another shop hop/review

A friend and I -
co-horts in quilting,
did a shop hop in north-eastern Ohio recently.
We saw the hop written up in the Country Register July/August edition.

The hop was billed as a
"commeration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
With a quilt and blocks designed for this special event". 
Their words, not mine...

But,
A HOP in COMMERATION 
of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War????!!!
I'm IN!!


14 shops - one day.
Pre-planning and timing are a must. 
Every shop and stop pre-mapped. 
With driving times in-between each figured in.
Left home early enough (two+ hours) that we arrived at the first shop as it opened.
Drove and visited each of the shops.
Stayed longer in some than in others.
A couple of the shops,
well, let's just say, it might have been their first rodeo  hop.

Only three of the fourteen shops
did reproduction fabrics for their block and offered kits. 
The rest, well, they did their own thing, and did not offer a block kit.
And, not mentioned anywhere beforehand-
you could only have your "passport" stamped
if you bought something in each of the shops. 
And, when you purchased,
that's when you got their block pattern for the hop quilt. 
Deceptive, very deceptive.

The purchasing, that would not have been a problem. 
Put me in any quilt shop and I'd find something I liked to buy...
it was the point of issue.

The "requirement" to purchase something 
to have your passport stamped 
& recieve their block pattern was more than a little disappointing.
Especially since that fact was only ever mentioned in the purchased passport!!!
And then to only have 3 of 14 with reproduction blocks
after it was billed as a Civil War commerative Hop??!! 
Yep, disappointed.

I found a few shops that I wish were closer to home, that I'll make the time to go back and visit longer.

And the majority of the folks in the shops, the owners/employees, you could tell loved what they did.

We drove around like banshees -
eating lunch while driving so we'd have time to make each of the shops.

Over six hundred miles.  Yep, you read that right 600 miles. We made it to 13 of the 14 shops.  Then ate dinner after the last shop closed.  Then drove our 2+ hours home.  It was a long but fun 16 hour day.
And like I said, put me in any quilt shop and I'll find something to buy...
stash additions, a pillowcase-to-be and some creamy stitching fabric:

And the company was good!