Sisterhood of The Traveling Quilt Bus in Florida
 

Hi! A friend and I have decided to register to ride one of the bus trips next August arranged by different stores in Florida. We've previously visited the 7 stores my LQS (in North Central Florida) is planning to visit and would like to find info from a store in Southwest Florida. We'd love to visit new stores out of our area. Are there any quilters from the SW Florida area that can give me info for their area? TIA

I haven't been to it yet so you may want to check it out first. There is supposedly a new store that has opened in Orlando close to the Parks. It was advertised in the catalog at the Mancuso show in Orlando as opening soon. That sounds like such a great shop hop. If I was closer, I would hop onboard.

The only store I found on the map for Orlando, that I don't think I've ever been to, is Quilts & More (another one to add to my list...:rolleyes:). We're looking for the same type of event, but with stores in the Fort Myers or Naples area.

Check out Kay's Quilt Shop in Ft Myers: https://www.kaysquiltshop.com/


They doing a bus trip to 7 shops; I've only been to Kay's, which is nice. The others in the trip are all over the southern part of Florida

Thanks for the info. I knew there was another one but couldn't remember which shop I had seen the info at. We decided just to do our own tour in the fall so we can go to shops we've never visited before. LOL

Not quite as far south as you indicated, but have you been to Rainbow's End in Dunedin? (http://www.rainbowsendquiltshoppe.com/about) Wonderful selection! Parking can be a bit of an issue, but they allow you to park behind their cars (on the back side of the shop) or the owner of the restaurant across the street (Lobster somthing) allows parking during slower times. Don't think about parking in the spaces at the little store across the street, possibly a blinds shop - owner will run out and yell at you.

I don't care for Cotton Patch in the University Park section of Sarasota. It used to be on 41 S (Tamiami Trail), but they moved and it's never been the same.

Will follow thread as we have a condo on AMI and now that I am retired, I finally get to go down at least once a year.

Sew Worth It in Sarasota is one of my favorites. Great staff and large selection of products. Lots of parking and not far off I-75.

I LOVE Rainbow's End. My DB & SIL use to live in Largo and I would always have to stop to shop. And yes, you're right, the parking is a challenge. The first time I went there, I sat for 15 minutes waiting for a spot to open....I didn't know about double parking in the back. My friend (that I'm doing this road trip with) is going to AMI in a month or so, for a weeks visit. I'll have to tell her about Cotton Patch...bus she's probably already mapped out every quilt store she'll be near. LOL

This is another one that I'll have to add to the list and make sure my friend knows about it. Thanks for the info.

After much talking back and forth, we've decided to design our own shop hop for sometime during late fall or early winter. This way, we'll be able to go when convenient and visit the shops we choose. Plus, I'll be starting a new job next week and will have to wait a while before taking a couple days off. :)