The fascinating phenomena known as Shop Hop
By Ken DeLaat Lifetime Spousal Companion Lil has developed a number of interests since her retirement a few years back. Yoga groups. hiking groups, book clubs and such began to fill the time gained once one is freed from the work world. Then a while back, a long dormant interest reappeared with the purchase of a new machine designed for quilting. And so it began. Visits to shops, online seminars, conversations with other quilters, articles on the craft and suddenly (it seemed) an entire room dedicated to the craft. Lily doesn’t do many things halfway. Combined with legendary patience born out of putting up with a half century of cohabitating with yours truly, once she develops an interest in something her thirst for knowledge about it has no depths. A burgeoning interest in sourdough has stuffed the freezer with enticing breads and rolls and such and the wonderful blueberry pancakes made from it have become regular and most welcome breakfast fare. Then a few months back, Lil mentioned the Shop Hop, a 2 month quilters extravaganza throughout the state that promoted visiting as many quilt shops as possible and collecting stamps that could lead to prizes. My LSC can be a tad competitive when it comes to chasing prizes. It was maybe March when she brought it up and (after a couple of beers) I casually mentioned being willing to play chauffeur during her travels. It was one of those things you might have tossed out in the waning days of winter since at the time it seemed like it would be close to forever before summer arrived. Then summer did indeed arrive. The Shop Hop was to begin June 1st and run through the month of July. My commitment to the cause of filling the Shop Hop book with stamps from as many of the participating shops as humanly possible was about to begin. But I had no idea where (and how far) this would lead. We began in the hometown quiltery The New Ewe where stamp number one was placed in the coveted Shop Hop magazine. We then cruised to Muskegon and Montague then motored to Pentwater. That was Saturday the first day of the SH. Apparently more of a test run since Monday saw us hit shops from Spring Lake (including a short stop at the Village Bakery for scones) to Holland along with South Haven, Niles and a number of places on the return like Dowagiac, Portage and I think Kentwood. On Thursday we began at Plainwell (breakfast at the Barbed Wire Cafe is highly recommended) and motored as far south as Hilisdale before heading north to hit Marshall (lunch at Win Shuler’s of course), Lake Odessa and Caledonia on the way back. The following week a trip to a conference I was attending in Traverse City allowed for the addition of Evart (2 shops) Lake City and Williamsburg. While I was in meetings the next day Lil visited shops in TC, Bellaire and Charlevoix. Then this past week we spent a day picking up Kalamazoo, Grandville, Wyoming, Standale , Comstock Park and hit the two on Plainfield ave in GR. Thus far we have visited 40-some shops and driven about 1500 miles. And we still have a 2 day trip to the northeast section taking us as far north as Alpena then heading south and coming to an end about 15 shops later in Chesaning. Along the way I have seen some outrageously gorgeous quilts, been treated to cookies, coffee and other goodies by the sympathetic (“You must be the driver”) Shop Hop proprietors and driven through areas that despite spending most of my 7+ decades in this state have been previously unvisited. I’ve learned that the price of fat quarters varies from place to place, gained perhaps a smattering knowledge of the quilting language, experienced sticker shock when perusing the price of some of the machines and realized that there are men out there who know their way around a long-arm. I’ve encountered dozens and dozens of shop hoppers who have been at every stop. They come in groups, pairs, threesomes and they come alone. Some even arrive by bus (chartered for the Shop Hop) and take over the small shops putting a welcome dent in their inventory. They buy patterns, materials, various tools of the trade, and talk about quilts and quilting. They have an eye for what’s good and what is superb and share stories about their craft. And not one has seemed anything but happy about the adventure. We have now filled the stamp spaces in 2 of the states 5 sections and will complete 3 with the northeast travels. The two we will likely not visit are the southeast section of the state and the U.P. And though on several occasions Ms. Lily has brought up how the U.P. would be such a long trip and so far away, given the right setting and another casual conversation that led (after a couple of beers perhaps) to my suggesting we take it on... We would be bridge-bound at the next available time slot. “Two quilters who have just met will be strangers only until their mutual passion for quilting is revealed. Then they can talk for hours like the best of friends.”- Jennifer Chiaverini
2 Comments
Sue Schneider
6/17/2024 04:44:19 pm
Shop hops are a fun, magnificent way to see new fabrics and patterns. Also meeting the friendliest people is another bonus of shop hops. Glad you are enjoying the adventure!
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Randy Butters
6/20/2024 11:04:17 am
Ken, you really need to try out “Yarn Quest”: days and days of travel, hours and hours of driving for the perfect skeins.
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