Shop hop goodies

The annual Quilt Dakota Shop Hop is going on right now, and I actually won a prize just for registering my shop hop "passport".  My prize was dropped off at The Pin Cushion for me to pick up, which I did on yesterday.  Each shop also has you register for weekly drawings when you visit, and there are special prizes when you have visited 10 shops, and again for 20 and 30.  That's a lot of incentive.  

I was expecting maybe a small fat quarter bundle or something, but HOLY COW!  A layer cake of Kaufman fabrics in reds, blues, and pale greys - just perfect for a Quilt of Valor.  A jelly roll of gorgeous neutral batiks.  And a kit for an Elizabeth Hartman quilt called Lookout.  

There are over 40 quilt shops in North AND South Dakota that are participating in the 2025 Quilt Dakota Shop Hop in August.  Before Wednesday I had only gotten to the 2 shops here in town, but that number has grown with the 6 shops that Jo and I got to this week.  

We met up at 8:30 am with coffee and our shop hop passport booklets in hand, and headed east on I-90 toward Sioux Falls about an hour away.  I even had a list of things I wanted to look for to finish out some projects. We began the day by dropping off 3 big heavy seedless watermelons at my daughter's house (in Sioux Falls.)  We live in an area known for fabulous watermelon. Once those melons were handed off to my grandkids and I petted 1 dog - we had the rest of the day to shop.

Every shop is so different, and we both agree that it's really fun just to see the different samples in the shops, how things are displayed in unique ways, and the styles of fabrics carried are different too. Great selections and such friendly staff at every shop.

We visited all 3 shops in Sioux Falls before lunch - Quilters Headquarters, Jaqueline & Joyce, and Dutch Rose.  After getting some lunch we headed south on I-29 to 3 shops that Jo hadn't been to before.  Sew Storm (Alcester, SD), Shanty Stitchers (Beresford) and My Timeless Day (Canton) are all in a row of small towns along I-29.   

My haul includes 3 patterns, a variety of fat quarters, 2 neutral Christmas-y backgrounds for a Christmas project I have planned, 2 blue batiks to use with the blue jay print for the next 3-yard quilt, a couple of yards of fun prints, and a Halloween panel.  

Also - there is one kit. I couldn't resist a Sassy Sunflower "half pack" - and you could choose which free pattern to use with the kit.  Each kit contains 5 coordinated half yard cuts for a nice size throw quilt.  I chose an elegant metallic Christmas line with gold and silver on white.  Jo bought one with rich colors and picked a different pattern.  We're both excited to see how each quilt comes together. 

One of my best finds was 50% off yardage at one shop.  They had a horrible storm a couple of weeks ago, and rain water seeped into one area getting lots of bolts of fabric wet along the selvage edges.  It was not stained - just a little "ruffled" along the selvage edge, and the owner suggested getting it washed right away.  I got 6 yards of a nice dark blue print fabric for backing a project and washed it right away Thursday morning. It's just fine. 

So - a total of 6 shops in 1 day and lots of fun!!