Actually, it was four days of quilty fun! 🙂

My weekend started with the Middle Georgia Shop Hop on Thursday, followed by a relaxing Friday sewing with friends. Team Rubicon booked hubby for a week to wind down a project in Alabama. Sadie and I saw him off at 06:00 a.m. on Saturday.

By noon, I’d set-up sewing camp at the kitchen table so I could commandeer the big screen to stream my quilting and crafting channels on YouTube while I stitched. It was a great way to spend a chilly, dreary afternoon. Once we finally had a break in the rain, Sadie and I headed to the park for some exercise. On the way home, we stopped for ice cream at Brusters. This actually turned out to be dinner because the BBQ I’d picked up earlier was so gross I threw it out!

In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, I participated in Super Bolt Sunday at my LQS. I scored a complete BOM kit from a previous year for $25.00. This will make a really nice quilt!

Sadie and I watched the big game while I finished making the HSTs for my shop hop blocks. All that remains is block assembly for 8 of the 10 blocks.

Sadie and I participated in the Middle Georgia Shop Hop today. We visited all 5 shops and made it back home in about 8-1/2 hours with rain. We actually ran into a quilty friend from ATL at Bird House Quilts who was doing the reverse route! Sadie also met some new canine friends at the same shop, as well.

I basically make one big loop when I do the shop hop in a day. Down I-75 to Macon/Warner Robins to visit 3 shops, then cut across to Columbus and Hogansville before returning to ATL via I-85. Next year, I may try doing the shops down I-75 one day and the shops down I-85 the next day. I may save time because all driving will be on the interstate instead of back country roads, but I don’t know if it will necessarily save on mileage.

I did purchase the two shop hop blocks from each shop + a couple of items on my list. I selected a white-on-white print from my stash for the background fabric. I think it’s only fitting since this fabric came from a shop that was once part of the Middle Georgia Shop Hop! 🙂

Here are my notes on each shop:

Magical Stitches – Baby Lock dealer, awesome tool wall and brands of thread I can’t find in the ATL, traditional & batiks

Couture Fabrics – Brother dealer, wonderful selection of fabrics including lots of Riley Blake, Moda and tons of pre-cuts

Bird House Quilts – Bernina dealer, excellent selection of patterns, unique notions, Moda, batiks and wide backs

Sunday Best Quilt Works – No dealer affiliation, but offers machine service, well curated selection of fabric, patterns and notions, shop location is definitely off the beaten path

Hometown Quilt Shop – Juki dealer, vintage machines and notions on display all over the shop, traditional fabrics

All 5 shops offer longarm services.

If you are seriously in need of fabric, Couture Fabrics will be well worth the drive. If they don’t have it, drive 10 minutes to Bird House Quilts to see if they have what you need.

Be sure to support your local retailers!

Pattern prices have risen steadily in recent years. As a technical editor, I fully understand the process (and expense) involved in bringing a new pattern to the marketplace. It’s a lot of hard work. What I have noticed is there seems to be an emerging trend among some designers to take a super simple traditional quilt, format the instructions with a cutesy font, add some modern graphics, then plaster social media (especially IG) with carefully staged photos to launch this “new and modern” design. Most of the patterns in this category are digital downloads and are priced at $13-$15.

I did a double take when a friend shared a picture of a simple quilt pattern her daughter found online. $15.00 for a downloadable pattern on how to make a basic charm square quilt. No cutting, no HSTs, just the charm squares laid out in rows and sewn together. Knowing the parent has a tight budget, I suggested they take a look at this tutorial first. She could always buy the pattern later, if she felt she still needed it.

There’s definitely a quilt pattern out there for everyone’s taste and budget. If you are new to quilting and sewing, know that it is a community where members love to SHARE – extra fabric, supplies and even sewing machines – but most of all knowledge in the form of tutorials. Despite an uptick in the monetization of nearly everything quilting and sewing related, there still remains a lot of content available at little or no cost. My longarm quilter friend stopped quilting because she feels quilting has become too commercial. It’s now all about money – not about sharing the love of an art form and craft. She has a valid point.

Librarians are big about resource sharing, which is why I encourage stitchers to utilize resources available at the public library, their local quilt guilds and quality resources available online for free. I do NOT advocate violating copyright laws.

Tip: Pinterest is a crafter’s best friend. Before you click the “buy now” button on a pattern, pin the image to Pinterest and see what other suggested pins are generated. Most of the time, you’ll probably see a pin for a similar project with a free tutorial linked.

Below is a curated list of sources for free, beginner quilting and sewing projects:

Fat Quarter Shop

Missouri Star Quilt Company

All People Quilt (American Patchwork & Quilting)

Sew4Home (Janome)

We All Sew (Bernina)

Your favorite fabric manufacturer

Your sewing machine manufacturer’s website

Your local quilt guild’s community service page (usually contains links to easy, free patterns)

and last, but certainly not least –

Your local public library (use Libby app for access to lots of quilting and sewing magazines!).

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the above links nor do I receive any renumeration.