Spring Bus Trip- Part Two

I almost hesitate to post this with "spring" in the title as we are expecting 1-3 inches of snow in the next 24 hours! But, back to the trip...

Our first Missouri shop was The Peddler’s Wagon in Parkville. It is on a very quaint Main Street. We were greeted by a very nice woman and led into the shop. The sun had finally come out so we thanked her for giving us the nice weather. Almost everyone in the shop was very pleasant, with the exception of the two ladies at the front checkout counters. They did not seem to be happy to be there. One watched me as I looked at the quilt books, at one point putting her hands on her hips as she stared me down. I’m not sure what the problem was, but perhaps the MANY signs posted around the shop that said- “No Photographs”- had something to do with it. I didn’t have my camera out but maybe I looked like someone who might take a photo and so needed to be carefully watched. In any case, it was quite off putting, which is a shame because it was a nice little shop.

This shop had a large selection of quilt themed puzzles and Happy Hollow patterns and accessories. They also had a decent selection of embossed notecards with quilting themes, which was my main purchase.

Our next stop was Quilter’s Station in Lee’s Summit. This large shop was almost overwhelming! They had a huge selection of traditional fabrics organized by color. This made it somewhat difficult to find the 30s prints I was searching for, but was handy for those seeking out specific color schemes. The shop had a large notions wall and a section devoted to wool, needlework and punch needle. They carry both Valdani and Weeks Dye Works floss and pearl cotton. I did pick up a couple of fat quarters and a skein of Weeks, but more on that later!

Soon we were back on the bus and on our way to the last shop of the day, Prairie Point in Shawnee, Kansas. This shop had a good selection of 30s prints and Jo Morton fabrics as well as batiks and novelty prints. I bought a fun chicken pincushion pattern here as well as some Jo Morton yardage. I have no clue what I will do with it, but it spoke to me and the others around me encouraged me to take it home. Our group had its share of enablers!

Several of the ladies found some buys in the clearance area at the back of the store. Others were somewhat shopped out by this point and spent their time relaxing and snacking in the lounge area that had been set up.

After everyone had made their purchases we were back on the bus headed to dinner and then off to our hotel about an hour north of the shop. 

Day Three of our trip included our final shop visit. You might think that everyone at this point had spent all of their money and would not find anything of interest, but you would be mistaken! We arrived in Ames, Iowa and headed straight for The Quilting Connection. We were greeted by the owner, a very warm and friendly woman, and then made our way into the shop. This shop not only had a very nice selection of 30s reproductions that came home with me, but also had a good variety of batiks, modern prints, novelties, flannels, Nancy Halverson prints and traditional prints and solids. They also had an area devoted to Viking sewing machines and accessories. Several members of our group made plans to come back and visit this shop again on their own.

Many of the ladies were very happy to learn that just a couple of doors down the owner of a chocolate shop had opened his doors early just for us, and even offered a 10% discount. Let’s just say that the chocolate content of the bus on the way home dramatically increased!

After a lunch stop at the local pizza place, we were back on the road and headed home with all of our treasures to add to our SABLE- Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy. All in all, it was a successful trip!

Now back to that purchase of Weeks floss. When I was getting ready for the trip and writing my shopping list, I found a kit for an eyeglass case I had purchased a few years back. It seemed like a good project to bring along to stitch while on the bus. At some point on the trip my dark green floss vanished from the kit bag. I was determined to have it finished before arriving back home, so made the Weeks purchase. I am happy to report that the project was completed!