BY THE YARD: PLANNING THE PERFECT FABRIC ROAD TRIP
Posted by Jen Lopez on Aug 21st 2019
Everyone loves a good road trip. Add fabric acquisition to the agenda and now you’ve really got my attention! You can make sure your personal quilt shop hop is a success by following a few simple rules of the road:
- Plan First – You can easily plan out your route and all the shops you’d like to hit with any of the quilt shop guides that are available either in print or online. With the help of these guides, you could simply throw a dart at a map of the United States and find a slew of quilt shops near or on the way to that location.
- Budget – Decide how much money you have allocated to spend in total (after gas and snacks, of course!) and how much that divides into per shop that you plan to visit. As easy as it may be to do, you don’t want to spend all your money on the first stop!
- Shop Local – There are many fabric lines that are available nationwide at just about every quilt shop. Skip those - you can buy that stuff at home. Try to find fabric designs that are particular to whatever region you are visiting. For example, visiting the Great Lakes? How about fabrics featuring pine trees and bears? Heading up to Maine? You’re sure to find your pick of blueberries and lighthouses. While you are shopping local, you can always find new and interesting patterns by local designers and they will appreciate your business!
- Your Travel Companion – If you are traveling with folks from your guild, you can skip this step. But if you are road tripping with your long-suffering spouse or partner, be sure to think of them, too. Incorporate some stops on your trip to places they would love to see. In my case, I always make sure Train Guy gets to see a Railroad Museum or take a ride on one of those old timey steam trains. It’s fun and scenic, and those adjuncts have even inspired a quilt or two!
With the beautiful fall weather right around the corner, start planning your fabric road trip today!
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Please join us here every other Wednesday for another fun, fiber-filled installment of By the Yard. You can read more from By the Yard and find more comics, including the By the Yard 2020 Wall Calendar for Quilters at: www.bytheyardcomics.com.
