Forty-four quilting shops in Minnesota will participate in the 19th event, which takes place for two weeks in late July and early August, making it a fun way to discover shops and see most of the state.

Each year Quilt Minnesota features fabric by a different fabric artist. This year the fabric line was designed by Tim Chapman. For the shop hop, Minnesota has been divided into 9 Regions, with New Ulm in the South Central (SC) region.

Each of the 44 participating shops gives a free 5-inch square of fabric and a pattern for the block that every store designs.

“You are not required to purchase anything. You can do a lot with 5-inch squares, especially if you hit every store. They’re not cut up so tiny that you lose the beauty of the fabric, so that’s kinda fun,” Ann Wendinger, one of three owners of Sewing Seeds Quilt Company in New Ulm said.

“Be kind to yourself; quilting is not a perfect thing,” said Brenda Seidl of The Thimble Box, New Ulm.

Interested parties can pick up a passport at any of the shops. After visiting a shop, have the passport stamped and then at the end of the journey for prizes.

“As a customer the best thing about shop hop is, if someone wants a certain prize, they can do that section and go to shops they don’t normally travel to, so they see something new,” said Brenda Seidl, owner of The Thimble Box in New Ulm. “As a shop owner, we get to see people that take time out of their schedule and make it their vacation. They take two weeks and do every shop.”

The event is a way for quilters and quilt admirers to check out stores in Minnesota that cater to their interests. The Thimble Box, for example, keeps a display of military and patriotic fabric out all year alongside Halloween and Christmas, and Sewing Seeds Quilt Company has over 5,400 square feet of inspiration with 200 some quilt samples hanging on the walls.

“Shop hop is like the state fair for quilting,” said Wendinger.

Advice for beginning quilters is also available.

“Try a class– for adults we will find a teacher for anyone if they have three or more people to make a project,” Wendinger said. “We have a class that meets the second Saturday of the month, Saturday Sampler, where people are instructed on how to make a block, how to cut it, how to press it, what every section should proof to; it’s step-by-step to achieve success, and if they bring that block back, they get their next fabric free every month.”

“Be kind to yourself,” says Seidl. “Allow yourself to make a deviation from the pattern. Patterns are suggestions. If you cut something wrong it’s a scenic route, a deviation–cut another square, sew another together–I don’t call them mistakes because it’s not a perfect thing.”

Shops have agreed to be open Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. July 25 – Aug. 16.

Participating shops in the south central region include:

• The Thimble Box, New Ulm

• Sewing Seeds Quilt Company, New Ulm

• Sew Quilty, Arlington

• Cabby’s Corner, Gibbon

• River City Quilts, Mankato

For more information, please visit https://www.quiltminnesota.com or call your favorite shop.