Eight Shops in Two Days !! - CHAPTER 5

At around 7:10 pm on Thursday evening (don't worry, they are open late on Thursday nights), we arrived at Just Stitching in Strongsville. Yes, we did take a wrong turn on No. Royalton, and had to resort to calling Shelly to get turned around, but we finally got there!

Having no advance warning that we were coming, it was so sweet to hear Shelly say that she was recently talking about us (we DO leave an impression - LOL), and how four of us had attended her Flag Day Retreat in June of 2002. Yes, Shelly, you can boast that stitchers come from SW Ohio and Northern KY to your shop! That trip five years ago had impressed us very much with how it was organized, how much food there was (we do love to eat, right?), and what a great shop Just Stitching was.

Shelly was the only one there, so the three of us got to chat and catch up (and we're all good at that). She said last year had been "a little rough" business-wise, but so far 2007 was really good. She continues to ship FOR FREE, even with the new postal rates.We're sure going to remember that, right Vickie?

We felt so lucky to have caught Shelly that night, as she wasn't going to be in the shop on Friday, when we were to return to continue shopping (naturally!). She did suggest that, if we wanted fabric cut, to ask Lois to do that first in the morning, before she got busy with other customers.

We both started shopping bags, and then headed off to dinner and a motel. She suggested a great steak dinner at Longhorn's by the mall, and we couldn't wait to get into our room, so we could spread all our goodies out and drool over our loot.

The next morning, we lounged around in the room with coffee, muffins and fruit that we'd brought in the cooler, planned out some fabric needs for already-owned patterns, then headed back over to the shop.

When we walked in, right at 10 am, Lois was just getting her bearings. Our bags were still on the counter though, so, rested and refreshed, we took in all the shop has to offer with fresh eyes. Just Stitching is a spacious shop, with fresh finishes on the wall, dynamic, eye-catching displays, and a super staff. Plenty of room to browse, a table to lay out fabrics and fibers, and a wide selection of embellishments. Your eyes almost cannot take it all in!

This was definitely where we laid out the most cash. Here's the haul: Sisters and Best Friends' Find My Keys (that I'm going to stitch for Vickie for Christmas), LHN's Necessities Sampler, Oberlin's Summer and Autumn (now I have all four seasons), BC's Summer Ewe kit, 28 ct. Lt. Mocha cashel linen for LHN Music & Books, 28 ct. Pearl linen for LHN Blackbird Inn, buttons for SB's Be A Witch, and a hand-painted needle magnet made exclusively for one of the shop's retreats.



Even though we had a ball at our FAVORITE SHOP, we still had the rest of Friday to hit three more shops, before heading home.

We headed over to Broadview Heights, to Crafty Ewe.

P.S. When I told Shelly about this stitching blog of mine, called Crossroads of My Mind, she thought it was so cool, because she often refers to her shop as being at the crossroads (of US 42 and OH 82). You gotta love that!