Fabric fiends flock like Fools\' for finery

Tag : Other Fabric

With maps in hand, they drive hundred of miles on a quest to findfabric.
It's all part of the 10th annual Southern California Quilt Run.
And among those stops is Fabric Fools and Monica's Quilt and BeadCreations in Palm Desert, said Bonnie Scott, owner of Fabric Fools.
“People love it,” Scott said. “They carpool andgo to the different shops.”
Despite the heat, the run's first weekend, July 10-13, brought1,100 additional guests to her shop, Scott said.
“I think I put in 44 hours in four days,” Scott saidwith a laugh.
Monica Gonzales, owner of Monica's Quilt and Bead, had beenconcerned she would not see a lot of visitors because of gasprices.
However, she had almost as many runners as last year.
“We had 1,078 people come through the store,” she said.
The purpose of the run is to reach out to fellow quilters, Scottsaid. The run brings people from every corner of the SouthernCalifornia to visit shops.
Run participants can also win prizes. They carry passports thatthey can have stamped at each quilt shop. Passports are turned inat the last shop visited.
Those passports were taken to a meeting of the Southern CaliforniaAssociation of Quilt Shop Owners on Monday, where they were putinto a drawing for gift baskets valued at $300.
Visitors are also enticed to visit for the free charms, she said.
“Each shop gave out individualized charms,” Scott said.“We also gave out pattern pieces. That was new thisyear.”
Scott's charm was her logo, a square with a fabric fool on it.
“They can put them into necklaces or or sew it into thecorner of the quilt,” she said. “They're verypopular.”
At her shop, Gonzales created a theme around a Southern Californiafabric she designed.
The success of the event was very important, Gonzales said. Many ofthe ‘runners' stayed in town overnight and enjoyed the city.
“We're trying to bring the business out to the desert,”she said.