Depending on the kindness of strangers

We're just back from a vacation in San Diego, where I made an honest attempt to visit every quilt store in the county. That's a tall order, considering there are more than a dozen of them, and I was trying to fit in the visits around sightseeing with my family and visiting my sister-in-law. We did a lot of "Gretchen goes into the shop while Liza sleeps and Jason reads a book in the car," which was good in a way - no time to lollygag and shop too long when there's a cranky toddler waiting outside.

At first I wasn't sure how the area could support so many shops, but once I checked out their inventories, it became obvious that each store focuses on a different niche market. It's great, because each store has a REALLY good selection of fabrics and patterns within their niche - primitives, reproductions, brights, flannels, novelties, Asian fabrics, etc. I could tell almost immediately when I walked into a store whether they might be interested in buying my patterns.

You didn't think I was just visiting all these places to shop, did you? Silly, silly reader! I was selling like no tomorrow, and thanks to the kindness of some lovely ladies who didn't know me from Adam (or Eve), my patterns are now officially distributed in California! Thank you, Sue, Sue, and Karen!

So if you're near San Diego, check out the following shops for a selection of my work:

Quilter's Paradise

Mad Hatter's Quilt Box

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a boatload of patterns to print, and new patterns to type up. I'm all chock full of inspiration and ambition now that my patterns are distributed in three states. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania - I'm coming for you at Easter!