NJ's 10th Annual Shop Hop

About 11 years ago I had an idea to start a shop hop in NJ.  So I approached two fellow shop owners at a show and asked if they'd be interested.  They were and a new, to NJ, quilting activity was born.  Shops have come and gone - there are four of the original 11 shops left - but the fun of exploring quilting in NJ during a spring weekend remains.  We have a great time!

This year will be our 10th hop and we've chosen a garden theme - we are after all, the Garden State!  Pink is our color this year and pink charms have floated around my sewing room for months.  Sometime around Christmas, I finally conquered the charm mental block and decided to do something totally different for QP.  I knew I wanted to do a garden theme and butterflies.  Chatting with some other shop owners from around the country who were talking about 3D flowers made from ric rac, I thought I have ric rac and a need for 3D flowers, this could work.  

I used EQ and designed the background, sewed the quilt top and thought BLECH, boring.  I knew the embellishments would spice it up but I put it aside for the holidays.  Sometime around the beginning of Feb, I came across it in my to do pile . . .  YIKES, it's due this month!

I quilted it like a madwoman and started adding 3D flowers.  

Then I added 3D butterflies - some were limp, some were too stiff, pitched those and tried something else. 

 Of course I needed beads and that necessitated a bead buying trip!  Some years ago, Sandy Brawner gave me a button that said "Easily Distracted By Bright Shiny Objects", I think of her every time I play with beads.

I'm to the fun part now - playing with the embellishments.  If you look on the shop hop page and notice that it's cropped awfully close to the edges, you'll know that's because I STILL hadn't put the binding on when I sent the picture!  :0)

Till next time.