Shop Hop: 2019 Row by Row

flowers at the rest stop

So for this year's Row By Row I'm a bit behind in gathering patterns. Up until today, I've only gotten one from my local shop. Mom and I had a road trip to try to fix that. I went to the Northern Atlanta area to stop at four shops. Most of the shops were new to me and I am always excited to visit a new shop.

Atlanta is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from my home. We set off at 7am to try to get to the shops early. We had a few setbacks due to rain, but thanks to my GPS rerouting me I did get around some serious accidents with no problem. We chose to hit the shop the farthest away and work our way back home.

Antique Quilt at the Cotton Farm

The first shop was InTown Quilters in Decatur, GA. I have been to this shop before. It's a cute shop that had some unique fabrics. They had some precuts of the Ruby Star Society Pop collection. There is one fabric in this bunch I really wanted but I had a budget today and getting the fat quarter bundle was not in it. I will have to keep an eye out for this one though. I did get the kit on their row by row pattern. Their row is called Mmmmm... Donuts. It's 4 donuts using the drunkard's path block. I love the colors to this one.

Antique toy on display

The second shop was The Cotton Farm in Roswell, GA. Their row is the square format called The Big Chicken. I will admit it's not my favorite out of all of them I've gathered so far but I love the shop. It has to be my favorite out of all the ones I visited. It's got such cute kitsch to it. I enjoyed poking around. It's in a converted house in a nice neighborhood. I passed it up first because I didn't see the sign in the yard. They used so many beautiful fun antiques as decoration and display places for the product. They even had an antique toy washing machine. I got several fat quarters from them but there was so much fabric I wanted.

Shopfront for Tiny Stitches

The third shop was Tiny Stitches in Marietta, GA. This was the largest of the shops we visited today. It was a two-story building with the downstairs being classroom space and the upstairs being shop space. They had lots of fun nooks and cranny's to look into. Their pattern is called "Taste the Experience." It is 4 mason jar glasses on a picknick table. I love this pattern but again budget-wise I couldn't get the kit. I did get several fat quarters from Anodover's Full Moon collection. Andover also has a free pattern for this collection to download if you go to the link.

Halloween Quilt from Cottontail Quilts

The last Georgia shop we went to is Cottontail Quilts in Kennesaw, GA. This is another shop in a historic district that is in a converted home. The neighborhood was a fantastic area I would love to explore if I had more time. It's near the Southern Civil War Railroad Museum. I have been to this museum before. It's a fascinating place to spend a few hours. I never realized the shop was nearby. They were having their Christmas in July event going on. They had a sale on all Christmas items as well as a couple of drawings going on. Their row by row is a sun next to a watermelon that looks like it on a picnic table being attacked by ants. I purchased the kit with this one since it had the cutouts included, Intricate cut-outs can be difficult without the right tools and this was one of the cases where it's better to go the easy route with the kits. I did pass on some cute Halloween panels they had because of budget reasons but I hope to get them later.

the bathroom of Tiny Stitches

During this shop hop, I ended up going to each shop's bathroom and as funny as it sounds all of them had cute bathrooms. The two older buildings had fun characteristics that reflected something about the shop. One being the kitsch theme or the other with the classic country look. Tiny Stitches had an elaborate Paris themed mural and decor gracing theirs. All of them had quilts to display.

Chattanooga Quilts window display

The last shop I visited was on the way home. I rushed to get to this shop because I didn't know if I could get there before it closed. I went to Chattanooga Quilts in Ooltewah, TN. I love this shop. It's in a historic building that the owner always has fun decor and antiques. We did make it to the shop 10 minutes before closing. Their pattern is a cute ice cream cone with several scoops. I did get the kit with this one also and a piece of ice cream cone fabric for the backing. When I saw their pattern online I knew I had to have it.

Final Loot for the day

This makes my 6th pattern total because I had gotten the Pizza block from Fiberology Lab several weeks ago.  I plan on starting on what I have now. I hope I get time soon to go visit two more shops before the deadline. I know my local shop hasn't had a winner yet so time will only tell.

Tea today was this Zevia Organic Tea I picked up to try. I did not like it at all. I am not partial to stevia. It tastes too chemically for me and I wanted to give ita chance. The artificial chemical taste to this made it unpleasant. I will stick with my sweet n low thank you.