Community Spotlight: Shop hop for quilts in communities across Ohio

Quilters across Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia revel in this time of year because of the lush countryside and what awaits as they “shop hop,” traveling to different stores for fabrics and supplies to make gorgeous quilts and much more.

But not all are “hopping” the traditional way — via cars, buses and horse and buggy — when stores are close by.

Some are cruising from shop to shop on their motorcycles and even camping in tents at night after a busy day searching for the perfect fabric for their latest project.

And at least one group of stitchers and sewers — the Spring Valley Quilters of Perry Township in Stark County — chose the Mystery Harvest Shop Hop for the third time, adding spending a night and enjoying two meals off the “trail” at the 50-acre Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth in southeast Ohio’s Hocking Hills state and federal forest region.

Location

The annual Mystery Harvest hop this year from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 led quilters and sewers to what some consider “crafters’ paradise” at 12 shops from Belpre and Chillicothe to Pomeroy and Nelsonville in Ohio; to Maysville, Grayson and Morehead in Kentucky; and Parkersburg, Huntington and Hurricane, West Virginia.

“The whole Mystery Harvest trip was very nice,” said Spring Valley Quilters group leader Becky Rippel. “The food was very good and the castle and its surroundings were clever, including the Baker’s and Brewer’s cottages on the castle grounds where the seven spent the night. The castle design was inspired by castles of the 12th and 13th centuries to defend the border between England and Wales. The castle was opened in May 1995.”

Ohio Amish Country Quilters Shop Hop

Now novice, amateur and experienced quilters from all over Ohio and neighboring states are preparing for the 22nd annual six-day Ohio Amish Country Quilt Shop Hop from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5. Between 600 and 800 sewers and quilters are expected to visit each of the nine shops stretching through Summit, Stark, Medina, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties. Quilters can search for fabric treasures, including patterns and finishing kits plus gifts at each shop, and new techniques and tips are offered at some stores.

There is no order for doing this hop. Participants start and finish where they want, so long as they visit each shop and turn in their free stamped passport to be eligible for prizes awarded after the hop is completed.

Esta Yoder, owner of the Carlisle Fabric & Quilts Shop in downtown Sugar Creek, decided this year to try to make the hop more convenient for quilters who may need assistance or enjoy a non-driving cruise, by chartering a 50-passenger tour bus. Tickets are available at $95 each and will include breakfast sandwiches early and a sit-down afternoon meal in the lower level of the Carlisle store. For details, call the Carlisle shop at 330-852-2264.

Each “hopper” will receive a free passport and pattern for each store’s quilt block or they can purchase the store’s block and material for $8 to $10, she said. Once stamped at each shop, the passport is turned in at the last stop to beeligible for prizes, including the grand prize of a Bernina 335 sewing machine valued at $1,899, provided by Dawn Krier, of Chestnut Ridge Sewing just east of Berlin on state Route 39.

Besides the Carlisle and Chestnut Ridge, this year’s hop includes AnnaLouisa’s Quilt Shop in Navarre, Anything Sews Fine Fabrics in Dover, Helping Hand Quilt Shop in Berlin, Little Red Quilt House in Medina, Lone Star Quilt Shop inMount Hope, Miller’s Dry Goods in Charm and The Polka Dot Pincushion in Richfield.

History

Karen Lamp, owner of Plaid Sheep Co. on the east edge of Berlin, said the Ohio Amish Country Quilt Shop Hop was the brainchild of Cheryl Gerber and a friend when Gerber owned Kidron’s Hearthside Quilt Shop, which opened in 1990 and closed 21 years later.

Highlights

• The shop hops already mentioned aren’t the only ones in the region throughout the year. And a new one — The All Ohio Shop Hop — is coming to the Buckeye State next August/September. Details are sketchy and dates haven’t beenconfirmed, said Koleene Herlocker, executive director of Shop Hop Inc., based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The promoter already operates shows in North and South Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota and the Kansas/Nebraska area.Follow the internet and popular quilting magazines as more details become available.

• Just completed was the 11th annual Charming Quilt Shop Tour, a nine-day shop hop at 12 quilt stores across Northern Ohio.

Some shops participate in multiple hops each year, including AnnaLouisa’s Quilt Shop in Navarre, which is in four hops per year. Also in this shop hop are: Sew Deja Vu in Stow, owned by Judy Phillips, who is in charge of the 12-store Charming tour; Bernina Store & Much More in Boardman; Country Quilt Shack in Rome; The Craft Cupboard and Tiny Stitches Quilt Shop, both in Middlefield; Fabric Obsession in Medina; The Polka Dot Pincushion in Richfield; Pomegranate Place in Hartville; The Quilted Thimble in Chesterland; Quilter’s Fancy in Cortland; and The Quilting Block in Rock Creek.

Those who pay $6 for the passport will receive a Charming Quilt Shop Tour Harvest Discount Bag. Take the bag to each tour shop from now through next Aug. 1 and get 10% off purchases. And when all 12 shops have been visited and passports stamped and turned in, the quilter is given a souvenir bracelet charm for completing that year’s shop hop.

Phillips and her Sew Deja Vu staff will mark its 10th anniversary Oct. 29, but the celebration will be delayed until Nov. 19, featuring giveaways, drawings, an open house and cake.

She also noted, as did some other shop owners, that 1% to 2% of their clientele are men, “some of whom have created amazing works.”

Phillips also said the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo already is planned for next April 13 to 15 at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron.

• Ohio’s Hidden Treasures Shop Hop is one of the newest crafter shop hops and is operated by Carol Archer, owner of Ohio Star Quilts in Akron. The shop hop just completed its third year in June and is planning for an encore in the early spring of 2023, but dates haven’t been posted. As many as 11 crafters’ stores have participated, but Archer said she anticipates 10 next year.

For a list of quilt shops all across Ohio, search the internet.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Community Spotlight: Shop hop for quilts in communities across Ohio