CathieB

Yesterday four of my girlfriends and I went on our own private Shop Hop - what a wonderful time we had spending the day together. We traveled about 300 miles, visited 5 quilt shops that we hadn't been to before, and each one was better than the last. Our favorite was Wilsons in Hagerstown, MD - wow!!!

Over a 12-hour day together we laughed, we cried, we ate and ate, bought lots of goodies, had show and tell every time we left a shop. When we arrived home at almost midnight we were exhausted and exhiliated! The oldest in our group is 78 and she was recovering from foot surgery - what a trooper she is! Another lost her husband recently and this day was so therapeutic for her - she said she hadn't laughed so much in such a long time. Another spends most of her time caring for her grandchilden and the day was like having a vacation for her. The benefits of quilting are so much more than just our finished quilts -- it builds friendships and memories as well! And now we have our next bee to look forward to where we will talk and talk about what fun we had, what we are going to do with what we bought, and when we are going to go on our next roadtrip together!!!

spokanequilter

That sounds like so much fun!!! My sister and I recently did the same thing (although not quite so far or so many shops) and we had a great day. Laughing, crying, talking, eating, and singing at the top of our lungs along with the CD - all of it! We have another sister who lives across the country from us (we are in the Northwest and she is in Maryland), who also is an avid quilter. Whenver we are together, quilt shops are always on the itinerary. Or we have virtual shop hops - emailing links to different sites - or Skyping to show our latest creations.

The three of us, along with our sister-in-law, recently did a row robin project. We mailed fabric across the country and our sister mailed her rows along to the next person. A great way for us to connect - as sisters, as quilters, as friends.

So, here's to the Sisterhood of Quilters!!!

Kitsie

Sounds wonderful!! Many, many memories. And so well described!

Mariposa

Sounds like a fun trip! Great idea too!

sharon b

My mom, Sister, Sister-in-Law and her Sister just did something similar , but it was on an organized shop hop and we spent 2 days doing it and we added shops of out own along the way by the end of the second day we really were too tired and broke to shop anymore - but we had a blast. The memories will be with us forever

Xtgirl

That sounds fun...I'd love to hear about the others as I live in NOVA too