It’s true! And that’s okay with me, because being in this place was like being in a candy store for quilters anyway!
I’d heard about M & L fabrics for years ---- never thinking I’d get a chance to go, but go I did!
And so did Julie from Australia, Brigitte from Germany, Caroline from Belgium, Carolyn from Maine, Kim from Minnesota, and Deborah from Illinois, Florine from Brea, California, and Sherry from Whittier, California, and Grace from Whittier, California!
We hit that place like a swarm of wasps --- swooping and and snatching up and petting, and passing around and looking here and looking there!
This was my first glimpse as I stepped inside the store. My reaction? Holy. Mother. Of. Fabric!! Where do you start?! This side is the bolt side, and there is some good stuff over here…batiks for $3.98 a yard? Yep --- They’ve got them, and more!
THIS ---this is the flat fold side…and there are miles and miles of shelves stacked HIGH with flat folds! You have to dig and search in here, for bargains mean there are undesirables as well as desirables. Perseverance is a MUST!
Upon our exit..I had to take a closer look at the tile wall outside the building –you can’t see it in the top picture above….but look at this:
Here’s the view down the wall..it almost looks like a crossword puzzle doesn’t it? I had to take a closer straight on shot to see if I could make any “pattern” emerge from it:
Can you find a face in here? Do you see anything else in here? I think it’s kinda cool……that is if you don’t stare at it for too long and wind up with a raging migraine…LOL!
We all had a wonderful time and ended our shopping trip at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. I don’t know about you, but I can be perfectly fine and not feeling like eating, until I smell good fried chicken, and I’m instantly famished! All 9 of us gathered for a fun lunch before going our separate ways. Chicken pot pie! I’m sure I’ll be regretting it when I get home and get to a scale, but it sure was yummy!
Yep, it was “THAT” Mrs Knott's, of Knott's Berry Farm! We didn’t go into the park, but walking under the roller coaster on the side walk to the restaurant, I relived many memories of going to Knott's Berry Farm when I was in high school ---I love those roller coasters as much today as I did then! If we had had more time – I would have loved to go!
I took a picture of this bottle brush tree because it reminded me of the bottle brush bushes we had growing in our front yard in San Jose when I was growing up! I remember it really attracted the bees..but the flowers are so fun…they DO look like bottle brushes don’t they? Love the color…and love the memories!
My lecture with the Friendship Square Quilt Guild of La Habra was last night….and we had a great time. I love an interactive audience. It’s nice to connect with people who understand my love of fabric and finding places in fun quilts where it all can be used!
Today is our Sister’s Choice workshop….easy pattern, loads of fun, great for swapping strips and sewing up a fun quilt. It’s the last day of my Southern California trip ---boy am I glad I came!
Boy am I glad to go home too! :cD
WOW!, that fabric store looks inviting!
ReplyDeleteGuess I will have to make a trip to Cali just to visit M&L's. Awesome!! Like I need fabric, yeah, good luck with that one. By the looks of those flat folds I won't even need a hotel room, just sleep in the store for two days. Would have to ship everything back to Maine, as too many bags for the flight. Maybe I will just drive out with my high-rise cargo van....hmmmmm....where are those keys?
ReplyDeleteHave a good last day Bonnie, and safe journey home. You picked a good time to be in S. Cal. Very chilly on the east coast.
Good on ya, mate.
Faye in Maine
Where, oh where, do you get this energy? You have had a whirlwind trip and made guild presentations and taught workshops and done touristy things and shopped, and you're still alive! You go, Girl!
ReplyDeleteOoo-the wheels are turning. DH and I are contemplating taking a CA vacation in Anaheim. The resort says that Knott's Berry Farm is a nearby attraction. Should I tell DH about this attraction as well? Maybe not!
ReplyDeleteBonnie,I was watching the Golden Globes the other night and now you remind me of Meryl Streep. Maybe it's just the blonde hair.
ReplyDeleteI have so enjoyed your trip to CA. I missed a girl trip to Road to CA show and 2 weeks of site seeing last week due to DH illness. But feel I have been through your trip. Thanks for taking everyone along. Enjoy !!
ReplyDeleteM & L's looks like a supper sized Mary Jo's, how did you keep yourself focused ? I'm glad you have had a good time in Southern CA.
ReplyDeleteI think I might be in trouble in July. My girls are dancing at Disneyland and I googled the location of M & L fabrics and it is only 15 min away.....omg....I will have to go on a fabric diet until then and bring room in my suitcase. I will be coming from Calgary, Canada and we just don't have anything like that here. thanks for the tip, I think!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great time!
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was at Knott's Berry Farm I was a young teenager. I got a huge sliver in my sandaled foot as I slide across the seat of the stagecoach. I couldn't get it out, the first aid station nurse couldn't get it out. (My only experience with smelling salts.) They took me via police car to a clinic several miles from "The Farm" where the officer escorted me right into an examining room and the staff there finally removed it. All this time my family waited back at "The Farm"--that would never happen today.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that fabric store. I wouldn't get a migraine from the tile--I would get one from the system overload of that place, but I would pay that price for a chance to shop there! : )
My Goodness! That is a Place I'd dare not go. Roller coasters? That's what I see in that WALL. I've never been to Ca except on a plane passing through and driving to Yuma. We didn't stop in CA to see anything Fun like a Fabric Store. My DH doesn't have them on his radar and DD doesn't sew much either. You have me looking at the cost of an Airplane ticket to CA, Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteIsn't M & L the most fabulous shop you have ever been to? I go at least once a year after Road2Calif.
ReplyDeleteI would still be in that shop looking at every bolt and flat fold there. LOL. It looks so awesome.
ReplyDeleteIf you only spent $42, you must have exercised great restraint! Good thing you didn't have Shamu!!
ReplyDeleteSo fun! I am shocked to not see a picture of you with the giant metal chicken from out front of the restaurant though. Hard to believe you passed up that photo opportunity :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd then there is Jenny's in Fountain Valley--I believe she is a relative of M&L---it has similar set-up and great bargains!
ReplyDeleteI love M & L and hope to visit on my next trip to California, even though I'm on a fabric buying moratorium. One can always use backing fabric, right?
ReplyDeleteThe next time I go to California and visit my aunt i will have to make sure there is extra time to stop there too! That place looks awesome! I could spend all day there!
ReplyDeleteA fantastic Australian plant that seems to be very popular in the US!
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! What a great shop!!! Will have to put that one on my some-day list.
ReplyDeleteoh My - I'm going to Los Angeles area this March - you can bet I will add this to my "do" list.
ReplyDeleteWow only 42 dollars I've been there twice this month and spent more then that each time...fun place and what a great adventure
ReplyDeleteWow! That wall really looked cool; but the photos of the fabric from M&L nearly gave me heart palpitations! Loved seeing the slide show from your bargello class too. Such wonderful color combinations. I am new to blog world , and have been finding your adventures fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I wish you'd take pics for us of the fabric you buy. I love to see what people find when they go in to places that overwhelming with choices. shellbayer@cox.net
ReplyDeleteI only live about an hour away but my first visit to M&L took place on the way home from my husband's out patient knee surgery in Santa Ana! He was still pretty "under the influence" but verbally agreed to rest in the car while I spent a brief 45 minutes or so in the store. That's a quilters husband! In my defense, we were home well before he needed painkillers. :0)
ReplyDeleteI went to M&L some years ago. It was incredible, but I couldn't buy much fabric due to the limited space in my suitcase. We were on a camping trip and had all our camping gear to carry back to Germany. In Germany we pay $20 -25 for a yard of fabric. But we can get cheep shirts at our thrift shops.
ReplyDeleteI went to M&L some years ago. It was incredible, but I couldn't buy much fabric due to the limited space in my suitcase. We were on a camping trip and had all our camping gear to carry back to Germany. In Germany we pay $20 -25 for a yard of fabric. But we can get cheep shirts at our thrift shops.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I never did see what you bought!
ReplyDeleteOMG I will be visiting Anaheim this Sept on a trip from South Australia! I think you've just made my day! Now I'm excited to visit the store if I can get away from husband and daughter for a 'little' while.
ReplyDeletethanks
Anne