Hotel Studio

Did you hear about that lady who was sewing in the hotel room? Yes, that's me, holding up a block from the New Zealand Quilt. Okay, here's the scoop:

1. My daughter is away at camp.
2. My mother-in-law was owed a visit.
3. We were driven out of house and home by termites, okay, not the termites. They were happy to coexist with us as long as we continued to feed them. The fumigators drove us out.
   

So... off to Newport Beach for a couple of days. Of course I overpacked! Not only did I bring the New Zealand Quilt (pictured), but I brought three other quilts in progress and three cross-stitch projects. Not to mention a couple of books. (Phillipa Gregory's The Queen's Fool and Diane Mott Davidson's Dark Torte, just in case I finished one!) Well, I only got to read a little and I only got to sew a little, but it was still nice.

You can see progress on Cold Hands (during long talks when my fingers got itchy.)

Turns out the desk at the Hyatt was big enough for both Bill and I to use: he was on the internet and I was on the Featherweight... and we weren't jogging elbows or anything! Ah, bliss!

I also had the opportunity to visit the best discount fabric store in southern California, perhaps the world: M & L in Anaheim. Woo-hoo! I got flannels galore and some great quilting cottons for 25% of the retail price. I even picked up a non-floral white-on-white bolt of fabric for making more masculine quilts... or at least not girly!

Restaurant Recommendation

The Pleasant Peasant
Newport Beach, Ca

Not just the food--the pureed turnip soup was amazing--but the atmosphere, the service, the reasonable prices, and the surprisingly generous servings of country French food.