Bliss for quilters – Shop Hop 2009

The 10th Annual Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop started yesterday and runs for four days ending on Sunday, March 29 at 5 pm.  This is a wonderful event for avid quilters, sewers and crafTea people.  How could it not be fun to visit nine great shops, have your passport stamped at each one, enter to win terrific prizes, shop, visit and be inspired.  Each store had a theme, such as Saturday Morning Cartoons (Jonesboro, GA), Christmas Morning (Newnan, GA), It’s a Birthday Party (McDonough, GA) and lots more.

This morning I visited one of my favorite shops and had fun at their birthday party.  All the staff were decked out in their pretty pink aprons and birthday tiaras.  I talked to Kathleen, who was giving a demo on a great system for quickly sewing placemats and napkins.  She was also handing out and stamping passports and presenting a gift to each attendee. 

 

     

After having a look around the shop, I headed to the classroom area to check out the mini quilt show.

 

   

      

 

There was just so much to see.  I met two lovely ladies who are members of the Busy Needles Quilt Guild of Henry County.  They meet at A Scarlet Thread the first Thursday of each month at 1pm.  I can’t wait to attend the meeting in April.  They were selling raffle tickets on a wonderful quilt and I can’t believe I didn’t take a photo of it.

         

I think they did a wonderful job at the shop with their “Magic of Childhood” theme of birthday party.  The fabrics rolled into little candle shapes was so cute and the quilt behind the check out register was so bright and cheery.  You may have guessed that it is near impossible to leave the shop without buying some goodies.  I had one of the pretty party princesses cut me some fusible interfacing and some Timtex. 

            

     

 

      

I’m looking forward to making the pretty fabric flowers (maybe I’ll decorate a hat, belt or tote bag) and a set of tea party placemats and napkins.  This is the first year that the Shop Hop has a charm bracelet, with a charm for each shop.  Also, some lucky person that visits all nine shops and has their passport stamped at each one, will win a $100 gift certificate to each shop - $900 value.  Well, it won’t be me, but I couldn’t be happier to have visited this one shop.