Sisters' Shop Hop

WARNING: LOTS OF WORDS AND LOTS OF PICS

So, tell me, what are sisters to do when one moves 500 miles away? They create their own shop hop! In April, Carla drove down to see me and we did the Bluebonnet Patchwork Trail Shop Hop. And we had a blast--12 shops. What more could you ask for?

So, we decided that we would keep the tradition of going to the October Affair of the Heart craft show in Oklahoma City alive. I flew back home 10/21 and we headed out early Thursday morning for Arkansas. Now that only makes sense if you know me, but follow along and everyone will understand. I promise.

Our first stop on the Sisters' Shop Hop was the Cordell, OK Alko. The fabric hasn't been very good, but the baskets were great--and on sale! I was able to get the four I needed to hold all of the DVDs on the new entertainment center. YEA!
The second stop was K's Quilting Studio in El Reno, OK. This quilt could become my tablecloth in my crafting room. I need to make one to cover the green card table that works perfectly as a quilting table but doesn't match the decor. I was able to get most of my fat qtrs on this trip too!

The next stop was a real cute scrapbook store in OKC called Just 4 Keeps. Lots of great ideas and lots of vacation supplies. I loaded up.

Then we hit our favorite quilt shop: the Oklahoma City Quiltworks. Yummy! But you know, I just can't get away from home, even in OK:
This pattern is a fav. I bought it here in San Antonio along with 9 prints (can you say crazy 9-patch) from the fabric line. I just love this line b/c it's brown, blue, and green and matches my living room perfectly!

And now, the explaniation of the whole Arkansas thing: Country Corner Quiltworks in Harrison, AR. This is where Carla and I send our quilts to be quilted. These very talented ladies take my scraps of sewn together fabric and make them into beautiful quilts. It was so nice to meet some of these ladies and to see the machines that do the magic!

This is one of the machines. I literally hugged it. It is my friend. You can see how the quilt top, batting, and backing are rolled up tight and stretched; not pins necessary. I will post a very short video next so you can see it in action. It is so cool!

We hit the season just right--all of the trees in AR were so beautiful and all of the fields were still green. Very beautiful! I'm glad Carla was driving so I could just look. We also drove trough Eureka Springs, AR. It was a very cute little town. Key word: little.
The best scrapbooking store EVER is in Rogers, AR: Signed, Sealed, Delivered. They had so much cute stuff and so many Christmas trees. This one is my favorite except for that money. I don't like sock moneys! But I love the bright colors...even the orange! They had a Santa tree that was all red, white, and black. No green at all.

The Rabbit's Lair was the final quilt shop. It was in an old bank that still had it's vault in the basement. It was very quaint. Carla really liked it.

Our last stop was the Scrapbook Bug in Pryor, OK. Very cute shop in a very cute building. She kept her ribbon in mason jars with fabric on the lids; just pull!

As for the craft show: no parking, too many people. We are going to switch it up next year and try for the February AofH and SA shop hopping in October.

Have a great weekend!

C :)