Hopped Out - Shop Hopping - Day 4

Last Day on the road, headed back to the O.C.  Hopping makes a person tired!  But, it has been fun.

Yesterday on my drive from Hollister back to the O.C., I visited three stores...

Quilts and Things in Morgan Hill  

Small shop with a bit of EVERYTHING.  Chatting with the shop person, it is the only shop in Morgan Hill.  Local quilters appreciate that, I'm sure. (Bought some pins.)

 

A few miles down the road is The Nimble Thimble in Old Town Gilroy.  
(I actually did buy a cut of fabric here...1 yard .)








Located in Old Town, downtown with your typical old town, small town look and feel.  A very nice shop with lots of modern fabrics.  AND, Gilroy is the garlic capital of the World, with a Garlic Festival and everything!  Bet you did not know that.

 They are currently featuring classes for Jen Kingswell patterns.


 












And finally, Family Threads in San Juan Batista.  (And, honestly, I was hopped out by this time and the only reason I stopped was because it was right next door to an eating establishment, where I had some "pretty good" BBQ ribs and mac-n-cheese.")







 This was a very nice, bright, shop with lots of modern fabrics, patterns and notions, and, of course, very nice sales people.

AND, a collection of Featherweights!

I did buy a pattern at this shop...it uses scraps!








 


All-in-all, I visited a lot of shops.
Met some really nice people (and a couple of new BFF's.)
And, got lots of inspiration.... all without breaking the budget
(Dave Ramsey will be happy to know that.)

A No Hop Day

Man-O-Man.  Our jobs can sure mess up a perfectly nice day for quilting, or shop hopping. 

I worked with a firm here in Hollister all day Friday, so no hopping happened.
But, that does not mean no quilting happened.

After returning to the hotel for a quick nap, I set up my sewing in the hotel's breakfast area.

Lot's of space.  Because this hotel serves breakfast but not other meals, the area was perfect for setting up a little sewing center.

Including big-screen TV and Peanut M & Ms from the "market."

Several guests wandered by and asked questions.  One gentleman stopped to tell me about the quilt his mother made for him that he still sleeps with every night.... sweet.

As I worked, I was thinking .. this would be a perfect location for a retreat.  Comfortable rooms, food near by, beautiful landscape and a really big area for setting up machines and iron stations.



I have a quilt guild challenge due early next week (actually it was due last Monday, but they are still accepting entries.)

The theme is "It's Not Easy Being Green." 

I had borders to finish and the "sandwich."  It will be quilted tomorrow.

Headed home today, with a few stops along the way.

Quilt People are Fun People - Shop Hopping - Day 3

I had an unexpected day off today so I decided to visit two quilt shops: 
Mennonite Quilt Shop in Reedly and JMG Fabrics in Los Banos.
It was a fun, fun day.

I visited the Mennonite Quilt Shop in Reedly early in the day.
What a nice small town (and good tacos, too).  I could so live in this small town!

Downtown Reedley, CA

This shop has a mission statement posted on their website:





"The Mennonite Quilt Center located in Reedley, California, is a fabric store and quilt gallery, but more importantly, it is a community of volunteers working together for world relief.  The MQC is owned and operated by West Coast Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Each purchase at the MQC benefit MCC’s work of relief, development and peace in the name of Christ."

Mennonite Quilt Center was much bigger than I would have imagined in such a small town.  A nice variety of fabrics from traditional to modern.  The woman giving me the tour said they have a "faithful" following from neighboring cities, including Bakersfield...one hour away.

This shop hosts two quilt retreats a year and for sure I'm marking the dates in my calendar, it sounds so fun.

 One display was totally amazing.

I so wish this picture could do this display quilt justice.  It was VERY well done with lots of embellishments.  And, it won an award!



















Hopping back in the car and driving on toward Hollister (my work assignment for tomorrow) I stopped in
Los Banos at JMG Fabrics.

Kimmie

Kimmie and Lori were so fun!  We spent at least 2 hours chatting and pulling up pictures of our projects on our cell phones and sharing our successes and even a few projects that turned out to be challenges!

Two new BFFs for me!!!!  And, both ladies have partners who also quilt!














BOM quilt sponsored by JMG Fabrics and taught by Kimmie.










The Los Banos Quilt Guild has a quilt show coming up.  I'm marking my calendar, again.

I bought some chances and hope to attend the show.

I've purchased a few quilting notions in my travels, but so far no fabric.  Let's see if my resolve holds.

All-in-all, a very fun day.

Drive - Work - Explore - Shop Hopping - Day 2

There are a few shops that are unique to specific areas of the country:  Portland, Oregon has their "Fabric Depot."  Paducah, Kentucky has their Hancocks.



Fresno has  "Second Chance Fabrics"  


As I wrote earlier in the week,
I'm traveling and working in Central California this week.
I have been in Fresno the last two days. 

 

It is a creative idea..... resell fabrics the original buyer no longer needs or wants.

This little shop has it all.... fabrics (even kits!), notions, sewing machines for sale, a good size classroom, and very friendly sales people.   If I lived in or near Fresno this is a shop I'd love to spend more time exploring!







Margaret, gave me a tour and explained the concept....
Bring in your fabrics you no longer need* or want.  They will exam the fabric for quality and size and give you store credit.











They package and price the fabrics.  This shop isn't like some shops that have lots of creative ideas dripping off the walls to inspire you, but they have lots of nice fabrics displayed in a way that makes it easy to pick-and-choose what you need*.

Each piece of fabric is folded around a cardboard form and put in a cellophane sleeve.  There is a sticker on the front with yardage and price.

 The fabric is placed on shelves by color.








They also have a big bin of "scraps" (like we need more, right?)
But what if you're making a scrappy piece and need "just a bit" of a certain color????

Here is a clip from the Fresno Bee CLICK HERE

 Yep, this is a good idea and I wish there was a place like this in the O.C.

A friend of the shop made this quilt....
The creator's husband was a biologist and she made this to hang in his office.  Totally Cool!

Next time you are passing through Fresno, stop in.

*let's be perfectly honest, most of us don't "need" more fabric...

Shop Hopping - Day 1

This week I am traveling for business.  I drove from my home in Southern California up to the Central California area.
I decided since I have a car, and will be visiting three cities this trip, why not have my very own personal "Shop Hop."  (Before embarking on this hop, let's get one thing perfectly straight...I don't actually need any fabric.  We will see if anything jumps out and grabs me.)

First Stop, Back Porch Fabrics in Monterey.  I have visited this store a couple of times in the past.  Last visit was a year ago.  (Click Here) Beautiful coastal drive; quaint part of Pacific Grove; and very nice fabrics: Kaffee Fassett and mostly modern fabrics. Just my style.

Back Porch Fabrics always has the most interesting displays.  Right now they are featuring quilts of birds by local artists.

 So, did I buy any fabric I don't need ? ... inquiring minds want to know...

No.  It was tempting.  But, I did pick up a pattern.

I know a golfer, and it was on sale... reason enough, right?

This evening I'm off to Fresno for two days.  There are two very nice shops in Fresno and I have visited both of them on previous excursions but will try to carve out a bit of time to visit at least one on this trip.

...to be continued.....