Today my quilting buddy and I went on a quilt shop hop called the Michigan Stash Dash. It is the 10th year for this event and we're old pros at this now. We traveled a bit over 230 miles, visiting all the stores in less than 8 hours.A quilt shop hop is an organized event where participants buy a passport (it may be called by another name in other shop hops) to visit participating shops within a 2-3 day time frame. In the case of the Michigan Stash Dash, when you visit each shop, your passport is stamped and you get directions to make the quilt block or blocks designed by that store. If you are interested in making the featured quilt, you'll buy a fabric kit at each shop along the way, accumulating material and block directions throughout the hop. Each of the participating stores created a quilt using the blocks designed at all six shops. It is always fun to see how differently each set of blocks is assembled into a finished quilt.
Neither my friend nor I bought fabric to make the quilt this year. While all interpretations were lovely, black and white doesn't work in either of our homes and we both have a shameful amount of unfinished (unstarted even!) projects in our stashes. That doesn't mean we didn't buy something, we just showed restraint. Remarkable restraint for the two of us!
Even if talk of blocks and fabric kits sounds like a foreign language to you, I thought you might like to see this year's featured quilts. Click on the shop names to link their website.
Sew Elegant
3909 Pine Grove Rd
Fort Gratiot, MI 48059
Sew Together
69295 Main Street
Richmond, MI 48062
Quilt-n Friends
4090 17 Mile Rd
Sterling Heights, MI 48310
Lake Street Mercantile
115 E. Lake Street
South Lyon, MI 48178
The Quilting Season
7025 E. Michigan Ave
Saline, MI 48176
Bits 'n Pieces
34629 W. Michigan Ave
Wayne, MI 48184
If you read Better Homes & Gardens Quilt Sampler, this store is featured in the Spring/Summer issue as one of their 10 top stores in the Ultimate Shop Hop article.
I came home inspired, but tired. Showing restraint took a lot out of me. 
4 comments:
I'd be curious to know exactly what kind of "restraint" you showed...and if Bill would agree with you :)
Each shop have a $5 off coupon off a purchase of $25 or more. I only used a few of them, buying a book (Jennifer Chiaverini novel) and a pattern in one store, car print fabric for a small quilt for one of my great-nephews in another store, and some notions and a tote pattern in two more shops. Everything would have fit in one flat bag from a paper store.
Joyce and I have come a long way from filling a car trunk on one of these shop hops!
I notice a good bit of black. I think that's unusual. Thanks for sharing.
The quilts are all so lovely, each in it's own way--thanks for the tour! I applaud you for showing restraint, as I know exactly how difficult it really is when confronted with all that beautiful fabric!
Smiles, Karen
p.s. thanks so much for stopping by my blog and for the words of encouragement--I really appreciate it ♥♥♥
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