Picking up from yesterday, the Grand Strand Quilters meeting was so much fun. I really enjoyed making new quilter friends, but had no idea what would happen next. One of the charities the Grand Strand Quilters support is the Quilts of Valor program. I didn’t get this quilter’s name (with the microphone) before the end of the meeting, and her quilt would be very nice for the veterans, but I don’t remember if she said who it was for.
Batting is cut at each meeting for finished tops, here an Anita’s Arrowhead with patriotic borders.
After the meeting, while I was chatting with members, Joan came up to me explaining that she was the QOV coordinator for the group as well as part of the national organization. She wondered if I would be willing to quilt some tops for them. She said they have a backlog of 150 quilt tops ready to be quilted, but a serious lack of longarmers willing to help. I hesitated a moment, knowing that there would be some logistics involved, and I just couldn’t do them by mail. But she already had a plan. It seems that about a third of their members are snowbirds, spending the winter in Myrtle Beach and the summers up north. Some go through my area twice a year. So, if I took some quilts to do, then in six months or so, someone would be coming through to pick them up. Well, then, sure!! Knowing I had a bit of stuff from shopping, I agreed to take 10. Joan ran home, cut batting for 10 quilts, packed them up in 5 large bags, and met me at my hotel (with her charming husband, Jim) to hand them off. They completely filled the back seat of our rented Jeep. I think this will become a regular thing for us! So, I think I may have become an honorary member of the Grand Strand Quilters, at least I’d like to think so. Yes, I’ll share them with all of you as I put them on the frame for quilting around my other projects.
There are two really wonderful quilt stores in the area, and I visited both, along with a Crafter’s mall where one of the vendors had lots of fun fabrics and notions. On Tuesday, I drove to Murrells Inlet to Accent Sewing. What a wonderful store!! There were fun fabrics, lots of notions and thread, classroom space and machines.
I chatted only a little with their longarmer who was busy with a quilt right then, so I didn’t want to bother her too much. All the ladies were so friendly and helpful. Diane helped me find a pebble fabric for my Be My Neighbor quilt to use as the streets. The owner, Sheryl, was so nice and helpful too. It is a bright and colorful store to visit, I wish I could do their mini quilt of the month quilt along, the samples were just joyful!
Then on Wednesday, I visited Quilting on the Beach, where again I met Barb and Anna, two lovely, friendly ladies willing to chat a bit. I spent the most time with Maureen, their longarm quilter as she worked on this beautiful quilt. The piecer, Anne, was there too, getting a lesson in what a longarmer needs. Just look at how perfect all her points are on those triangles! As usual, I picked up a new-to-me, stupidly simple, brilliant idea for dealing with quilt backings that are too small. She uses long straight pins to secure a piece of fabric to the edge, allowing the longarm more space so it doesn’t bump into the clips. As she rolls the quilt, she moves the bit of extra fabric. Why didn’t I ever think of this?
Pretty store, lots of fabrics!! When I mentioned the Be My Neighbor quilt, Barb found another pebble fabric in lighter colors, so I got some of that too. I’ll show you those tomorrow.
Then, down the road a bit was Homespun Crafter’s Mall, with new crafted items and vintage treasures. The fabric vendor had a lot of choices too. I understand this is a relatively new expansion for the vendor. This dealer mall satisfied both my quilter self and my vintage side.
So, that was my quilting adventure in Myrtle Beach. If you missed part one of Quilting on the Grand Strand, click HERE.
Do you look for quilting fun when you take a trip?
More adventures in Myrtle Beach posts –
From My Carolina Home 
I love that tip for the extra fabric along the sides from the long armer. I am always looking for quilting fun, trip or not! When I travel with non-quilters, I usually am looking at “design elements” and how they would play in a quilt. I won’t force the hubby or my n.q. friends to spend much time in quilt stores. 🙂
I have been to Myrtle Beach and have vacationed for several months at a time in Folly Beach, but never discovered these lovely stores. Now they are a must visit on my next trip. Oh, and I will hopefully be able to attend one of the Grand Strand Quilters meeting too. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Carole
Now that’s what I call a great trip to Myrtle Beach. I love Quilting On The Beach and am on their Newsletter list, but I haven’t been to the one in Merrill’s Inlet. Brava for taking on the QOV’s. Holler if it turns out to be too much and I might help.
Mary Jo
Morning from Ga.
My gracious your fingers are going to be flying. Loved hearing about your trip to Myrtle Beach and finding 2 quilt shops to check out. I have a cousin that went there every summer and now has a
Beach house on Frippe Island here in Ga. Have always wanted to go there and find out what was so great there, I have never cared much for the beach since I grew up in Miami, Fla and went there
Every Sun. after church with the young peoples group on Sun. afternoons, loved the fellowship but I would rather have gone to the mountains, I take after my grandmother Abbott on that issue.
Did you eat at any good seafood restaurants and recall the names of them? I have added some of the places you have been into my travel destinations and just told a friend I”d like to take a trip
Up the eastern coast and go to some great seafood rest. To eat . Would love to go up into Maine and that area to see the water falls and mountains in that area. Have never been up that far into
The northern states so that is one of my bucket list things I’d really love to do. Have fun with all your sewing projects.
Phyllis
I really enjoyed seeing those shops. They are bright, airy, and filled with beautiful fabrics. I had no idea such places existed.
I never heard if Quilts of Valor, but I’m going to have to get more info. My quilt group, some of them do Project Linus, but I’d be more interested in doing QIV as I had two brothers in Vietnam.
I love the Carolina’s. I used to buy the long-haul transportation for that area for the USPostal Service. I wasn’t a quilter when I had to go there for business. Wish I was so I could have vusited those places.
What fun! Thanks for taking us along!!!
What a fun time you had. It is always good to help others and what a great way God but this together for you. Mom always said where there is a will there’s a way. I don’t know if you read my post or not, but I just was able to buy the Brother Dream quilter 15.
Sad part being that the dealer doesn’t know a thing about it and had agreed to show me how to work it and set it up. It has a broken laser and one clip missing and they don’t know just when they will get them. I have a call into Brother but have not heard from them yet. This is very frustrating for me but I’m determined to learn how to use this quilter and table. Say a prayer for me please. There now I feel better.
Looking forward to more of your reveal tomorrow.
blessings
Thank you, Carole, for the lovely tour of this area – I have long been “shopping” for a home in/near Murrells Inlet and this has cemented my resolve to move there! HaHa, you didn’t realize you were also into Real Estate Marketing, did you?
It’s always fun to “visit” a new quilt shop, even if it’s a cyber visit. Thanks so much for the virtual tour!!
Hello Carole! How wonderful that you “took us along” on your grand adventures! Each and every one of the quilt shops would be fabulous to visit. In each picture you shared, along with your description something either caught my eye or you mentioned something that made the curiosity just want to be there now. Plus, how marvelous that you have volunteered to quilt 10 of the quilts for the guild. I think it is wonderful the way that you have made all of these new friends and they will visit you and you will visit them. I look forward to hearing all of your adventures with your new friends and the quilts that will be a part of it! Have a great day!
Finally catching up on the blogs after being at quilt retreat over the weekend with no internet access (that wasn’t a bad thing). It’s so nice of you to volunteer to quilt for the group and nice that they figured out a way to save you from mailing the quilts back. Thanks for the virtual tour of the shops. There’s never any time on our road trips back and forth to FL, but I do have some shops in FL that I make an annual pilgrimage to. I even found a new one this year when Chris of Made by Chrissie posted about her visit to a shop about an hour from my brother’s house.
Pat
What a really nice adventure for you. I have never been to SC.
This group of ladies are a nice bunch.
I love fabric stores. I have four excellent stores just a fifteen minute drive from my house. It is dangerously bad actually.
I can imagine quilt shops near the ocean would be heavenly though. Perhaps happier people than city people.
Happy Tuesday Carole
Thanks for sharing your travels! Love to read about other quilts and shops!
Eeek! I’m excited to learn so much about the shops & groups in Myrtle Beach since I’ll be moving there permanently later this year…whoop whoop! Thanks so much for the preview of the shops; I had Googled the area but you never really know until you see it and now I’ve seen it through you! And how lovely that you’re able to help them with their back log of so many QOV tops – wow!
Live in MB area…never knew about that last place (Homespun….) …will check it out..thanks
What a fun travelogue this was, thanks for sharing it!
Wh.at a wonderful time you had in Myrtle Beach Carole, you have such wonderful quilt/craft shops over there. Well done to you for taking the quilts to be quilted, so nice when people work together for these things to happen.
All those fabric shops to visit … heaven 🙂
The photos of the stores really let me see how outstanding they are. I’ll keep them in mind if I am ever in the area.