Have you secured your 2026 All MidAtlantic Shop Hop magazine yet? I cannot believe that July 1 is only a day away. Eight weeks to visit a myriad of fabulous quilt shops that feature the best fabrics, tools and more. 78 shops in total. Each shop having its own flavors, patterns, styles and specials. 

I live in the central region of this shop hop so I plan to start there. But, I plan to visit some shops that have never been on my list before. Of the shops that I am familiar with, I can really recommend them all. Each has something to share with all levels of quilters. If you are near any of my favorite shops, I will try to give you a highlight that spoke to me.

I am a staff member at The Old Country Store in Intercourse, Pa so I can personally speak to their fabulous fabric picks and tools and patterns, oh my! We have a whole wall of MODA fabrics in
addition to so many others such as Kaffe Fassett, Windham, Riley Blake, Tilda, Marcia Derse, batiks, etc. We have some new fabrics called Fableism which are Indian prints. Christmas and fall fabrics are arriving now! We have a variety of tools, notions, patterns and books as well as great local crafts. Do you have a featherweight? We have a fine selection of accessories for your machine.  

I have visited every one of the shops in the central region at one time or another and they all have wonderful employees to help you make selections, should you need some guidance or advice. While you are in this region, if you need a bite to eat, there are some of my favorite eateries to visit. Intercourse has Village Cafe and Latte Luv: a delicious local eatery for breakfast or lunch. Try the blueberry muffins which are a favorite of mine. Amos' Place, which is inside of the Stolzfus Market, is another favorite local eatery. Great comfort food! Try the soft pretzels at Immergut just up the street! Inside Kitchen Kettle there is a kiosk for Lapp Valley Ice Cream! Peanut butter twirl is my fav!

In the Southeast region there is another lovely shop called Church Street Fabrics in Selbyville, Delaware. Nancy has an amazing collection of beach and ocean themed fabrics as well as so many other types of fabrics. They offer kits and precuts in many styles. The staff is very helpful and will serve you with a smile. I helped out there when I was living nearby so I am a bit biased. After you visit the shop, go up the street a bit towards Route 113. There is a little Hispanic market, La Sierra,  with a very authentic restaurant in the back. The food is muy rica! Try the burritos and the carnitas tacos! The hibiscus tea is outstanding. Tell Nancy that I sent you!

I have been in several of the Delaware shops and a few of the more distant PA shops. They are all so different which is what makes this hop so interesting. During the first hop, I met someone from my mom's hometown of Altoona, PA and we had a relation in common! You never know who you will meet! 

Other shops that really stand out are Seamless Sewing in Phoenixville, PA and Primrose in Christiana, PA. If you love modern fabrics and patterns, they have great selections. As I continue to visit other shops, I will update my hop experience. Do you have a favorite shop? I would love to hear from you. Send me a message here so that I can add it to my list this summer. 

What am I up to right now? Well, I am appliqueing some Christmas accessories to my holiday doggy. He kinda looks like Max from The Grinch!

I am also working on my newest village. It's a village that lives beneath a tree out in a field. The village is inhabited by a small group of gnome like creatures. I shrunk the templates to be able to shrink the houses in the village. Detail photos are below. 

This village is little bit bigger than my other villages since I want to accentuate the idea that this little village is almost not visible unless you get close. I am still adding a few details as I shop some different shops looking for fussy cuts. 

The right hand photo is one more village that I am so excited about. I previously made two other dog villages, but I gifted them to several others. I decided to make another dog village, but I think that this will be a gift as well. Our Floppy goes to a doggy daycare that is fabulous. She is incredibly well cared for and has great human pals there as well as canine ones. I will probably wait until the holidays to gift it. Oscar's is a tremendous pet resort if you have a canine friend and are in the Lancaster area. 

Back to shop hopping! I hope that your hopping is the experience that you are looking for this summer. Enjoy being with friends and fellow quilters as you travel safely through the regions. Maybe I will see you at the Old Country Store at the cutting table or at one of the many shops on the list! I hope so. 

Piecefully, 

Trisha

I received a great surprise that I want to share with you. I had entered two of my patriotic villages to a local historical society's (Muncy PA Historical Society) quilt exhibition for America's 250th birthday. I did not realize that it was a judged competition. I have not entered any quilt in any show for several years. I have decided that my quilt success is only that I feel that it is successful in my design. I create for me, not a judge. Of course, that is only my opinion. I will say that I have learned a lot from my earlier submissions. Some judges have given me excellent suggestions to improve my quilting as well. 

Imagine my surprise when my friend informed me that my village was awarded a Best Original Design ribbon. I had no idea that there would be ribbons. I entered my pieces at the last days of registration, and I did not really read all of the site. (And I am a teacher!) I thought that it was an exhibition only. I was floored and very humbled. There were some amazing pieces in the exhibition and that mine was considered worthy of that award is truly humbling to me. 

I am also humbled that you would take the time to read my blog. Thanks for being a part of my quilting adventure. 

Piecefully,
Trisha

The last few months have been crazy since we moved to our new home. But we are here now and I have finally gotten back to my blog. There is a lot to tell. 

The above photo is our grand dog Floppy who has taken up residence with us in Pennsylvania. She is loving the new community since there are so many people to pet her! She is a pup who really loves her petting time. 

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The inspiration for renewing my blog at this juncture came last night at a lecture by Seth Apter at a local quilt shop. He told his story and how someone had been his inspiration to start and then keep going. So, I came home and decided that today was the day! If you do not know Seth's story, go to his website and learn more about him. His fabrics are fabulous and he is not a quilter but a mixed media artist. As a designer for Free Spirit fabrics, he has created fabric designs from his very own art. His lecture described his process in creating his fabric and how Free Spirit brings it to life. His website is sethapter.com . Check it out. I was also fortunate to have won one of the door prizes which is a package of his half yard cuts times 10!

I have been busy working at the Old Country Store and also creating some gifts along the way. Some pillows for my kids and a zoo animals for a friend's new baby. The Winnie the pooh quilt was gifted to my grand daughter. She discovered him recently!

I have been teaching a few classes at the shop. The above photos show some of the lovely items created by my students in village classes as well as others.  It is a real joy for me to teach classes and learn from them as well. 

Some potential classes for the future. A lovely jacket from Karen Eckmeier's book Wearable Waves.  The circle bargellos are based on a book by Cheryl Phillips that is no longer in print. 

Since it is the 250th anniversary of the United States, I created two special villages to celebrate. I decided to make the one in an oval form to be more colonial and I quilted it in the way that I have done other villages. The second village was quilted in a diagonal crosshatch pattern. I wanted to give my students a different option to finish the tulle and quilting step. I liked it.  These are being displayed currently at the Muncy Historical Society Quilt exhibit. 

In an effort to finish some projects, I found some new ones along the way. I saw these mushroom fabrics and had to have them. My daughter in law loved them too so I made some pillows for their house. Then I had to make the JOY quilt. You know what I mean! And then I saw this one block wonder pattern with quarter square triangles instead of hexies. I chose a wonderful Marcia Derse fabric. Then I bordered it with the same fabric but with a black background. I love not knowing how it will look until you are done piecing. A great mystery! 

Lastly, I opened a box that had a surprise in it. Al Goodwyn is an American political cartoonist. He drew an Easter cartoon, and I contacted him to see if I would be able to translate his cartoon to fabric. He quickly agreed but I did not start it right away. On Easter Sunday, one year later,  I found it and started to do this project. It still needs quilting, but I will get to that soon.

Hoping that you are still finding your happy place in quilting and crafting! Talk soon!

Piecefully yours, 
​Trisha