt in this category; to see it and read more about it, click here.

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Applique Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Art Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Hand Quilted Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Machine Quilted Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Modern Quilts I’ve entered my Plus Quilt in this category; to see it and read more about it, click here.

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Original Design

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival ROYGBIV Quilts (rainbow)

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Scrappy Quilts

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Viewer’s Choice Viewer’s Choice Quilts are being displayed under the Baby Lock Giveaway Bar and list of prizes. But if you don’t see your favorite, use the form below to nominate up to three favorites.

2016 Blogger’s Quilt Festival Viewer’s Choice Nomination Form You can nominate up to three quilts by pasting the direct link to that quilt on this form.

What I Learned Today:

I have a lot more quilts on my “must make” list now.

Question: Have you entered a quilt into a competition. How did you do?

Tu-Na Travels: The Last of the Loot–aka The Big Splurge

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This is the last of the loot from my 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop trip. Although these were things that weren’t on my list, they still followed my plan to like all that I buy. I couldn’t leave them behind so I splurged.

I’m sure it will be of no surprise to anyone that I found and bought cloud fabric. I was captivated by the Minnesota skies and took lots of sky pictures. You can see some pictures here on Day Two, Day Five, Day Six, and Day Eight.

I’m thinking one of these would make a cute background for some hot air balloon blocks. What do you think?

I can’t have sky without including some water.

One can’t have sky and water without having some little rocks. I really needed this before and didn’t have it so I decided to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

I grew up on a wheat farm and had been eyeing this one since the collection was released. I almost bought it at one shop on the hop but decided to let it stay on the shelf. The next day, I heard it calling my name from the clearance section of a different shop. How could I ignore that?

Along the way I found some prints to add to my orange, brown, and green stash. How could I resist those coffee beans?

When I saw the fabric with dots, I saw sprinkles and I thought it would make cute ice cream cone or cupcake quilt blocks or a pincushion or two.

I already have slices of watermelon fabric in my stash and found these two pieces that would make a fun picnic quilt with it.

Here’s more great fabrics I found.

These were just too cute to pass up! I’m open to suggestions.

Just before I left home on the shop hop, I started a project using a green leaf fabric from my older stash. After cutting all the pieces, I decided it was just too thin to use so I found these two leaf prints on the hop. Since I couldn’t decide between them, I bought both.

Here’s the remnant I found on Day Six. I’m sure I’ll be needing a good quality gingham for a future project.

I’ve now decided that these two fabrics will become a pillow.

Here’s the Amazing Grace fabric that I’d given up hope of ever finding again. I previously bought 4 yards for a quilt back but you and I know that 4 yards isn’t nearly enough for a larger quilt. I was ecstatic to find 4 more yards of it on Day Six. Now I know I’ll have enough.

The following pic shows my all-time favorite fabric splurge on the hop. At the time of purchase, I had no idea what it might become.

I plan to use these one-yard cuts with some of the black and white for my challenge project for my AZ quilting group. They were on sale for 50% off. I should have bought more.

Now for some non-fabric splurge.

These were the only two patterns I bought. At one of the shops, we saw a finished labyrinth quilt and talked to the quilter that made it. She was picking it up from the longarm person after just having had it quilted. It looked fantastic. This Labyrinth quilt has been circulating around Facebook and I just couldn’t resist buying it for a future quilting project with my sisters.

I found a magnetic lighted pin picker upper

which opens to this length to help reach pins in far away places. It’s already come in handy!

I bought two spools of Superior thread and two spools of 100% Egyptian Cotton to try.

I splurged on the Mini Dresden Plate Template. I purchased this larger template at the same time as the Tiny one that I wrote about on So Where’s the Loot.

That’s all folks! I have no more loot to show you; it’s all been revealed. It was a fun trip and I’ve enjoyed telling you about it. But wait, I’ve planned a bit more fun.

Up Next: A guest post by Tu-Na Helper (my husband) regarding his thoughts and impressions of the shop hop trip.

What I Learned Today:

Decision making is difficult for me.
I made a lot of purchases on this shop hop trip.
I definitely shop faster than I sew.
The past two posts have been embarrassing but I’ll get over it.

Question: Do you plan first and then buy or buy now and plan later?

Linking to Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

and Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts

Tu-Na Travels: The Listed “Loot”

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I left home for the Quilt MN Shop Hop this summer with a list in my purse and a song in my step. Granted, I added onto that list while I was on the hop but I just couldn’t figure out why my favorite pair of Birkenstock’s squeaked when I walked.

You’ve all been patiently waiting for my next loot post so I hope I don’t disappoint you. If you need to catch up with that fun quilting shop hop trip, catch the links on this post and then here, here and here.

First, lets take a look at the list of things my mom wanted me to find for her: Airplane fabric, two spools of Aurifil thread, and a Sewline Fabric Pencil. Mission accomplished.

The airplane fabric on the right was the first score on the trip at the very first shop. One thing crossed off the list. “But I need more than one yard,” mom said when I excitedly told her later that day that I’d found some airplane fabric on clearance. So I spent the next 6 days looking for more. We found almost identical fabric but with smaller planes. I took all that was on the bolt–almost two yards.

The big item on my list was fabric for a Minecraft quilt for my oldest grandson who is seven and enjoys playing that computer game. He’s already picked out the blocks he wants from the pattern on the Seriously, I Think It Needs Stitches blog. On the shop hop, we found lots of solids and other interesting fabric for me to use for that quilt. I will have a nice selection to choose from when I begin that project.

One yard cuts of every color of the rainbow in these two pictures. Yes, I know there’s probably enough for three quilts here.

But I still need to buy some black–a lot of black for the sashing and borders and back. When we got to the quilt shop in Mankato, I found red, blue, and yellow Color Union by Robert Kaufman. They were out of that perfect black and so I searched and asked at each of the remaining 47 shops if they had any but sadly it was not to be found. I guess I’ll be doing some online searching now.

One of my readers asked me if there was anything that I’d bought on the hop that I now scratch my head and wonder “why on earth” or “what was I thinking?” I originally purchased these three 1-yard cuts for use in the minecraft quilt, but now I am scratching my head and wondering why on earth, what was I thinking?

I also listed more black and white fabrics to add to my black and white quilt. I have enough for a king-sized quilt (which I was planning to make anyway) and probably a couple more smaller size ones too. My Arizona quilting group has a black and white and one other color challenge this year. I think I’m all set in the black and white department.

More one yard cuts to add to my collection. Do you see a theme here? I really do like daisies. Can you tell?

A couple more interesting ones.

And my favorite! Why did I buy only 1 yard?

1930 Repro fabrics were also on my list. I looked for them last year and they were hard to find and when I did find them most of them were on clearance. Which was very good for last year. This year more stores had them but I didn’t find many in the clearance section. Which was not very good for this year.

Thirteen cuts of one yard each. Yes, I know I picked up a duplicate. See the ones on each of the ends. Now, how did that happen?

Twelve more yards of fun prints.

I also had this iron cleaner on the list. I bought some of these sheets last year as a notion promotion and was hoping I’d find more this year. I should have taken two.

Have you used this yet? It works great!

Aurifil thread was on my list so I bought two spools.

Cream and gray are the only colors I seem to use lately. I probably should have bought more of these, too.

Oh, I was so excited to find these wonderful perfect little scissors by Karen Kay Buckley. Yes, they were on my list! They are very pointed and very sharp and have a tendency to become lost. I bought two last year on the hop and one the year before. I gave mom a pair last year. I have already lost both of mine. So this year I bought two more and they were even on sale. With my history of losing things, I should have bought a few more.

Have you tried these? I really like them. Mom informed me today that she can’t find hers either.

I looked and asked at each shop for fabric that portrayed prairie with rocks so that I can make another covered wagon block like this one. Having previously bought only a fat quarter of that perfect prairie with rocks, there isn’t enough to make another block. I began the search and found the piece below on day 7.

While it’s close to what I used before, this one has more rocks and more green grass than I’d like. However, I took one yard anyway, just in case I didn’t find anything better.

That was the extent of the list but not the extent of this big pile. I still have more to reveal.

Up next: The Big Splurge (The things that weren’t on my list but still followed my plan to like all that I buy so I couldn’t leave them behind)

Coming Soon: Guest post by Tu-Na Helper (my husband) regarding his thoughts and impressions of the shop hop trip.

What I Learned Today:

If I think I might use it, buy enough the first time.
A fat quarter is not enough in most cases.
Label my scissors just like in kindergarten. Oh, and also label my mom’s.
Some scissors seem to have legs.

Question: What have you lost lately?

Tu-Na Quilts: Presenting Anne’s Flower

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Ideas do not just happen. They begin with a thought, a need, a picture, an object; some thing that jars the brain to think about making something either for the first time or making an existing object/idea better. The beautiful purple coneflowers were the inspiration behind Anne’s Flower block.

I took this pic of the coneflower with my old Nokia phone in 2011. Camera phones and my photographing ability sure have improved since then. But I think you get the idea.

This pic was taken last year outside of Old Alley Quilt Shop in Sherburn, MN. The coneflowers were just as beautiful when I was there this summer, but I didn’t get a close-up of them.

I featured Old Alley Quilt Shop on Day 2 of my 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop posts. You can read more about this great shop here. Look for more posts about all my loot that I acquired on that hop and a perspective from my husband as Tu-Na Helper coming up soon.

Now back to the task at hand—designing a quilt block to meet the challenge. When these fabrics from Cloud 9 arrived, my brain saw a purple coneflower.

From the left: Amazon, Sky, Shadow, Iris, and Lilac

Since my artistic drawing abilities consist of stick men and daisies, my daughter-in-law encouraged me to try anyway and provided me with a sketch from which to work.

I’ve already seen paper-pieced and appliqued coneflower quilt patterns. This meant I needed to think of a new way to approach making this flower out of fabric. As I looked at the flower petals, I saw a resemblance to the Dresden plate and decided to design this block using that method. I wanted to keep it mostly pieced and keep applique to a minimum.

Mission accomplished! I think it resembles the drawing above and looks like a coneflower.

The stem involves sewing a curved piece. This was my first attempt at sewing on a curve (not counting setting in sleeves) but it was very easy.

If you have never sewn a curved seam, don’t worry, I had not either. My recommendations: DO NOT pin-just sew, clip the curves about half-way to the seam, and press well.

Although I’ve designed several other quilt blocks for use in my grandson’s Little House Quilt, I’ve never done a tutorial about it. This required making sure the pattern could be made more than once by just following the written directions.

For the most part, it worked the second time. So a couple of revisions were needed and we are done.

Two of Anne’s Flower blocks. Which one do you like?

This pattern can be purchased at Tu-Na’s Pattern Shop on Payhip here. You’ll find all the information (templates, instructions, pics of the process, and tips) you need to make this block in the pattern for Anne’s Flower. I could see a whole quilt made of these. Let me know if you make a coneflower using my pattern. I would enjoy seeing a pic of it and reading about how the pattern worked for you.

What I Learned Today:

I have a new appreciation for pattern writers. It’s harder than I thought.
Everything takes longer than I expect. Even in retirement, I need to work on my time management skills.
It is practically impossible to take a picture of myself while I am sewing.

Question: Have you designed a block or quilt? Tell me about it and what inspired you to create that specific design.

You can find all of the blocks on this New Block Blog Hop by clicking on the links below. Many thanks to Cloud 9 Fabrics for providing the beautiful fabric and our hosts Yvonne, Cheryl, and Stephanie for arranging this event. So go check out the other blocks, you might find one or two you’d like to make.

Monday, September 12th

Host: Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl

Abigail @Cut & Alter
Janice @Color, Creating, and Quilting!
Lorinda @Laurel, Poppy, and Pine
Melva @Melva Loves Scraps
Renee @Quilts of a Feather
Kathryn @Upitis Quilts
Kim @Leland Ave Studios
Amanda @this mom quilts
Holly @Lighthouse Lane Designs
Irene @Patchwork and Pastry
Jennifer @Dizzy Quilter
Karen @Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats (You are here)
Anne @Said With Love
Suzy @Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Sharla @Thistle Thicket Studio
Kathleen @Smiles From Kate
Amanda @Gypsy Moon Quilt Co.
Sarah @Sarah Goer Quilts
Chelsea @Patch the Giraffe
Jinger @Trials of a Newbie Quilter
Anja @Anja Quilts
Daisy @Ants to Sugar

Tuesday, September 13th

Host: Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs

Jennifer @The Inquiring Quilter
Sarah @123 Quilt
Leanne @Devoted Quilter
Jen @Patterns By Jen
Jennifer @RV Quilting
Amanda @Quiltologie
Sharon @Yellow Cat Quilt Designs
Jen @A Dream and A Stitch
Jen @Faith and Fabric
Carole @Carole Lyles Shaw
Stephanie @Quilt’n Party
Susan @Sevenoaks Street Quilts
Katrin @Now What Puppilalla
Amista @Hilltop Custom Designs
Nicole @Handwrought Quilts
Marla @Penny Lane Quilts
Silvia @A Stranger View
Sarah @Smiles Too Loudly
Carrie @the zen quilter
Mary @Quilting is in My Blood
Velda @GRANNYcanQUILT

Wednesday, September 14th

Host: Stephanie @Late Night Quilter

Kathy @Kathys Kwilts and More
Paige @Quilted Blooms
Mary @Strip Quilts Pass it On
Allison @Woodberry Way
Seven @The Concerned Craft
Olusola @Alice Samuel’s Quilt Co.
Ann @Brown Paws Quilting
Jodie @Persimmon + Pear
Vicki @Orchid Owl Quilts
Kitty @Night Quilter
Francine @Mocha Wild Child
Shelley @The Carpenter’s Daughter who Quilts
Jayne @Twiggy and Opal
Geraldine @Living Water Quilter
Shannon @Shannon Fraser Designs
Lisa @Sunlight In Winter Quilts
Jessica @Quilty Habit
Cassandra @The (not so) Dramatic Life
Deanna @Stitches Quilting
Denise @Craft Traditions

Linking with

Pink Doxies for #BraveQuilter (I completed my goal to design a block and write a tutorial for it and then bravely posted it for the world to see.)

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Main Crush Monday at Cooking up Quilts

Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts (button in the sidebar)

Myra at Busy Hands Quilt for Finished or Not Friday (button on sidebar)

TGIFF (Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday)

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a FabricAddict

Caroline at Sew Can She for Show Off Saturday

Tu-Na Quilts: Where the Magic Happens

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This post could also be titled Where the Creative Mess Occurs.

Tu-Na Travels on the Quilt MN Loot posts will continue after this brief overview of my sewing space.

Melva at Melva Loves Scraps is hosting a linky party where you can see other quilter’s sewing spaces and quilting studios. I plan to check them all out to get some organizing and decorating ideas. You’re invited too.

My sewing space is in the laundry room on the lower level of our house. I really meant to get that valance finished for your visit but I’ve been rather busy lately. I recently added a window shade to protect my fabric from the sun when I’m not in the room.

Welcome to my Sewing/Quilting area. I’m so glad you came to visit.

My husband recently installed a shelf above the window so I could display my button collection in vintage canning jars and

fabric pre-cuts and a few quilting books.

A shelf under the window is a fun place to put some decorations and a jar full of ring pincushions as well as the Tide. I used to work with children, so those blocks are the perfect decoration for me.

My sewing desk holds more quilting books. My fat quarters fit nicely in those plastic bins. A cookie jar holds a nice surprise.

I like to call them cookies. These are the good kind of cookies to have around–low calorie and no information is disclosed.

A plastic tower holds pins, machine feet, and other small items that tend to get lost in the drawer. Scissors, rippers, pens and pencils, and small rulers go into the gadget caddy that spins around. This was one of my best finds at a thrift store.

I’ve read before that creative people are messy people. Well, then I must be the most creative person there is. I leave the cleaning until I’ve finished a project. I have several projects going on at one time.

The sink comes in handy for pre-washing. The counter is the perfect height for cutting. The vase on the right is full of fabric scraps. Yes, there is a wine bottle on the counter. No, I did not just empty it. It’s there so I can make a wine-bottle cover.

But I did take a few minutes to tidy up as I knew you’d be visiting.

This sign hangs over the sink. I’m the only one who reads it.

My quilting projects often flow out onto our pool table as it is the right size to lay out baby and crib size quilts. Quilting projects also flow onto our living room floor, dining room table, and kitchen table. A recent project had me overflowing onto all those areas.

I had to move furniture out of our living room to make space to lay out this recent quilt project. I’ll be writing more about this quilt soon.

So where’s my sewing machine set-up now? It’s upstairs on the kitchen table. When I have a large project to sew or when I have quilting help, I move my machine into a larger area.

My mom and I are working together on several projects. Recently, my sisters joined us for several fun quilting days. But those are topics for another post.

I’m trying to convince my husband that we either need to move the pool table out so I can completely take over that room or build a studio. He says I just need to take time to clean up the spaces I have. Sigh.

What I Learned Today:

Cleaning-up is necessary but still not fun.
Finding creative storage solutions that fit tight spaces is difficult.

Question: Do you clean as you go or clean when you are finished with a project?

Linking with

Myra at Busy Hands Quilt for Finished or Not Friday. (Button on the sidebar)

and Brooke at Silly Mama Quilts for WIP

Tu-Na Travels: The 2016 Quilt Minnesota Fabric Loot

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This post continues with my journey on the 2016 Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop. In case you want to catch up with all the fun and frivolity, click here to find a link to the free and almost free loot and click here to find a link at the bottom of the page to all the posts about the daily top shops on the hop posts. Now on with the loot disclosure.

This fabric line is a one-time only printing. When the shops run out, it is gone forever.

My husband said, “Share the love.” So I divided up what I wanted and took 2 yards of the orange hash from three different shops.

I said in a previous post that I prefer the hunt and find method to pre-ordering this fabric line. It’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Two 2 yard cuts of the brown hash and 1 1/2 yards of the green hash made it into the basket.

This approach doesn’t guarantee that I’ll end up with any of this fabric collection, but then again, it is exciting.

These 2 yard cuts will be nice in my MN Quilt but will also work well with other quilts.

This year I was fairly successful in finding what I wanted.

I’m thinking that 1 yard of each of these cuties will be used up all too fast. What was I thinking? It’s also the agony of regret.

It’s always interesting to see which fabric is the most sought-after fabric from the collection. Which will be the one that quilters chase after and regret not buying more of?

I did get bit by these cute bugs and took 2 yards each.

This year there were several: the mosquitoes and the colored fish were gone in a few days.

I got it! At some of the first shops we stopped at, I asked which fabrics they thought would be sell-outs. This one was predicted by three shops. So as soon as I found it, I bought a yard. But….

…a yard is so little. So I found another shop and bought 2 yards. Then my daughter-in-law called and asked if I’d get her some. “I’ll take even a fat quarter if you find some,” she said. It had been 4 days since we had seen any colored fish. Later in the week we found some at a remote shop in the lakes area. So I bought her a yard and took another yard for myself.

Since the colored fish were sold out, someone came up with a brilliant solution to use fabric crayons to color the plain fish. After posting this idea on the Quilt MN Facebook page, it then created a shortage of the plain fish.

Luckily, I had already reeled in 2 yards.

From the Quilt Minnesota Facebook page, many people are still looking for the orange and brown hash too. I was also successful in catching some other cute fun fabrics from this collection.

Canoes in light and dark–one yard each.

And oars to go with the canoes. Two 2 yard cuts of the brown and 2 yards of the blue oars.

The 2016 MN fabric line had 26 prints, a panel of 4 blocks and a pictorial stripe. While I didn’t get some of each of them—I never intended to, I did get what I liked and wanted to use.

One yard of the blue Trillium and two of the green.

One yard of the orange and two of the blue.

My husband spied a quilt that he liked at one of the shops. I decided he deserved to have one after going with me on this trip. So I’ll use the colored fish and several other prints from this collection to make a special one for him. I also have a couple of other quilt patterns in mind for this collection.

I just couldn’t resist adding another yard and a half of these hungry looking guys. No bug spray is necessary when using this fabric.

What I Learned Today:

I’d better start sewing a lot faster.
Mosquitos on fabric are a lot nicer than mosquitos on the arm.
Maybe pre-ordering isn’t such a bad idea (Nah-probably not going to happen).

Question: Do you shop faster than you sew or sew faster than you shop?

Linking with

Beth at Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday (Button on the sidebar)

Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Social (Button on the sidebar)

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Tu-Na Travels: The Free and Almost-Free Loot

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Was it just my own mom, or did yours, too, prolong the agony on Christmas Eve? Before we could open gifts, we had to have every dish, pot, pan, and cookie sheet washed, dried, and put away. There were a lot of them because she had been making Christmas cookies all day long.

I’ve read from your comments that a lot of you have been wondering and waiting patiently for me to unwrap and reveal my loot from my 2016 Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop. Click here to find a link towards the bottom of the page that lists all the posts about that fun trip.

Let’s see just what snagged my line and made me cast my credit card to be netted and put in that cool treasure chest pictured on my last post. First up is the FREE STUFF! ’cause we all love FREE!

Each of the 72 participating shops provided every shop hopper with an 8″ finished pattern designed by their shop.

Here’s all 72 patterns I got!

Each shop on the hop also gave each hopper a 5″ square of the 2016 Quilt Minnesota Fabric.

I got from 1-4 squares of each of 25 prints. I was only missing one print-the parchment.

Here’s some close-ups of my favorites. Did I take the bait or keep on swimming by? You will find out on the next post whether I was able to catch any or regret not having pre-ordered. I can’t reveal all my woes or I’ll have nothing left to write. In the meantime, I have loads of free and almost-free stuff to reveal.

The colored fish would be the first one to sell-out within a few days after the shop hop started. Will I have predicted it and bought early on the hop or not?

Cute little retro campers would also be in short supply. These could also be found with an olive background, if you were lucky.

Everyone also loved those mosquitoes in either the tan or aqua background. Who could resist those buggy eyes? Obviously no one, since it also was a sell-out. Did I get bit or was I left sitting on the bank wishing I would have thrown in the line a little earlier?

All of the participating shops on the hop were also participating in the Row by Row and I used this opportunity to collect the patterns from all….

…except one shop, that is. There’s only 71 Row by Row patterns here. We were so excited to check out at one shop and get the incentive prize that we forgot to ask for their Row by Row pattern. It’s too far off the beaten path to return to again. It was a really nice one though and it gets even nicer as I dream about the one that got away.

In an effort to keep organized in the beginning of the hop, my husband and I each used a gallon zip-lock plastic bag to hold our patterns and fabric squares. We were delighted to receive this vinyl and canvas zippered pouch as our first incentive prize as it held our patterns and fabric squares nicely. We could be seen emerging from the car with the pouch in hand heading straight for the shop door.

It also held the Row by Rows that we were collecting. I also had room in mine to keep a yard or two of fabric that I was trying to match. Here’s how stuffed it was with 72 shop patterns, 72 fabric squares, and 71 Row by Row patterns.

Hingeley Road Quilt Shop in Floodwood, MN went above and beyond in providing us hoppers with patterns. They’ve published several quilt pattern books and gifted each hopper with a 40 page book which includes 15 quilt patterns including one that I have my eye on to use with those new Quilt MN fabrics. This was in addition to their fabric square and 8 inch block pattern! Thank you Hingeley Road Quilt Shop. I look forward to seeing you again.

In the book, Melissa says “……….my philosophy has always been: A quilt is a sum of your experiences and memories of creating and making it. Quilts are made for the enjoyment and experience, not for perfection. That crooked quilted line is because my 3 year old wanted attention and pulled on the quilt top, that point is cut off because I had to hurry to meet the school bus, those are the things I think of when I look at my quilts-not ‘I should have been more precise’ life is too short for perfection-just enjoy the experience.”

Many of the stores provided us with bottles of water, coffee, fruit (bananas and cuties), snack mixes, granola bars, chips, cookies, candy and chocolate. We appreciated those sweet little treats for us weary shop hoppers. Some of the shops also gave us fun little freebies to take.

Here’s what’s left of the candy. My husband found a flattened Rice Krispies Treat in his pouch. (I told him it would taste just as good and offered to test it for him; he didn’t fall for it either.) Anderson Factory Outlet and Quilt Shop provided the mini retractable tape measure (it will be handy in my tackle box, err purse), nail file and notepad. The Quilted Ladybug and Rather Bee Quilting gifted us with pens. This is Sew Broadway included a notepad with our Quilt Minnesota patterns and fabric squares.

There was a shop that included a thank-you with my purchase.

Thank you ABC’s of Quilting in Grand Rapids, MN for that sweet little fat-eighth. it’s perfect for my black and white project.

The Metro section was giving free charms with a $10.00 purchase and I netted some.

The fish is just a scale width over 3/4″. These probably will be sewn onto a project since I don’t wear bracelets. Three more charms are hiding in a safe place. I didn’t want to lose them and now I can’t find them! I sure hope they’re not in my tackle box (purse) as they will be lost forever!

The incentive prizes from each section were a really big catch.

Northwest Section-12 Batik fat quarters: Northeast Section-Layer cake (21 10″ squares) of Flannels: North Central Section-Snack Pack of 42 2.5″ x 44″ strips (We had our choice of snacks and we each selected the red and white without consulting the other.): East Central Section-9 solid color fat quarters: Central-lunch box: Southeast Section-Zippered Vinyl and Canvas Pouch and 5 quilt patterns: Southwest Section-12 fat quarter bundle: Metro Section-entered into a drawing to win some fabulous prizes. If one of us wins, you’ll be some of the first to know.

It’s official; we are now part of the SWAT TEAM!

A fun little prop from Fabrics Plus, Marshall, MN that I used as a personal fan until my husband decided to use it to swat a fly.

Now onto the really good deals that seemed ALMOST FREE.

The best deal I found was at DeAnn’s Country Village Shoppe in Litchfield, MN. They were having a sale in their demolition room (clearance). So for just $3.00 per yard (that’s correct—no typo), I was able to catch two excellent quality backings for quilts. However, this could also be the “fish that got away” as I wish I would have bought even more!

The orange with white dot is 7.75 yards of Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Joanna Figueroa for Moda. The text print on the right is Odds and Ends by Julie Comstock for Moda.

I was working on a project before we left and this text print would be perfect. So I reeled it in and said I’d take all that was on the bolt! It was a whopper at 8.5 yards.

In case you’ve been thinking that I’ve just been lying around resting since we got home, I will let you know that I now only have 3 yards of that text print left.

But that’s another upcoming post with an interesting story that I will warn you will require a box of tissue.

I only bought 3 fat quarters on the trip this year compared to the 125 I bought last year.

Those two green fat quarters were a steal of a deal at only $1.50 each at Anderson Factory Outlet and Quilt Shop in Blackduck, MN.

Each store in the Central Section had a special Dollar Ditty promotion. If you spent $10.00, you could purchase the promoted item for just one dollar more. I purchased some of them. Since the policy was one ditty per person, I did what every devoted quilter would do. I divided my purchases in two so my husband could also buy some.

The seam gauge and measuring gauge together counted as one dollar ditty from Cottage Quilts & Fabrics in Elk River, MN. I’ll keep the little sewing kit in the car as we live by the Boy Scout motto “Always Be Prepared.”

Finally, some of the stores even gave us “invitations” to come back. How can I say no?

Coming up next: A look at which of the 2016 Quilt Minnesota Fabrics didn’t get away. But first I have some zucchini that needs freezing and now the crab apples are ripe enough for making jelly.

What I Learned Today:

Free is always fun!
Life is too full of regrets. Fabric at $3.00/per yard is an incredible deal. I should have bought more. Next time shop more so there are less regrets.
I still worry about perfect seams.

Question: What was the best deal you ever found?

Linking:

Tuesday to Connie at Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday

and Sew Cute Tuesday

Wednesday to Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Social (button on the sidebar)

and Silly Mama Quilts for Work In Progress

and Friday with Busy Hands Quilt for Finished or Not Friday (button on the sidebar)

and Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

Tu-Na Travels: So Where’s “The Loot”?

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Hi-ho, thar buckos!

Tu-Na’s Treasure Chest. Actually, my sister found my hiding place when she came shop hopping with us for Day 8. She peeked inside to see what was for lunch.

’tis be Cap’n Tu-Na tellin’ ye that I have th’ loot counted, ‘n safely stowed.

She sure was surprised! I called it my “high fiber” diet.

Thar’s much more thar than I thought. ’tis just taken much longer than expected. Be back in a day or a pair wit’ th’ first ‘o th’ loot from me 2016 Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop to show ye. In th’ meantime, here’s a couple a pictures to whet ye appetite!

Were you thinking that was all?

Look what was waiting for me when I arrived home! Inside the envelope was the tiny Dresden plate template that I bought along the hop at the Spinning Spools Quilt Shop in New Ulm, MN. They were sold out but said they’d ship it when it was back in stock. I’d forgotten I ordered it so it was a nice surprise to have it waiting for me along with a hand-written note from the owner. It will be perfect for my 1930s repro fabric.

In addition to taking lots of pictures, I’ve had a pressing project to work on, too.

I’ll show you this project soon; I promise.

And these giants need some tending. The garden produce got out of hand while we were gone.

I’m thinking Oven-Baked Zucchini Fries, Zucchini Brownies, and Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread; my husband is thinking compost.

Stay tuned for Part Two of “The Loot—The Free and Almost-Free Stuff” coming up soon. Yes, I came across some really good deals—so good, in fact, that they made me think I was a pirate; I’ve got the credit card debt to prove otherwise! If you haven’t caught up with all my Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop adventures, you’ll see the list here.

What I Learned Today:

The cooler holds more than I thought.
The cooler made a good storage place after the garden produce was left at my daughter’s.
Receipts add up faster than I thought.
380 pictures of loot are a lot to weed out and edit.
The loot—it’s almost embarrassing.

Question: What do you do with overgrown zucchini?

Linking Sunday to Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh, Scrap!

Monday to Beth at Cooking up Quilts for Main Crush Monday (Button on the sidebar) and Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making

It’s a Finish! 9 Days, 3368 Miles, 72 Shops, Lots of Memories and a Car Full of Fabric!

41 Replies

VERY IMPORTANT!—If you haven’t done so, you might like to read the first part of Tu-Na Travels: Day Nine on the Quilt MN Shop Hop: 503 Miles, 6 Shops, Diamonds Would Have Been Cheaper! so you know what’s going on and then come back to finish reading the ending here. (click on the title in this paragraph to go there)

Here’s all my posts about the 2016 Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop, just in case you need to catch up as you won’t want to miss out on any of those daily adventures and top shops on the hop posts.

Tu-Na Travels: “All My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready to Go” to Quilty Destinations Ahead

Tu-Na Travels: Day One: 635 Miles, 8 Shops, Blew the Budget Already Featuring Quilt Haven On Main in Hutchinson, MN.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two on the MN Quilt Shop Hop: 507 Miles, 10 Shops, Made a New Budget Featuring Old Alley Quilt Shop in Sherburn, MN.

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

Tu-Na Travels: Day Four on the MN Quilt Shop Hop: 258 Miles, 8 Shops, Car is Filling Up Featuring Eagle Creek Quilt Shop in Shakopee, MN.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Five on the MN Quilt Shop Hop: 232 Miles, 12 Shops, The Tires are Bulging Featuring Quarry Quilts and Yarns in Sandstone, MN.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Six on the Quilt MN Shop Hop: 261 Miles, 9 Shops, Wishing We Drove a Truck Featuring Timeless Treasures Quilt Shop in McGregor, MN and ABC’s of Quilting in Grand Rapids, MN.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Seven on the Quilt MN Shop Hop: 354 Miles, 5 Shops, Credit Card is Smoking Featuring Cabin Quilting in Cook, MN.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Eight: 466 Miles, 9 Shops, Credit Card is Having a Meltdown Featuring The Old Creamery Quilt Shop in Randall, MN.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Nine on the Quilt MN Shop Hop: 503 Miles, 6 Shops, Diamonds Would Have Been Cheaper! Featuring This is Sew Broadway in Crookston, MN.

Now on with my adventurous journey.

The door closed right in front of me. I grabbed it and pulled hard hoping that it was still open although it was after the mall’s closing time. Miraculously it was not locked even though the clock said it was 5:05pm. That’s 5 minutes past the mall’s closing time.

My husband had gone to another door but that one was locked already. I held my door open and waited impatiently for him to catch up. We were now running down one hallway and then another looking for the quilt shop. Because of construction around the block, we were forced to park in an unfamiliar area and our bearings were off. Nothing looked familiar in this mall.

It was silent in the building. There was absolutely no one around. Were we in the right place? Frantically, I called The Quilted Ladybug hoping that someone would answer. When she did, I asked where they were located in the mall.

And then I looked up.

They even left the OPEN sign on to welcome us.

There I was right in front of the shop. We’d made it and they had waited for us!

Thank you to The Quilted Ladybug so very much for waiting for us! Otherwise, we would have had to wait to check-out until noon the next day or head for home and not finish the shop hop.

We did it! We are happy and tired statewide finishers; the first ones to finish at this shop.

Here’s the front and back page of my Quilt MN Shop Hop passport with all the participating store stamps. We are now entered in the big drawing for some really fantastic prizes. My husband thinks they should also have a prize to refund half the purchase price of items that were purchased from shops during the hop; in my case, that would be a very nice prize.

And here’s the inside with store stamps. It looks a lot different now than when we first got them (check it out on the day 1 post). There’s those ladybugs again confirming we stopped at and finished the NW section at The Quilted Ladybug.

While we were driving to the shop racing against time (but not speeding—well, not too much), I called The Quilted Ladybug in Moorhead to let them know that we were expected to arrive 5 minutes after closing time. “No problem, We’ll wait for you,” was Lisa’s cheerful response. “The outside doors will be locked so just give us a call and someone will come and let you in.” Thankfully, the mall door I tried was still open.

Our prize for finishing the Northwest section: 12 fat quarters of Blue Botanical hand dyed batiks by Clothworks. We picked up this prize from The Quilted Ladybug.

I have to admit there were several shops along the way that we called to ask if they would be around a few minutes before or after closing time.

It was refreshing to be the only people shopping in the store. I left my purse on the counter above and found more fabric to buy.

We didn’t bother to call shops if we would have arrived more than 15 minutes after their posted closing time. I did make it worth their extra time by making purchases at their shops. I never had difficulty finding something to buy.

There are ladybugs throughout the store. Can you find some in this pic?

So where’s all my “loot”?

Lisa remembered us from when we checked out at her store a year ago. Now that’s customer service!

Look for lots of pictures of my one-time only, special edition, never to be printed again, 2016 Minnesota fabrics; many solids for my grandson’s Minecraft quilt; thread; patterns; and some fabric I bought just because “I liked it” coming soon.