I've never done a shop hop. There aren't any that are very local to me and it's not something appealing enough to make me travel somewhere else. I'm also not fond of crowds, and aren't the shop hops usually a very short time frame? I'm the type who will happily pay MORE, just to avoid dealing with a crowded shop.
I stumbled upon the RXR by accident - I happened to be on a road trip 2 years ago during the RXR period and it was super convenient to use the RXR site to find new quilt shops along my route. It must have been during the very start because a lot of shops I went to had a festive sort of air about them and were running sales and some even had food out, but it still wasn't too terribly crowded. It was fun and easy and it got me hooked on collecting the plates.
The plates are often over-ordered, so I've been able to pick them up in shops months and months after the event is over. Since fabric is my favorite souvenir when I travel I'm always thrilled when I can pick up a plate from a new location - I don't care if it's last year's plate! I was in Maui back in April and managed to find 3 new plates while I was there, all leftovers from last year.
So that's what I like about the RXR. I haven't ever even tried any of the patterns so no comments there - I'm in it for the plates! I'm saving them up and when I have enough I'm going to make myself a travel tote for my sewing supplies.
