Monday, October 4, 2010

Road Trip

I had a couple of appointments in Madison the end of last week.  Instead of making the 1-1/2 hour trip twice in two days, my friend, Joyce went with me and we spent the time in between appointments checking out a few of the area quilt shops.  What fun we had!

We went to… Madison road trip (7)

    Stitchers Crossing in Madison – an decent shop with a little bit of everything that has anything to do with stitching from quilting fabric to needlepoint.  I didn’t buy anything here but my friend did.

Madison road trip (8)

Mill House Quilts in Waunakee – Love this place - a great atmosphere in an old mill (hence the name in case you missed it) and tons of fabric.  I bought fabric here for an upcoming birthday project.

Madison road trip (9)

JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie – a neat setting for a shop with tons of wool.  Someday I want to learn wool appliqué.  I bought a small project here that I hope to get done for Christmas.  How many more days is it??

Madison road trip

Supper Thursday night was at Quaker Steak & Lube.  Such a fun place decorated like a garage.  They even have a car up on a hoist and motorcycles suspended from the ceiling.  My friend, Joyce commented as we walked in that this was such a “Miller place”!  :)  Now, what do you suppose that means?

On Friday after my appointment, we headed west out of Madison to a little town called Black Earth.  I forgot to take a picture but if you’re ever in the area and need shoes, a stop at The Shoe Box is a must!    The Shoe Box is one of the largest independently owned shoe stores in the US carrying over 100 brands and their customer service is out of the box. 

After leaving the Shoe Box, we stopped on the way through Mount Horeb at the Grumpy Troll for lunch on DH’s recommendation.  I ordered the Grump burger and Grump chips(home-made seasoned potato chips).  Amazing!  Definitely on the list to “stop back by”.

Madison road trip (5)

We made one more quilt shop stop on the way home in Monticello at the Quilters Compass.  The Compass is a recently opened shop with not a lot of fabric but they’re new yet.  I think it has future potential but frankly, by the time we stopped here, I was quilt shopped out.  Is that even possible?? Madison road trip (6)We made two more stops in Monroe at the Alp & Dell Cheese Store and Brennan’s Market and finally headed home.  Brennan’s is always full of things to sample.  They know how to market that’s for sure.  Once a person tastes it, they’ll probably buy it.  I bought some great Cranberry Chardonnay cheese spread I’m sure i would have never purchased if I hadn’t tried it first.

It’s so much fun to take a road trip but it’s nice to return home too.    In fact we may do a little bit of both of those the end of this week.  More on that topic to come.  :) 

 

7 comments:

  1. I've been to Mill House Quilts and J.J. Stitcheries, but it has been a few years. Both nice places. Sounds like you had a pretty nice trip, other than appointments, which are usually not fun. It was nice to hear about the other places. Have a great week!

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  2. Sounds like tons of fun! It must be if you got quilt shopped out! I'd love to do something like this.

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  3. Did someone say roadtrip? You guys sure hit the right places! I love the building that the second store was in...I'd like to live in that store! You're right about traveling. I think it's fun because we know eventually we will end up back home, tired and broke!
    :D

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  4. Sounds like it was lots of fun! Haven't been to the new shop in Monticello - is the street open or did you have to hike in? You also gave us a couple of new places to eat - thanks!

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  5. Awesome!!! I can't wait for the next trip ;)

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  6. Looks like a fun trip that covered a lot of ground! I've been to JJ Stitches back when we lived in WI but that was when I was a wanna-be quilter, had teenagers, a business and no time. Thanks for the tour!

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  7. Sounds like such a fun trip! I won't be fabric shopping for a while - I've made a pledge to myself to use what I have and buy nothing for 6 months. We'll see how long I last. :) However, since I bought a new car today I bet I last a while - at least til I see how it is making a car payment again. Haven't had one for a couple of years now - sigh. blessings, marlene

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