Shop Hopping in Beaver Dam

I had the wonderful privilege of knowing Nancy Zieman and even enjoyed being a guest in her home on a number of occasions. She was as kind and generous in person as she was on tv, and I’m grateful to have known her. When I was participating in the Top Stitch competition last Summer I was able to spend time with Deanna Springer of Nancy Zieman Productions. I remember her telling me that Nancy’s husband Richard had a dream of opening a new sewing store in Beaver Dam to honor Nancy, and it was coming to fruition. To read a blog post of Deanna’s about the studio click here.

Recently my Fiberista friends, Kay and Lori, and I decided to spend a fun Saturday morning checking it out.

We were delighted to find Nancy’s mural in the parking area behind the store. In Deanna’s blog you’ll get a bit of the story behind this lovely mosaic mural of Nancy. The variety of the blocks and the way they all work together was fascinating.

From there we were able to enter through the back of the store, but we had to check out the front entrance too.

There were patterns, fabrics, samples, and of course ~ NOTIONS!

The studio had a nice sized class room, and friendly workers.

After spending a bit of cash there we went back out to the car to drop off our purchases and entered a new quilt shop just two doors away from Nancy’s. Mill House Quilts is a wonderful shop in Waunakee, WI (where I used to work in a dental office many years ago) and they recently opened a second store in Beaver Dam. They really made their back door fun.

And the inside was just as interesting.

While Lori and I had our fabrics cut, Kay enjoyed the sitting area at the front of the store.

From there we walked down a few more store fronts and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Great Harvest Breads. Lori pointed out this interesting bit of graffiti inside the restaurant.

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time” ~ how very true 😁.

After lunch we checked out a charming thrift shop called the Twisted Sister, and then headed home. I came up with a witty saying of my own “Time spent with quilting friends is a gift from the Lord”.

What a wonderful day! Then…

I am currently posting to this week’s blog from Cattail Retreat. Yup, it’s retreat time again and we’re having a spectacular weekend!

The project I’m working on at retreat is the second one from my friend and neighbor, Di. A few years back she bought the fabric to make a quilt for her daughter and son-in-law, and a year after their marriage she asked me to make it because she realized she was never going to get it done. In exchange she rebuilt my website. To read about that quilt click here.

Her current project had much the same story, but it was for her son and his wife. I agreed (even though both of her projects are king sized!), and it’s the perfect quilt to work on at a retreat.

The blocks are together, and sashing between the blocks remains to be done. I hope to get the top finished before we have to pack up and head home. I’ll share completed photos next week!

No matter where you are or what you’re doing – doing it with quilters is so much fun 😃!