YAY ~ I finished 4 regions of this year's #QuiltMinnesotaShopHop and turned in my passport. Some people visit every shop in all 9 regions, a total of 52, if I counted correctly. Not familiar with the Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop event? Every year a fabric line from #clothworks is designed with a Minnesota theme. This year's theme was #MinnesotaWinter - snow, scenery, animals... all fun fabrics. Mostly quilting cotton, but also flannel.

I picked up a FQ (fat quarter, 18" x 22") of three colors of the diagonal plaid, and a few things I just couldn't live without. 😍

Each shop gives a 5" square of fabric, and also a pattern for an 8" quilt block. I picked up a #fatquarter of black and white fabric at each shop, so I turned this #QuiltShopHop into a scavenger hunt. Did you know... not every shop sells fat quarters? It's true!

The Northwest Region

The Northwest Region of the Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop covered many miles. We woke up early and left the house at 5:15 a.m. in order to arrive in International Falls by the 9 a.m. opening time. Or, a little after that. Close enough…

I drove into town afterwards so we could “look at Canada” from across the river. That might be as close as we get to leaving the US for a while.

In order to cover the 5 shops in one day, I mapped the region and figured out how much extra time we had for picnic lunches, sight-seeing, and general #lollygagging. It wasn’t much. We finished the region in East Grand Forks with a little time to spare. And then stayed overnight in Grand Forks, ND in a hotel with a pool. The pool was clearly the highlight of the trip!

The prize for completing the Northwest Region was a 3 yard bundle of #Clothworks coordinating deer scenery fabric in rust and browns.

The Northwest Region includes:
International Falls, Up North Quilt Shop @upnorthquiltshop
Blackduck, Anderson Fabrics Quilt Shop
Bemidji, Sadie Rae’s Quilt Shop @sadie_raes_quilt_shop
Oklee, Oklee Quilting Supply @okleequiltinginc
East Grand Forks, Quilter’s Jem @quiltersjem

The Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop is more active over on Facebook, so if you want more pictures from participating shops, head on over there and check out @quiltminn

The Northwest Region of the Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop was giving away a Bernette Sew & Go (an entry level sewing machine, perfect for learning) to a kid between the ages of 8 and 17. My three kids fall into that range, so along they came. They got a fabric square at each shop, and helped me browse for other fabrics and goodies. They each picked up a few things to work on once we got home. Scrap bags, anyone?

We stopped at each town’s monument/statue to take a picture. Do you know all of these characters? Or where we found them? What’s your favorite #RoadsideAttraction?

The adult finishing reward was a 3 yard bundle of Clothworks fabric printed in a fall deer scene in rust and browns - perfect colors for the upcoming season.

The Metro Region

The Quilt Minnesota Metro Region didn’t actually get us into the city areas. We surrounded the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and visited the outskirts. I woke my daughter up early, picked up my sister just before noon, and we headed out.

Lunch on the road, donuts for a snack, and general silliness got us through the whole day. I picked up a few extra fabric pieces along with the Minnesota fabric squares and black/white FQs (fat quarters, 18” x 22”). The black on black fabric is really neat in person, but hard to pick out the fabulous fancy hats in the picture. Can you see them?

Remember when I said not all quilt shops carry FQs? It’s true. I ended up buying a black and white llama panel (with a few extra colors thrown in for good measure). It’s cutesy cute. It seems like a poor choice for use as a baby quilt, but maybe that’s what I’ll do with it… Time will tell!

The regional prize for finishing the Metro was a cute Moda project tin. I would have preferred the navy version, but we wound up with bubblegum pink tins. Cute? My daughter was thrilled :)

We did our best to go shopping downtown after finishing at Millie P’s Quilt Shop in Anoka, but most of downtown was already closed. Bummer, although we did spend some time in a cute little clothing boutique.

City quilt shops are different from northern Minnesota quilt shops. Not good/bad, just different. It was interesting to see what was offered, how it was displayed, and the types of customers each shop was catering to. I really enjoyed stopping in to take a peek around.

The Metro Region includes:
Eagen, Quilt Cove
Rosemount, Quilter’s Haven @quiltershavenmn
New Brighton, Twin Cities Quilting @twincitiesquilting
White Bear Lake, Affinity for Quilts @affinityforquilts
Forest Lake, Country Loft Quilt & Design @countryloftquiltmn
Anoka, Millie P’s Quilt Shop @milliepsquiltshop

The East Central Region

During the second day traveling the Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop with the girls, we took the vehicle with air conditioning. That was nice. Plus, that meant I didn’t have to drive. Much. This region was a good mix of metro and country. A few of the shops focused on up north country fabrics, and some were more focused on big name designers. I enjoyed both types of shops!

The finishing prize for the East Central Region was a pack of Mettler Thread, colored in a perfect match for the Quilt Minnesota fabric collection for this year. These shops also had a purchase gift of Schmetz Microtex needles for only $1 with a $10 purchase. You better believe that I found a couple packs of needles along with my black and white FQs (fat quarters 18” x 22”). And a few special fabrics (amazing Free Spirit fabric by Adrienne Leban to make the princess a new skirt) and notions. Add-a-quarter rulers? Yep! I can’t wait until I do my next foundation paper piecing project with these two!

I left my last package of goods with my sister. No pictures of that yet!

The East Central Region includes:
Sandstone, Quarry Quilts & Yarns @quarryquilts
Wahkon, Country Caboose Quilts @countrycaboosequilts
Elk River, The Noble Quilter @thenoblequilter
Rogers, Quilted Treasures @qtquiltshopmn
St. Cloud, Gruber’s Quilt Shop @grubersquiltshop
Kimball, Gone to Pieces Quilt Shop

North Central Region

The North Central Region is where I started, and finished this year’s Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop. My preteen also finished this region with me. He wasn’t thrilled to start, but was willing to finish with me. We did this region in three separate days.

I picked up black and white fat quarters (FQ 18” x 24”) at each stop, and also found a few other things. @PatternsByAnnie makes a great pattern for a Quick Zip Case. I bought up a kit and pattern and am really looking forward to having everything ready for me to sit down and sew!

The North Central regional finishing prize is a 9” x 9” wool pressing mat. I pulled that out of the package and gave it a good test already. And, it works! It heats through the fabric from top to bottom consistently. My seams are so much flatter than using the regular ironing board. I may need to figure out a way to use a bigger wool mat in the future.

This is the end of my portion of the tour. I hope you get a chance to do a hop some day - it is really a great experience!

The North Central Region includes:
Fergus Falls, Quilter’s Cottage
Wadena, Hometown Crafts & Fabrics
Baxter, Colorz Quilt Shop @colorzquiltshop
Pequot Lakes, Mother Originals Quilt Shop
Walker, Front Porch Quilt Shop