Los Angeles, Day 2: recruiting another quilter....

Today was Alissa's 32nd birthday.  She requested a sewing machine, as she is considering doing some "crafty" things, and wants to learn how to quilt.  She looked around at stores that sell sewing machines, and picked a nice independent shop called "Sew LA" because it is located near DreamWorks (where she works).
We dropped by her office briefly.  Here is her birthday card from Jeffrey Katzenburg:

Here is a large fountain on the DreamWorks property:

one of the crazy message boards for the animators:

We drove to Silver Lake in search of the sewing store.  I've never been to this part of Los Angeles.  We drove through a couple of the neighborhoods and stopped for lunch 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake,_Los_Angeles,_California

a funky little shop with a cool window display

(hello Billie!)

bunches of barrel cactus

finally, we venture into Sew LA

Sew LA is a tiny little shop with a lot of character.  First, they have great taste in fabric!  Whoa.  I saw some amazing Japanese printed cloth made from 50 cotton/50 linen.  There was a basic quilt-making class going on while we were there.  The store is on the upper level of what appears to be an old apartment building.  Look for it if you are ever in the area.  Why I didn't photograph the old Kenmore sewing machine (an exact replica of the one my mother owned & I learned to sew on, complete with the knee lever that operated the machine!) I'll never know.  I gifted Alissa with a set of basic quilting lessons from the shop.  I'm always looking for more recruits!