And some treasures were found along the way...

We really had a great time on our road trip last weekend.  The original plan was to hit two or three needlework shops.  Can't believe we went to six (actually, seven if you count the one that was closed!)

What made the trip even more fun was some of the treasures we found along the way. I love going to needlework shops that have been in business for several years; you never know what you are going to find on their racks or in their clearance bins.  Like everything else though, you just have to spend some time looking at everything.

You might recall that our last stop on Monday was at House of Stitches in LaPorte, Indiana.  This is a good sized shop, overflowing with lots of needlework goodness, old and new.  (Mary, you had asked for pictures of the insides of the shops - I wish I had taken time to do this for you.)

Anyway, I have been trying to pull together a complete set of the Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly (SANQ) magazines ever since they stopped publishing.  I had a subscription the last few years they published the magazine, but I didn't have many of the older magazines.  Over the years I've picked up many of them via eBay and stash reallocation sales.  Anyway, I needed one more issue - Issue #37 from 2004.  I knew that House of Stitches and a good supply of needlework magazines and thought I might get lucky.  I should have bought a lottery ticket last Monday.

Yep, they had it! If you are looking for older magazines - SANQ, Just Cross Stitch - and especially if you are looking for any of the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issues - give House of Stitches a call!

The previous Thursday we were at Inspired Needle in Lemont, IL.  This shop is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year.  I found a treasure here too.

This was a joint project between Historic Stitches and Liberty Hill.  This is the second of two designs that they published, probably about 10 years ago.  I was happy to take it back home to Minnesota with me!

Also on Thursday, we visited Tomorrow's Heirlooms.  We so enjoyed visiting their new shop. Patterns and kits are so much easier to see because they have so much more space.  Many of their patterns are hanging on pegboards that you can flip through.  I spied this kit as we were flipping!

This was a collaboration between Hillside Samplings and Liberty Hill many, many years ago!  There was a series of kits and I think that maybe I have all of them now.  (I've stitched and finished one of them so far - the hornbook.)

Also at Tomorrow's Heirlooms, I found this vintage kit from Jane Timmers/Fancy Work.

The candy was still in the tin.  It expired in 2005.  Don't worry, I didn't eat the chocolate.

Finally, sometimes you even bump into treasures at shops that are fairly new.  Do you remember that our first stop was at Black Cat Stitchery in Winthrop Harbor, IL?  We just happened to be there when their limited release Mirabilia charts arrived.  We were talking about all the drama on Facebook over the re- release of the chart for Lady of the Flag.  Little did we know that we would have the opportunity to purchase it.

I've never stitched a Mirabilia, but I actually think I might stitch this one.  Another stitcher here in Minnesota stitched a beautiful version of this and had it framed by Jill Rensel.  There also is a post in the Stitch Maynia group of a color conversion that a stitcher did (converting the golds to shades of blue),  For some reason, I am really drawn to this Mirabilia.

Many more purchases were made, but these were the really special ones.

Since arriving home, I finished up a top secret project that I've been working on.  I'll share a picture with you next week.  I also pulled out some Hands on Design projects that I would like to stitch and finish.  I will be taking a class with Cathy later this year and would like to finish up some of the charts I've purchased from her over the years.  I'll share pictures soon.

To my Canadian friends, Happy Canada Day!  To my friends in the U.S., Happy 4th of July!  Happy stitching all!