I live 8 miles north of Illinois border near small town of Clinton which has a very cute quilt store called Twin Turtles. From there you could travel about 10 miles and hit Life's a Stitch Quilt shop--it has barn quilts all over the outside barns. Then you could hit highway 26 going north (smallish road) and see one of my favorite quilts shops in Milton (Loose Threads) She has barn quilts all over her shop. Along that highway you could make detours to Whitewater (Woodland Quilts) and Fort Atkinson (Quilt Patch) and back on highway 26 about 15 miles past Milton you would hit Tea and Textiles in Jefferson. Some of these stores are closed on Mondays and I think the one in Whitewater is closed Thursday morning. If you search southern wisconsin quilt stores there are dozens more within an hour of highway 26 including a great one in Waunakee. The ones I mentioned are all off of a smaller highway instead of the dreaded I 90/39 which is busy, busy, busy. If you would like more names of stores pm me--I know them all. There are barn quilts all over here to reflect all the quilters who reside in the small towns and farms of southern wisconsin. If you visit Twin Turtle Quilts in Clinton be sure to cross the street and have a piece of pie at the Clinton Kitchen--they bake 15 pies everyday.

Follow the Mississippi river up there is some beautiful country, shops and a great toy/car/everything museum in Fountain City. I live in Rhinelander (Northwoods) and love to take side trips around the state. Check out Tractordata.com or farmcollector.com for tractor shows. There are lots of them! I agree with all the other posters about the quilt shops, so many great ones all over the state, that part should be easy!

If you get to Milwaukee, go to Patched Works. It is in Elm Grove, a suburb west of Milwaukee on Watertown Plank Road. They have nothing but quilting fabric and a lot of batiks. They are very knowledgeable about their fabrics and techniques and have tools, batting, and many related quilting items. They have a web site, just Google Patched Works for address and hours. There is another shop, Coins and Quilts, but I have not been there. It is south west of the city, and people say it is great. Another idea is in Oconomowoc, where there is a Ben Franklin store that has a lot of fabric as well. Good Hunting!

The best area we have found for barn quilts has been Shawano area and county... http://www.shawanocountry.com/resour...tions20133.pdf
This is a link to a map for all 189 of them and they also give a link to Gresham area ones...most are on quaint little farms... beautiful tour to take. My hubby and I did the tour and he even enjoyed it very much.

I don't know what town, but I believe that Kaye Woods is located in Wisconsin. From the distance that you will be traveling you will have tons of places to stop at......bring lots of money. When you go, have a wonderful trip, see lots of tractors and buy lots of fabric, most of all travel safely.

Primitive Gatherings - one of my favorites.

One of my favorite shops in Wisconsin is the Ben Franklin in Oconomowoc. The above posts about the quilt shops in La Crosse are true. Both shops are neat. Very different ambiance in the 2 stores. Great, helpful people in both stores.

There are LOTS of great shops in Wisconsin...do you have an area you know you are going for sure? Or what route? I have heard that Wisconsin has the most quilt shops per capita of any state in the country. I am in the Fox Valley area, and we have 6, and Green Bay to the north has 5.

There are also a lot of barn quilts in Wisconsin. I know there is a website that has a list of states with barn quilts. They are really becoming popular, and people are now starting to put them on their houses also.

Belleville and Monticello have nice shops--Belleville is award winning. Quintessential in Baraboo--maybe? You can find them on the net. Mill House in Waunakee.

We have many great shops...my favorite is Pins N Needles in St Croix Falls on the western edge. If your in the state June 7 - 29 we have the Wisconsin Shop Hop which will be great fun too.