Fabrics by the bay...Morro Bay, CA

The Cotton Ball in Morro Bay, California, http://www.thecottonball.com/, is one of my favorite stops when we travel the California Coast.

A charming little shop with a wonderful fabric selection, a room full of sewing machines (Pfaff dealer), and lots of nooks and crannies to explore makes this a "Must See" shop!

There is a work room upstairs with this beautiful stained glass window!

Where my love of fabric began...

We're camping at Pismo Beach, CA for a few days so I decided to drive 20 miles to my childhood home town, Santa Maria. There is a fabric store there that holds so many memories to me that I fall in to some kind of trance whenever I visit.

The original location of Betty's Fabrics, (sorry, they don't have a website), was long ago knocked down to make way for construction of a large mall but today I felt lost in a time warp. Much like when I'd trail behind my mom as fabrics brushed my arms and cheeks, and when I'd taken my own small children shopping here in the early 1980s, I wandered around touching the silks, and gazing at everything from batiks to baby prints.

They've got a great color library on the back walls!

The store is bigger than "just a quilt store" and features home decor, bridal, and wool fabrics. They've got a great selection of trims and buttons too.

Caution! This RV stops for Quilt Stores!

Welcome to this tour of quilt stores and quilt projects during our travels! I don't plan to buy much on this trip--more about that as we go along--but that doesn't stop me from shopping! I hope to share with you all the fabulous quilt and fabric stores I discover along the way!

Our first stop after leaving snowy Sisters on Nov. 22 was Redding, CA. This is usually a one-night stop but after a tiring drive we decided to stay 2 nights. This gave me an opportunity to return to Sew What, http://www.sewwhatquilts.com/ , a quilt store right off I-5 which I'd passed many times but finally stopped to visit this past summer. This store carries a lot of contemporary fabrics and batiks, and has a nice yarn department too.

They've got a nice sitting area in the book section!

Next time you pass through Redding, take time to stop at Sew What and see what's happening.