Row by Row...Tales from the Road

This is the vanity plate that I have had made for my RxR bus trip next month, but it also fits many of you.  I've been 'out and about' several times this month, collecting rows and checking in with shop owners to see the impact RxR has had on them. In some cases, it was checking in with old friends, but in some cases it provided the incentive to get out there and explore new shops. I haven't begun to collect my fabrics to assemble the quilt yet, but I do have a file full of patterns (and new friends!), and stories to tell.I have a friend who is going to a (non-quilting related) convention this month - she has dispatched detailed lists to friends who are coming from near and far to go to their local shops and pick up the pattern for her. I had to admit, that was a twist I hadn't thought of! Others are regaling people with how many shops they can get to in a day...those are the collectors, not the shoppers.One day last week, my husband and I took off in the 'little car' to explore a new route to take; as often happens, we pulled out the atlas and looked at the surrounding quilt shops...that's how I found Waterwheel Quilt Shop in  Londonderry VT.  Shelley is the owner, and we had a wonderful time chatting amidst the explosion of color that is her shop! I had met visited her booth briefly last year, and made a mental note to go exploring - this just gave me  the excuse to go visit.  She generously  showed me around the shop, and I got a chance to meet her staff and see the Gypsy Wife BOM that she has going on. (I forgot to take a picture of that, but it's on her Facebook page).I did take a picture of her RxR display - and I love her                                                            plate! After speaking with her, I can totally see that this plate is very much what the shop is all about.To me, this is the best example of what RxR is supposed to do, which is to get you out and exploring new (to you) shops - some in your own backyard, some not so much!I  have a feeling that this shop could be dangerous to my pocketbook - until this point, I hadn't been really drawn to Kaffe Fassett's fabrics -  they struck me as too bright and bold. Somehow, these two just followed me home...So if you are RxRing this summer, what has been the best unexpected surprise - was it an old friend, a new shop, inspiration to make something new (or finish something old...see Monday's blog post for that)...Honk if you see my little car zipping by!