I had the pleasure over the past 8 weeks of participating in my first-ever Missouri Quilt Shop Hop. My quilter-extraordinaire friend Sandy and I visited 47 shops (of the 100 participating) and completed 4 of the 8 “hop” regions in my wonderful home state.
Sandy is, like my dear friend Lisa up in Minnesota, an accomplished quilter who produces absolute masterpieces.
I, on the other hand, made one quilt 32 years ago!
Yes, you read that right. I over the course of about 6 weeks, I spent 10 days, drove/rode ever-so-many miles, and examined countless bolts of fabric & perused all sorts of gizmos the use for which I am actually unsure of, and had the time of my life in quilt shops across the state . . . yet I haven’t made a single quilt since 1991!
So why did I go? Am I considering taking up quilting again? Well, if you saw the volume of photos and memorabilia I need to scan and put into digital scrapbooks to have printed, as well as the size of my yarn stash, you’d probably understand that I don’t plan to take up another project just yet.
The simple answer is that I was intrigued the the idea as soon as I heard about it. I love creating and projects; I love visiting locally-owned shops of almost any type; AND I absolutely love road trips.
And even more than I love creating, projects, locally-owned shops, and road trips, I love an adventure!
Fortunately for me, the shop hop came at just the right time of the year, giving me an adventure (involving my other loves) just before cold weather (not a love) arrives here in the Midwest.
Learning about and participating in this hop brought to my attention other, similar activities — yarn shop hops, trike rides across entire states!, intriguing podcasts and YouTubers, and all sorts of things — just in time for my wintertime planning for the upcoming new year.
What adventures do you dream of? What ideas niggle at the back of your mind? Take out a notepad or ipad and begin envisioning and planning — make your dream become a reality!
This is the quilt I made 32 years ago. It comes with a beautiful story of a young husband’s sweet encouragement and a beloved father’s love. I’ll share that story with you sometime soon.
