Guest Blog from Catherine Brown About The #ScottSentMe Challenge

Hi everyone, Catherine here!  We are well into #ScottSentMe2024. Since I am such a big #ScottSentMe fan, Scott asked me if I would like to supply today’s blog to tell you about our #ScottSentMe2023 travels. 

I first participated in the #ScottSentMe challenge in 2019 (2nd year).  I stumbled upon the contest days before my husband, Kevin, and I were leaving on a road trip from Nova Scotia to Florida via Missouri (not exactly a direct route)!  I was very new to quilting. I didn’t even know that shop-hops were a thing!  I remember saying something like, “There’s this contest on Facebook where you go to as many fabric shops as you can in three months – and you can win prizes. And, there’s this lady who went to 64 stores last year on won!”  That seemed so unbelievable to me!  

Kevin noted that we would probably pass many shops on the way so we decided to give it a shot.  We had no plan or goal when we set out, but the more shops we visited, the more we planned our route to include visits!  We were hooked!  Shockingly, by the time we made it home, we had visited 213 shops.  We had a great time visiting stores, meeting people and seeing so much of the country that we would have missed if we had taken direct routes.   I knew it was a one-time trip and we would never do it again.

Fast forward to August 2023.   I’m working away in my sewing room. Kevin comes in with a question, “Do you know how many quilt shops there are in the US?”  “Um… no.”  It feels like we visited all, but let’s go with 1000. No, there are over 4000!  Kevin knows this because he has a spreadsheet.  What the what?   I thought that while I was playing in ‘my’ room, he was in ‘his’ room next door –  watching TV and playing on his computer.   While he watched TV, he was compiling a spreadsheet based on lists he was finding online. Okay…Why?!   “Well, aren’t we doing #ScottSentMe again?” I honestly didn’t see that coming!  We’ve been married 36 years and like all couples, there are times that things aren’t communicated clearly, but how did one of us think that in less than a month we were leaving to drive halfway across the country … and the other not have a clue that we were leaving the province?  But hey, I’m game….let’s go! That left us 6 weeks for a road trip. Now, we just needed a plan.  

What we found works best for us is to pick a few places ‘we’ want to visit and build a rough route based on those stops.  We try to add at least a week of downtime in the middle – preferably in the south – and then start filling in 43 nights of hotels! We picked the must-see stops like Niagara Falls, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Cleveland Browns game, the Truman Library, downtime in Florida, Gettysburg, etc… We dropped those points on the map and started working on timing.  Then, off we went.

Does anyone else have a navigation system that is slightly possessed?  We were fine until we hit Indiana and then it turned on us!  I was blaming Kevin as he likes to bring the map up on his phone while I am driving… and the two never match! I prefer to pick one set of directions and stick with them, ”But there might be a faster/better way!”  I think the system in the vehicle got tired of being ignored and decided to have some fun with us.  Who knew that the ‘best route’ would take you through cornfields or down logging roads? Yup, some fun times there.  We must have looked especially stressed when we checked in one night as they upgraded us to a two-bedroom suite!  Or maybe they just saw the amount of stuff we were checking in with!  It’s funny how 2 people can read the same sign… and interpret it two different ways.  Most hotels have signs in the parking lot that say, “Remove all valuables from vehicles…” Kevin thinks that means you shouldn’t leave wallets, electronics, etc in the vehicle!  I know they are saying to take every single purchase into your room for the night!  Grab a few luggage carts and load ALL those big blue IKEA body bags that are filling up way too quickly. Then schlep them up to the room and dump them on the second bed (because nobody likes fabric on the floor – even wrapped fabric!).  If you want to leave your clothes in the vehicle, fine, but the fabric stays with me.  And no, me sleeping in the vehicle with the fabric was not an option!

After a week, you do settle into a routine.  We prefer to stay within an hour of the last shop we visited.  We check in, get cleaned up, find food and plan for the next day.  Now, that isn’t necessarily the order I would do things, but I quickly learned that there is such a thing as ‘hangry’… and planning goes more smoothly if one of us isn’t ready to gnaw off an arm!  For full disclosure, there were many times that I spent way over my allotted time in a shop and the only way to get back on schedule was to cut out a lunch break.  Here’s a tip for anyone turning this challenge into a road trip. Don’t worry about detailing the vehicle before you leave home.  Many times Kevin would finish looking around/chatting before me and then head out to the car to ‘verify the next stop.’ A few times, I returned to find 2 fresh coffees and crumbs.  I’m guessing the treat was meant to be shared, but it was better than expected or I was slower than expected!  Either way, someone had a big snack and someone didn’t have anything.

We ran into some other #ScottSentMe folks at one of the first shops we visited on the trip.  A participant from Missouri and a participant from Nova Scotia walk into a shop in New Hampshire… and they both recognize each other right away – only in #ScottSentMe!!  Hi Beth Anne!

We also spent a few days touring shops in the Carolinas with Liz Ree and Earl – friends we met during the 2019 challenge.  We always have fun times and so amazing Carolina BBQ when we get together.  

I do have a few random thoughts/suggestions about doing this challenge with a spouse (or any traveling companion).  Please understand that I am not husband-bashing by any means!  I have the best hubby in the world, but 24 hrs a day for 6 weeks, driving and living out of a suitcase…one can only imagine!

• No matter how much you love them or how bright they are, there will be days that you will look at them and wonder how they have made it this far!  As you travel from Canada to Florida, you experience temperature changes.  We packed 2 suitcases, one blue and one grey.  Blue is ‘cool’ with winter clothes!  Socks and underwear are always in the ‘current’ suitcase.  If they aren’t, then you have an issue that isn’t going to be solved by rummaging through the other piece of luggage like a raccoon in a dumpster!

• There will be miscommunication.  There will be times you will be so focused on fabric that you won’t hear what they are saying and vice versa.  It’s always helpful to have them repeat it back to you with a HUA (heard, understood, acknowledged) if it’s something that will come into question later on!

• Don’t ever let them influence how much fabric to buy!  There may have been a time during the 2019 challenge that I expressed a bit of remorse over not having bought more of something I liked.  For the rest of that trip, I had to listen to, “You better buy extra because we aren’t turning around 500 miles down the road.” For this trip, I always bought extra.  I didn’t realize that when Kevin was taking it to the cutting table that he was also adding on extra.  I know that’s a good problem, but eventually you have to store it and maybe even use it! 

• And, on that note, if you have the option of having your spouse pay and never knowing how much you spend, take it and run with it!  We all know that good fabric isn’t cheap and many purchases quickly add up.  You either need to have a budget and be good at sticking to it or put on blinders and not worry about it until you have to cross back into Canada!  I prefer to let Kevin worry about the budget while I wear the blinders.  However, when you get to the border you do have to face reality!  You are forced to verbalize the ‘value of goods acquired’… and then answer many questions on whether you are importing for commercial purposes.  This was almost as funny as when we entered the US and they asked Kevin if he was entering willingly.

As quickly as the trip started, it was over.  More than 7000 miles of driving, countless nights of not having a clue what our room number was, tons of great memories and 275 shop visits.  Yes! 275! However, as much as we enjoyed it, it was a one (two!) time deal, but never again.  Or maybe see you in 2028!

Hi y’all – Kevin here with a husband’s perspective. I do agree that we had a great trip and we were fortunate to see so much variety during the drive.  One of the benefits of this challenge was that you get off the Interstate system and see the USA.  It was approaching harvest time and we saw farms full of grapes, apples, corn, soybeans, sorghum and even cotton.  We met a lot of shop owners with a passion for what they do and it was inspiring to hear their stories and their history.

We put many miles on the vehicle, and yes, it’s true that I may have occasionally been hangry.  I had forgotten that meals are prior to 8 am and after 5 pm!

Here are a few things I learned from this experience:

• Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach and he wasn’t wrong.  Power fabric shopping is similar.  Make sure to bring a cooler, travel mugs and portable snacks.  If it comes down to lunch vs a shop visit, you know the visit will win.  I may never want to eat another Hampton Inn blueberry muffin again in my life, but they tasted great when needed.  Thanks to all the shops who had treat bags for us! That was a nice touch!

• Plan your time and use it effectively.  There are many great shops out there, but seriously, open hours of 10-4?  We would often have hours on the road before we entered our first shop of the day.  Gas up the night before and be ready to roll in the morning. 

• Take comfort where and when you can!  You never know how long it will be to the next stop with accidents, construction or traffic causing delays.  Enough said!

• Be ready to be a sherpa, a bell boy, a dock worker, call it what you will.  Those IKEA bags that are so glowingly described above are fantastic, but it’s like transporting equipment bags for an entire hockey team every single night….only not as smelly.

• Take time to talk to people and absorb the experience. Make sure to build in extra time so that you don’t rush and miss things. I had never seen a US $2 bill, but now I have one after a conversation and trade with a Missouri shop owner who had never seen a Toonie ($2 Canadian coin).  I learned about the Decatur Staleys football team and their evolution into the Chicago Bears from a shop owner in Illinois.  I will always remember the sight and sound of an Amish buggy rolling down the main street of Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Yes, the challenge is about supporting the quilting industry, but you can make it about so much more.  Try to enjoy the experience as much as we did.

Thanks to all of you who are participating, posting your pictures, sharing your experiences and cheering each other on.  Special thanks to all the shops who welcome everyone, allow pictures and share a part of themselves with us.  And of course, a huge thank you to Scott for sponsoring the challenge and encouraging us to get out there and have fun because that’s what it’s all about!