The Great American Road trip, Part 7

For two people who had never been in Idaho before we saw a lot of it; we covered the state thoroughly!  We spent the night in Moscow and learned that was not only the home of the University of Idaho but that there was an arboretum on the campus close by; it was a beautiful day for a stroll and we took full advantage.  I have mentioned the advantages of traveling with a copy of Quilter's Travel Companion in the car. I would like to add how important it is to make sure that you have the latest, most up-to-date edition. We stopped at two quilt shops that were no longer in business, luckily we hadn't driven out of our way to find them.

Arboretum on the campus of University of Idaho, home of the Vandals!

The next morning we had some extra time as we drove toward the western side of the Selkirk Loop and detoured across the state line into Spokane, WA. for a two shop stop. The first visit was at Quilting Bee.  This shop isn't large in size but it is huge in personality!  We arrived before the shop officially opened but the doors were open and the friendly staff were warm and inviting; they welcomed customers in, saying "if we're here, we're open!" This shop is well stocked and boasts a large, bright classroom where a class was already underway, being taught by a happy and enthusiastic instructor; there wasn't even one empty seat.  By this time I had recovered from my debilitating shopping disorder which inhibited earlier spending (by being overwhelmed) on our trip; at this point I had no difficulty finding my wallet and my charge card!

Although hard to read, due to reflection, this sign was in the window at the shop above. We proceeded from Quilting Bee to another shop, A Heart Like Yours, just a few miles away.  A Heart Like Yours is also a little on the small side, but well staffed with equally friendly and outgoing employees!  The shop carries a full line of Crabapple Hill patterns and a huge selection of premium hand embroidery supplies including Cosmo and hand-dyed flosses.  There was a separate knitting room, in the rear of the shop, equipped with large chairs for settling in to knit; as well as loads of yummy yarns. The front of the store ias the quilting supply center; not a LOT of fabric, but well-stocked with bright, modern fabrics that were fresh and enticing. The front opens onto a large classroom that displayed many in-progress quilts from both block and row-of-the-month clubs. If you find yourself in the Spokane area I would highly recommend both of these shops.

Back in Idaho, our journey continued on the east side of the scenic Selkirk Loop; these falls were located along the Pend Oreille River.

Everyone was having a wonderful day!

We spent the night in Sandpoint and this was the view from the covered walkway that led to our room. I couldn't help but laugh at the posted sign... making me wonder if it had to be placed there after the fact?

I need help with this one: these geraniums were planted all around the hotel; does anyone know what variety they might possibly be? I love the jagged leaf shapes.

The Selkirk Loop, day # 2; the eastern side.

The Selkirk Loop continued into British Columbia, the scenery was breath taking.

On our was back we stopped near Bonner's Ferry at a country store and bakery in a small, Mennonite community; it was charming, the beautiful handmade chairs on this front porch were for sale and, apparently, quite a popular item. The bakery offered fried fruit pies including "Marionberry" which, before then, I had never heard of before. Yes, I ordered one and it was sweet and delicious, tasting like a combination of strawberry and raspberry. Since then I have researched this and found it to be a variety of blackberry.  We were so taken with this place that we went back inside and ordered sandwiches (on incredible homemade bread) for our lunch (like we were hungry after the pies!).

We were driving south, in the direction of Sandpoint again, when we passed a roadside sign advertising a "HUGE little quilt shop" in Bonner's Ferry. We turned the car around and found it, just off the road in a rear alley. Another good case for having an up-to-date Quilter's Travel Companion: this shop was a new one not listed in my 2010 guide book! It would have been a shame to miss this shop, Alley Fabric Nook.  It lived up to its billing as a HUGE little quit shop: little in size and HUGE in fabric bolts on hand. I've never seen so much fabric in one space!  There were places, in the rear of the shop, where I had to squeeze sideways to get between the rows upon rows of bolts!  This shop has an online store that is well categorized by manufacturer and line if you're looking for a specific piece to finish a project. I'm going to keep this place in mind as there was, quite literally, very little (fabric-wise) that they did not have on hand; it's a great resource.

All this shop-hopping makes a boy weary!

We left Sandpoint the next morning heading toward Glacier National Park via Kalispell, MT. Yes, there was a quilt shop stop to make first; The Quilt Gallery is stupendous... in size and in service!  There's a gallery in the rear of the shop bearing racks and racks of glorious, completed quilts for sale. There is also a longarm back there, offering quilting services, and a local guild's raffle quilt on display as well as an abundance of kits and the completed models on display. There is an super abundance of fabric and a large classroom, with a class in session, while I was there.  This shop seems to specialize in Halloween patterns, kits and fabrics. I used the ladies room in the shop and it was completely decorated in Halloween style from the wallhangings to the orange walls and jack-o-lantern motifs. I left the shop with a few fabric pieces including some glow-in-the-dark ghosts for my novelty bin and a raffle ticket; it was a pleasant shopping experience in every way!

We were treated to more stunning scenery on our way into 

Glacier National Park before spending the night in Kalispell. 

Life is Good!

Tomorrow: More Glacier and then on to Arches National Park.