On the Road Again...But I'm Back

 This has been a year of travel for sure! We were just gone again, for over three weeks. I did manage to get some posts ready before left, so you shouldn't have noticed a gap this time! 

So where were we off to this time? Well, it was a series of places, and our first stop was Kansas City. We were towing one of DH's scooters, and we were headed to Chicago. We've been to Chicago before, and knew better than driving through Chicago with a trailer if we didn't have to, so we dropped the scooter off at a nephew's house in the Kansas City area. It was a lightning fast drop-off, because we knew we'd be back in just a few days. 

From Kansas City to Chicago it was made a bit more interesting for me, because we stopped at a quilting Hot Spot!

This was my first time to Missouri Star Quilt Company. We used to live in Missouri, but it was before the Doans moved there. That's OK, because I didn't have much time to quilt in Missouri, I was homeschooling full time and doing a lot of work at our local church. We also didn't have much money in those days, so even if it had been a thing back then, I likely wouldn't have gone.

Life is much different now, and it was a great time to go! We knew we'd be going there before my birthday, so DD#2 had given me a gift card to Missouri Star, and my MIL gave me birthday money to spend there. I didn't want to go crazy, because goodness knows I have a LOT of fabric already, so I went with a list. 

My list was as follows-

White fabrics with gray designs

Greens or blues with gold metallics for a quilt for DD#2

Something I could use as an ornament for the Christmas tree. 

How well did I stick to my list? You be the judge.

Starting at the top row, I bought the new Fabric Cafe book that I mentioned in my last post. I didn't know Missouri Star would have it, but I planned on buying it when I got back home. When I saw it, I decided to just buy it there. The purple and orange fat quarters were for my stash, I am always running out of purple, orange and yellow, so if I see those on sale, I snag some. Second row- the whites with gray designs per my list, a keychain that says Life is Sew Good with the MSQC logo for the Christmas tree, also per my list. The mug DH insisted on me buying. It's a teal color, and says Love in Every Stitch, with a quilt block on the backside. The bottom row is all fat quarter possibilities for DD#2 next quilt, with the gold metallics she wants, also per my list. I also bought two things for Christmas gifts that I can't show now. I went over my birthday money by $40, but the Christmas gifts were over $40, so I think I did pretty well. 

Here is a quick photo dump if you've never gone to Missouri Star. There are several different shops to go into, all with a theme so it's easier to find what you are looking for. All of the shop workers were very nice and helpful. They were spot on when they suggested Penney's Shop for the white with gray designs, and when I said I was looking for individual fat quarters and NOT bundles, they told me that only the wideback shop sells individual fat quarters. I don't know if that's always the case, but it was the day I was there. 

From Hamilton, MO it was almost straight to Chicago. I say almost, because we made a sidetrip to Riverside, Iowa. If you are a Star Trek fan like we are, you may know why.

In Chicago it was all about being a vendor at the Slaughterhouse Scooter Rally. We didn't get in any sight seeing, but I finally did score some Deep Dish Chicago pizza! Every other time we've been to Chicago we opted for something else, but now I can finally say I've had it.

After the rally it was back to Kansas City to pick up the scooter. We only stayed for a couple days, so we couldn't see everyone we would have liked to, but since we were early to have dinner with my niece one day, we made another quilty stop!

We went to Quilting is my Therapy shop in Liberty, MO. It's Angela Walters shop, and I rightly assumed she would not be there. That's ok, because my intention was not to fangirl, but to be able to try on the quilting gloves she uses. Some quilting gloves I wear a medium, and others a large. I've been wanting to buy a pair of the gloves she uses, figuring they would be cooler to wear in the summer, and the woman manning the shop was very nice and let me try on the gloves. Just an FYI, if you are in between sizes on gloves, I ended up getting the large in these. So what else did I get?

I bought the quilting gloves, and four fat quarters. three more gray on white designs, and one yellow FQ for stash. They didn't have a lot of individual fat quarters already cut, but they were willing to cut any fabric I wanted into fat quarters so that is good info to have. We were in a hurry, so I passed on that, but it was a fun quilt shop. 

We spent just a couple days in KC seeing family, then we went to southeastern MO to spend a few days with DD#1 and family. I spent a lot of time with them, but DH was busy getting new tires on his scooter and getting some riding in. We went to a local production of Annie at the community college, and I really loved watching the grandkids watch the show. I think two of the four would love to be involved in local theater. 

After a few days with DD#1's family, and getting as many hugs as I could from the grands, it was on to Arkansas. DH's goal was the Scooting the Ozarks scooter rally, but I had another side trip in mind. If I'm in Arkansas, or even near Arkansas, DH knows I'm going to want to go to Marshall Dry Goods in Batesville. 

I wanted a bolt of one specific fabric, which I bought wholesale. Aside from that, I made myself stick with the flatfolds. I didn't want to add a ridiculous amount to stash, but I did have a couple specific projects in mind. 

The bolt I purchased is top right. It has a woven look and the colors match so many projects I have in progress. I had a six yard piece of that fabric, and went through it quickly, and wished I had more of it. I got a 15 yard bolt for $47. As far as the fabrics go, the upper left is wideback remnants. The navy blue I needed for a project already started, I ran out of the blue which I was using as a background. The lower left is digital prints. I've heard various things about using digital fabrics, some people like them, some don't, and I knew trying some remnants of them was a good way to test them without dropping a bunch of money on them. The center column is mostly brights to go with a black/white bright project I want to start. There's also one more gray on white remnant. The far right is more green with gold metallic for DD#2 new quilt. 

The flat fold section at Marshall Dry Goods is a great place to find some deals.

Marshall Dry Goods was the last quilt related stop on our trip, but it wasn't the end of the trip. We were then on our way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for the Scooting the Ozarks Rally. For DH, it was finally a chance to be a rider at a rally, instead of a vendor, and for me, it was sewing time in a hotel room. I think I'll save that for my next post!