Red Liberated Quilt

Red Liberated Quilt 
Liberated and Improv style blocks

 Mostly from stash

 48" square

 Completed 6/27/2015

 To be donated to a local agency that helps people who have been abused.

The centers of a few blocks are quite old, perhaps dating back to 2003, my first quilting trip, when I visited my daughter Lisa in San Diego. I kept myself busy sewing at the motel while she was at work. I worked through the book Liberated Quiltmaking. Each block is framed with a narrow black border. Some have an additional border of blue print.

Here's a peek at the back of the quilt. I bought the blue print long ago, for this quilt. There wasn't quite enough to cover the back, so I added another fabric, from stash, to fill the space.

This happens to be the eighth and last of a group of quilts that I call Loaves and Fishes quilts. They were funded, at least in part, by a generous Joann's gift card given to me by a group of friends shortly before Christmas 2014. I call them Loaves and Fishes quilts because I was able to make so many quilts with the card. The term refers to the Bible story of the boy's lunch of bread and fish, which multiplied as the disciples distributed it to a crowd of thousands of people. All were fed, and there were leftovers.

Here are the other seven quilts in the group (all throw sized):

Click! Click! Click! Click!

Lighthouses

Play Ball!

Smiley Faces

A Day at the Beach

Diamonds for Reghan

SF Giants Double Header

Debbie

San Francisco: February 2004

Making the city-themed travel quilt reminds me of a trip I took years ago. It was early 2004, almost exactly this time in February. I was going through a divorce after a long marriage, and during the first year travel was my therapy, especially during the holidays. I'd already been to Reno for Christmas - a last-minute trip to avoid dealing with a big, empty house for the first time in 23 years. So for President's Day weekend, which included what could have been a very sad Valentine's Day, I took Amtrak to San Francisco and spent three fun-packed and adventurous days seeing many sights, all by public transportation or on foot.

Before I left home I put together a list of 21 places I wanted to visit in San Francisco. Mind you, this wasn't my first time there. Only a couple of hours from home, I'd been there many times. I'd done the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 thing on many occasions, so I didn't bother for this trip. I wanted to go to new places. And I did. I visited all 21 spots on the list. A few of the places I stayed only a few minutes, but I can say I went.

Here are the places I can remember:
Black Cat Quilt Shop
Lori's Diner (multiple times)
Live show in a tiny theater in the Union Square area where I was staying
Border's bookstore
French cafe near Chinatown
Chinatown walking tour
Museum of Modern Art
Yerba Buena Gardens
North Beach
City Lights bookstore
Another bookstore near City Hall (Did I mention that I like bookstores?)
Sutro Baths
Cliff House
Pier 23 Cafe - music was really loud so I didn't go in

That doesn't total 21 items, so obviously I've forgotten some. But I had a great time. I enjoy San Francisco, with so many places to see and things to do. I'm fortunate to live so close to a great city.

Debbie

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Memory from France

I just had a memory from when I went to France as a teenager and stayed with a French family for a few weeks during a study trip.  Just now I was putting a bowl of milk in the microwave to heat up for hot chocolate.  I wondered how weird it would be to drink the hot chocolate out of the bowl.  At that instant I remembered how every morning at the French family's home I had a bowl of hot chocolate with my breakfast of French bread with butter.  "Maman" would keep a kettle of hot milk on the stove in the morning.  She would scoop out a bowlful of milk and add chocolate.  I would drink the hot chocolate from the bowl and eat my bread at the little kitchen table.

I hadn't thought about that for nearly 40 years but I can still see it in my mind's eye.  What a pleasant memory.

Pacifica, Day 3

Today is my last day at Pacifica. I've had a great time. After breakfast I make more progress on the Chantelle, which I've named Chantelle de la Mer (Chantelle of the Sea).

Side wonky borders on

Top wonky border


The last wonky border

The next set of pics are of a four-patch quilt I've been working on during the trip, to sell on my website.

Pink strips

White with pink strip

Cut the strip into sections

Join two sections together for a four-patch block

Lots and lots of four-patch blocks

Time to pack up and check out. I didn't drive my car, and dragging my suitcase around the area will be a headache. The motel manager agrees to hold my bag for a couple of hours.

I spend some time at the beach, check out the shops on the street, and visit my potential painting at the antique shop. Yep, I still love it.

Finally I pick up my suitcase from the motel, and head out to the highway to catch the bus. It's been fun. I'll be back.

Pacifica, Day 2

It's Wednesday, and there's lots of sewing in store for today. I'll work on the four-patch as well as the Chantelle.

Left half of the Chantelle flower

Right half of Chantelle flower done.

Flower portion of Chantelle together

I needed a way to keep the pieces of the alternate Chantelle together while the maid cleaned the room. I pinned the pieces to an extra pillow that was in the closet. While my room was being cleaned I ducked out for a while to check out the shops near the motel.

Hoffmann's, a wine and snack place on Rockaway. Owner Alice gave me lots of tips on restaurants. I bought a cute little teabag holder that I'll use at work to lay my coffee spoon on.

Antique store on Rockaway where I found the painting below.

I loved this painting, Restaurant Marie. It looks like Paris, which fits into the theme of my home. There are nuns and schoolchildren in the picture, kind of a unique feature. I will probably buy the painting on layaway if it fits into the space I have in mind.

Back to the room to sew again. Bottom half of the Chantelle.

The complete flower

First wonky border in place

I needed a break...the ocean was calling me. The view to the left just outside my door.

View to the right

Less than 50 steps from my door is the seawall. Here is what you can see over the rocks.

Above the hill is a plane just leaving SFO.

Here's what I see from my favorite bench

On advice of Alice from Hoffmann's, I set off on this trail to find a good Mexican restaurant--only a block away. Okay...I hope I'm going the right way. A lady on the trail assures me the trail ends close to the restaurant.

Just 15 minutes later I'm here at Guerrero's at Reina Del Mar and Hwy 1. When I get inside, it looks familiar. I quickly figure out that my daughter and I ate here a few years ago. The food is good! I ate my chili relleno and beef enchilada combination plate on the porch. I enjoy eating outside when I travel.

Time to head back. I want to catch the sunset. The lighthouse in the distance is where I'm headed. The walk is pleasant. It feels safe since there are other people on the trail walking, jogging and biking. There's a brook that runs alongside the trail for a bit, and there are benches to rest should the need arise.

End of the trail

View to the right near the end of the trail.

When I'm at the ocean I try to see the sunset. I missed it the first evening because it was so overcast I couldn't even see the sun. I figured the sun must have gone down when it started to get dark. Wednesday night was a different story and I watched the sunset for nearly an hour. At one point, the water turned a beautiful turquoise and the golden reflection of the sun danced on the waves. That's what I tried to capture in the photo above.

These three photos are the last few minutes of the sunset. This first one is just as the sun meets the water.

About half of the sun is gone.

The last bit of sun for the day. After this I was really cold and went to Nick's to get something hot to drink and warm me up.

Pacifica, Day 1

Pacifica, California. Just a few miles south of San Francisco. I'm here on a three-day quilting trip. For years I've had a dream of renting a cottage on the beach for a week and quilting to the sound of the ocean. Just a few months ago I stayed in Pacifica at a motel about a block from the ocean. On that trip I discovered the Sea Breeze Motel, located just a few feet from the seawall, and many rooms with ocean views. I decided that I'd come back and stay there to do my quilting. Here I am! My motel room isn't a cottage, but it's close.

The view from my room. The black flecks are water drops on the screen.

The view from just outside my door

The view to the left

The view to the right

View of the motel from the seawall

Monterey, Day 3

This is my third and last day in Monterey. The Amtrak bus doesn't leave until afternoon, so I have time to do some exploring. I have breakfast at Old Monterey Cafe on Alvarado. The food is delicious. I catch Bus 1X, headed for Lover's Point in Pacfic Grove to look at the ocean. I sit on a bench and look at the water, rocks and birds. It's beautiful.

Back on the bus, I get off on Lighthouse to find Back Porch Fabric. On the way, I hear music coming from a park. In a gazebo, an older gentleman is playing jazz clarinet to recorded music. As a professional musician myself, it gets my attention. I talk to the man, Russ Guarino, who plays with the Monterey Lighthouse Jazz Band. I spend some time talking to him and listening to him play. Then I excuse myself to find the quilt store.

At Back Porch Fabric, I buy an office-themed fat quarter. It's a nice store, well worth visiting if you come to the Monterey area.

I get back on the bus and head back to the Transportation Center. I check out Turtle Bay Taqueria, which looks interesting, but decide not to eat there. I walk back to the motel, pick up my bag, then have lunch at El Palomar, where I ate on my first day.
Back to the Transportation Center, where I catch the Amtrak bus back to Merced. Luckily, the bus driver stops for a potty break about halfway through the three-hour trip. Once back in Merced, I catch the train for the short ride back home.