My mom grew up in Muscatine, Iowa, and a lot of her family still lives in that area now. So like clockwork, twice a year, we head up there to catch up with her family, including my quilting aunts. I also have a cousin on my Dad’s side who lives up in Cedar Rapids, she also like to quilt. So what do you do when a family of fiber artists want to get together in Iowa? You meet in Mount Vernon.
You meet in Mount Vernon because they have a great quilt shop and yarn shop! Our first stop was Helios Stitches N Stuff in the Old School Shops Building. It’s a group of shops (and a theatre and a library) in the town’s old high school. It’s a really cool set-up.
Helios was wild, there were so many awesome samples and beautiful fabrics to choose from.
They also had quite a sale section with great deals! I finished this bolt of sheep fabric, about 2 and three quarters, for $13! I see a pair of pajama pants and a matching project bag in my future, hopefully by the next Studio retreat.
And you get a delicious shortbread cookie with your purchase! What a deal!
Next up was Ben and Flo’s. It’s a super cute shop that lives on the second floor of a historic home near Mount Vernon’s Main Street.
There was a lot to look at! Mostly great LYS staples, but they had some local stuff. When I say local, it was local. The sheep and alpaca were in Mount Vernon.
I decided on a nice skein of worsted weight alpaca/silk blend from Alpaca Fiber Arts.
It was a great side trip to be sure! Have you had any fun fiber road trips this summer? Tell me about them in the comments!
FahrOut Fiber Adventures 