A Quilter Goes to San Diego

While teaching for the Canyon Quilters of San Diego recently, I had a couple days off and was so pleased to have my contact person, Sylvia, show me around--I had never been there before.

The first trip was to Temecula, a little over an hour north of La Mesa where I was staying. I am a huge fan of Temecula Quilt Company so was very happy we could visit there:

I walked in and told the owner I was a fan and was there for a "bucket list" check. Most amazing, the shop is small, from the front door you can see the entire place. This company has such a large presence on social media, and the free patterns offered on the website and blog have been so important to me, I expected a huge store. No, it is just a perfect little shop. If I lived there I would hang out there, as a small group was doing that day for a "Sewcial". Enjoy a few shots:

My purchases--I got the one thing I absolutely went looking for, papers and templates for the Summer Circle quilt, and a few other "must haves":

The next stop was only a few miles away--the western location of Primitive Gatherings. The Mother-store is in Wisconsin and most of us first learn of this shop when they are vending at big quilt shows. Enjoy a little tour:

A small class was meeting in the classroom--Long Time Gone--a Jen Kingwell pattern. It was fun to meet the instructor and exchange thoughts on doing this quilt as a six-month class.

Another funny thing happened--one of the employees told me she and her family are moving to Huntsville in the next year. She'll be visiting in July so she has my card and may call for a bit of a "quilter's tour" of Huntsville. In fact, every time I was introduced and people learned I was from Huntsville, AL, at least one person  had a connection to my hometown--a relative or friend lived here, or they were moving here. I must say it was a little scary since I love my "big" small town and don't want to see it explode into Nashville South. But as Southerners, of course, we welcome all people. And I assured Cindy she has a thriving quilt community here who will welcome her with open arms.

Soon it was time to hit the road back to San Diego to prepare for the evening meeting. I was picked up at 3:30, headed to "happy hour" and dinner.

It was a great day and I was so pleased to get to these two shops. A big "thank you" to Sylvia for being a great tour guide.

Let's Quilt.

Barbara