Shop Hopped Out

I did it!


I visited the requisite 16 shops, collected my stamps and turned in the Passport at the final shop of the day! I am now entered in to win the lovely prizes. :) I also bought a few raffle tickets from various guilds.
And I must say WE did it. Thank you to my wonderful-darling-patient Husband for going with me. He was a great sport and we had a fun time discussing esoterica, arguing plants and making inappropriate jokes. He earned major brownie points for going along (and I think he had some fun too).
Of course, I collected more than just stamps (a sore butt from driving the 250 miles and 8 hours.)






I now have 16 block patterns to work on while deciding on the next project(s). Many shops included all the pieces required for finishing the blocks. And I bought the finishing kits from the shops that didn't.
I did some stash enhancements along the way. Mostly I collected 1/2 yard cuts, some random fat quarters (and some nice coupons inviting me back). I kept saying I was on the lookout for white-on-white and cream-on-cream. But I only ended up buying ONE of those LOL

I found two fabrics with Dragons- one is black with gold dragons, the other is black with multi-colored dragons.
My favorite purchase has to be the Australian designed fabric (bottom right hand fabric in photo below). I will be collecting a few more yardages of that line. Stunning. (I picked this one up at the Shibori Dragon in Lakewood.)





I also learned where some great shops are. And I know how to get to them, in case I am ever in that area... Which is not unlikely, considering all 16 of the shops I visited were within a one hour drive of my home. Here is a map of the places we visited.

Today's stops (pink pins):

#1 Rochester, The Quilting Cottage. (My first visit- really well stocked!)
#2 Centralia, Quilter's Junction. (Moving to a nearby space soon, all on 1 level.)
#3 Chehalis, Sister's Fabric Shop. (Bursting at the seams like usual.)
#4 Morton, Sugar & Spice. (My First visit here, NOT my Last. Very friendly, SUPER prices. Really Good Prices!)
#5 Eatonville, The Country Mouse. (Fun dimensional pieced block- Three Blind Mice.)
#6 Graham, Creative Quilter. (Very friendly and helpful. Nice selection of panels too.)
#7 Orting, The Wild Rose. (Beatiful shop, great location. It is for Sale. They are having an inventory reduction sale soon too. Watch the site for details.)
#8 Puyallup, The Quilt Barn . (Another shop that is moving to a bigger location soon.) (Yay for success!)
#9 Tacoma, Train Fabrics Etc. (They offer bananas for the weary hopper. And a selection of non-quilty things.)
#10 Tacoma, Evergreen Quilting. (Has done very well since opening. Has expanded already! Check them out.)
#11 Lakewood, The Shibori Dragon. (Always interesting finds. Specializing in asian fabrics and imports. Just expanded yarn section too.)

Previous days (blue pins):

Olympia, Bayside Quilting. (The machine quilting part, with 5 HQ16's available for rent for $15 an hour.)
Olympia, Bayside Quilting 2. (The fabric section. Always amazing. I am so spoiled to be so close to this amazing shop, full of amazing people. Amazing.)
Tumwater, Quilter's Quarters. (Yes, a third shop within minutes of my home. Spoiled.)
Shelton, Sue's Stitch In Time. (Great selection of wide width fabrics!)
Belfair, Dancing Needle. (I really liked their kits and applique patterns.)


And there are 2 more shops pretty close by, that I didn't make it to, but should mention, as I will probably try to go to them tomorrow (Don't tell my husband!)

Yelm, GeeGee's. (GeeGee's has more fabric than you can imagine. Fabrics from years ago that you have been trying to find more of.)
Tacoma, Parkland Parish Quilt Co. (Just a nice shop. Nice folks, nice selection.)

Yes, I had a great time. I am excited to start playing with the fabrics I picked up. I may actually make the blocks I collected (dare I think of last year's blocks?).

But first, I think I will take a nap.