A visit to Wheaton Woolens

My friend (and quilter) Kym and I had talked about making a trip to Wheaton Woolens, and decided the perfect time to go was when Nancy was here.  The original plan for this day was to take Nancy to The Little Red Hen, then go to Kym's house to stitch.  Well, then plans changed when I saw a blog post about Wheaton Woolens.  But, when I looked them up online - she is only open on Saturday and fortunately by appointment.  So I gave Beth Anne a call and she said to come on up!  I don't even have the words to describe what an amazing place this is.  First off, the shop is housed in a barn from 1860. Beth Anne is a rug hooker, and she shared some fantastic rugs with us.  I soooo want to try this, but there just is not enough time in the day.  Here are a few pictures that I took in the shop.

 One of the two wheaton terriers who greeted us.  They are very well mannered - super sweet pups.

It's pathetic but that is all of the pictures that I took.  There was a ton of wool, and of course, some of it found it's way home with me.

But as amazing as her studio is...they (Beth Anne's husband, Barry came in to say hi) invited us in to their home!  It is just out of this world!  Absolutely everything in it is just gorgeous.  They have a huge amount of unique and beautiful antiques.  I did not take any pictures in the house, and I am just kicking myself.  I think I just walked around in awe with my mouth hanging open!  But, if you want to see a few pics from inside, check out Patti's blog called Winding Vine Wanderings.
Here is the outside of their home, but be sure to go to the Winding Vine blog to see some of the things that had my jaw dropping!


A funny thing happened when we were in the kitchen  - all of a sudden, I noticed a little flag pin on top of a cute little cupboard.  I went for a closer look and it is one that I made!  Barry about fell over when I told him that.  He said they had seen it somewhere and he just liked it because he's an American!  He was in the military and he and Nancy (her father and husband were in the military) shared some conversation about that.  Beth Anne had admired Nancy's hexagon pendant (from Me & My Stitches, of course!), so Nancy took it off and gave it to her!  This is typical of Nancy - she's very generous and thoughtful.  Wheaton Woolens now carries my jewelry in her shop - so be sure to check that out when you are there too.

We were all just in awe the rest of the day!  We did manage to close our mouths long enough to chew!  We had a great lunch in a place (that I can't remember the name of!) in Davenport, that Beth Anne recommended. Then we went to Muscatine to visit The Little Red Hen.  They never disappoint - lots of good stuff in that shop.  Of course, a few things there made their way home with me too!  I guess I didn't take any pictures of my purchases that day.  I think we just had so much going on - remember - we're getting ready to head to the retreat with Bonnie Hunter.  And that's where I will stop and next time will share all about the retreat!

One last word of advice...call Beth Anne and make an appointment (or go on a Saturday) to visit - you will not be sorry!