Monday, September 5, 2011

And Kansas, She Said, Is the Name of the Star

My last road trip to Kansas was a few years ago, when I accompanied my son Tim, his wife, Carrie, and my youngest granddaughter Madeline to Wameca, KS to visit the Wizard of Oz Museum. http://www.ozmuseum.com   Madeline, then a preschooler, became a Wizard of Oz fan at a very young age.  As we crossed the Nebraska-Kansas border she began singing the lyrics, in a Munchkin-like voice, "She fell from the sky, she fell very far.  And Kansas she said is the name of the star.  Kansas, she said, is the name of the star." 

 

This Saturday, my hubby and I ventured back across the Kansas border.  We took a two-mile detour en route to visit a small but delightful quilt shop in the small town of Hebron, Nebraska, then headed south on Highway 81 to Concordia, KS. There's a reason why Kansas is called the sunflower state!  The sunflowers were in full bloom this time of year – beautiful vibrant yellow against a pale blue sky – breathtaking!

 

We visited the Orphan Train Museum (stay tuned for more on that in a later post), ate at a home-style restaurant, and visited Fabric Essentials, a quilt shop with over 5000 bolts of fabric. www.fabricessentials.com.

 

Now Fabric Essentials is not your garden variety quilt shop.  It also carries gifts, books, puzzles, religious medals, figurines, candy, vitamins, and natural health elixers.  Perhaps it's fair to say it is a quilt shop with an identity crisis --- but in a good way.  There's another shop like that in Pawnee City, Nebraska – Heavenly Treasures.  It's the only quilt shop I've seen that also carries badminton cocks.  But I digress.  Back to Concordia, KS---

 

The fabric spans three store fronts.  There's also a lower level that houses an extensive inventory for the online quilt shop.  There are high end quilting fabrics from a host of manufacturers, thousands (I do not exaggerate!) of 18"x22" fat quarters, tubs full of rolls and rolls of cotton toweling, an impressive redwork and embroidery section, beautiful silks, rayons, linens and wools for garment sewists, an extensive pattern collection, the largest selection of laminates I have ever seen, flannel, chenille, minky, faux suede, denim, high end upholstery fabrics, and an economy corner (more like an economy room) with bolts and bolts of $3.00 per yard fabric and tubs and tubs of fold your own $0.99 fat quarters.  I definitely got my fabric fix.

 

And we had beautiful scenery, light traffic, balmy weather, and NPR reception.  All in all, an enjoyable road trip.  Hope you also enjoyed your Labor Day weekend!

 

TTFN

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pasque-Flower-Creations/240542392623600

7 comments:

  1. I think I need to take a road trip to the quilt shop! It sounds like a place I could spend hours in!

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  2. I've been to the quilt shop with my friend...she's good in there for at least 2-3 hours!!!

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    katersacres.blogspot.com

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  3. Sounds like a great trip! I love that old building in the first picture. I'm just fascinated by them. Love the history that goes along with them. Plus, they don't make buildings like that anymore.

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  4. Your day sounds just wonderful! The sight of the sunflowers in bloom and the fabric shop sounds fantastic! The architecture of the building in the 1st photo is amazing - all that wonderful molding!

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  5. I could spend days in a place like that instead of JoAnn's Fabrics. They have drastically cut there fabric section back.
    I would have loved to see the sunflowers also.

    chatterfromtexas.blogspot.com
    and
    Note Cards and Photos by Theresa

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  6. It all sounds absolutely wonderful. I can just picture the sunflowers in my mind and I would love that fabric shop.

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  7. I could spend all day there! What a lovely shop and love the display! Definitely worth it to buy few fat quarters!

    dita

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