The Stitch Up

Spring Trippin'

We've had the chance to do a little vacationing this Spring on both coasts: in LA and NY.  First up was a trip to LA when it was still a little chilly on the east coast and it was SO nice.  It was still only in the 60s - which had all the locals bundled up - but for us it was beautiful.  We did some hiking, some shopping, a lot of eating, and most importantly - caught the Dolly Parton costume exhibit at the Grammy Museum.

NY was more of a glam weekend - we actually went for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.   It was a Generation X extravaganza - The Cure, Roxy Music, and Def Leppard were all inducted.  It as an awesome concert and around that we enjoyed the usual in NY - great food, great cocktails and a little shopping.

No matter how many times we visit either of these cities, we always find something new and interesting.  We love to see new cities or new countries, but it's wonderful that places that you feel comfortable can still surprise you.

Winter In New York

We did a little post Christmas, Happy New Year, trip to New York last month.  New York is just a great town and we try to see a few different things every time we visit.  This time we spent a little time in Brooklyn.  We hit the Brooklyn Flea Market which was awesome.  The market goes indoors in the Winter but still has plenty of vendors and so much food!  We ate grilled cheese, lobster rolls, donuts - and it was all delicious!

My main excuse for going to NY this time was to see the "Death Becomes Her" exhibit at the Met.  It was wonderful.  It was a really cool presentation of mourning clothes from the 18th and 19th century.  

While this exhibit was amazing, we actually stumbled on the last day of an exhibit on Kimonos which completely blew me away.  These kimonos had so many intricate designs and patterns they were truly art.

I was seriously in textile heaven.  

While we were in NY we found a great spot enjoy the sunset...

and the lights of the city at night.  

Despite how fast paced NY is our trip was really relaxing and rejuvenating and exactly what we needed after the holidays.

Anniversary Get Away

This is the second time we've gone to New York for our anniversary.  It's pretty perfect.  It's a short train ride from home and New York is a different experience every time you go.  It's a pretty hectic place - I don't know if I could live there, but I absolutely love to visit.

We arrived at night and had a very romantic and (to me at least) sophisticated cocktail at a roof bar.  Does anyone ever get tired of the views in this town?

 

 

It was a little chilly but we snuggled by the ultra cool fire pit and enjoyed our drinks.

After sleeping in the next morning, we took a little walk about and the Husband demonstrated why he is the BEST by patiently accompanying me to some craft stores.  First up was Kinokuniya bookstore.  The Husband actually had some decent anime and book options of his own to peruse while I was pawing through their AWESOME collection of Japanese craft magazines.  My Stash:

 I also bought this organizer basically because it's adorable and I found the description of the cat to be too cute:

 

 

 "a cat wearing socks, not a cat with a pattern like wearing socks".  Because = obviously.

Our next stop was M&J Trimmings.  This was not quite so interesting for the Husband, but I was pretty quick.  I think this would be a nice resource to have if you lived in NY.  It was great to see the HUGE selection of ribbons first hand, but I would say that most of what they had I've seen on Etsy for much less money.  That does not mean that I left empty handed however:

 

 I'm not even sure what the plan here is.  I have a kind of vague plan of embellishing some jeans with embroidery and thought one of these might get worked into a design.  They were all pretty cute though so I have no doubt I'll come up with something!

Last stop of the craft tour was The City Quilter.  This store has some great fabric they design themselves with NY designs.  I bought some cool photo squares of a NY map and old postcards, and a NY themed fat quarter set that's going to get paired with the fat quarter my husband picked up for me on a previous trip.  (He really is the best!)

 

 

The rest of our time was spent doing some touristy stuff like going to the top of Rockefeller Center which we'd never done before.  The view was the best!

Most of the trip we just wandered around and enjoyed being in the city.  We had one of those great nights where we found a corner bar, met some great people and just chatted for a couple hours.  We also had some relaxing days of sitting in the park or in some corner of the city and people watching.  It is something special about NY that you can find exciting places to be if that's what you're looking for, but you can also find quiet beautiful spots to just relax.

 

I'm not sure how many times we would need to visit New York before I felt like I'd seen everything there is to see.  I think it's a city that will always have something new and exciting to discover.

 

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NY Craftin'

NY Craftin'

I am physically incapable of going on any vacation without snuffling out the local craft - preferably stitching - options.  New York was no exception.  On my radar from the moment our train pulled into town was Purl Soho.  The store was as welcoming, charming and well stocked as the web site.

The ladies were very knowledgable and offered friendly advice to anyone with questions about their project.  While there I heard them help one woman find yarn for a sock project and another lady find soft, colorful yarn for a baby blanket.  I myself left with a bit of a haul:

Cute fabric scraps, yarn and embroidery thread.  I have no exact plans for any of this but I did get inspired.

My next big craft find was kind of a surprise.  After stumbling out of McSorleys, four beers down, I spotted Surma and was frozen in my tracks by the gorgeous Ukrainian needlework.

(Photo from Greenwich Village Daily Photo.)

The shop had a collection of gorgeous Ukrainian needlework as well as patterns and notions.  Once again, I left with a bit of a haul:

A book of Ukrainian rose embroidery patterns and embroidered ribbon!  They also had a collection of some of the cutest cards.  I picked up a few but now wish I'd cleaned out the store:

I think you have to go to the physical store itself to really get the full range of products but they do sell some things online, so enjoy!

We'll see what this latest craft adventure inspires.  I'm back home, ready for the summer and ready to get crafty.

New York State of Mind

This year for our anniversary the Hubby and I headed to New York.  It's not as exotic as our anniversary trip last year to Latvia but it was just as fun and romantic.

I hadn't been to New York for about twenty years - which is terrifying to realize.  Time really does fly.  We did mainly the big tourist stuff on this visit.  I think on our next trip - which will hopefully be much sooner than twenty years - we'll seek out more off the beaten track stuff.  But I was happy to see all the main sights this time around.

We arrived in the late afternoon and so we hit up a few of the locations close to our hotel.  First to Grand Central Station for a look around and lunch.

We had lunch at Oyster because of course, if you're in New York, you have to try and get a little Mad Men vibe.

After Grand Central, we wandered around and hit up the New York Public Library. This building is so beautiful, inside and out.  

I loved that within this gorgeous building that looks like a museum, people were busy checking out books, researching and reading.  It's a busy place with all kinds of activities for the locals as well as just being beautiful.

We hit up a few other sites nearby including the Chrysler building and then I ducked into the Waldorf Astoria for a bathroom break - as you do.  This hotel is still stocked with 1930s glamour.  The ladies room in the lobby had a fireplace and a lovely vanity area.

There was a mural on the back side of this vanity with pretty flapper girls.

Easily the nicest bathroom I've ever been in - but of course - it's the Waldorf Astora!

The next day we geared up for some serious sight seeing.  We started off with the 911 Memorial.  It's a long process of getting passes several blocks away and then waiting through a long line and security.  I'm glad we went to see it but I have to say I have some mixed feelings about the memorial itself.

There are two of these fountains that sit on the footprints of where the twin towers used to be.  I did not like these fountains.  They're kind of bleak and I'm not sure if it's the size or the color but that hole in the bottom of the fountain made me think of sinking into the bottom of the earth and just bummed me out.  I do think it should be a somber place to remember these victims, but I also thought they might have made it more peaceful or comforting.  Anyway - everyone has different tastes, and these were just my impressions.

I did like having the chance to see some of the construction of the other World Trade buildings around the site.

After this it was a non-stop walking tour of New York.  We wandered over to Soho for some shopping and then some of the best dumplings I've ever tasted.

Excellent Dumpling House looks like a hole in the wall but it's pretty well known.  We tried as many dumplings as could stuff ourselves with and they were all awesome.

After this much needed energy break we headed up to see Times Square and the Flatiron Building.  

Times Square was a little too much for me, but I could stare at the Flatiron Building all day.

We wandered up to the Village and ate some delicious dogs at Crif Dogs

Sooo good.  And their rockabilly vibe was very cool.

We washed down our dogs and relaxed after our long day of walking with a beer at McSorley's which claims to be the oldest continually operating saloon in New York.  It openend in 1854 and has hosted Abraham Lincoln, John Lennon and Woodie Guthrie among others.  They serve two kinds of beer - light and dark - both of which were good after a hot day of sight seeing.

Another great day in New York!

Our last day in the city we hit up The Museum of Modern Art.  On the way there we walked through Central Park.  It was a pretty day and all of New York was out.

Our big outing that last day however, was a schooner tour of Manhattan.  

It took off from Chelsea Pier and was a relaxing way to get some of the best views we'd have of the city.

The end of the tour got quite exciting.

Actually it rained on us but it was not rough or scary and was just a bit more of an adventure!

The whole trip was great and as a memento I took home a little bit of New York flavor.

I'm going to write a short post tomorrow about some of my crafty finds in New York.  Hope everyone's Summer is starting off great!