Shop Hops
 

Just throwing this out there --- how many of us participate in shop hops? And if we do, how far afield do we travel in one day and how much time per shop? I just got done with a one day adventure of visiting all but 4 shops of the SW Washington Shop Hop with a group from our local shop. By the end of the day we were well worn! LOL Lots of fun, but perhaps trying to do it all in one day is getting a bit much for this body. I have business cards with notes on them --return here, has ______________, email this one. I have vacation time coming up and have a small shop hop of my own lined up. LOL So, anyone have a comment? What do you do on your shop hops?

We had 8 shops on our shop hop last Saturday. We left at 9 am and got home at 8 pm. We had a wonderful time. At one time there were 12 shops on our shop hop and we broke those up into 2 days. The only problem is that some shops are quite a distance away and we aren't able to spend as much time in those shops as we would like.

I have gone to a couple shop hops and i just don't get it...I know the purpose is to get us into the shops and buy stuff, but why do in such a flurry....from the ones I have done...there isn't anything great for me at these shops that I can't buy any day of the week..and the give-aways aren't worth the effort to pick them up usually. Both I did gave out some kind of paper instructions on a how to do. So, beside having a nice time with friends...what does this do for you?

I do ours here and have for a few yrs. I love collecting the pattern pieces and then whatever the give away is. Last yr it was these cute little silver sewing trinkets and of course the pattern pieces. This yr it was a 1/2 yr of fabric plus you get entered into a drawing. I won last yr, some fabric, thread and a couple of other things. We only have 4 shops that do it and the farthest I have to go is about 1 hr or a little longer depending on traffic. The shop that is the farthest has great fabrics and if not for the shop hop I'd never had known it exisited.The other shops are closer to me within 20 to 30 min drive at most. They are smaller shops that I normally go into alot so I don't spend too much time there unless they have a special sale going on.

I did a two day one several years ago... joined my Mom and two of her quilting friends. We went to 8 shops over both days. I enjoyed it a lot as I'd only been to one of the shops before. Each shop had their own personality and a different focus of fabrics - one was huge and had everything. They don't seem to be as popular anymore in my area or maybe it's just the economy in general. Two of the quilt stores within an hour of me have closed in the last year.

Ive been on a few over the years and lately the 'bait' to get you in is pretty chintzy now a days...
25% off ONE yard cut. What if you want 2 yards???
no more freebie block to passport holders.. they are now $5-8 if you want them...
Not to mention the cost of gas these days- most of our shops are more than 40miles apart from each other... Some are even the next state over !!!!!

Ive passed on going anymore.... wasn't worth my time or gas..

Sure hope yours is better....

I don't Hop! I just don't get the appeal.. I shop when to mood strikes ... and for as long as it takes me to get it out of my system. Not much for scheduled shopping.

I have never done this and don't think I would like it, I agree with you Lori S.

I went to a few shop hops but realized it cost me too much $$. I had to drive 4 hours 2 days in a row and I ended up spending money in almost every shop. I found some shops I didn't know about and am thankful for that. They are now some of my favorite shops, but the $$ I spent on those two days about broke me. So, I don't go to them anymore. The prizes I won were books that I would never purchase. The prizes were things that the stores couldn't sell, so they were giving them away. Didn't like that. And at each store you would get a little bit of fabric...very little, not worth the trip at all. If I would have won first place, then it would have been worth the 2 days of travel and $$.

Three of my friends and I went on a shop hop here one year. We did the south shops one day and the north shops the second day. I think the whole trip was something like 500 miles. We had a total blast. I liked the fabric collection that year so I bought the blocks and my favorite finishing kit. Since then several of the shop owners have retired or sold out their store and there's one store that I won't spend another cent in so I don't go anymore. If I had the money to spend I'd go on the shop hop in the central part of the state though. They always have a really neat fabric printed specifically for the shop hop. But I'd have to spring for a motel room for that shop hop for at least one night since it's three hours from here to get to the first shop.

I have done a few organized shop hops and really enjoyed them. Was a chance to get out and see all the new things and look at all the sample quilts. Came back with lots of merchandise and new ideas I haven't been able to go for the last few years due to health reasons. My sil and I do our own little hop everytime she comes to visit me 2 or 3 times a year we just google all the quilt shops and make our own plans which is good as we can shop at our own speed. go back to a shop if we decide we need to and if I am having a not so good day I stay at Motel while she shops or sit in car while she shops she will take a picture on her phone if she sees something she thinks I might lik W usually hit a total of 10 to 12 shops in 4 or 5 days. One year before health problems we did a combination bead shop hop and quilt shop hop now that was expensive feeding 2 hobbies at once

I just finished a shop hop which was called "forks and needles". We (26 of us) took a limo bus to three shops. The first shop (our starting point)gave us coffee and munchies for the trip. The second shop gave us lunch and the last shop gave us dinner. It was great fun, great shopping and food was great. There were two other buses at each of the other two shops and everyone rotated. To say the least the shops were busy feeding us and attending to our every need. Hope the shops made lots of money.

I went on one last year and did it in two days. I combined the trip with casinos and a crab festival. I started in Kingston, WA to, Port Gamble, Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles. The second day was Poulsbo, silverdale and Winslow, Bainbridge island. I was given a fat quarter and pattern at each place. This year the crab festival wasn't the same weekend so I didn't do the hop, but did visit the shop in port gamble.

I've done a nice shop hop for 5 years in a row and now look forward to seeing those same shops each year. The farthest one is about 160 miles north from home and some are about 60 miles west of that. A friend and I spend 2 days doing it. I like supporting the businesses and seeing the flavor of each shop. The major change in the past two years is that there is no longer guaranteed food and the shops ask if participants would like to donate food to help local food pantries. I don't necessarily spend money and have become more careful over the years, realizing that most stuff is not necessary to my existence! On another note, when I travel, my quilt shops in the US book lives in the outside zip pocket of my suitcase. It's been there so many times that there is a permanent outline of it on my suitcase. It's been lovely to visit shops in AZ, NM, CO, CA as well as in the southern states. Quilters are some of the loveliest folks, in general. There is always someone spoiling to tarnish the image...but who knows what struggles that person is having?

The LQS in my area do a big shop hop every spring. About 6 years ago I did it over the course of two evenings and one day-- throwing in a couple of extra shops. I'm very glad that I did it, but have not done it again - usually because I end up working shop hop weekend. Generally, I make up my own hops. Going back a few years, a couple of friends and I hit 13 stores in Iowa over 3 days. We split the cost of the hotel, so it was do-able. Of course this was back before the economy tanked. In some ways, I think we had a better time on that hop than the local one.

Now days, I make up my own hops. If I'm going somewhere - a friend and I made a turn around trip to Oklahoma a few years ago. The trip could have been accomplished in one day, but we shopped our way down and then back home. I try to vary my route to the annual quilt retreat to hit new to me quilt shops or go back to the ones I want to visit again. This might be why it takes 7 hours to make the 3 hour drive.

I tried doing one once but because I am new here, don't have any friends to travel with. With gas skyrocketing, and being conscious of travel costs, I cut it short.
My goal will be to find quilting friends here now that we have finally relocated to a home, and go from there.

I went on a 2-day hop where one of the participating shops offered a bus tour. I thought it was a great way to visit some shops in the northern part of Indiana that I might not otherwise get to. At dinner they had an organized bingo game with fun prizes. I enjoyed it simply from the comraderie.

Mark your calendar for the June 2013 "Road to Oklahoma Shop Hop", June 2013. Visit the website for more details and a list of shops. www.roadtooklahomashophop.com.

What is your description of "quite a distance". (it varies for folks)

A limo bus, huh?? That does sound like fun

I went to this one shop hop only becasue a bus was chartered byt the organizers...in the past, it was by car only, which is not fun if you go by yourself. There were 8 shops that day and I got to meet a neat group of ladies. There were a lot of laughs on the bus between the stops. We also stopped at a nice buffet for lunch. Yes, I did spend a lot of money on great fabrics, bargains, etc. I found this book on piecing backings...one of my very best buys! It was fun, but I would not want to repeat it every year.

I've never participated in a shop hop myself because I work at a LQS and have to work whenever we have one! But, I know the gals always have a blast!

I haven't gone to any since it's just geared to getting me to spend money. I prefer to spend my money when I want or need something on my own.