Two years ago I had only just bought the shop, and was getting to know people in the local quilting scene. Among those lovely people I met was a group of shop owners who like me felt that we needed to offer more exciting activities for quilters. Owning a quilt shop is not just about buying and selling fabric. Quilting is really an entertainment industry. Yvonne of Sawmillers had seen Shop Hops happening in the States and thought we could do something similar over here. And so the Quilters Friend Shop Hop was born. The first year was such a success that we decided to run the event again, and now we are into our third year.
Each year the shops create a quilt that you can make. For the registration fee you get blocks from the quilt which you can put together as you like, or purchase a finishing kit to make the quilt as done by the shop. The creativity of the shop owners is put to work as we try to come up with interesting quilt ideas for you.
This year we decided instead of sampler quilts to make quilts with the same theme of a medallion centre. The results of the quilt designers' work are now complete and the quilts are doing the rounds of the shops so that customers can view them. Here are the quilts:
This is my quilt. It is based on a Moda range called Papillon, and has very subtle duck egg blue and dusky pink colours. I have done both machine and hand quilting on this quilt.
This is the quilt from Sawmillers, with French Provincial colouring and beautiful dresden plate appliques in the corners.
Dianne from Village Books and Crafts in Palmerston North has made this gorgeous Batik quilt. I love the 3 dimensional effect she has achieved.
This is the quilt from Ann at the Crafty Pear. I have seen this quilt up close and Ann has put a little insect or creature in every block - real attention to detail! This is the quilt that will be on display in my shop this week. Do pop in and take a look if you are in the area.
This is the fifth and final quilt, from Lynette of Cherry Pie in Levin. This fabric range is absolutely gorgeous and I love the applique Lynette has done.
If you haven't done so yet, why not take a look at the Shop Hop facebook page www.facebook.com/nzshophop - this page has all the details including dates etc.
It's really good fun working with the other shop owners and anyone who has been on the Shop Hop before will tell you how enjoyable it is to take part.
Classes
Classes have been getting underway again, today we did the Big Stitch quilting class. I will be putting some photos on next time, so pop back and take a look,
Sheila
From Beginners to Seasoned Quilters
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