For the previous days, see posts:

By Wednesday May 17th, the 3rd day of the Scrap Happy Quilt Retreat at my house, we were read to get out of house and explore some Denver Metro area quilt shops! (Note: we didn’t stay in the house the whole time on the first two days – we did go on daily long walks in the fields and woodlands near my home)

John was kind enough to chauffeur and we brought Mike the Miniature Schnauzer along for the road trip.

But first I gave John a break from cooking and made a blueberry pancake breakfast to start our day. I forgot to take photos so just use your imagination that you see a plate of scratch made blueberry pancakes with a touch of cinnamon and juicy caramelized blueberry bursting from each bite…

John has been playing with our new espresso machine we got earlier this year to celebrate our one year anniversary (see post New Coffee (and Tea) Station and Some Big News), and he continues to try to channel his “inner barista” and do designs in the foam. He made a latte for one of the retreaters K – we aren’t sure what the design can be interpreted to be – but K noticed there was a heart (unintentional) along the upper edge of the cup!

After breakfast we headed out on our roadtrip to visit 3 quilt shops – Holly’s Quilt Cabin, Treelotta and Fancy Tiger Crafts (this shop is not actually a quilt shop, they sell a variety of fiber products including beautiful yarn but they have an amazing curated collection of modern fabrics).

Holly’s Quilt Cabin

I love this shop and my quilting friends and I found many delights!

I ended up buying the pattern for this quilt I fell in love with; and I was tempted to buy the fabric used in the quilt (gorgeous line by Moda Fabrics called “Celestial“) but I need to shop in my stash not add to it:

Treelotta

By the time we got to Treelotta it was time to let Mike the Miniature Schnauzer out of the car for a pee (we spent a ridiculous amount of time in Holly’s Quilt Cabin) and to put him in the backpack so he could get a break from sitting in the car. John took Mike in the backpack to a nearby army surplus supply shop for a wander, and then back to the quilt shop to see what kind of trouble we were getting into with all the lovely fabric choices!

Mike does look like he is concerned about some of our fabric choices (or perhaps the damage some of us were inflicting on our pocketbooks!)

I didn’t take many photos in Treelotta but if you’d like to see more of this awesome shop (where I’ve also taken bag making classes), see the post Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part IV.

Fancy Tiger Crafts

I didn’t take any photos at Fancy Tiger Crafts but you can check out this post to see what the shop looks like – Fancy Tiger Crafts, Denver CO. Or more what it used to look like, it has remodeled a little bit since then but you can get the general feel of the shop.

After our roadtrip we headed back to my house to work our of improvisational scrappy log cabin blocks for a while until John made us a delicious hamburger dinner with homemade french fries and Mexican Street Corn!

We skipped movie night after dinner as we had been away from our sewing all day. Instead worked on our scrappy log cabin blocks late into the evening!

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part V

August 30, 2021August 31, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is my final installment on my series of blog posts about my first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop. Thanks to everyone that made it through the first four posts covering days one and two of my adventure to visit all 11 quilt shops so I could complete my “shop hop passport” and get my Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop commemorative pin:

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I (DAY ONE)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II (DAY ONE)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part III (DAY ONE)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part IV (DAY TWO)

On day three of the shop hop my partner John and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer joined me and we traveled to the last three shops I need to complete my passport Ruth’s Stitchery, Sew-Ciety, and Sew in Tune:

RUTH’S STITCHERY

Our first stop was Ruth’s Stitchery in Colorado Springs, the shop we attempted to visit on day one of shop hopping but they closed at 3:00 pm. This is also the shop that is next door to a woodworking shop:

So while my woodworking partner John, with Mike the Miniature Schnauzer in a backpack on his back, wandered about Woodcraft, I wandered inside Ruth’s Stitchery.

The shop was much larger than it looked from the outside. I thought it would be a quick “in and out” to get my passport stamped, collect the mini panel for the shop, but instead I wandered for quite a while and bought a couple items. Here are a couple photos from inside the shop (in the first photo you will see their interpretation of the completed shop hop quilt using all the mini panels and one of the large panels:

SEW IN TUNE

The next shop on our third day shop hop adventure was Sew in Tune in Monument, Colorado. Not only was the shop absolutely darling with it’s camping theme, but the town of Monument was so beautiful! John and I plan to do a day trip back there just to wander around.

Here are a couple images for Monument, CO (from TripAdvisor and from HomesOnlineToday):

Yes it is actually that beautiful and looks like what you think Colorado should look like (at least in my mind). John and I were having a fantasy of retiring there someday!

Okay so back to quilt shop hopping – here are some photos from inside the adorable quilt shop in Monument – Sew in Tune (oh and the staff were super friendly):

As you see in the photos above, they had two versions/interpretations of the shop hop quilt using each of the large panels. I ended up buying the patterns as I really liked their designs (each shop that created an interpretation/design of how the shop hop quilt should look, also sold the pattern).

SEW-CIETY

The last shop I needed to visit to complete my shop hop passport was Sew-Ciety in Castle Rock, CO. We did not watch our time very well (my fault for too much wandering) and we discovered the shop was closing at 3:00 pm! We arrived to the shop at 2:55 pm and all I had time to do was get my passport stamped before they closed.

I did not get to take any photos in that quilt shop but it looked like a nice shop and I will return at a later time to actually look around.

I did however get to turn in my completed stamped quilt shop hop passport to them (to be entered into the shop hop drawing); and I got my commemorative pin for completing the shop hop!

Yes it was a lot of work for a free pin but it was so fun to be introduced to a lot of quilt shops in Colorado.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part IV

August 23, 2021August 23, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am now on the 4th installment on my series of posts on the first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop that I attended.

In my three previous posts (Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I, Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II, and Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part III) I was on the “Day One” road trip with my partner John and our Miniature Schnauzer Mike (who was working quilt shop staff for treats). For “Day Two”, over a week later (because I was out of town for a quilt retreat but that is another post) I continued the shop hop on my own.

I visited 4 shops, trying to knock out more on the 11 quilt shop visit requirement to complete my shop hop passport in order to be entered to win the grand prize (and get the lovely pin for completing the shop hop):

The 4 shops I visited on my own have red boxes around them in the graphic below:

Two of the shops really impressed me with their fabric selections, interiors and friendliness of staff. Those are the ones I took photos inside. I spent a very long time at Treelotta – the staff was wonderful, I chatted with other quilters and they had an AMAZING selection of fabrics!

The Creative Needle, Littleton, CO

Treelotta, Englewood, CO

I also have this photo but I am not sure which shop it is from! It might be from one of the other two I visited, but is it is a lovely interpretation of how to make a quilt from the mini panels you collect from each shop and one of the larger panels you can purchase during the shop hop:

So that was “Day Two” of the shop hop. I have one more post to share with you about the shop hop and John and Mike join me again for “Day Three”.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part III

August 19, 2021August 20, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am sitting my hotel room in Wilmington, North Carolina as I’ve joined my partner John for the week on his business trip. It’s been a surprisingly very busy summer of travel (and we’ve careful, safe and are vaccinated). I wonder if all this “make up” travel post 2020 pandemic is only a brief moment in time as things may return to 2020 lockdown levels. I am thinking of/sending good thoughts to my blogging buddies in NZ and AU and anywhere in our world else facing 2020ish lockdowns again. I do know how fortunate I am right now to be able to travel.

This post I am continuing my series of posts on my partner John, my Miniature Schnauzer Mike, and I attending our first Rocky Mountain Shop Hop (which included quilt shops from Englewood Colorado to Pueblo Colorado). If you are just joining us, here are the links to the two previous posts:

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II

So in the previous post we had traveled to the wrong quilt shop (First Stitches in Canon City) which was not part of the Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop and returned to Pueblo, CO to stop at the correct shop:

Here was their version of the completed 2021 shop hop quilt using one of the large panels I mentioned in the first post on this series:

I do not remember if I mentioned it or not, but I did buy both the large panels from the 2021 shop hop – the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” one; and the Colorado Map one.

Then it was off to lunch on the Pueblo Riverwalk, which according to puebloriverwalk.org:

The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo (HARP) is a 32-acre urban waterfront experience open to the Public daily. The Riverwalk returned the Arkansas River to its historic location at the heart of downtown Pueblo, after being diverted in the 1920s due to a devastating flood that destroyed much of Pueblo. The Riverwalk’s current location serves the community by revitalizing a segment of the downtown area that was previously unsightly and unusable. This urban development transforms the community and has been vital in attracting new businesses, thereby helping to stabilize the economic base of the city. The Arkansas River has been the lifeblood of Pueblo for over 300 years. Native Americans followed the river for hunting and trapping. Early settlers came as sheepherders and cattlemen. Agriculture blossomed in Pueblo’s warmer climate and the steel industry used the bountiful water resources to build a massive manufacturing center.

Before eating lunch on the patio (so Mike the Miniature Schnauzer could join us) the Brues Alehouse Brewing Company, we went for a walk along the Riverwalk in Pueblo and were surprised how cool it was (I love the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas and I did not think it would be as cool as that one).

Here are some photos from our stroll on the Riverwalk in Pueblo:

We wander the Riverwalk while waiting for our table to become available at the Brewery and were sort of disappointed when we got the text that the table was ready sooner than they originally said. We wanted to explore the area a little longer.

We had a delicious lunch at Brues Alehouse Brewing Company, I had the vegan tacos with fried avocados and John had a local speciality called a “Slopper” which is an open faced hamburger smothered in green chili.

Mike had some doggy snacks were brought and glared at his imaginary nemesis – another dog dining outside on the patio (Mike I guess wanted to be the only dog on the patio).

It was a little warm in the shade of the patio so we put an ice cube on Mike’s head to help him cool down from walking the Riverwalk:

Here we are enjoying our craft beer at the brewery:

I know, I know, another masterfully snapped selfie by me (should find an online selfie snapping training program!)

After lunch we headed to Colorado Spring, CO to continue the shop hop and arrived at High Country Quilts, one of the friendliest quilt shops I’ve ever been to!

I had fun chatting with the staff at the shop as well as other quilters/shop hoppers. I spent much longer in this shop than I had anticipated (and bought more than I had anticipated, ha!)

Little did I know that the second shop in Colorado Springs, CO closed at 3 pm and I was about to miss out crossing it off my shop hop list because I spent too long at the first shop I went to in Colorado Springs!

When we arrived (too late but did not know it yet) to Ruth’s Stitchery in Colorado Springs, my partner John (whose hobby is woodworking) was greeted with a wonderful surprise: the quilt shop is next to Woodcraft a woodworking shop!

He and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer (in his backpack) headed into Woodcraft for a wander and I headed over to the quilt shop to discover it was closed. I was so disappointed as it meant we would have to drive 70+ minutes back to Colorado Springs before the shop hop ended on August 21; but I was able to entertain myself while John and Mike were wandering the woodworking shop – there was a large charity thrift shop in the same shopping center!

After Colorado Springs we headed home from day one of the 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop – we were tired and I had reached my limit (too many quilt shops in one day makes going into quilt shops less special).

However there are more quilt shops to come in the next post in the series as I was determined to visit all 11 and complete the shop hop!

Here are summary of Day One – 4 shops total (red stars):

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Now it’s time for Part II on my 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop Adventures, which started with the post Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I.

Our first Colorado Quilt Shop Hop adventure began in Fountain, CO and in this post we have made it to Pueblo, Colorado for the second leg of our adventure.

But first let’s talk about this:

This is Mike the Miniature Schnauzer working a quilt shop staff member at Stitcher’s Garden in Pueblo, CO for treats! Curiously they happen to have a bag of doggy treats in the back stockroom and Mike was fed many of them!

It was very warm during the shop hop and we wanted to bring Mike the Mini Schnauzer on the road trip but not leave him the car, so it was backpacking into the quilt shops for him!

All the shops were “dog-in-a-backpack-friendly” and I think he gained a couple pounds from treats during the shop hop!

Luckily there we some nice local town parks or scenic walks that my partner John could take him on if I needed some extended time in any quilt shop. Mike enjoyed riding around in the backseat of the car with this cozy blanket and the cooler filled with our sparkling waters, soda, and snacks for roadtripping. (He just wished he had opposable thumbs so he could open the cooler when he wanted and grab his own snack!)

The first quilt shop we visited in Pueblo was Stitcher’s Garden and here are some photos from that shop so you can have a virtual shop hop experience:

Did you see the Batik fabric cowboy boots in one of the above photos? Those made me laugh! They were not wearable but they would be a funny decorative/storage item for your quilting room! And did you notice the giant bag of treats the quilt shop staff member had in her hand while she was petting her new friend Mike?!?!?!

So far our quilt shop hop was going well until….

After our visit to that first quilt shop in Pueblo, CO, my understanding was that we had one more quilt shop in Pueblo on the 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop but when my partner John put the shop’s name “First Stitches” into his Google Maps the directions said the shop was in Canon City, CO. So we listened to Google Maps instead of our COMMON SENSE and headed out 41 miles to Canon City (do you see where this is headed…not in the right direction…).

The staff at the First Stitches quilt shop were warm and friendly and when I asked for them to punch my Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop ticket (which gives you credit for visiting each shop) they said: “Oh we are not participating in the shop hop, our ORIGINAL SHOP in PUEBLO is participating”.

Oh my.

So we drove back to Pueblo, tried Google Maps again and found the correct shop.

But, I had a lovely time at the wrong shop and here are photos from the First Stitches quilt shop in Canon City, CO:

I even bought some beautiful Ruby Star Society butterfly fabric at the unnecessary-stop-quilt-shop. John felt bad about the accidental side trip but it was just as much my fault as his for not using that thing called COMMON SENSE and double checking the Rocky Mountain Shop Hop quilt shop list!

After going to the correct shop which I quickly ran into, go my shop hop “passport” stamped and ran out because at this point we were so hungry, we went to the Riverwalk in Pueblo lunch, which was more beautiful than I anticipated.

I’ll save that and our next quilt shop adventure along the shop hop for my next post.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I’ve lived in Colorado for over 2 years now but I’ve never been to a “Quilt Store Shop Hop” like those I used to attend when I lived in Seattle, WA (where I began quilting) and Bend, Oregon.

On August 6th my partner John, my Miniature Schnauzer Mike, and I attended our first Rocky Mountain Shop Hop which included quilt shops from Englewood Colorado to Pueblo Colorado.

To enter the big drawing you had to visit all 11 shops but they give you 17 days to do it (August 5th through August 21st). You also get a special Rocky Mountain Shop Hop completion pin unique for 2021.

The coolest thing is that each participating shop has a unique Colorado themed mini panel that you can collect (for $5) to create along with the major panels, a Colorado themed quilt.

Here are all the mini panels:

And here are the two larger panels which can be configured into many different quilt designs (each shop had their own sampler quilt, pattern and kit for a Colorado themed quilt.

This is the Colorado map large panel:

Here it is shown in a Colorado themed quilt at the first quilt shop we visited on the hop, Na-La’s Quilt Shop in Fountain, Colorado. (sorry that the photo is a little blurry)

The other large panel focused on the famous/iconic “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign located near the Utah and Colorado border:

Here are a couple quilts from different shops on the Rocky Mountain Shop Hop featuring that panel:

As I mentioned earlier in this post, the first shop we visited on the shop hop was ed quilt at the first quilt shop we visited on the hop, Na-La’s Quilt Shop in Fountain, Colorado.

It was a wonderful place to start our shop hop as the staff was so inviting and friendly and they provided yummy snacks!

So you can have a virtual shop hop experience, here are some photos of the shop I took as I wandered about.

The shop had a fabulous collection of antique sewing machines all around the shop, here are a few:

An interesting thing about the shop is that you did not enter via the front door. Instead you entered through this really cool side door. The shop was located in downtown Fountain, CO and the building where the shop was located was obviously historic.

I overheard while in the shop, when another customer asked, the reason for the side door entry was a leftover from having to control entry during COVID pandemic restrictions.

More to come on my first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop adventure but I thought I would get started sharing with this post.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

California Quilting Sisters Adventures, Part III

February 24, 2020August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

If you are just joining us, you can check out these two previous posts:

California Quilting Sisters Adventures, Part II February 21, 2020
California Quilting Sisters Adventures, Part I February 17, 2020

This is the third post closing out the series on stories and photos about a visit with my Northern California based “Quilting Sisters”, Kathy and Lisa in April 2019.

This post is all about our Northern California QUILT SHOP HOPPING 🙂

The quilt/fabric shops we visited included one in Auburn, California:

Leal’s Coop: Farmhouse Decor and Fabric

And three in the San Francisco “Bay Area”:

New Pieces Quilt Store & Gallery (Berkeley)
Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics (Berkeley)
Bay Quilts (Richmond)

bay area quilting — *Image: Google maps*

As you can see by the map image above there were move quilt shops in the Bay Area but we could only fit in so much in one day (smile) and still have a proper Quilting Sister visit (to include lunch, ice cream and wandering about window shopping at non-quilting shops!).

Leal’s Coop

The first quilt shop in our Northern California quilt shop hop adventure was Leal’s Coop in Auburn, CA which was both quilting fabric shop and home decor shop. Lisa had another commitment so Kathy and I began the shop hop adventure on our own.

The shop owner was delightful and she was working on gift boxes for customers with her monthly gift box subscription:

After a wonderful wander about this shop and delightful chat with the shop owner, we wandered around the other surrounding shops:

We stopped for a delicious lunch at a vegan restaurant:

And I snuck in some Black & White photography time.

New Pieces Quilt Store & Gallery

The next day, Lisa joined us and we drove to Berkeley to continue the quilt shop hop adventure beginning with New Pieces Quilt Store & Gallery.

This shop had an amazing and eclectic collection of fabrics and a wonderful and friendly staff. We spent a very long time in this shop!

They also had an amazing collection of Japanese fabrics.

And here are some unusual patterned fat quarters I bought at the shop (who knows what I will make with them but I just loved them and I do not know why!)

After an extensive amount of time we were ready for lunch and had a delicious lunch as well as dessert at The Public Market.

Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics

Another amazing fabric shop we visited in Berkeley was Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics.

This shop immediately made me smile with this Rumi quote on the glass window in front as you enter the shop:

This shop was not a quilt shop but a fabric and sewing notions shop. It was crammed full of fabrics for all types of sewing – home decor, apparel, quilting, etc.

I ended up buying these amazing pieces of canvas fabric (yes, impulse buy!):

Bay Quilts

The third fabric/quilt shop we visited in the Bay Area was Bay Quilts. This quilt shop also had an art galley inside with rotating exhibits by local fiber artists.

Are you exhausted from all the virtual quilt/fabric shop hopping in this post (smile).

I had a wonderful day of quilt/fabric shop hopping with my California Quilting Sisters!

By the way my Quilting Sister Lisa was able to take her fabric purchases from the day back home to be sewn on with her newly custom painted Singer Featherweight:

Postscript

While staying at Kathy’s house during my Northern CA trip, it was fun to revisit several of my fiber art pieces she owns which includes as batik rope basket I made her as a gift; and a table runner she bought from my tierneycreates Etsy shop* years ago.

(*believe or not this blog began in 2013 as vehicle for my Etsy shop – the blog kept going but the Etsy shop did not!)

Oh and let’s close out this series of posts about my trip in April 2019 to Northern California, with one more image of the sweet (and insane) Chocolate Labrador puppy Riley that was one of the special treats during my visit.

Here she is taking a break from her very active puppy-ness!

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018, Part II: Visiting Crafters

July 16, 2018July 16, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello! Are you as warm as I am? We’ve been blessed with 95+ temperatures in Central Oregon. I am writing this on my porch (which is shaded) as our two little evaporative coolers are not keeping the house as cool as I would like it to be (someday we dream of installing central air conditioning…)

the-sun-1396604 — Photo credit: “The Sun” by William Picard, free images.com

It’s dropped down to 92 degrees so it is now cool enough (ha!) for me to work on a blog post. I am continuing my series of posts about the 2018 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), that began with this post: Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018, Part I.

Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH)’s sisters from New York, Sue and Diane, came to town for the show and to visit us for a week. We took them on a Central Oregon Quilt Shop Hop (they are both quilters/crafters) on Thursday and Friday before the SOQS on Saturday.

As a result of all that quilt shop-hopping, new projects were purchased by my sister-in-laws and we’ve had many enjoyable evening sitting around my living room, backyard (when it cools down in the evening), or my dining room table crafting together:

They’ve been working on two different wool appliqué candle mat patterns by Bareroots Little Stitches. One is a cat themed candle mat and the other is this dog themed mat pattern called #195 Puppy Love.

Here is one sister-in-law’s progress on the kitty themed wool appliqué mat:

As you can see there are many little pieces. Luckily I had freezer paper, appliqué glue stick and of course basic sewing supplies on hand.

Here is the progress my other sister-in-law is making on her dog themed wool appliqué candle mat:

The mats are super adorable! One of my sister-in-laws taught me how to make french knots which I’ve never made before.

Oh you wonder – what I am working on during our crafting sessions? I am working on a wool appliqué miniature pillow that I started in March during a class with Kathy Cardiff (see post Trends Show Part II: More Classes).

I will share on Instagram (@tierneycreates) the completed images of our pieces.

Next post, I will share images from the 2018 Sisters Outdoor Show (once I weed through the zillion of photos I took!) If you cannot wait until my next post, here are two Central Oregon quilting bloggers that are already sharing awesome photos and stories:

Kristen Shields (kristeinshieldart.com):

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW 2018 :: PART 1

Anna Bates (wooliemammoth.blogspot.com & Quilt Roadies YouTube Channel):

Surround yourself with people you can always learn something from. Always work with people that are better at their craft than you are. – Tony Vincent

Quilt Shop Tours, Special Events

Central Oregon Quilt Shop Hop Day 1

May 6, 2018June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Last weekend over the course of two days, Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH), Mike the Miniature Schnauzer and I attended the Central Oregon Quilt Shop Hop.

We made it to all seven (7) Central Oregon Quilt Shops over a two day period which involved driving around 150+ miles:

Thought I would share a sort of “photo essay” of the two-day shop hop in a series of two posts.

Day One of the Central Oregon Shop Hop was completed after work on Friday 04/27/18 and included the three Bend, Oregon shops: QuiltWorks, Sew Many Quilts and Bernina Center, and BJ’s Quilt Basket.

Sew Many Quilts and Bernina Center (Bend, Oregon)

Our Shop Hop began at Sew Many Quilts and Bernina Center.

Each shop gave out a free fat 1/8th quarter (18″ x 11″) of coordinating batik fabric and a free block pattern for the Central Oregon Shop Hop Mystery Quilt. You get your Shop Hop Passport card stamped at each shop and if you completely fill it out, visiting all seven (7) shops, you can enter to win several prizes including a new Bernina sewing machine!

Later in this post I will share my Shop Hop Passport stamps and my haul of free fat 1/8th quarters from day one (see section “The Haul“).

Sew Many Quilts and Bernina Center is where I bought my Bernina sewing machine many years ago and my breath always catches a bit when I walk into their shop and see all the dream Berninas:

2018-04-27_14-56-13_495 2018-04-27_15-02-55_901

They appeared to be embracing as many holidays as possible, and here are a sampling of their displays which covered: Easter, Valentines Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Halloween!

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All the shops offered a delicious smorgasbord of snacks and treats for the shoppers. Here is an example from Sew Many Quilts and Bernina Center:

In addition to the big prize drawing for those who completed their Shop Hop passports, each shop had their own individual drawing for shop gift certifications, etc:

QuiltWorks (Bend, Oregon)

Next stop on Shop Hop was at QuiltWorks, where the lovely owner Marilyn Forestell greeted shop hoppers and stamped their cards.

They also had delicious food including a huge chocolate birthday cake to celebrate the shop’s anniversary and the owner’s birthday (I forgot to take photos of the other shops’ snacks).

Here are photos from around the shop:

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They even have a Quilt Shop Dog (looks like a schnauzer mix to me!):

I wonder if they intentionally coordinated the quilt shop’s carpet with the dog?

This is where my naughtiness started – they had a section I could not refuse (see the section “The Haul” for what I purchased…you know just to be polite to the shop, ha!):

They also had a very timely display on the book Pillow Pop: 25 Quick-Sew Projects to Brighten Your Space Paperback by Heather Bostic. A couple weeks ago I decided to attack my pile of 2.5″ x 2.5″ scrap squares and enlist TTQH to help me make a huge pile of Half-Square Triangles (HSTs) to make several of the pillows in this book (future post).

2018-04-27_15-28-39_036

Seeing several pillow patterns from the book displayed really inspired me to (eventually) continue working on the pillows (not sure though if TTQH is still speaking to me after trimming all those HSTs…)

BJ’s Quilt Basket (Bend, Oregon)

Our third and final stop for day one was BJ’s Quilt Basket. BJ’s hold a special place in my heart as it was the start of meeting many of my other Quilting Sisters besides Judy who got m into quilting (see post Quilting Sisters, Part I).

Here are images from around BJ’s Quilt Basket:

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The Haul

First, here are the stamps on my Shop Hop passport for Day One:

Only 4 more to go!

Here is my haul of free 1/8th fat quarters – six (6) fat 1/8th quarters (TTQH gave me his of course!) from Day One:

2018-04-27_16-40-30_531 2018-04-28_08-33-51_393

Here is an example of the free block pattern given at each shop. You have to go to all seven (7) shops to get the final layout/instructions for the mystery quilt; but if you do not get to all the shops each pattern also has instructions on turning the block pattern into a table runner.