The Honeymoon & Quilt Shop Hop

Paul and I both took the week after the wedding off, so we could enjoy a honeymoon. We left at 3PM on Sunday and travelled to Sioux Falls, SD. We got up Monday morning and went to Mills End Textiles, Fonder Sewing, and Heirloom Creations, all quilt/sewing shops in the area to look at quilt frames. At Heirloom we got so much help and I was so inspired. I didn't want to leave. Even Paul thought it was a great quilt shop. He convinced me to get the new Travelers Companion book that had just come out for 2008-2010. Off we set on our way to MO, driving through IA, we planned to stop at a shop in Sergeant Bluff, but we were past it before we realized it. So I looked in the book and found one at Council Bluffs, IA. It was called Kanesville Quilting Gingham Goose. We made a quick stop there and were back on the road. We stopped in St. Joseph, MO for supper at Diamond Dave's. We did a little shopping at Best Buy for a video camera and were back on the road. We wanted to make it through Kansas City at night. There was road construction, so I took us on a detour that went into Kansas, but we didn't get lost and we made it to Nevada and found a place to stay.

Tues. we headed to Carthage MO... home of Precious Moments chapel. We took the tour and explored the grounds before heading over to the quilt shop I've been waiting three years to see... Block By Block > All the signs say "Scream Until Your Husband Stops the Car!" It was one of the only quilt shops I had plans of visiting on our honeymoon. Amy, the owner, was awesome. She was super helpful and had tons of new gadgets we hadn't seen before. We also came away with a couple of panels from the Dirt Movers fabric line. We got the construction blocks and the panel and steel diamond plate to accent, thinking we would find more as we went on. We also got a really cute farm yard panel and the coordinates. It could be a baby blanket for a boy or girl, since we don't know what my brother and sister in law are having. We headed to Springfield and found a place to stay and went to Bass Pro Shops. That was Paul place of choice to go. We did some shopping and found the quilt shops I wanted to go to. Then we headed off to Sew Simple Quilt Shoppe in Ozark, MO. The lady was so helpful and it was a small, but unique shop. They were really into the One Block Wonder Patterns. She gave us the list of Southern MO quilt shops from their shop hop to check out as well. It was right next to Lampert's Cafe - Home of the Throwed Rolls where we planned to have supper. It's all you can eat and they give you fried okra as you wait and throw hot fresh rolls at you so you can catch them. It was awesome and we were both stuffed!

Wed. morning we were up early and went to Bass Pro Shops for several hours. Paul really enjoyed going there. Then we went to the quilt shops we found in Springfield. We stopped at Merrily We Quilt Along and Quilt Sampler. Merrily had tons of Gammel machines while Quilt Sampler had a lot of machines and a couple frames we looked at. We ate lunch at Chipolte Mexican Grill, keeping to our plan of not eating at any places we have at home. We spent the afternoon shopping at the malls as most of the stores we don't have at home. For supper we went to a Texas Roadhouse which was awesome and both Paul and I really enjoyed it.

Thurs. morning we found Springfield Sewing Center, so made a quick stop there before heading for Branson MO. We took a scenic tour around Branson, then picked up tickets for a showboat cruise, drove the strip and found a hotel, and then checked out the outlet malls (another thing we don't have). Found a quilt store... handmade, handquilted originals only $68 for a King size! Paul has a name for these kind of quilt stores, but it's not nice! We found three of these stores in Branson and ran fast after we walked in the door. We ate at an A&W and then went to the Titanic Museum. It is a half size replica of the Titanic and really cool! We learned a lot and I highly recommend going there. We went to the quilt shop Quilts & Quilts in Branson. This was another one we missed the last time we had been there. It was a huge building completely full of quilts and other items to bring home. We found a cool thread stand Paul thought he could build for me. It's the only quilt shop I've ever been that had electronic security devices on their display quilts. Then it was on to the Showboat Branson Belle for our dinner cruise. Dinner was awesome, then we had time to go on all three decks while it floated out in the middle of the lake, and then we had a show to cap off the night. It was awesome! I absolutely love showboats.

Friday morning we went to Branson Landing a really neat little area of town where you could walk up and down the cobblestone street and enjoy the vendors and stores. We went to the Bass Pro Shop there and several other stores before it started pouring. We got back to the car and decided to head for Joplin. We saw at least 6 major accidents and it poured rain the entire way to Joplin. Luckily the accidents were on the other lane and we didn't get slowed down. We went to a quilt shop near Joplin and for the life of me can't remember the name. It was a real pretty drive out there and we got so see some beautful country. We found the coolest log cabin cross kit and I snatched it up. Then the owner gave us directions to the other quilt shop in town so we could easily find it. Sew Neat was on one of the main drags through town and we were easily able to find it. There was another shop on the shop hop list, so we went there as well since it was an easy off easy on to get back on the highway we needed to be on. Can't remember the name of it either. We hadn't found anymore of the dirt mover fabric, so Paul agreed we should stop back by the Block By Block shop in Carthage to pick some up. We got the Construction Cones on Royal and visited a bit more with Amy and were on our way. We both just loved that shop! We planned to get through Kansas City after rush hour which we did. We went through about 6:30 or 7 and had not a single problem getting to St. Joseph. We found a motel and ate at a Whiskey Creek Steakhouse. It was by far the worst place we ate the entire trip. We did a little shopping/looking at Best Buy as well. Sat. morning we were up early and had breakfast at a Bob Evans then headed out to the Country Expressions Quilt Shoppe in Stewartville, MO which was 16 miles out of the way. It was listed as one of Quilt Sampler Magazines top 10 quilt shops for 2008, so Paul thought it would be a good one and worth the drive. The shop had a very country flair and lots of gifts to buy in it. Our next stop was Sergeant Bluff, IA. I was bound and determined not to miss it this time! Since we weren't going to make it back to Heirloom Creations in Sioux Falls before they closed, I suggested we stop at Bass Pro Shops in Council Bluffs. Again Paul really enjoyed that! Then we went to My Quilt Shop is Your Quilt Shop and it was definately worth the stop!! They had the entire line of the Dirt Mover fabric, so we got the dirt movers on both blue and yellow as well as the strip to go with. I'm going to have lots of fun making baby quilts for the boys in our family! They also had some other fun fabrics and lots of bright cheerful rooms full of fabric. We really enjoyed the shop there and could have probably spent hours there had we not wanted to get on the road. This was another must stop shop according to Paul's list. We made it back to Sioux Falls an hour after Heirloom closed, but I know I'll get back there again. We found a room and went to Falls Park. It was absolutely beautiful and so fun to just walk around and go up on the observation deck. Then we had supper at a Timberlodge steakhouse and did a little walking around the mall.

Sunday morning we headed for Mitchell and stopped at Cabela's. We spent an hour or so there and then headed for home. We made a couple stops to switch drivers, but otherwise drove straight through and made it to the Black Hills Quilters Guild Quilt Show. We found a dealer who had Masterpiece thread and I got the ones I wanted. The ONLY shop we stopped at that had any was Heirloom! Then we stopped at the final quilt shop of our journey... The Quilt Corral Too and saw my mom. She was working because of the quilt show. We got home and spent the rest of the afternoon/ evening unpacking! It was a long trip, but a wonderful trip. Both Paul and I really enjoyed the time away by ourselves.