Whew! 32 shops. 32 small business owners. 32 sets of directions from the GPS.
78 fatquarters purchased, 10 yards of fabric, 5 books, 4 wool packs, 2 boxes of stationery, 2 charm packs, 2 bracelet charms, a bottle of hand lotion, 1 seam ripper and a “purple thang” (which I still cannot find.) Oh, and a pattern, notions and fabric for my mom to make a handbag.
This is enough to keep me busy all winter and beyond.
Special shout out of thanks to my Reluctant Assistant– my 10 year old son– who tolerated and entertained me along most of the way. Don’t worry, he’s getting a quilt made of snack food fabric out of this!
If you are heading out on this hop, remember you have until Aug 30 to complete. No need to rush. Here’s a look at the last 3 shops I visited:
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Quilter’s Destination in Arlington Heights
Very big, bright store with loads of fabric. I wanted to spend more time there, just browsing. They told me that they are featuring more events, so lots of new growth and exciting things happening at this store. They did not have a shop hop basket made up yet.
What I bought: A Kaffe Fasset book, sale fabric.
Reluctant Assistant comment: Not present.
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Quilter’s Heaven in Northbrook
Located in the heart of Northbrook in a wood frame house, this cozy shop had plenty of fabric to choose from. They also do longarm quilting on site. Their shop hop basket was really well put together, (hard to see in the picture, but it’s a nice large basket with fabric, a book and other notions.)
What I bought: More fatquarters.
Reluctant Assistant comment: Not present.
Quilter’s Heaven in Northbrook
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This is a large shop that also sells Janome machines. I had picked up my mom prior to this shop and she found some lovely fall fabric to make a handbag. Everyone was very helpful. Their shop hop basket is not a basket at all. I thought this was rather brilliant. Their raffle item is a bias tape maker from Simplicity. They also have someone who sharpens scissors and travels to area Joann’s Fabrics to sharpen scissors, including the one in Geneva Commons.
What I bought: Some striped fabric and the handbag pattern etc for my mom.
Reluctant Assistant comment: Not present.
Sewing Source in Lake Villa