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.