Sunday Stash

I'm back in incredibly warm Sydney after what felt like a year long vacation. To my own surprise, I had incredible restraint at the fabric stores... probably because I had several dozens bolts waiting to be used or sold.

I did manage to visit four fabric stores during my trip though and picked up a few goodies to show off for Sunday Stash (though having walked on to a plane on Friday in San Francisco and disembarking an hour ago, I really question whether or not it's Sunday). Here's some of the new-to-me random little gems:




Rather than babble about the prints, I thought I'd talk about them in the context of the shops they are from.

Fabric Chicks Creative Oasis, Outer Minden, NV - A dreamy little store about 20 minutes outside of South Lake Tahoe well-suited for Tina Givens, Joel Dewberry and Heather Bailey fans. As it should be! After chatting with the owner, I learned she grew up with Heather Bailey and worked for Elinor Pearce Bailey. This was my kind of quilt store, and if I had a physical store front. I'd love it to be like this. I went twice to visit and found it a gathering place of sorts for many locals including one Saturday a month dedicated to making Quilts of Valor for serving soldiers.

Peapod Fabrics, Inner Sunset, San Francisco - As I made my way to San Francisco, I popped over to Peapod Fabrics. Another great shop for quilting fabrics in bright, bold and retro inspired styles. Though they don't seem to carry complete ranges except for the occassional line, there is plenty of selection for anyone wanting to make a modern quilt. Again, I loved the shop and if you're local go visit. Here, I picked up some spare Kaufman Kona cotton, some mendecino and even one piece of Hope Valley. Along with bright basics, there's a decent collection of japanese linens. While there, the shop was visted by not one but two interior designers walking about with full Pantone swatch sets. Yum.

Urban Burp, Chinatown/Embarcadero, San Francisco - Urban Burp had to be the unique gem of my shopping. The owner, Electra, has been collecting and selling vintage fabrics for 14 years and just recently setup a storefront in the back of her husband's studio. 800 sq ft jam packed with vintage goodness, as well as some modern reproductions. Barkcloth, feedsack, linens, velvets and more. The prices here may seem slightly high to locals, but coming from Australian pricing everything was reasonable to me. Here, I picked up three cotton pieces. In the top green photo, you'll see a green&pink diamond print from the 1950s and a swirly print circa 1930-1940s. Both are new oldstock, so they haven't been sewn or hung before. The third print is in the orange photos and it's my little dirty hippie 1960's orange, coral and taupe geometric number. I didn't have a plan for these when I bought them but think they'll make great little skirt embellishments or small cases. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by for a visit. (Urban Burp came recommened by two readers, jdent (whose URL I can't find at the moment) and Amy. Thank you both very much!)

While out and about, I also visited:
- Mendels, Haight, San Franscisco - great for Calaveras and bright prints
- Britex Fabrics - great selection, but overpriced likely due to it's location
- Quilt House - huge store, but more country and victorian than my taste. good for supplies and notions though