From: Marina.Salume@Corp.Sun.COM (Marina Salume)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles
Subject: Re: a question about where to find Japanese cotton in SF
Date: 9 Apr 92 00:04:30 GMT

>The Cotton Patch in Lafayette, CA was recommended *but* I don't know
>where that is in relation to the Bay area - tho I would be a quick
>learner! But it seems there must be places within SF's public
>transportation system that would also sell Japanese cotton. ("Somewhere
>- over the rainbow..."?)


Kasuri Dyeworks in Berkeley has the REAL stuff, genuine cottons from 
Japan. Expensive but well worth it. You can take BART over there from
SF--just call the shop and ask them to tell you which station and
directions from the station. They are located very close to UC Berkeley
in a fun university shopping district so you could spend the whole day
over there. You may even be able to find the bus that will take you south
a ways to New Pieces in Solano Avenue, another wonderful fabric shop for
quilters. And there is a junky "five and dime" type fabric store about two
blocks away from Kasuri Dyeworks that is fun., In fact, I think Stone-
mountain & Daughters, and very interesting fabric store, is within walking 
distance of Kasuri Dyeworks, too.

I don't have the address with me, but Kasuri Dyeworks is in the phone book.
(remember, they have a different area code over there now--SF is 415
and most of the East Bay is 510). Kasuri Dyeworks, New Pieces, and Cotton
Patch are all in the "East Bay"--see below.

Cotton Patch is wonderful too. It is close enough to a BART station so
the owners say they will pick you up at the BART station if you call first.
But it is not exclusively Japanese fabrics, like Kasuri Dyeworks is. Just 
tons of terrific cottons of all descriptions. 

Cotton
Patch is on the east side of the SF Bay from downtown SF, you have to cross the
Bay Bridge (easily confused with the Golden gate--we have two lovely bridges
here, not just one) and go thru a tunnel (not to be confused with the other
tunnel that goes into marin, which actually has a rainbow painted on it--
what did you say about over the rainbow? :-) and when you emerge, you are 
in Lafayette :-) 

If you stop before you go thru the tunnel, you'll be in Berkeley. BART will
allow you to pay for a ticket to the furthest point, get off midway there
and shop, then get back on and continue on to your eventual destination.
So you won't have to keep buying tickets. BART runs all the time too, not
like buses which always seem to have just left whenever you get to the bus
stop. BART is what all public transportation should be (but isn't).

You can also check out Japantown, which is in the heart of SF, on Geary Street.
But there is no fabric store there, altho you can find a few bits of fabric,
very overpriced, at some of the stores. I mainly go there to buy Japanese
quilt books at the big bookstore there.

In Monterey, there is one neat quilt shop in Pacific Grove, which is just
south of Monterey (there is actually no visible dividing line between the
two cities, if you keep driving south from Monterey you will find yourself
in Pacific Grove. Of course I can't remember the name of the shop right now
but check the phone book down there. Pacific Grove also has lots of nice 
bookstores to browse through. Be sure to go to Central 1-5-9 for dinner,
maybe I'll see you there :-) It's my favorite in all of California!

--marina
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles