Still Time Traveling

(Um? Blogger? What happened to all my choices this morning? I've got a basic toolbar and can only see options for bold, italics, strikeout, link, and quote?)

As a reward last Thursday for all our hard work and travel, my daughter and I stopped at The World in Stitches in Littleton, MA. My GPS was a little bit off, but we found it.

I have never been in this shop before, but it advertises itself as the largest needlework store in Massachusetts.

I will agree that it has a lot of floor space and walls. But it's in a sad state of disarray. There is both yarn and needlework and it's on the second floor and there is an elevator, if I remember correctly.

We were greeted when we entered by the very nice lady working there. She asked us if she could help us - points for that. We said we were just going to wander. And there's plenty of room for wandering.

What there isn't - organization, cleanliness, and new stuff.

Seriously, it looks like a shop where people just don't care anymore. I've been in stores that looked like this in other states and within six months, those stores have closed. I wanted to start dusting and organizing.

I'm sure there are some lovely people out there connected with this place. I wish I could write nicer things about it.

That said - I did buy one Leon Conrad blackwork chart and a handpainted canvas of Fenway Park with the two recent World Series flags flying above it. I've already put this away for next March when I'll be giddy with anticipation over a new baseball season!

The Week of October 18th

I do the usual travel thing and I'm up, showered, out of the house and on the road by 5:30 a.m. I'm maybe 15 minutes later than I want to be and there is already plenty traffic on the Beltway.

Oh how I hate this drive. Please, physics and mechanical engineers - get moving on teleportation! 

After many hours, I arrive at my DD's new apartment in Massachusetts. We unload the car - lingerie dresser, nightstand, file cabinet, bags of clothes and bags of books. I get to meet her very nice landlord and scope out the apt. We drive further north to New Hampshire and have a very nice dinner with the grandparents. 

Next day - the plan is:  IKEA, the Container Store and whatever else we can manage. At IKEA, we find and purchase a sofa, coffee table, end table, mattress and foundation, desk, desk chair, dresser, and assorted other stuff. Amazingly, they will deliver everything for the low price of $99! We continue shopping and are amazed by the sight of a large tom turkey right beside our car on an off ramp in Needham. Tuesday is a long, long day. I think we ended with dinner at the Weathervane? Holy crap, my mind is going...

On Wednesday we take a day off from shopping. My sister, my daughter and I are going out to play with our respective cameras and maybe hit up some antique shops. 

I'll share some color.

Nothing like a sugar maple for beauty in October.

My heritage. Yes. I have ancestors that landed in New Hampshire within the first decade of Europeans settling there. I have relatives that were abducted by Indians and taken north to Canada. I have ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War. Of course, I also have ancestors who came down from Canada to work in the mills. I'm a mixed bag.

One of the loveliest barns in the entire state.

I have always loved this house. And if I lived here, I could see that barn every day.

 Water, pines, autumn foliage. 


Next:  Thursday, DD and I head off to the Commissary at Hanscom Field. We see roving gangs of turkeys. And spend a bundle of money on food and cleaning supplies. But at least I know she won't starve while waiting for her first paycheck to arrive. We unpack at her place and go for some Vietnamese food. We'll end this night after dinner at Newick's with a stop at Target to buy a microwave, a space heater, a step stool, and a bucket. 


I am totally exhausted and need to leave early the next morning. 

Fish chowder, native shrimp, and clam strips. It's nirvana for me!

Time Traveling

Let's go back in time to the weekend of October 16 - 17. Cindy Valentine came to our EGA for a weekend workshop. This project is the result of combining blackwork and hardanger. The linen is a 28ct Norwich that has the lines woven into the fabric creating squares that are 30 threads by 30 threads. 

The top is mounted on a Sudberry House basket.

Inside has a booklet with a place for needles, a place for a needlethreader, and a place for scissors. There's also a biscornu pincushion that I apparently didn't take a photo of...

The first day of class was about learning to follow the blackwork patterns. And the construction of the biscornu. The second day was mostly about mastering the hardanger. 

My version is blue on white, not the red on natural you see here.

Cindy was a delight as a teacher. She also brought a mini-trunk show with her and I bought Celebration in the Fiesta color scheme. I'm sorry this photo doesn't show the hot fuschia silk on the inside of the needleholder. Wow! 

I've Got My Head on Straight, But

My extremely busy week ended with a two hour drive home after a day spent at Winterthur. While unpacking the car, on my last trip to remove things from the trunk, I stepped off the sidewalk and ouch.

I believe I came very, very close to rupturing my achilles tendon. Immediately went for the ice, elevation, and ibuprofen. 

Today I added an ankle wrap to the mix. And just in case and because we're traveling soon, I also bought a cane. This is ridiculously bad timing. 

New photo in header - this is the Lamprey River in New Hampshire. 

Please check It's a Small Hotel post from a few days ago. There's now a photo there of Anna, the Stitch Bitch, at her LNS. 

Seventeen of the members of my EGA chapter met at Winterthur for a specialized needlework tour in which we were not allowed to carry anything with us, so no photos. My head is still spinning from all that we saw. We would walk into a room and not know where to look. There were so many marvelous textile items. Samplers, coverlets, dresses made into chair coverings, purses, pincushions, sewing tables, bed hangings, firescreens. The list could go on and on. Henry du Pont had a tremendous eye for collecting. 

We did get to see Faith. I saw her after the needlework tour and was sorry I didn't see her first. Mostly because I was on overload by the time I got to the jacket. LOL

 

PSA

There may be some of you interested in my daughter's science blog - Green Pieces - so I'm providing a link here:  green pieces for everyone. 

She's currently blogging about invasive species and posting links to weird (usually funny, occasionally disturbing) science videos.

It's a Small Hotel

I'm sitting here in a small hotel somewhere in the fine state of Delaware having finally stopped moving for today.

I've got so much to say, but regretfully the photos will have to wait as this small hotel has a slow connection. 

Today I left New Hampshire before dawn and saw sunrise in southern Massachusetts. I had breakfast at Rein's Deli in Vernon, Connecticut. I was occupied by reading Boozehound on my Nook and by eavesdropping on the table of elderly gentlemen seated behind me. Their conversations were about opera and organized crime. Maybe they were retired wiseguys? I don't know, but it was entertaining.

(Boozehound is a book by Jason Wilson who writes a spirits column for the weekly food section of the Washington Post. I like his writing style and have learned a lot from him. I want his job!) 

Did anyone feel the earth move this afternoon? Because Anna, the Stitch Bitch, and I met this afternoon for the first time at the Strawberry Sampler. We even went for a beer and some food. I'm sitting here right now picking at the remains of salad which is getting soggy, but it's still tasty. 

For seven years Anna and I have been reading each others' blogs. We've probably passed each other on the highway to and from New Hampshire or in the air on the way to and from Florida. She's come to D.C. while I've been out of town. So when I realized where I'd be staying I dropped her a line to see if we could meet up. 


To Anna:  I just want to apologize for my brain fog. It has a been a very long week. I did start to come back to life with the addition of beer and food. I'm certain we could sit and stitch for a long time and never run out of things to talk about. 


To our readers:  She's as intelligent and fun as you think she is!

 edit:  A photo of Anna at the Strawberry Sampler in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.


Outside of this shop the sign says "Cross Stitch" and it's a very accurate description. This shop is all about cross stitch. That said, I did manage to find a few things that needed to come home with me...

apologies

I know I've been quiet here. I "ran away" from home on Monday morning after a weekend of needlework workshop. I'm up in NH helping my daughter shop for her new apartment. First full-time job, first lease, first time living totally on her own. 

She's thrilled to have me here (mostly because she has no money) and I'm happy to be helping. 

Yesterday we hit IKEA for furniture. The Container Store for incidentals. And Bed Bath and Beyond. 

Today we took the day for a walking in the woods with our cameras and antiquing. 

Tomorrow is reserved for driving the 90 miles to her place and purchasing food and cleaning supplies. 

And then Friday I head south once again, but only as far as Delaware as my EGA chapter is visiting Winterthur on Saturday. I have tons of photos and info and fun to post, but right now I'm way too tired. You will all have to wait till Sunday/Monday. Sorry! 

The Weekend

It's time for a workshop with Cindy Valentine!


We stitching a piece that I don't see on her website - Kaleidoscope Dreams.

Details soon.

Nuts

I totally forgot to document the progress on my bargello piece. *slaps forehead*

One thing I have found is that it's taking more thread than I thought and as I started with a skein of overdyed from the stash, I've quickly reached a stopping point. 

I'm using a Carrie's Creation thread and 5 yards of the 8 yards is already stitched and I'm only about 1/4 finished. And that's with some DMC thrown in. Which led me to having to order it online as I don't think anyone around here sells Carrie's - a fine overdyed cotton that has some tremendously interesting color combo's not to mention neat names like Elk Snout and Moose Drool. The only problem is the dye lots can vary by quite a bit. But at $1.00 a skein it's a bargain. 

Of course, how could I order just thread? I also purchased a piece of linen and one pattern...

New Books

Books I bought on Sunday at the State Department book sale. These book sales are the only time I've gotten inside this building. From what I see, it's a darn interesting place. 

The highlight of this collection is the Historical Designs for Embroidery by Louisa Pesel. Blackwork heaven. I wish I had had this book last year. Also a collection of small pamphlets included in this bunch. The American in Cross Stitch book has Portsmouth Harbor on the cover. I recognized it right away!

This second collection of books is from a stitcher's estate. Wow. I got the third Beth and Sue book which thrills me. And the Mary Shipp books on design and color. I feel like I hit the jackpot and I'd like Francis to know that her books will be valued and cared for by me. They have found a good home.