Shop Hop Continued

Postcards from Muskoka at Thimbles and Things

Each store had their own completed version of the quilt. They generally used the same colours for things, but would use different fabrics. We enjoyed comparing all the different versions. The blocks we looked at the most for the comparison were the campfire and the northern lights (not seaweed like I originally thought).

After leaving Orillia, we headed to Barrie. Our first stop was Simcoe Sew & Quilt. This store was how I heard about the shop hop. I found it when I was out for lunch one time in Barrie, and I have been back a number of times. They had the most gorgeous blue fabric they used for their water, but they were out when we got there. There kits did give enough to complete the tree block (which is one of my favourites).

Northern lights and tree blocks with
two blues, a green, and a brown fabric

The second stop in Barrie was at Elite Quilting. This was a lovely little long arm studio. They had a small selection of fabric - along with some delicious chocolate chip cookies. 

Campfire block

Brown(with gold), yellow/red, red, and blue fabric

Our last stop was at Country Concessions in Cookstown. This store was quite surprising. I wouldn't have guessed based on it's name, or small town location, that it would be so large, but it had a huge amount of fabric and supplies. The quilt designer was here showing her quilts and giving demonstrations. This was a good spot to end our journey. Unfortunately, it was so popular they had run out of kits. We put our names in and are expecting a package in the mail. This was also my favourite block, so I'm really excited to get the kit. I will post a picture whenever it arrives.

It was a lovely day with some beautiful scenery, good food, and great company. We'll have to see what the quilt looks like for next year's shop hop.

Shop Hop in Muskoka

This past weekend, my friend and I drove up to Muskoka to participate in a shop hop that was taking place. There were 6 different quilt stores participating and at each one you could get the pattern for one or two of the blocks, and you could also purchase a kit of fabric to help you make your block.

The quilt pattern was designed by Joni Newman of Quirks and Quilts. Here is what her original version looked like:

Image taken from Quirks and Quilts blog

I love the look of stained glass quilts, which is why I decided it would be worth the drive (plus I've always thought it would be fun to do a shop hop - and this one was doable in a day).

We drove to Barrie on Friday night so that we could get an early start on the day. We were up bright an early on Saturday morning, and after some breakfast were on our way. We could not have picked a better time of year to do the drive - the trees were absolutely magnificent.

Our first stop was 3 Gals and a Quilt Shop in Huntsville. Huntsville is a lovely town if you have never been - it's downtown core is right on the water and it is surrounded by beautiful scenery. We arrived just after the store opened (as did a large number of other people). After looking around for a bit, we got our patterns and kits and moved on.

Loon and Beach blocks along with orange and brown batiks

We had some car troubles (that's a different story), but managed to sort them out and made our way to The Muskoka Quilting Co. in Bracebridge. Bracebridge was also celebrating Colour Fest while we were in town, but we managed to avoid all the street closures. They had just run out of kits when we got there, but they managed to get some more whipped up in no time.

Cabin block along with green, brown, and black batiks

Our third stop was at Thimbles and Things in Orillia. Don't worry, we made sure to stop at Webers for a burger on the way. This was a lovely quilt shop - mostly in the middle of nowhere, but very spacious with lots of fabric and some great looking projects. I wish I lived closer. Instead of just a package of fabric, the kit included an insulated lunch bag, a water bottle, a piece of chocolate, a pen, and some fabric. They also had delicious samples of Fraktals chocolate (which I highly recommend).

Muskoka chairs block with red and blue fabrics

The red fabric was really cool - it went from a really
dark red at the top to a light pink at the bottom

That seems like a good spot to stop this post. I will write about the other three stops another time.