Our first road trip of 2026! The Quilter’s Station Retreat is one of our favorites. We hit the road last Wednesday morning and traveled south on I-35. Our first stop is always the Red Barn in Iowa, just across the border from Minnesota. Clean restrooms and a cute gift shop. We then proceeded to Ames, IA for our lunch stop. We love the food and the great service at Hickory Park. Next, Lamoni, IA is also a favorite stop for gas, restrooms and the Amish General Store. We’ve gotten into the habit of always taking a picture with these cows.
Thursday is our shopping day. Our routine is almost always the same. First stop, C.C. And Company, a needlework shop in Blue Springs, MO. Then we travel 20 minutes further to Greenwood, MO., where there is a plethora of antique shops, but the main draw for us is the Greenwood Tea Room for a delectable lunch. Check out those desserts. You don’t skip the dessert when you are at the tea room! We round out the day with a visit to Quilter’s Station in Lee’s Summit, MO, later that afternoon.
The retreat begins on Friday morning. Up first was Lori Markovic from La D Da. We always enjoy seeing Lori and we love her designs. Her project for us was called “For the Birds.” Each designer brings a trunk show with them. I’ll include some picture’s of Lori’s here,
In the afternoon we met another “Lori” - Lori Wilson from Thread Milk Designs. Her project for us was inspired by a larger sampler that she found in an antique/thrift store in a small town in Illinois. She loved the verse and used it and some of the motifs in the sampler to create this sweet little sampler for us. Including pictures of Lori’s trunk show too.
Saturday morning, day two of the retreat, started with Jennifer Richardson of Violets and Verses. She shared information with us about “The Foundlings” - babies who were abandoned by their mothers in London during the 18th and 19th centuries. In some cases they were illegitimate, and in other cases, the mother’s could not afford to raise them. The mothers always left a “token” with their child. The children always received new names when they were surrendered, so in the event the mother were to ever come back to claim their child, they were identified by that token. Jennifer’s project for us was based on a note that one mother had left for her child, “You have my heart, though we must part.” The finished design is intended to be a wall pocket. Several smalls to fill the pocket.
Finally, the last designer to present was Annie from Annie Beez. She designed this sampler called “Calico House” (a nod to Quilter’s Station), it included a verse from Anne of Green Gables, “Dear old world, you are lovely and I am glad to be alive in you!”
So, another Quilter’s Station has come and gone. We plan to return in September for their fall retreat.
I hope to revive this old blog. I’ve been away for a long time and have much to catch you up on. It took me awhile to regain access to it. I couldn’t remember my password and was having trouble recovering it. I took time today to get that all straightened out. So if you are an old friend, thanks for coming back. If you are a new friend, welcome. Happy Stitching.
