Christi's Creative Corner

Friday, January 22, 2021

Mini Vacation Part 2

So, the journey continued north to Conrad, Iowa. Here Google led us to Hen & Chicks Studio, a quilt shop and retreat center. I had participated in their online Christmas Bingo and December Stash Buster Challenge, so had a 40% off coupon to SPEND!!!

I will honestly say that after watching all the You Tube videos from Hen & Chicks, I thought it would be bigger. The retreat center is upstairs and we got to take a peek, but no photos since there was a retreat going on.

It is a really cute shop though and the people are so enthusiastic. It was fun to see them in person.

I made use of that coupon and picked up an assortment of really nice thread and a fun hen and chicks panel (which I sent to Aunt Judy!).

They were so helpful and gave us better directions to get to our next stop and told us to look for this sign along the way..........

Yes, "You're not dreamin', you're in Beaman, Iowa". Beaman was not the destination, we just were told to look for this sign and turn.

Here it is, the ultimate destination............

Campbell Hall on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls. Why?

To see this guy............. nephew, Carter Morton! He was recruited for track and his first college track meet was the next day. He showed us his dorm.

Not the neatest, but definitely not the messiest dorm room I've seen.

His collection of shoes...........I thought maybe they were for track. Since he is doing the heptathlon and decathlon, he has several different shoes for the different events. I was wrong. These just go with his different outfits!

He is on Scooby Hall and Scooby is right outside his door.

We took him to dinner - his choice was Huhot, a Mongolian Grill. We'd never been and really enjoyed the meal.

We didn't keep him out late since he had a meet on Saturday. This ends the adventures of the first day of our mini vacation.

Carter only competed in 3 events the next day as it was a small meet. Yesterday and today, he is competing for the first time in a heptathlon. He did high jump, long jump, shot put, and the 60 meters yesterday and sits in second place. Today will be pole vault, 60 meter high hurdles, and the 1000 meters.

Our Saturday adventures including the track meet will follow in the next post.

Christi

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Mini Vacation Part 1!

When the last of the pigs left the farm on January 7th, I told The Hubs it was time for a vacation! We left in the dark of the morning on January 8th and headed north. I plugged our ultimate destination in the car GPS and then told google to "show quilt shops along the way"! What an incredible way to use Google!

The first stop was B&B Creations in the tiny town of Tracy, IA. It was a tiny town, and Google took us over some gravel roads (actually there wasn't much gravel, it was more like well-packed mud) to get there. The place looked interesting? (not quite sure what word to use here).

The door opened to reveal this, which put my mind at ease...........

There were lots of bolts of fabrics, none of which were brand new, but still a variety of good quality fabrics at very reasonable prices (we did discover that fabric prices increased the further north we traveled). There was an old gentleman with a cane there and he was particularly taken with The Hubs and talked so much it was difficult to get a way. I think his wife had owned the quilt shop and had passed away so he and his daughter ran it. He assured me that he could cut and measure fabric. I did make a small purchase of a panel I liked that will be a gift for someone.

Just up the road from Tracy was Pella, IA where we stopped at a DQ for a quick lunch. We were pleased to be able to actually go inside and sit down to eat there.

And then we went to the center of town to find The Quilted Windmill. I really enjoyed this shop. I made several purchases for things I ~~wanted~~ needed! Christmas was marked down and lots of flannels were on display.

And I love this display of Kim Diehl fabrics and quilts! We talked to some interesting people there. One couple was from northern Iowa and were heading to Missouri for a long weekend. They gave us (mainly David) ideas for different museums to visit.

Then I walked The Hubs down the street to take a peek in the Jaarsma Bakery. It smelled SO GOOD!

So after finding our way back to the car (we were still severely intoxicated from the bakery smells), I googled to find out where the Vermeer plant, museum, and visitors center was. The Hubs was now fully vested in this vacation!

This was the really cute nativity display outside the building. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public due to Covid, so we'll just have to go back. The Quilted Windmill and Jaarsma Bakery definitely deserve another visit.

Well, my support staff (Willow) just yawned, and snorted a little in her sleep. So lest this post get too long and boring, I'll stop here for now and continue the trip into the next post.

Christi

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Family and Presents!

I purchased this KC metal logo at a local craft show in November. David mounted it on barn board and put lights behind it. We gave these to his brother and nephew for Christmas.

Cici had a fun time getting her gift out of the fabric bag on Christmas morning.

She got new food and water dishes (hers had been broken during scuffles between Willow and Dory). We didn't put them out until Dory went back to St. Louis, and we moved them to a different area so that maybe Willow would leave them alone.

Of course playing with an empty box was the most fun!

Bentley Christmas!

Barber Christmas (yes, Willow got to attend and meet her cousin Tucker!)!

Our family photo!

Jackson brought his girlfriend, Carmyn to Christmas. She fell in love with Willow. They sent this photo to her dad and said, "Look what Jackson gave Carmyn for Christmas!" His response - "Where is Carmyn living now?"

We drew names for Christmas gifts. I had Jacob. He got this quilted cross ............ and a gift certificate to his favorite coffee house in St. Louis.

Willow grew and grew and grew during December!