There’s nothing I love more than to go on a shop hop with my quilting friends! We talk, we laugh, we shop, we eat, and then we do it all over again! And that’s just what happened on our latest hop PLUS, we had the pleasure of meeting one of our favorite quilt designers, McKenna Ryan!
So anyway, let me back up a bit and start with our first stop, which is one we’ve been to before, but it was along the way AND it’s a good one! The shop is called Norton House and is located in Wilmington, Vermont. The drive from our part of New York into Vermont is very beautiful, the scenery can’t be beat with quaint villages, winding & scenic country roads, and beautiful mountain vistas. AND of course that brought us to our first stop and Quilt Shop, Norton House.
So, we shopped and bought fabric and notions (Love notions) AND, if we bought enough fabric, we could stop next door at their sister shop, a wonderful Vermont country store and get a piece of free fudge! What could be better! We also lucked out and heard all about some very valuable information from the store proprietress about where to dine once we reach our destination . . . . . Center Harbor and that would be at the restaurant named Canoe! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back to the road trip . . . . . next scheduled stop was Keene, New Hampshire . . . . well it was SUPPOSED to be the next stop but we were talking and laughing and just kind of sailed on past Keene. No worries, we’ll get back there one of these days. SO, the actual next stop was in Henniker, NH and let me tell you, this is one GORGEOUS shop! Store is called Quilted Threads, located at 116 Main St, Henniker. Web address is www.quiltedthreads.com
Wow, it’s really a must see shop! Take a look . . . .
As you can see, it’s huge and I didn’t even take pictures of all the rooms, and yes, there were definitely MORE rooms. There must have been three or more classrooms, too! I imagine that local (and not so local) quilters love to take classes at this shop! So we spent an hour or more “hooooing and haaawing” in their store and with all that shopping we decided that “it’s time to eat”. The shop people told us about a great little riverside restaurant right down the street, called Daniels. . . . it lived up to it’s praise . . . . (I had the veggie quiche – which was scrumptious!)
Next stop . . . Andover, NH – shop is named, 
The constant Quilter, located at 139 Pancake Rd.
web address is www.constantquilter.com
A great little shop in a quaint country home. They
also sell antiques upstairs, which we did not spend
any time in, but we certainly checked out their
great supply of fabrics!
So, we kept angling slightly northeast towards our final destination, stopping at a local DQ (Dairy Queen) for refueling, then on into the village of Tilton where we located The Quilting Corner. Address is 322 West Main St, Suite 110. Web address is www.quiltingcornernh.com
Bright and Cheery describes this wonderful shop . . . .
Next Stop, our lodging for the night . . . . . The Grandview Motel, Weirs Beach, NH. We were in their motel unit and were very, very pleased with our stay. If you call them, you’ll most likely speak with “Tom”, a very knowledgeable host! He told us about another quilt shop that I did NOT have on my list to visit, it was “just down the road”. We decided to save that one for the next morning. Here are some great shots of the motel . . .(and Lake Winnipesaukee)
I would have liked to hang with Tom and learn more about the region, but our final destination for the day was calling us . . . . Keepsake Quilting!!!!!
We found it, and for some of us, it was our first time there. Boy, did we have a ball going from room to room. By the way, if you visit, you should have a project in mind, otherwise, you’ll walk around in a daze. It can be a bit over whelming! Chuckle, chuckle!
So we shopped, then shopped some more, and decided we’d check out the Canoe restaurant. (remember I was telling you about it at the first stop)
We weren’t Starving (afterall, we did have a wonderful lunch & an ice cream stop), and good thing we weren’t, since our wait time was about one hour.
So we decided to hang out on their lower deck with a drink and a view of the lake while we waited.
At left is a partial photo of Kathy, at me to the right.
NEXT DAY . . . . . . . as mentioned, we went to The Quilted Frog, located on the ‘main drag’ in Weirs Beach at 51 Endicott St.East. Sweet little shop!!!
Afterwards we headed to Meredith, NH. Absolutely, beautiful lake region village, flowers everywhere, stately, well-maintained inns and shops, and the pristine Lake Winnipesaukee . . . .
The last picture is of McKenna Ryan during her lecture. Even if you never plan on making one of her designs, you should really attend one of her lectures if they come your way! Her quilts are stunning, and represent all of the things she loves. She’s a great inspiration to me!
So there we have it! another wonderful, successful road trip! The girls can’t wait to head out again, maybe we’ll go west next time . . . . .