Southern California Quilters' Run Part 2

Hi everyone,
Well, I did it! I made it solo to all of the 22 shops in both the
south and north divisions of the So Calif Quilters Run. Now all I
have to do is wait for the drawings :-)

First, I have to admit I was a little lax in starting the second part
of the run--because I waited to the last minute to tie all the
previous ribbons on my purse and assemble the pin, I didn't leave
until almost 8:30 am. The late start, plus 2 SigAlerts (massive
traffic tie-ups, for the non-Los Angeles readers), made for a late
finish!

I made a new shopping list--several textured fabrics for a paper
pieced/appliqué house block, the one missing background fabric for my
mom's memory quilt, and some notions--in addition to 4 lights/neutrals
for our someday log cabin bed quilt.

I started out caught in the first SigAlert and the Fabric Patch in
Montclair ended up being 30 minutes further away than planned. I guess
others must have been stuck in the same mess, because there was a long
line to check in, something I hadn't seen before. But they had a
wonderful selection of quilt themed mystery books to browse as we
stood in line. Plus it gave me time to chat with the other runners.
The store itself was really well stocked and had one of the best
selections of Christmas fabrics I've seen. And I got 2 of my textured
fabrics needed--a good start.

Next I got stopped in the second SigAlert on the way to A Quilters
Dream in San Gabriel. I had poked my head in there once after a visit
to the San Gabriel Bead Co next door center so I knew it to be a small
neighborhood place. It was decorated very nicely--probably the cutest
store on the run.

Then up the street to Bearly Stitchin in Pasadena-wow! I wish I lived
closer because I would love to buy my next sewing machine there--they
had a wonderful selection and the store was very spacious and
light-filled. The fabric was impressive too--great neutrals, holiday
and Halloween fabrics, cat themes, flannels, etc. I'll definitely go
back there--and I'm even on their mailing list now:-). I ended up
getting a basting glue stick, something I've had problems finding
locally. They also had the most extensive refreshments--hot dogs,
watermelon, lemonade and ice tea!

Next was Quilt + Things in Montrose, a quaint little town with a cute
downtown area with lots of shops to walk to. Unfortunately, I forgot
to put more money in the parking meter, so I only had 18 minutes to
browse--and got another textured fabric on my list. I was really
impressed by the vast collection of Southwestern themed fabrics--this
is the ONLY place I've ever seen with such a selection. They also had
a good number of textured fabrics.

Then came the most fun of this run--Q is for Quilts in Burbank. Their
theme was the circus and everyone was dressed up in clown's costumes!
Bags of peanuts were being thrown, horns blown and we all had a good
time. They had a lot of fabric, including an impressive amount of
black and white material and neutrals. I'll definitely go back there
again!

Loving Stitches, a small neighborhood shop in Santa Clarita was
next--I tried hard to find some FQs, since they were on sale for
$1.75. Driving there, I was finally able to see the mountains with
building thunderclouds--the other shops had been on the "smoggy side"
so visibility was poor.

I had a beautiful drive to and from The Quilt Station in Simi
Valley-the county there is classic California with rolling golden
hills dotted with the green native oaks. It's nice to see open space,
not all houses and freeways…. The shop itself is another small
neighborhood one, but it had a much broader selection than most of its
class.

Then I hit The Quilters' Studio in Newbury Park, where the owner is a
former engineer who after being laid off, decided to follow her
passions and started a quilting shop. It had a nice selection of
broadcloth in every color under the sun. But what was most notable
were the sample quilts hanging--many of them were what I think of as
"art quilts" rather than the traditional ones usually taught in
classes. I picked up a schedule and found that these samples were
taught as beginning art quilting classes for people who wanted
something different. The one that caught my eye was "Torn and
Woven"--the use of color shadings was awesome. I wished I lived
closer to take her classes!

I made one detour to the Creative Castle just down the road to pick up
some sterling silver magnetic clasps. They have excellent jewelry
classes with recognized visiting artists teaching techniques. Somehow
I have to figure out how to take classes at both places, especially
since the Creative Castle is right next to Baskin Robbins (where I had
an early "dinner").

I slowly made my way to the Quilt Emporium, another small neighborhood
store in Woodland Hills, before heading through the Santa Monica
Mountains down to the ocean--by then, I had it with freeways! Finally
there was cool air and no smog and the Pacific was so soothing to look
at.

Eventually I made it to the last shop, Luella's Quilt Basket in
Redondo Beach, where I managed to get the last textured fabric (yay!)
and some variegated cotton thread. The store is one of 3 local ones
in my area and although it recently moved to larger quarters, it's
still basically a small neighborhood shop (with great classes and good
prices on Vikings!)

And then it was home-around 8pm, tired, hot, having driven almost 250
miles in about 11 ½ hours. I still need the one background fabric (an
no longer made material that I've only seen once, on Ebay), 3 notions
which I'll probably end up getting online and all of my
light/neutrals. The free gifts were more modest this time: 2
packages of needles, a passport holder, fly swatter, 2 fat 8ths,
patterns for a mini satchel and a flower pot pillow, coaster, fat
quarter, a stress squeezer, plus lots of coupons and chances at some
instore drawings.

Thinking about the run, this part was very different than the
other--on the minus side, I crammed in way too many stores for one day
so I couldn't spend as much time as I liked shopping. In fact, I
didn't even attempt to look for the neutrals. Because of "Friday
get-away" traffic that worsened as the day went on, there was the
constant pressure to move on before the freeways got even more
grid-locked. Plus, most of the stores on this run (with a few notable
exceptions) didn't have the nice gifts and/or refreshments as the
other run.

On the plus side, games and themes were a lot more fun-and I've found
several places where I plan to be a regular shopper :-)
debbe

Hullo Debbe
Well, although I live thousands of miles from California, and have no
idea what a 'run' is (though I sort of gather a bit!), I did enjoy your
story telling. I'm so glad you decided to come back and tell the second
part of the tale. Now, don't just come back when you have had an
expedition; tell us what you are doing with all the purchases, and so on
....
Thanks for the travel picture.
..
In article , Debbe Nye
writes
Hi everyone,
Well, I did it! I made it solo to all of the 22 shops in both the
south and north divisions of the So Calif Quilters Run. Now all I
have to do is wait for the drawings :-)
snipped trip story
And then it was home-around 8pm, tired, hot, having driven almost 250
miles in about 11 ½ hours. I still need the one background fabric (an
no longer made material that I've only seen once, on Ebay), 3 notions
which I'll probably end up getting online and all of my
light/neutrals. The free gifts were more modest this time: 2
packages of needles, a passport holder, fly swatter, 2 fat 8ths,
patterns for a mini satchel and a flower pot pillow, coaster, fat
quarter, a stress squeezer, plus lots of coupons and chances at some
instore drawings.
debbe


--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Great report, Debbe. Do you need someone to ride shotgun next time? g
"Debbe Nye" wrote in message
...

Hi everyone,
Well, I did it! I made it solo to all of the 22 shops in both the
south and north divisions of the So Calif Quilters Run. Now all I
have to do is wait for the drawings :-)

First, I have to admit I was a little lax in starting the second part
of the run--because I waited to the last minute to tie all the
previous ribbons on my purse and assemble the pin, I didn't leave
until almost 8:30 am. The late start, plus 2 SigAlerts (massive
traffic tie-ups, for the non-Los Angeles readers), made for a late
finish!

I made a new shopping list--several textured fabrics for a paper
pieced/appliqué house block, the one missing background fabric for my
mom's memory quilt, and some notions--in addition to 4 lights/neutrals
for our someday log cabin bed quilt.

I started out caught in the first SigAlert and the Fabric Patch in
Montclair ended up being 30 minutes further away than planned. I guess
others must have been stuck in the same mess, because there was a long
line to check in, something I hadn't seen before. But they had a
wonderful selection of quilt themed mystery books to browse as we
stood in line. Plus it gave me time to chat with the other runners.
The store itself was really well stocked and had one of the best
selections of Christmas fabrics I've seen. And I got 2 of my textured
fabrics needed--a good start.

Next I got stopped in the second SigAlert on the way to A Quilters
Dream in San Gabriel. I had poked my head in there once after a visit
to the San Gabriel Bead Co next door center so I knew it to be a small
neighborhood place. It was decorated very nicely--probably the cutest
store on the run.

Then up the street to Bearly Stitchin in Pasadena-wow! I wish I lived
closer because I would love to buy my next sewing machine there--they
had a wonderful selection and the store was very spacious and
light-filled. The fabric was impressive too--great neutrals, holiday
and Halloween fabrics, cat themes, flannels, etc. I'll definitely go
back there--and I'm even on their mailing list now:-). I ended up
getting a basting glue stick, something I've had problems finding
locally. They also had the most extensive refreshments--hot dogs,
watermelon, lemonade and ice tea!

Next was Quilt + Things in Montrose, a quaint little town with a cute
downtown area with lots of shops to walk to. Unfortunately, I forgot
to put more money in the parking meter, so I only had 18 minutes to
browse--and got another textured fabric on my list. I was really
impressed by the vast collection of Southwestern themed fabrics--this
is the ONLY place I've ever seen with such a selection. They also had
a good number of textured fabrics.

Then came the most fun of this run--Q is for Quilts in Burbank. Their
theme was the circus and everyone was dressed up in clown's costumes!
Bags of peanuts were being thrown, horns blown and we all had a good
time. They had a lot of fabric, including an impressive amount of
black and white material and neutrals. I'll definitely go back there
again!

Loving Stitches, a small neighborhood shop in Santa Clarita was
next--I tried hard to find some FQs, since they were on sale for
$1.75. Driving there, I was finally able to see the mountains with
building thunderclouds--the other shops had been on the "smoggy side"
so visibility was poor.

I had a beautiful drive to and from The Quilt Station in Simi
Valley-the county there is classic California with rolling golden
hills dotted with the green native oaks. It's nice to see open space,
not all houses and freeways.. The shop itself is another small
neighborhood one, but it had a much broader selection than most of its
class.

Then I hit The Quilters' Studio in Newbury Park, where the owner is a
former engineer who after being laid off, decided to follow her
passions and started a quilting shop. It had a nice selection of
broadcloth in every color under the sun. But what was most notable
were the sample quilts hanging--many of them were what I think of as
"art quilts" rather than the traditional ones usually taught in
classes. I picked up a schedule and found that these samples were
taught as beginning art quilting classes for people who wanted
something different. The one that caught my eye was "Torn and
Woven"--the use of color shadings was awesome. I wished I lived
closer to take her classes!

I made one detour to the Creative Castle just down the road to pick up
some sterling silver magnetic clasps. They have excellent jewelry
classes with recognized visiting artists teaching techniques. Somehow
I have to figure out how to take classes at both places, especially
since the Creative Castle is right next to Baskin Robbins (where I had
an early "dinner").

I slowly made my way to the Quilt Emporium, another small neighborhood
store in Woodland Hills, before heading through the Santa Monica
Mountains down to the ocean--by then, I had it with freeways! Finally
there was cool air and no smog and the Pacific was so soothing to look
at.

Eventually I made it to the last shop, Luella's Quilt Basket in
Redondo Beach, where I managed to get the last textured fabric (yay!)
and some variegated cotton thread. The store is one of 3 local ones
in my area and although it recently moved to larger quarters, it's
still basically a small neighborhood shop (with great classes and good
prices on Vikings!)

And then it was home-around 8pm, tired, hot, having driven almost 250
miles in about 11 ½ hours. I still need the one background fabric (an
no longer made material that I've only seen once, on Ebay), 3 notions
which I'll probably end up getting online and all of my
light/neutrals. The free gifts were more modest this time: 2
packages of needles, a passport holder, fly swatter, 2 fat 8ths,
patterns for a mini satchel and a flower pot pillow, coaster, fat
quarter, a stress squeezer, plus lots of coupons and chances at some
instore drawings.

Thinking about the run, this part was very different than the
other--on the minus side, I crammed in way too many stores for one day
so I couldn't spend as much time as I liked shopping. In fact, I
didn't even attempt to look for the neutrals. Because of "Friday
get-away" traffic that worsened as the day went on, there was the
constant pressure to move on before the freeways got even more
grid-locked. Plus, most of the stores on this run (with a few notable
exceptions) didn't have the nice gifts and/or refreshments as the
other run.

On the plus side, games and themes were a lot more fun-and I've found
several places where I plan to be a regular shopper :-)
debbe






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