epp, shapes, and san diego

the mr and i took a half-week trip to sunny and mild san diego, CA in celebration of my birthday. (yes, that's still going on! but i think it's been milked enough now that you won't hear of it again until next year.) this time, instead of staying off the beach, we stayed downtown. while we were out and about, walking around, i was amazed at the number of shape patterns i noticed everywhere. maybe it's just because it's salient to me now that i've started doing epp or maybe san diego is just special this way. whatever the reality, there were hexagons, in particular, in abundance.

any of the above could provide inspiration for quilt patterns. even our hotel in the emerald towers was hexagon shaped! i kept my mini epp kit with me to pull out in the spaces when my husband would do some quick work on his cell phone. between courses at meals was a good time to squeeze some in. prepare for some awful photos of me here.

whenever dessert came, the sewing went to the side. see my snips, paper clip, and a square there. they are fun, but did not compete with creme brule! in addition to my big travel kit, i carried around a quart sized ziplock bag with just snips, paper clips, neelde, thread, a few shaped, and cut fabric. it was perfect to throw in my bag and take out when opportunities arose. you can see it behind the water bottle on the table in the photo below.

breakfast at isabel's cantina (on felspar street) in pacific beach. if you are ever anywhere close - this is a must stop! breakfast is heavenly and dinner was delicious, too. i sipped my mexican hot chocolate while stitching and waiting for a delicious breakfast to arrive. i'm getting much faster and basted shapes are piling up.

a few more shape sightings at the hotel:

i did enjoy getting some progress completed on my project, but i did not give over my vacation to the work. mostly i just did a few bits here and there, like when the mr would swim laps. i made sure to enjoy the vacation to the fullest.

the shapes i completed while there, featured in the window of our hotel room on the 13th floor with a view of downtown in the background:  (r to l) on the airplane, while mr swam laps, during dinner day 2, at breakfast, while mr swam laps, while waiting for a facial, and during laps again. and i got another stack done on the flight home. so it was an enjoyable and relaxing yet productive trip! hopefully when we go next year, i will have a different project in the works.