The Stitch Up

Summer So Far

I know that technically we are not even really in the middle of Summer but it feels like it's flying by pretty quick.  I've done a little traveling and also managed to work in some stitching here and there. Mainly by packing a few small projects so I can get some things done on the plane.

First big trip of the summer was to Washington to spend a long weekend with my girlfriends.  These are ladies I've known since elementary school and getting back together always feels like coming home.  We rented a house on the Sound and utilized the location well by taking long walks by the water and sipping wine while soaking up the sunsets.

It's both relaxing and rejuvenating to be around people who've known you your whole life.  Any professional or social barriers I put up in my current adult life fall away around these ladies.  I left feeling more like myself than I have in a while.

My other trip was back to Ohio.  We spent the 4th of July reconnecting with family which is always nice.  Plus Ohio in the Summer is beautiful.

Sparklers were lit, hot dogs were eaten, and flags were waved.  We had a great visit.

Next update is going to be progress on the frighteningly large number of items I have halfway, partway or any kind of way complete.  The plan is to buckle down, prioritize and actually get a few of these things finished this Summer.

Hoping everyone's Summer is fun and productive!  

 

Penfield House

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Ohio.  We visit regularly to see family but also try to see something new each trip.  I'd been wanting to see some of the Amish neighborhoods in Ohio so we took a drive through Middlefield.

Amish central!  It's so cool to see the horse and buggies driving down the road alongside cars.

We made a stop at the Middlefield Cheese House which sells delicious Amish cheeses, but for some reason does not allow buggies in the parking lot:

This area of Ohio is known for its Swiss cheese we tried a few different types and they were all yummy!

The shop also had a full size horse and buggy display which I hopped in to get a feel for Amish style.  I think I could pull this off, although having a fake horse that stands still may have made it a little easier.

Our final destination for a couple of nights was Penfield House.  This is a private home that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is now available to the public to reserve and stay in.  It was like living in a piece of art for a couple of days.

Frank Lloyd Wright homes are such a beautiful mix of style and organized living.  I actually don't think I could live full time in one of his homes as they don't allow for a lot of clutter, but for a few days it was great!

Furniture like the beds and shelves and desks in the bedroom were built into the rooms when the house was designed and are permanent fixtures.

Penfield House is located in Willoughby, Ohio which is a really cute little town with good restaurants and a fun downtown area.

The house was just down the street from downtown Willoughby but it's set back on some beautiful property so that when you walk out of the house you felt as if you were in the middle of the forest.  We saw deer in the mornings and evenings and took walks to the back of the property where the Chagrin River runs past.

As we were so close to the river we took a little fishing break.

My catch was not exactly impressive but it was beautiful outside on the river.

We also took a quick day trip into Cleveland to head to the West Side Market.  It's in a cool old building and houses delicious local food.

We picked up cherry donuts and apple fritters for our breakfast the next morning.  The fritters were the size of our heads and the cherry donuts were amazing!

We've toured a lot of Frank Lloyd Wright houses but this experience was so special.  Spending a few days being able to just sit quietly and look at this home, to sleep in it, to cook and eat here gave us a greater appreciation for the thought and care that Wright put into designing every corner of his homes.  

o-HI-o Road Trip

We decided to take a road trip to see the Hubby's parent in Ohio for the 4th of July.  It's a pretty trip through Pennsylvania and Ohio is a great place to spend the 4th.

Our first stop when we get to Ohio is a local burger place that makes THE BEST burgers: Swensons.

 

Mmmmmm.  People - I'm not kidding.  THE BEST burgers.  I get the hot fudge milk shake, Hubby gets the coffee shake and we get our cheeseburgers with the works.  Heaven.

There are always a lot of fun community activities going on around the holidays in this area of Ohio.  We went to a great concert with the Cleveland Symphony playing patriotic marches and songs and we hit the local 4th of July parade.

Watching the 4th of July parade required another food stop:

The fact that the parade started at 10 am did not stop us from getting some frozen custard.  It was hot out after all, plus...frozen custard!  Enough said.

Blackberry frozen custard the breakfast of champions!  The Hubby said watching me eat this cone was like coming across a crime scene, but people, let me say again - it was hot out!  And the cone was melting!  And I don't think this is all that bad:

 

Harrumph.  Let's move on to some pics of the parade shall we?

The parade route.

The local American Legion post.

   

 

 

 

 

Some patriotic cars from the parade.

 

 
 Some of the cool floats in the parade.

I love a good parade and this was a great one.  The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and this was a great place to celebrate it.

 
 
 
 
 

 

Cleveland. Yes. Cleveland.

We took a quick trip up to Cleveland last weekend and for some reason telling people that you're planning to go to Cleveland on purpose always elicits a response along the lines of "why?" Inevitably these naysayers have never been to Cleveland because let me assure you - Cleveland is a great city! 

Before we got to Cleveland however, we made a quick stop in Kirtland, Ohio as my man knew there was a quilt fair at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark this month and that I am coo-coo for quilts!  There were some beautiful quilts and also some moving stories that many of the artists had posted with their quilts to explain their inspiration.

There were rooms and rooms filled with beautiful quilts!  This was one of my favorites:

The woman who made it said that it took over four years to applique each individual leaf on to the quilt.  Impressive.

This next quilt was so interesting and moving.  The woman who made it appliqued fabric photos of locations of the underground railroad in Ohio into an overall pattern paying homage to the underground railroad:

This is one of the things I love about quilts - how people can express their feelings and honor important events in their lives or history in such a beautiful medium!

Although the main reason we were at the farmpark was the quilt show, we took a look around as the park has lots of animals and it was lambing season so: cute baby animals!!!!

This park seems a very cool place to take kids.  They had events all day that let kids get involved in feeding the horses and other animals, milking cows, making cheese and learning about all that goes on on a farm.  It was lots of fun for adults as well!

After the quilts and the baby lambs we were back on the road to Cleveland!

Cleveland is a great city.  It's located on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga river runs through the city so it's a town with a lot of bridges (which makes for some great photos!) and also a town that was built on manufacturing due to it's connection to lots of canals and railroads.  It's still a hardworking town and has that industrial edge which I think gives it a strong beauty.

One of my favorite features of Cleveland architecture is the Hope Memorial Bridge and the statues on either end of the bridge:

The bridge crosses the Cuyahoga River and was constructed in 1932.  The statutes are called the "Guardians of Traffic" and were designed by Henry Hering and Frank Walker.  There are four statues on each end of the bridge.  One of each holds a cart, a Conestoga wagon, a locomotive, or a truck.  They are really impressive:

The view from the bridge:

In addition to great architecture, Cleveland has great museums.  After hitting some very nice art museums in L.A., New York, Madrid, London and Berlin, I can honestly say that that the Cleveland Museum of Art is right up with the nicest museums we've seen.  They have a great impressionist collection of art and a collection of medieval weaponry that the hubby enjoyed which has been part of the museum's permanent collection since it opened in 1916.  They are undergoing a big renovation that is scheduled to be finished in the summer of 2009 and I think the finished product will be phenomenal!  It's located in University Circle with several other museums and the Cleveland botanical garden which we also hit.  The garden has an extensive indoor exhibit called the glass house which has beautiful flowers and hundreds of exotic butterflies that swirl around you!  It was great!

University circle is located next to the campus of Case Western Reserve University where you can also see another great architectural sight - the Peter B. Lewis building designed by Frank Gehry:

Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of course which is also in a VERY cool building right on the shore of Lake Erie - but the hubby and I had hit that museum a few years ago and didn't make a return trip this time.  

In addition to the sight seeing, we ate a ton of great polish food and if anyone is planning a trip to Cleveland you have to have at least one meal at Solokowski's University Inn .  It is great Polish comfort food in a cool area of Cleveland.

So, Cleveland is cool right?  We think so and I look forward to going back!