Temecula or Bust!

I'm back!  It was a fabulous two week trip around Southern California with beautiful weather, fun activities, lots of new experiences and a ton of memories to keep until alzheimers sets in.  I have some favourite moments for sure, including accidently stumbling upon a Tiffany's (woohoo!) where I was able to find a palm tree charm as a trip momento - love it!  However, one of my favourite stops was on day eight at the Temecula Quilt Company, in the city of Temecula.

It's a darling little place.  Spacious, well lit, inspiring decor, and of course a delightful shop owner.  It wasn't hard to find things to add to my pile of items for purchase - and boy did I find things!  Small quilts, patterns galore, wool, fabric by the yard, books, trinkets, notions; you name it!

I found that as I looked in one direction I discovered something fabulous only to look another direction and discover something more!  Now that's what I call a super-duper quilt shop!  And, not only were there so many items to inspire in every nook, most of it was all reproduction oriented and right up my alley!

At every turn, fun ways of displaying traditional patterns, old ideas made new, and some great little trinkets to add to the must have list.

I also found some favourites that I already own.  The Sew Scrappy magazine is fabulous and there's fellow blogger Kathie Holland's tumblers quilts on the front!  Way to go Kathie, I hear you're a regular at the shop too!  As well, I found Kathleen Tracey's book Prairie Children and Their Quilts which is a fave 'go-to' book of mine.  Kathy Tracey is also a blogger and has an online shop where you can purchase her patterns and books.

Then as if all this wonderous inspiration wasn't enough, there was a gorgeous Civil War Love Letters quilt on the wall.  It was the perfect size and still easily identifyable from the book on the shelf just below.  A darling sampling of blocks.

After my little shopping spree, several more days passed, and then it was time to head home.  At the West Jet ticket counter my suitcase was 20lbs over weight.  They asked if there was a way to transfer any items to a carry-on in order to avoid the overage fee of $50.  I pulled out the backpack we brought along for use at Disneyland, stuffed all the yardage I bought into it and put the suitcase back on the scale...  Only one pound over!  I chuckled to myself as we made our way to security - 19lbs of fabric!  Oh what a glorious trip it was!

If you're ever in Southern California, it's certainly worth the trip to Temecula to visit the shop.  And if you aren't in the position for such a trip any time soon, you can always shop online or phone in your order - maybe there's something you saw in one of these pics you just have to have.  You can also visit their blog for updates and new inspirations.  Enjoy!