San Diego June 2012 - Days 3 and 4

Sunday morning in beautiful San Diego. Daughter Lisa and I had the motel breakfast, and later headed downtown to meet Lisa's friends Bridget and Jeff from Lisa's former city of Bellingham, Washington.

Chuck Jones Gallery

Gaslamp District

Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

After parking near the Hard Rock Cafe Lisa and I had a bit of time before lunch, so we walked several blocks to the Chuck Jones Gallery on 5th Street. (Chuck drew Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, etc.) Also on display at the gallery were works of Dr. Seuss. There was a big drawing of Cat in the Hat, very tall. My granddaughter Reghan is a big fan of the TV cartoon show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That. I tried to sneak a photo with my camera, got caught and had my hand slapped just a little. Oh, well.

Hard Rock Cafe

After a quick look through the gallery Lisa and I hurried back to the Hard Rock Cafe to meet her friends for lunch. We had a nice, albeit noisy, lunch together.

Next we headed south to Imperial Beach, to pick up the sweater I had left behind the night before with Lisa's friends Tawna and Jimbo. Tawna wasn't home but we spent some time visiting with Jimbo. I made sure I had my sweater with me as we left.

Imperial Beach has special meaning to Lisa and to me, for different reasons. Lisa has lived there several times, and my parents lived here when I was born - something I didn't know until less than two years ago. One of my goals for this trip was to try to find the house where they were living, according to the address on my birth certificate.

The first place I ever lived

After stopping at CVS for some snacks for the motel, we drove to the address and lo and behold, there it was! I believe it was the same building, now 55+ years old. I was blown away and had this strange feeling of familiarity. The building, which houses maybe four units, is just a block and a half away from the beach. I was four years old when we moved away from San Diego, but I remember a couple of places we lived. While I don't remember going to that beach, I recall family photos and/or home movies of myself, my brother Wayne, and cousins playing at a beach. Being so close, it stands to reason that my mom would just pack us up and walk the block and a half. She's no longer here, so I can't verify.

Imperial Beach

Pier in the the background

On many occasions I've sat near the pier and enjoyed the ocean.

Lisa chilling to the sound of the waves

Having relaxed at the beach for a while, we headed back to the motel, ordered a pizza, and watched TV. Lisa stayed with me again.

Monday. Lisa's last day of work as a temp. She woke up with an aching back, saying the mattress was hurting her. She went off to work on her motorcycle, with a plan to get breakfast at the cafeteria there.

Rosie's Calico Cupboard in El Cajon

With most of the day to myself, I got a plate of motel breakfast and ate it in the room. I had use of the rental car so with the help of the talking GPS on my smartphone, I drove to my first destination: Rosie's Calico Cupboard in El Cajon, pronounced el ca-HOHN, unless you're the GPS lady, who amusingly pronounces it El Cajun. You're not from around here, are you lady? 

I've been to Rosie's several times, including once on a very long trolley ride from Chula Vista. Rosie's is a big quilt store, and a must-visit place when you're in the area. I bought a music-themed fat quarter, with no specific project in mind. I was tempted by a few other fabrics, but maintained discipline with the limited funds that were available for a couple more days.

Next I found Joann's in Lemon Grove, where I picked up a little set of jewelry tools, specifically for working with chain that I was going to use on the motorcycle quilt.

Cotija's Mexican Food

Across the parking lot from Joann's

Had lunch here

I love to hang out at bookstores and I could have gone to a Barnes and Noble for a while, but I decided to go back to the motel to work on the motorcycle quilt. I got a text from Lisa that her back was really hurting her and that she was leaving work. She'd be at the motel in a while. Knowing that she's been laid up with a bad back before, I was quite concerned. Tomorrow would be her first day of school, and she didn't need to miss the class.

While I waited for Lisa to arrive, I finished up the quilt, attaching two double strands of chain, as well as a few more snaps and buttons. Below is the finished quilt.

Let's Ride Mixed Media Quilt

Close-up of chain

Close-up of map, which contains the words "Clarksburg" and "Washington". Both words are significant to Lisa and I made sure they were easily seen.

Back of the quilt

Love the print - in my stash for at least 9 years!

Lisa and her little birthday quilt

Read more on how I made the quilt here.

Mama Jamaica's Kitchen

Colorful decor, spicy food

I am a big fan of Food Network, and whenever possible I eat at restaurants that I see on TV. I like spicy food, and one of the restaurants featured on the San Diego episode of Heat Seekers was Mama Jamaica's Kitchen. So Lisa and I went there for dinner. As we were pulling up, I got this flash of a Jamaican restaurant in my own town, where I would eat now and then, but which has been closed for some time. I said to Lisa, "Wouldn't it be funny if this was the same place?" 

While we were looking at the menu, we struck up a conversation with the owner. I mentioned where I was from, and he said he and his wife used to have a couple of restaurants there. I laughed. He showed us newspaper clippings from the two locations, one which I'd forgotten about until that moment. His wife would be back in a while. Maybe she'd remember me.

We ordered the spicy pepper shrimp, the same dish that Chef hosts Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking had on Heat Seekers. Rather than the extra spicy version the chefs had, the owner could make the regular spice level for us, which is what we ordered. For an appetizer we ordered and split a meat pie, also featured on the Heat Seekers episode. I ate all of my spicy shrimp, as well as about half of Lisa's. It was good food.

After dinner we went back to the motel, then Lisa rode on her motorcycle to the apartment where she stays with a friend, and would be sleeping there for the rest of my trip to prevent further hurting her back. I followed with the car. The apartment building is in a nice neighborhood and looks to me like maybe an old hotel, with the double door entry and the pool in the center of the beautiful courtyard. Each apartment has a patio or balcony looking out to the pool. The place seems to have a 1940s vibe. The two-bedroom apartment is small but Lisa has her own room and pays low rent. I was really happy to see that Lisa was living in a nice place.

We parted ways for the night and I found my way back to the motel with my phone's GPS. I decided I'd might as well begin the quilt project I had selected for the trip. The quilt is called Every Seven Minutes. See the inspiration and design ideas for the quilt here.

Fabrics that may be used in the quilt

Red for the background refers to the red trolleys.

Blue is for the intersections and corners.

Light fabric is a gray pinstripe that somehow reminds me of engineer's overalls.

Cutting and sewing station

Sewing machine is the size of a toaster, weighs nothing. 18" x 24" cutting mat folds in half and fits nicely in my suitcase.

Ironing station

Iron and ironing board on loan from motel, which was nice.

Fabrics for first strip set

First four strip sets

First eight strip sets - halfway done!

After finishing the first eight strip sets I called it an evening as far as sewing, then watched TV before I went to sleep.

Debbie

San Diego June 2012 - Days 1 and 2

In early June I traveled to San Diego, CA to visit my daughter Lisa for her 30th birthday. I took Amtrak, as I have many times. During part of the trip I worked on a motorcycle themed quilt for Lisa's birthday, sewing on buttons and snaps as embellishments. While I was getting lunch in the cafe car I realized that no one had sat with me yet. Usually I have conversations with seatmates along the way, and meeting interesting people is something I look forward to during my travels. Oh, well. When I got back to my seat I had gained a seatmate...someone I suspected was a newly-released prisoner, based on his conversation and the station where he boarded (Corcoran). This was later confirmed by him. He was talkative and loud and wanted to know about me, where I lived, my family, etc. I was polite but cautious and didn't give personal information. I wished him luck as we parted at Bakersfield for the buses.

On the bus a young woman named Debra (easy to remember since my name is Debbie) sat with me. She was on her way to visit her sister and Marine boyfriend in San Diego. We had a nice conversation on the way to Los Angeles. Off the bus in Los Angeles, we stuck together for the rest of the trip to San Diego. On the train again, we sat in a four-seater that is meant for groups of 3 or more people. Across the aisle was a woman sitting by herself. We invited her to sit with us, otherwise we might all have been forced to sit elsewhere and Debra and I probably wouldn't have found two seats together. The woman, about my age, also was going to San Diego, to visit her daughter and young granddaughter. The three of us had a nice conversation along the way.

We arrived in San Diego about an hour ahead of schedule. I texted my daughter Lisa, who said she'd come right away. Just after that my phone died, and I hoped I wouldn't miss a text or phone call from Lisa.  I went outside to wait. A couple of men were out there waiting, as well. As it turned out, one of the men was from a town nearby my home. He offered to let me use his cellphone, which was nice but not needed at the moment. I mentioned that I needed to catch bus 992 to the airport to rent a car, and didn't know where to catch it. The other man pointed out the corner where the bus would stop.

Before long Lisa came riding up on her motorcycle, parked down the block and walked back to where I was. I thanked the men who had been helpful, then Lisa and I walked toward the city bus. Lisa said she needed a coffee so we headed into Starbucks, where I used my gift cards to buy our drinks. We got on the bus with our coffees for the short ride to the airport. Lisa spotted Avis along the way, and we thought about getting out, but I wasn't sure how far we'd have to walk so we stayed on the bus. We got out at Terminal 1, then looked for a shuttle to Avis. We had to do a lot of walking, and by the time we got to Avis, walking across the street earlier would have saved some time.

I had paid for a rental through Hotwire. I haven't used a credit card in four years, but brought along my "ultimate emergency" Visa just in case. Although the car was paid for, they needed a deposit. There wasn't enough money in my checking to cover the deposit, and when I took the Visa out of the envelope I found it had expired. Half an hour of trying to come up with solutions all ended in failure. As it turned out, Lisa rented a car for one day, and I forfeited one day of my rental. As she was paying for the car, I looked at her and she looked at me. In that moment, something changed. For the first time ever, she bailed me out. She said, "I'm all growed up now."

Hodad's Burgers in Ocean Beach

Finally with a car, we headed on to have fun. First stop, Hodad's Burgers in Ocean Beach. Hodad's  is one of Lisa's favorite places to eat, and happened to be featured in Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I like to eat at restaurants that I've seen on TV, so this was a win-win. The restaurant was noisy but the food was good. I had the Guido Burger, inspired by Guy Fieri.

After dinner we headed back to the train station. Lisa's bike was still there, without a parking ticket. Yippee! Using the GPS on my phone I drove the car while she followed behind. We were stopped by a long train going through town. After a few minutes Lisa got off her bike, came up to my window and told me I was bad luck. I laughed. Car after car looked the same. I told her I thought the train was going in circles. Once the train passed we made our way to the motel and checked in. Lisa stayed with me.

In the morning we had the motel breakfast, which wasn't very good but we didn't have to pay extra for it. We spent some time trying to deposit money into my checking account via a different credit union than my own, without any success. Then I called the Visa company, who listened to my sad story but couldn't really help, either. While on the phone with Visa, I came up with the idea for Lisa to extend her rental, and I'd just forfeit my entire rental. Luckily she had enough money to rent for a few more days, which I would reimburse. I was glad that we could finally start having fun again.

This was Saturday, Lisa's actual 30th birthday and the day of her party. We had a few hours before the party, so we drove to Valley View Casino near Escondido to see a 35 foot aquarium that was featured on an episode of Animal Planet's show Tanked.

Fountain at Valley View Casino

35 foot aquarium in Valley View Casino

Casino-themed decorations in the aquarium

With daughter Lisa (right)

Lisa and I played the penny machines and each won a little bit of money. I had hoped to have a coffee in the restaurant on the other side of the aquarium but it wasn't open. We had ice cream at the snack bar instead, then headed back for the birthday party. The plan was to pick up my San Diego friend Patty L., then go to the restaurant. We were running behind, so I dropped off Lisa at the mall, picked up Patty, then headed back to the mall. It took us a bit to figure out where to park and to find the restaurant, and I was glad that Patty was with me because she was familiar with the mall. We found Ruby's Diner where about 20 of Lisa's friends had already gathered. It warmed my heart that so many people had come to honor Lisa.

At Lisa's birthday party

The bulldogs on motorcycles pillowcase that I made

The not-quite-finished mixed media quilt, also motorcycle themed

Lots of Lisa's friends came to honor her

The birthday gal! Our waitress did a fantastic job taking care of all of us.

Ruby's Diner at Mission Valley Mall

After lunch most of us went to see a movie at the nearby theater. Almost everyone watched Snow White, but my friend Patty and I went to The Avengers. I think everyone had fun, and I got to know a few of Lisa's friends.

After the party we stopped at the motel to pick up my sweater. Since Patty was with us, she took a picture of Lisa and me on the motorcycle.

Vroom! Vroom! Take me for a ride, Lisa!

Several friends wanted to see me on the back of Lisa's motorcycle. We didn't go anywhere, but people get a kick out of seeing this photo.

With my San Diego friend Patty L.

We met through an online group years ago, and have stayed in touch.

Lisa and I drove Patty back to her home, then we drove to Imperial Beach to visit Lisa's friends Tawna and Jimbo. Jimbo was not feeling well and already in bed but we visited with Tawna for quite a while. Afterwards we drove back to the motel where Lisa stayed with me again.

Debbie

WIP Wednesday 6/27/2012

I made no progress this week on Every Seven Minutes quilt. I lost my momentum after coming home from San Diego. It doesn't have a deadline, so I haven't had motivation to get moving on it. I've been in a sort of creative lull.

However, yesterday I got inspired to created a small mixed media quilt for my co-worker and close friend Thomasina W., in honor of her birthday. This is the first quilted greeting card I've made, and I have a feeling it's just the beginning of many more.

Quilted Birthday Card - Mixed Media

For co-worker and close friend Thomasina W.

Fabric, paper, beads

Mostly from stash

Approximately 5" x 7"

Completed 6/26/2012

Greeting card from the dollar store, fabrics from stash

Fabric is folded in half, not wide enough to cover the card

Cut, sewed along long edge

Pressed open, now larger than the card

Black strip cut, sewn along short edge

Pressed open, then long edges folded under to form a long, skinny strip

Black strip covers the center seam of the red fabric, adds interest

Quilt sandwich, pinned together, sewed about 1/2" in from the edge

As seen from the back

Trimmed to 1/4" from stitching, zigzagged over edges, did some free-motion quilting. Realized I should have attached black strip before zigzagging. Didn't want zigzag over zigzag, so pressed under edges of black strip, top stitched very close to edge of strip.

As seen from the back.

Removed center of the card. Saving for another project. Pink polka dot design will look cute.

Cut a nice shape from the card

Top stitched paper to the quilt

Figuring out placement of gold beads. Two sizes. I like the variety.

All done!

From the back

Another look

Tonight I bought a few supplies to make another quilted card, which I'll work on this weekend. Also, I really want to get going on Every Seven Minutes. The strips are sewn. I just need to arrange them on the design board, cut background fabrics and start assembling. Hopefully I'll have made real progress on it this time next week.

Debbie

WIP Wednesday 6/20/2012

Let's Ride Mixed Media Quilt

Birthday present for my daughter Lisa who rides a motorcycle

Completed 6/11/2012

Read more about it here.

Motorcycle Bulldogs Pillowcase

Another birthday present for daughter Lisa

Completed 6/7/2012

Read more about it here.

I missed last week's WIP Wednesday post. I had just gotten home from visiting my daughter Lisa in San Diego for her 30th birthday, and I forgot all about it until the next day. So I'm doing a little catch-up. By the way, I will post about my trip soon.

Every Seven Minutes Quilt

Railroad Crossing Blocks

San Diego Trolley

Inspiration for Every Seven Minutes Quilt

On several trips I stayed in a motel next to a trolley stop. Trolleys came every 14 minutes, but traveled in both directions. So, about every seven minutes I'd hear warning bells.

Above: 16 strip sets for the Railroad Crossing blocks. I made these during my trip, with my toaster-sized Janome Sew-Mini sewing machine. It's slow but gets the job done. At 1" x 3" the strips mimic the dimensions of the trolley cars, which are about 3 times longer than they are high.

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) finished and mailed

Swap through QuiltingGallery.com

Read more about my ATCs here.

Received today from ATC Swap Partner Suzanne R. of Clinton, Utah.

They're beautiful. I love them! My favorite is the bottom left with the little flowers.

Since I got back from my trip I've been trying to catch up on bookkeeping. I should start quilting again by the weekend.

Debbie