Minneapolis MN, Wednesday 13 May 2015

I signed up for a tour of some local quilt shops, and I made sure I was at the Convention Centre early - as in a whole 45 minutes before the bus was due to start - but the organiser and plenty of others were there also - sensibly sitting inside having a coffee - so I joined them. Ignore the apostrophe! The sentiment set the tone - it was fun!

We had a lively local who told corny jokes and kept the energy high. We had way too much time at each stop...but I think this was the maiden voyage of this tour, so they will fine tune it for next time. Quilted Treasures was some distance out of town, in a large new building. This is the kind of shop I'd seen so often in Quilt Sampler magazine - and now I was here! The different styles of fabric were grouped, almost everything had a sample, and the staff were super friendly. I got quite chatty with the staff by the end - I went to the checkout three times as I kept finding little things to buy. The owner came on board to thank us at the end - so sweet!

Eagle Creek was the next stop - a shop in an old railway building. The owner jumped aboard and welcomed us warmly - so lovely! This shop had a more prim/traditional feel so it wasn't really my kind of thing, but I did find some crushed walnut shells for pincushions - have wanted to get some for ages - I wonder if the packet will make it through customs...

We had some time at Global Market - nothing too exciting here, except for some mosaic figures -

 and a chocolate pavlova from Salty Tart.

Last shop was Glad Creations. Again, the owner was so welcoming and warm. This is a tiny, packed shop on two levels. I found a few little things to purchase.

It was great to have a day with other quilters, and to get to know a little bit more about Market. After the bus tour I got my badge and the hefty directory of exhibitors, and knew to come back early tomorrow for the schoolhouse program.