MARSHALL — Minnesota quilters are getting ready for a road trip over the next couple of weeks — and businesses like the Graceful Marilyn Quilt Shoppe in Marshall are looking forward to it.

“It’s kind of a treasure hunt for customers,” said Graceful Marilyn co-owner Michelle Salfer.

Graceful Marilyn is one of 44 quilting shops across Minnesota that are participating in the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop. The event, which runs from July 25 through Aug. 16, encourages quilters to visit different businesses and collect free fabric squares and quilt block patterns.

Salfer said the first day of the Shop Hop tends to be busy, as people pick up their “passports” to take part in the event.

“We end up having new customers come by,” Salfer said. It’s not just quilt shops that benefit from taking part in the Quilt Minnesota event, either. “It also benefits other local businesses in Marshall.”

During the Shop Hop, customers can visit participating quilting stores to get their passports stamped, and receive a free 5-inch fabric square and a pattern for an 8-inch quilt block. No purchase is necessary to receive the squares.

Each year Quilt Minnesota features fabric by a different fabric artist. This year the fabric line was designed by Tim Chapman.

Salfer said there are other incentives for visiting participating quilt stores, depending on the region of the state you’re in. Each of the nine regions in the Shop Hop has its own prize for visiting all the participating shops, she said. In southwest Minnesota, the prize is a fat quarter bundle of fabric, Salfer said. There are a total of seven participating quilt shops in southwest Minnesota, including stores in Pipestone, Worthington, Marshall, Blue Earth, Sherburn, Windom and Lamberton.

Quilt shops in the southwest region also worked together to create a book of quilt patterns and recipes, centered around a “Lazy Afternoon” theme, Salfer said.

Salfer said getting to meet new people on the Shop Hop was one of the fun things about the event.

“We do have some people who come from out of state,” she said. “It’s always fun to hear their stories of where they’re coming from.”

Participating shops in the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop will be open from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays from July 25-Aug. 16. More information on the Shop Hop is available at https://www.quiltminnesota.com.