Traveling Thursday

A little different this Thursday, because I'm talking about my travels yesterday!  I live in San Diego county and we have a huge county.  There is the southern part where I live, and then north county ... I usually don't go to any other quilt stores near me ... I get a discount at our store, I love the fabrics, and I spend enough money at The Country Loft!!  But I hadn't been to north county in a while, and there was a new store I was just dying to see.  So here are my travels from yesterday ...

First stop was Amidon in Poway ... unfortunately I arrived right after a large busload of ladies, so it was really difficult to shop.  I do love all the samples they have hanging on the walls.  It is in an industrial center and so the building has really high ceilings.  They have these huge, awesome quilts on display and there are just quite an assortment.  They also have a good collection of fabric, and it's always fun to see other styles.  A great sale section, but I do have a problem shopping when a lot of other people are around ... I find it way too distracting.  This store is really not too far from me, so I'll go back another time. 

The next stop was the new store I was dying to see ... Grand Country Quilters in San Marcos.  One of the gals that teaches classes at the Loft is one of the owners.  It opened a few months ago ... it is an adorable store.  Lots of Diamond Textile fabrics that I love, and really nice displays.  Some cute antiques, and it was fun to visit with Sharon while I was there.  The feel of the store is very intimate and I got a lot of great ideas for hanging quilts while I was there.  Bought a few goodies ... here they are:

The green and white check above is a tea towel

The next stop was Temecula Quilt Shop in Temecula.  I had never been to this store; all civil war fabrics and lots of lovely samples.  She makes so many quilts with tiny pieces!  You have to be so accurate with small pieces ... just amazing how small some of the pieces were ... I swear they were 1/2" finished squares ... how do you do that???  I bought a couple of things there to use as a gift ...

Next stop was lunch ... there is this wonderful italian restaurant in old town Temecula.  It was recommended to me, and I am so glad I went ... it was delicious!  The name is Palumbo's Ristorante on Fifth Street ... yum, yum, yum ... had a little pizza, a little salad, and a little bit of a fried zucchini appetizer.  It all was delicious ... just had a great, fresh taste.

Last stop was Quilter's Coop ... I have been there before.  It's a big store with lots of fabric; they have a huge civil war section.  It was fun to explore all the different areas in the store, and I love to see how different quilt stores display their quilts, and display their merchandise.  They also had a great sale section, and I bought the end of a bolt to use as a backing ... love to get fabric on sale for backings! 

It started pouring rain yesterday and rained for several hours.  It's rained on and off for a couple of days ... we were just supposed to get under an inch of rain ... this is what the container on my patio looked like this morning ...