By Lynn Holland

We realize that the winter months are not usually the best for visiting venues on the beach, but since when did you need good weather to buy fabric? TVQ was on the road in South Carolina, and although Charleston was our main stop, we decided to venture up the coast and check out that well-known tourist mecca, Myrtle Beach.

In previous trips to Charleston, we were surprised to discover a dearth of fabric stores. Only People, Places and Quilts in nearby Summerville came close to offering quality fabrics and classes. There were just a few stores offering fine sewing instruction--amazing when you consider the prevalence of fine hand sewn and smocked children's clothing available for sale locally. After all, this is the home of the famous Charleston bonnet. Because we had fallen in love with the quaint town of Summerville, PP&Q was our first stop on the way in. We were delighted to discover the store had expanded, adding a classroom decked out with jelly bean plastic chairs and wonderful heavy, handcrafted wooden tables and a gallery area full of antiques, quilts and folk art. This store is so beautifully decorated and so generously sized, you could literally live there. Giant folk art fabric and wooden angels preside over the store's rooms as well as model shop samples. There are antique file cabinets to hold stencils and thread choices are ensconced in an old Coats and Clark case.

The fabric selection is impressive, although there is an emphasis on folk, primitive and traditional over modern; however, every taste is represented. On some of the walls are displays of new fabric collections artistically arranged and embellished. Should you need wool or fleece pieces, they're readily available.

In the back room you'll find patterns and kits galore, plus all kinds of little goodies to embellish yourself and/or your project. There are many nice things on consignment from local artists. I couldn't resist a rag doll with adorable wool plaits. The super discovery we made was that there's now another PP&Q in downtown Charleston.

The next day we set out for Myrtle Beach, a two-hour trip up US 17. However, should you decide to do this yourself, let me tell you that for about twenty minutes at a stretch, there is nothing between gas stations. Perhaps this is not surprising to you, but as an inveterate city dweller, I am always stunned when you can drive for more than five minutes without seeing the golden arches or the Texaco star. I did not plan ahead and wound up at the E&A Grocery needing gasoline from their ancient and only semi-functional pump and the key to their ancient and semi-functional ladies' room as well. Knowing this, you can plan ahead.

Myrtle Beach is a tourist beach, but this you already know. The main strip of the town consists mainly of two souvenir vendors, Wings and Eagles, whose giant stores must number, in the double digits. However, my Quilter's Traveling Companion promised that I would find three quilt stores nestled among the salt-water taffy stands.

The first of these, Quilter's Heaven, offers a good solid selection of fabric choices, although it was difficult for me to identify the "voice" of the shop from what I saw. An airy, well lighted place, QH is a Pfaff dealer and had a gift of the month program for its customers with embroidery machines. Another novel idea is the Christmas mystery block of the month, using paper pieced blocks to make the resultant quilt.I also liked the adorable chenille buddies the store had made up. My favorite was the duck, although they were all cute. Patterns for a menagerie full of animals were available, alone with nice cuts of chenille or kits, depending on your preference. QH also carries supplies for and offers classes using the new pre-printed foundation interfacing that simplifies curved piecing patterns like Double Wedding Ring and Drunkard's Path. This shop has a "twin "in Wilmington, North Carolina, in case the name seems familiar, and you're wondering about the connection. If you're looking for an alternative to a corn dog on the beach, the Bagel Cafe is right next door.

Down the road a piece was supposed to be Quilting by the Sea, but it has apparently gone by the wayside. I couldn't tell exactly which store had been QBTS, but there had been a fire in that block, and the remaining stores were_ let's just say not of the fiber persuasion. When I called the listed phone number, I got the standard "not in service at this is time" message. So I moved up the beach to Oak Street Fabrics,which sits in a cute little strip mall across the street from the Myrtle Mall.

When you walk in the door of Oak Street, you'll see the giant Gammill long arm quilting machine right in front of you.The day I was there, the was a queen size Waverly pint comforter being outline quilted. Oak Street has an impressive selection of obviously well chosen fabric. The owners also sell supplies for smocking including ready-to-smock pre-pleated and partially constructed children's dresses and bonnets. To complement these is a comprehensive line of small size buttons and notions,suitable for children or dolls. Oak Street has lots of non-quilting fabric, for home and self. The store gives classes, but has no shop newsletter. The day I was there was an especially busy one, due to a visit from a sales rep and several customers, so I didn't linger long to talk with the shopkeeper. However right next door is the fabuous cafe, Croissants with a charmingly upscale (though not overly pricey) menu, including shrimp and orzo salad a bread bowl garden salad and a nice array of sandwiches. If you've already had lunch, or are in need of a specialty cake for entertaining, there are nineteen (I counted) options. Really a great place to spend your caloric allotment.

On my way out of town, I pulled into a shopping center parking lot and spotted Irby's, a store that somehow must be mentioned in this article. It carries, well, an eclectic assortment. In front there is statuary and stuff, followed by clothing, sheets, pillows and fabric by the pound. There are rolls and rolls of nice and very reasonable home dec fabric, along with bolts and rolls of lace at pennies a yard. One part barn, one part boutique, but definitely worth a stop.

During my ride up, I noticed a shop with a nice front porch and a quilt hanging outside, and made a mental note to be sure to check it out on the way back. Named Island Threads, this jewel of a store is on Pawleys Island, sort of a toney beach community. I noticed that by this time along US17, the aforementioned Eagles had turned into a resort ware purveyor. Pawleys Island is charming, and Island Threads is a perfect fit. The owner was tending the store the afternoon I stopped by, and I enjoyed talking with her about the gorgeous carved antique bookshelf that serves as a display case. There was a darling Twoheaded Doll Puse (designed by eleanor peace bailey and Sally Lampi slung over a achair at the entrance, and lots of nice notions and other quilter's delights like an eskimo pincushions tucked here and there. Even the huge roll of batting standing in one corner looked downright decorative, thanks to owner's obvious personal flair. The store hads a great lineup of classes, including Pat Knoechel of Quilt in a Day as a guest teacher this spring. Naturally, the fabric super selection echoes the distinctive personality of the rest of the store. The stop at the "Island " really made my day.

Still not overdosed on fabric, before I went back home I had to visit PP&Q in Charleston. To tell you the truth, PP&Q is the only quilt store I know who publishes a mission statement in it's newsletter. The newsletter is pretty adorable, with hand drawn illustrations to decorate it. The store in Charleston is a little bit off the main street, but only about a block , in a primarily residential neighborhood. The store itself is smaller, but every bit as adorable as the one in Summerville. This shop is basically one big room, but it has the same great stuff as the flagship store. There were also some wonderful pillows and small purses and a gorgeous Santa that was marked down to the point where he had to come home with me. I bought a charm collection of millenium fabrics to tuck in a card for my DIL and also a distinctive foundation pieced wall hanging of Charleston's famous "Rainbow Row". The clerk at PPQ had a great personality and I even stayed long enough to have a cup of coffee and listen to her bemoan the fact that the construction guys renovating the rest of the building were the culprits who were clogging the store parking lot. A really fun, friendly place.

Should you need food, just a few blocks away are a number of Charleston's famous restaurants, among them Hyman's Seafood, Jestine's (local specialties), both on Meeting Street and a place on King called the Horse and Cart, which has great boiled peanuts, cheese platters and sandwiches and is not what you would term a "family place," unless you're talking about my family . My kids loved it several years ago, and my return trip was every bit as fun.

We have always been fond of Charleston, mostly for its food and local color. Now that local color has expanded to mean FABRIC colors, we're sure that we will make a return trip soon.