SHOPS OF DREAMS, CHARLESTON AREA (Cheri)

So I've mentioned that one of the hardest things to leave on the Monterey Peninsula was Gail Abeloe's Back Porch Fabrics.  A couple of days ago I visited two shops on the All Carolinas Shop Hop.

These shops got my "Gold Star of Desire."

What is a "Gold Star of Desire"?  Hard to describe, but it is so, soooo much better than a simple gold star of approval!

Let's put it this way.  I told Mark that I wanted to move into People, Places & Quilts, in Summerville, South Carolina, and I could have, since they have a couple of couches among other seating options in one of the rooms.

Mark told them this, but they nixed the idea; no showers.  (Was he relieved?  He didn't say.)  The shop has 6,000 square feet of space.  Wouldn't you think there would be showers?

Most  importantly, the employees all seemed to be ecstatic to be working with the customers!  Back Porch Fabrics always felt like the "clubhouse" to me, and I wanted to have that feeling again.

This lady fixes machines for a fee, but first she offers 15 minutes of free analysis/advice, as her gift to humanity!

Fabrics and projects run the gamut from of-the-moment "clashing" Kaffe Fassett florals,

to sweet country handwork,

to children's and 30's reproduction prints, etc.

Very-vintage fixtures fill the old hardware store:

and other items set the tone:

I feel really badly because I didn't get a single picture of my other Gold-Star shop, Wild and Wooly, in Mt. Pleasant.  I was so busy bonding with the owner, who is a lovely, lovely lady from Australia.  (Cue a picture of aboriginal-print fabric, which I stole from her web site.)

Here's another shot I allowed her to "share" with me, of indigo dyed in-shop:

Seriously, what a nice woman, and great products.

She of course sells quilting books, but also lends out other books.  She offered to lend me one on a topic that I asked about, and when I explained that I lived some seven hours away she said not a problem, she was sure I would mail it back!

The only saving grace here, from my perspective, is that Mark and I do get around, so I will be able to visit these shops again, hopefully on a repeating basis.

This being the South, I'll close with a shot of a small piece of art that was for sale at People, Places & Quilts: