Collaboration is the buzzword in business today, but it’s a practice that comes naturally to Hawaii island’s quilting community.

"They love the camaraderie of the company of other quilters and sharing that like interest," said quilt and textile designer Mary Moody-Cox, who’s organizing the Quilt Shop Hop, which brings quilt enthusiasts together for bus tours and events taking place at eight quilt shops next month.

"What I love about Quilt Shop Hop is how we all work together and collaborate on so many different things," said Karen Barry, owner of the Quilt Passions boutique in Kailua-Kona. "Some people are puzzled by that, asking, ‘You mean you work with your competitors?’ Here we’re ohana, and the shops work together because we’ve seen how it can benefit all of us."

During the fifth annual Quilt Shop Hop, Feb. 1 to 23, guests visiting the shops on their own or participating in the bus tour can have an event "passport" stamped at each store to be eligible for prize drawings of fabric and gift cards. They can also pick up a quilt block pattern to create their own 2013 Shop Hop quilt.

The 2013 Shop Hop quilt features Hawaii flora and fauna, including imagery of tropical flowers, honu (sea turtles), dolphins, nene and the iiwi bird. The quilt block patterns are free, or available for purchase as a kit with fabric.

This year’s event includes a new Hawaii island fabric designed by Moody-Cox, available only at participating shops. The vivid cotton print is covered with island images from the mountains to the sea, including waterfalls, volcano, birds, flowers, plants, petroglyphs, dolphins and more.

Maps and passports can be picked up at each location, and shop-hoppers can start their tour at any of the venues along the route or sign up for a scheduled bus tour. (See schedule.)

The quilters will welcome special guests like Nancy Lee Chong and her sister, Janice Lee Baehr, of Pacific Rim Quilt Co. in Seattle.

Chong, originally from Washington state, designed and made her first Hawaiian quilt while studying with Luika Margaret Kamaka in Kailua, Oahu, after marrying a local man and moving to Hawaii in 1975. The family moved to the Seattle area in 1982, where Chong taught her sister how to design and make Hawaiian quilts. They formed Pacific Rim Quilt Co. in 1990 to make their Hawaiian quilt patterns available to the public.

During the Shop Hop, the duo will also be hopping from shop to shop for a number of classes and events at Pahala Quilting, Quilt Passions in Kona and Kilauea Kreations II in Hilo. For those who cannot attend, Chong will present a class in two-fabric appliqué quilting online at QuiltUniversity.com on Feb. 15.

But nothing beats the live experiences. When the buses stop at each shop, "There’s a feeding frenzy with women pulling fabric, talking," Moody-Cox said.

"Quilters love fabric. It’s almost an addiction, and it’s not like they’ll buy from one shop and stop. The eight boutiques each have a completely different character and focus that makes them special, so they’ll buy from each shop."

Barry started the tour five years ago, when only 30 people showed up. The number of participants has grown to include quilters flying in from Maui, Oahu and the mainland to participate.

"I’m expecting 200 people this year," said Barry, who handed over organizational duties to Moody-Cox last year.

Moody-Cox was no stranger to the quilt hop, having run a quilt shop and participated in 12-shop events in Colo­rado before retiring to Hawaii 12 years ago to focus on artwork and textile design as well as to learn more about Hawaiian appliqué-style quilting.

"I’m still working on my first piece, and it’s only pillow-size," she said.

But she’s been here long enough to see the style of Hawaiian quilts changing from appliqué over a solid-color background to more print or mottled backing.

She said she enjoys the freedom of quilting.

"There’re no rules or limit to what you can create. If you can draw a design on a sheet of paper, you can create it in fabric."

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For information, email MaryMoodyCox@earthlink.net, call 961-1100 or visit www.facebook.com/BigIslandQuiltShopHopHawaii.