The rural Midwest between Chicago and the Gateway City has more to offer than endless stretches of corn and soybeans. QuiltingHub highlights worthwhile locations that might otherwise remain unknown to travelers.
ORLANDO, FLA. – QuiltingHub distinguishes itself from other quilting resource sites thanks in part to its route planning tool. Whereas other sites may have maps and calendars, QuiltingHub also enables users to plan road trips with no fear of missing a quaint, one-of-a-kind storefront.
“In the Midwest, summer is the best time of the year to hit the pavement and explore this great country,” remarked QuiltingHub Founder Paul Johnson. “For quilters, it’s always been difficult to find every out-of-the-way quilt shop. That was part of the motivation behind QuiltingHub – to give shop owners more exposure and more business.”
Planning a trip from Chicago to St. Louis with the help of QuiltingHub.com reveals more than a dozen unique shops along the way. Quilter’s Quest in Woodridge offers a spacious, full-service shop just outside of the Windy City. Also in suburban Chicago, Thimbles quilt shop and sewing center stocks more than 3,000 bolts of fabric, along with the latest patterns and instructional books.
The rural Midwest between Chicago and the Gateway City has more to offer than endless stretches of corn and soybeans. QuiltingHub highlights worthwhile locations that might otherwise remain unknown to travelers. In Bloomington, Illinois, for example, the Sewing Studio boasts 30-plus years of top-notch service to quilting enthusiasts. Farther south, in historic Rochester, the Peace and Applique Quilt Shop has over 7,000 bolts of fabric in its inventory. The town is also the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Upon reaching St. Louis, travelers can switch to QuiltingHub’s “Near Map” function to see a broader display of nearby attractions, including museums, service providers and guilds. For instance, the Thimble and Thread Quilt Guild of St. Louis offers a sense of community for area craftspeople. West of the city, in Beaufort, service provider Tony Lischko operates Gateway Quilts and Stuff. Lischko is not only a store owner, but also an author, teacher and award-winning quilter in his own right.
Aside from its versatile map features, the site also includes an events calendar. At last count, the calendar listed more than 3,400 events across the country. All of the information available on QuiltingHub is generated by the community, ensuring a high degree of both accuracy and exhaustiveness. You can see the events along the same route from Chicago to St. Louis.
Johnson has worked tirelessly to make QuiltingHub the most inclusive and versatile destination for individual quilters, guilds and shop owners. Recently, the site earned a #1 ranking from QuiltingEvents.com. Ultimately, Johnson’s goal is to make QuiltingHub the world’s leading resource for the quilting community.
Photo caption: Screenshot of Shops From Chicago to St. Louis.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
