Wisconsin!!

 On the way to my sister's, I spent the night in a hotel (which shall remain nameless) and had quite an adventure. The room was really swanky for the price I got on Booking.com, and I was thrilled with the fact that I could sit on a sofa to watch TV and eat my Wendy's salad.

King bed in a huge bedroom

Sitting room with sofa and TV

 Unfortunately, when I got all ready for bed, this is what greeted me...hundreds of tiny bugs all over the pillows and between the sheets! Yikes!! I called the desk and the night clerk said he would be up with keys to a new room. So sorry! I got dressed and packed my stuff, and when he arrived, I showed him the bugs. "Oh My", he says, "There is a big field of hay outside, and they must come from there". We are three stories up and the room has sealed shut windows. I didn't argue, I just wanted to go to bed. Room number two...

More bugs!

He said to sit in the little sitting area and wait while he found another room to go into. I'm now wondering if any other guests had this problem, or did they just go to bed with bugs. Surely they weren't moving guests all around looking for bug free rooms. The long suffering clerk returned with more apologies and another room key. The third time was the charm and I finally turned in. Comfortable bed, cool room and deep sleep. And I got 25% discount for my troubles. Yippee!

Perfect.

I arrived in Wisconsin before lunchtime and off we went on day one of a shop hop. The first shop was The Quilt Barn in Janesville. Wow! Wonderful shop and APQS dealer. Rachel was so nice and we chatted about the APQS and how I could get more knowledgeable about  Quilt Path as well as Mr Wazoo learning the maintenance end of things. We'll be scoping out our possibilities when I get home. This was the nicest experience I have had with anyone connected with APQS since I got my Millie. I am hopeful of finally making friends with the machine. Fingers crossed!

The Quilt Barn. I wish I had a studio like this one!!

Proud owner, Rachel. Rachel, her husband and two daughters all work in the business. I met them all, and they are a powerhouse of APQS talent.

Here is the perfectly wonderful Wisconsin location for a quilt shop

The quilt Barn. It really was a barn before it became a quilting business

I'm thinking I need a sign like this for my customers.

The next shop was Twin Turtle Shop in Clinton. The main street there is still vibrant, unlike many other small towns where the big box stores have squeezed the life out of local business. Twin Turtle is right in the middle of the main drag. They had some panels there I haven't seen before, and I think they will make nice quilts for men in the nursing home. I'll lay out the loot later and show you all the fabric I got. Today, I'll show you the shops and the locations.

Twin Turtle Shop

I tried to get a picture through the window, but the strong reflection of the main street is there, too!

After this shop hop stop (!) we had a filling lunch at Boxcar Pub and Grub, just down the street from the quilt shop. Yum. I had a Reuben and my sister had a wrap. People were in the bar watching the World Cup and the entire lunch was low key and laid back. The building used to be a bank, and they have done a great job with the makeover.

Oh yeah...I'm home.

Number three shop was Kari's Sew Unique in Whitewater. They have a HUGE selection of wide backing there. I wish the shop was by me when it comes to backing tee shirt quilts. The owner demonstrated the Scan and Cut for my sister and me while we were in the shop. I am taking a class in my local shop for the machine later this month, and told her I would be buying mine there. She was so friendly and helpful. A gem of a shop owner. 

We arrived at Kari's after a brief rain shower, and got inside before the black sky opened and  the real deluge began.

The skin was getting darker and darker as we progressed on the hop, and at Kari's, it cut loose.
This is the view from Kari's

The shop is another country location. They are Hands Quilter dealers, too.

When the rain let up, we scurried to Milton, the last stop for the day, and Loose Threads. I scored big at this shop, finding black and white fabrics I haven't found elsewhere, some wonderful light colored homespun plaids and stripes, a Wisconsin themed quilt kit and some bright stripes and dots for bindings. We closed the shop, leaving for home at 5:00.

This is the kit I got. I think its a great Wisconsin quilt!

A big thank you to the shop keeper for being so patient with us at closing time.

I'm hoping to talk my sister into another adventure tomorrow. I'm sure having fun!
Meanwhile, Mr Wazoo has been quilting. I feel so bad about that...NOT!
See you tomorrow.

He quilted this little patriotic wall hanging right before I left.

Panto: Star Spangled Banner