There is a quilt shop in Napa, small but fun - Quiltmaker (
http://www.quiltmakernapa.com/); also a Hancocks, but I haven't been in it. In the East Bay area, off the 680 fwy are a few shops I enjoy: The Cotton Ball in Lafayette (home of C&T Publishing); The Quilters Inn in Danville; Thimblecreek in Concord. There are several others in the greater Bay area, a quilting mecca, but I haven't been to them. I really like Inbetween Stitches in Livermore, Alex's LQS, but that is probably too far south of SF to go to. Google San Francisco or Bay area quilt shops and see what you find. I hear there are some good ones in the Berkeley area, but again I haven't been there. I live at the northern extreme of Southern California, so I'm not an expert on the Northern CA shops.
Bonnie in Santa Ynez, CA
Thanks Bonnie, I will check these out and plot my travels around some LQS! Much appreciated.