Shop Hop Adventure--Day Four

Shop Hop--Last Day....:( and a little :l and a little :) You'll understand why as I show you this wonderful day!

Last night after coming home from day three, my right knee was very sore. (I have 2 bad knees that flare up occassionally--will someday need replacements--until then I am as careful as I can be.) I must have twisted or moved wrong or something. I thought it would feel better in the morning but I was wrong. It was swollen and some worse. I took ibuprofen, grabbed an elastic bandage wrap and did my best to make it through. I couldn't stop NOW!

Our first stop today is in Bellevue, WA at Quiltworks NW. I didn't get a picture of the outside of the store as I was hobbling along. I was so excited, though, to see my friend, Laurene! I must tell you that I met Laurene in 1973 right after I was first married and she is the one who taught me about quilting. Even though it has been a lot of years since we have lived in the same town, she and I connect and get together as often as we can. Unfortunately for both of us, this time had been about 5 years since we had seen each other. We had planned to meet today and shop hop together. Here we are! So fun! I really love Laurene! She is a very talented lady in every way that you can imagine.

This is the Quiltworks NW shop hop block. Very cute!
Sorry that my pictures may be a bit skimpy but between hobbling, visiting with Laurene, and looking around, well, you can understand. This is the "dessert" table set up. How fun!
Becca is trying to get desserts at the table before me.............:l
This quilt was in the room where you get your passport stamped. A lady there said that there were no pictures allowed because these quilts were from copyrighted patterns. I said, "I'm not interested in stealing the patterns. I am blogging about the shop hop and want to show examples of how beautiful your shop is. " She just smiled at me!

Not great camera skills, but a great picture of my Kristina girl doing a "Vanna" pose by the display for a children's class!

After lunch and a bit of a drive, we arrive at the Quilter's Garden in Duvall! When I get out of the car, I cannot hardly walk. Not even hobbling. After a little time, I finally hobble slowly inside this shop. It was small and crowded and the stamping people were not very patient with my apparent "disability."

This is their block!

On to the Woodinville Shop--
My mom had her cane (which she does not rely on) in the car so she insisted that I use it to go into this shop. She was so sweet to be worried about me but apparently there is an art to using a cane correctly because it didn't seem to help much!

Their block--so cutest!

I loved this quilt with a regional flair!

And this one, too!

Dresden in blue--how pretty!

Beautiful applique!

The final stop of our 2009 Shop Hop! This little "spot" is called Country Village in Bothell! Such a fun place and the quilt shop was in a building that looked like an old barn. I loved it!

I almost forgot that I could barely walk.

Becca got this great (ugh) picture of me looking at the quilt I was admiring made with the Prairie Paisley fabric line. It was one of my favorites. Wanted to take it down, put it on the grass and just relax!

What a fun entrance!

Isn't this inside charming! I just LOVE it! I didn't get many quilt patterns but they have quilts everywhere and lots and lots of fabric organized in fabric lines. They also have lots of patterns. These ladies were just the sweetest. When I finally made it up to the cutting counter, I was sweating because I was hurting and hot. I explained to the lady that this was my fourth day of "hopping" and that I had inflamed my knee. She was very sympathetic and she went and got a wet and dry paper towel for me to cool my face. She was very sweet to Kristina, too, which always earns a few smiles from me!

Well, I guess I should have a grande finale type of photo, but I don't! A painful knee did not make me a very good blogger! We had sooooooooo much fun, met many wonderful people, spent way too much money, saw many beautiful works of art, saw some beautiful scenery in this gorgeous state of ours and even spent the last day shop hopping with my dear friend! We had endless laughing and smiling as we shared this adventure together. An awesome event that I hope we are fortunate enough to do again next June! Thanks for joining us on our shop hop adventures!

Dotti