Every quilter remembers her first shop hop: the map on the dashboard, the tote bag filling up, the friend in the passenger seat reading out directions to the next quilt shop. Stitchin' In the City imagines the grandest shop hop of all, through towns and cities drawn in bright, storybook detail, each scene lettered with the place where you will be stitchin'. Buckle up. We are making a few stops for snacks along the way.
Stops with a soundtrack
Some cities you hear before you see. The Kansas City Jazz Skyline design wraps a golden saxophone and a glowing jazz sign in curling smoke above the towers, and a second Kansas City scene brings a trumpet, a sax and a splashing fountain together. Stitchin' in Memphis lines up bright painted buildings along the river as a little red riverboat steams past. Stitchin' in Detroit stacks a red skyline over vinyl records and classic cars, and Stitchin' in Bloomington lets music notes float over a clock tower, red brick and leafy trees.
Stops with a snack
No shop hop runs on thread alone. Stitchin' in Birmingham piles a whole spread of Southern cooking right in front of the skyline, Stitchin' in New Haven props up a giant slice of pizza beside its stone towers and church spire, and that second Kansas City scene sneaks in a barbecue grill for good measure. Stitchin' on Mackinac Island trots past pastel storefronts in horse-drawn carriages, which is exactly the kind of place where a quilter buys fudge for the guild and eats half of it in the car.
Stops with a view
Stitchin' in Galena lines its brick storefronts in warm reds and golds beneath rolling hills. The Charleston scene sets a gold-domed capitol and a riverboat along the water, and Stitchin' in Iowa City gathers friends on the lawn below a golden dome. Stitchin' in Boston stacks brownstones and church steeples along the harbor with a baseball tossed in, the Hot Springs design tucks houses among misty green hills and a rushing stream, and Stitchin' in New York fills the whole state shape with waterfalls, mountains and one shiny red apple.
Stops with a little speed
For the friend who drives the hop like it's a race, Stitchin' in Charlotte loops a figure-eight racetrack right through downtown. And Stitchin' in Houston launches a rocket past the skyline while an astronaut floats overhead and a cowboy rides along below.
For the quilter who knows every shop on the map
She keeps a list of quilt shops in her phone, sorted by city. She has opinions about which one has the best batiks and which one gives the best advice at the cutting counter. Let her choose the city she calls home, or the one where she found that fabric she still talks about. The shop hop ends where it always does, in the driveway at dusk, with a trunk full of fat quarters and a plan to do it all again.
Written by Judy. Thanks for reading.
