I’m just back from a heavenly four days in Carmel with four girlfriends who love to quilt, eat, shop and walk along the beach. My idea of bliss!

A stop in San Juan Bautista for lunch at Jardines de San Juan begins the whole decompression experience. A relaxing lunch outside on the large patio is always a treat. San Juan Bautista is an historic town with a Mission and chickens — yes, they are known for their wandering chickens.

I have often seen them on the restaurant patio, though not this time. I actually borrowed the image above from Family Threads, our first stop after lunch. This shop is just down the street from Jardines and has been open since 2010 but this was my first visit. I had a scrap of sunflower fabric with me and found some perfect companions for making pillow cases.

You may recognize the sunflower fabric on the band from my recent sunflower scrap projects. (If you are new to my blog, you can find those projects here.) I have sunflower fabric to use as trim on four more pillow cases and will still have a few scraps left. Life is good.

While in Carmel, one of our must-do stops is at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove. Owner Gail Abeloe and her staff make it fun just to be in their cheerful store — all the latest fabrics and projects tease you at every turn. There is also a gallery in the shop which features art quilts — this month there is an incredible exhibit of Thom Atkins’ beaded art quilts. If you’ve never seen Thom’s work, you are in for a jaw-dropping treat. Here is the cover of his latest book to give you an idea of what he does.

I found a pair of white kitchen towels with a pierced edging and great finish that I couldn’t resist. I purchased the last two on the table and couldn’t wait to get them home and embroider them.

I used 100-weight silk thread to keep the sketch-like look of toile. I think they will be quite fun in the kitchen.