Back On The Road - Part 2

I was having problems positioning the pictures in this post, but will just put it up because Atlantis is now home - time has really flown!  The Space Shuttle had a flight path to land at the Cape that brought it up the middle of peninsular Florida and a lot of us got to hear the sonic boom it creates. Actually, this time it was a BOOM - BOOM! Cayenne was on the back porch and was quite disturbed by the noise. I quickly let her in the house and explained that Atlantis is just coming back home, but she was having none of it - slinking around with a slightly puffed tail!
Anyway . . . .

On Friday, May 14th I headed up to Cocoa Beach with my DF Sheri for the last launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. There are only two more shuttle launchs left, so we didn't want to miss out. We got up there with enough time to grab a sandwich from Subway's and settle in at her condo before 2:20 p.m. and the launch.  It was a gorgeous day and we heard on the TV that record crowds had come out to see the shuttle go off - 300,000. We were not disappointed.

As I think I mentioned, I can often see the shuttle go off from my house, 2-1/2 hours south of where we were, but up in Cocoa Beach you can HEAR the shuttle! Not something that happens in my backyard at home.

Following the excitement of the launch, we took to the living room couches and watched the SPEED channel until it was time to go out for an early dinner at one of the local seafood restaurants. DF Sheri returned with leftovers which got quickly stowed. Here's a picture of half of her kitchen with the great FLORIDA wallpaper which looks like those "vintage" tablecloths of the 40's or 50's. I just love it.

The next morning we were up and out and off to Historic Cocoa Village, about 15 minutes west of Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Village is along the Indian River with a nice Riverfront Park. It's several blocks long and wide with an old theater, restaurants/cafes, and shops - including Knit and Stitch! The goal - have a bit of breakfast and shop for YARN! When we got to the area, we found a few streets blocked off and discovered that there was a craft fair going on. We were lucky to slide into a newly vacated parking spot and then we headed for a bite to eat. I captured a picture of this mural on the side of the building of one of the nice, old restaurants in the Village area - The Black Tulip.

After a breakfast treat of a warmed egg, cheese and spinach pastry at the corner cafe, Ossorio's, I crossed the street and dove into Knit and Stitch Boutique at 15 Stone Street. Sheri hit the streets to peruse the booths of the craft fair. Knit and Stitch is a fairly small shop with both yarn (lots of it) and cross-stitch. The yarn is on one wall and in the back of the shop and the cross-stitch is along the other wall. In between are several displays and a very large, conference room, sized table with lots of high-backed leather chairs around it. Since the shop had just opened and not many people were there yet, I was able to maneuver along the wall of yarn behind the leather chairs and see the "selection". I found some Cascade 220 that I was looking for to make another Mara shawl for a present, some Cascade 220 Handpainted, and a few skeins of Ella Rae sock yarn in a nice dusty rose color. I also picked up a DellaQ knitting bag. Here's a picture of the wall of yarn and one shot toward the back of the shop, which turned out blurry, but has saved me from cutting out people's faces. The shop has a really nice selection of yarns, but unfortunately when customers are seated at the large table it pretty much prevents shopping THE WALL. Soon after I arrived, a class started at one end of this table and several other customers took to the chairs at the other end of the table. I was glad that I already had my pile that I was taking home with me!

On the way home, we stopped off at Indian River Community College in Ft. Pierce and went to a show at the Hallstrom Planetarium. Their programs are always fun and very educational. So it was a HEAVENLY two days - the shuttle off into space, out of this world seafood, heavenly, heavenly yarn, and time spent studying the stars!

Back On The Road - Part 1

Two weekends ago I was flying up I-95 again. I haven't been on a road trip in months since I've been battling pain in my right foot and leg due to a heel spur and driving doesn't seem to help. So I was really looking forward to a weekend away to attend the North Florida Rug Hooking Guild's Spring Hook In. First stop was Flagler Beach to meet my DF Henri at one of my fav restaurants, Blue. As I approached Flagler Beach, I remembered it was Friday and their Farmer's Market was in full swing, which could only mean that Shelley of My Bolga Baskets would be there manning (or I should say, WOmanning) her booth. I tried to turn to go south BEFORE the market, but for some reason the car kept going straight and I got a glimpse of her booth with all the colorful baskets hanging and more baskets lined up on the ground. In the next blink of an eye, I was turning the corner and my car was sliding into an empty parking spot on one of the otherwise packed side streets by the market. OH MY! I guess I needed to check out THE booth! I snagged a new shaped basket, new to me, and another U-shopper basket, which is my favorite shape to hold my cross-stitch patterns and projects in. This one had Amish quilt colors, so I had to add it to the "collection".

I quickly resumed the trip and arrived at Blue just as DF Henri was heading for the restaurant. Since it was in the mid-80's (the heat is already on here), we decided to sit inside and had a lovely view of the ocean from the window.

And here's a picture of the side of the building where the restaurant is. It's not a stand alone establishment, but is part of The Topaz, a hotel along south A1A.

Following a great lunch, we drove west on SR 100 to Sew and Quilt, a quilt shop that I first stopped at on the way home from rug camp in January.  The shop recently added yarn to their offerings, so we had to check it out. No yarn purchases, but I did end up getting two yards of Bali Batiks to add to "stash". It was time to move on to points north and as I was heading to I-95 to resume the trip, I noticed that I was following my favorite driver!!! Hey, I was even going to pass him! Adios, Jr.

3 p.m. and it's Jacksonville! I jumped into DF Melody's vehicle and we were off to Macclenny to the Local Needle. My Knit Along project was with me so I could show Joan, the owner, in between checking out her new stock. We decided not to stay for the shop's Friday night open knitting and headed back to town to hit Biscotti's (another fav of mine) for dinner.  We indulged ourselves in their fabulous cheese plate and it wasn't until almost the last almond and apricot were gone that I remembered - A PICTURE!!! So here is what was left of our 2-cheese plate of "Vintage" - 5 year old aged Gouda (gone) and "Maytag Blue" - blue cheese from Iowa, I believe (still a bit left). It was deeeeelish! A glass of Riesling for each of us helped to make the experience another memorable one at Biscotti's.

The Hook In on Saturday was fun and well attended.  I got to catch up with lots of friends, the food was good, great desserts, and even got some hooking in. I was having so much fun, I totally forgot to take any pictures. Sunday was Mother's Day and I joined DF Melody and her family in celebrating her mother, Jane, at brunch in the Riverside neighborhood of Jacksonville.  Melody covered our experience in her blog post so I won't go into it. Later that afternoon, we drove down to Hanks, another of our fav yarn stores in Gainesville.  Here are a few pics - their wall of sock yarn, a shot of a gorgeous Kromski spinning wheel in one of their windows, and a close-up of a very cool sock, which I caved and got the pattern for.  It was knit in my fav yarn, Malabrigo - the sock weight.

And here is the other basket I picked up loaded with most of my weekend loot! Bali fabric, gorgeous Dream in Color yarn, ShiBui sock yarn, a new spindle, and a few skeins of Malabrigo sock yarn in a yummy dark blue grey green. 

It was a great extended weekend. I was even able to get in a visit with my uncle on the way home on Monday. I got to see his pictures and hear about his one-day trip to Washington D.C. that happened on that Saturday - two days earlier.  He was part of a contingent of World War II veterans who made the trip up to see the new WWII Memorial as well as a few other sites.  It was exciting for him and he had great time. Check out Volusia Honor Air to learn more about this great program.

Ancient History

A month ago I was digging in one of my MANY bags, hunting for a pattern that someone asked me about, and I found a FEW cross-stitch WIPs. Since I was just putting the finishing touches on my new pattern, Mary Bagley, I decided to pull a few of them out and work on them. Ellen Birdseye by The Goode Huswife, pictured above, was one of the WIPs. I think I started it in the late 1990's!!! Well, it's done now and ready to be framed. Another WIP was The Mustard Door by the Goode Huswife, which actually was done, but the framing wasn't finished. So, that is now done and it's up on the wall, next to a lovely fraktur.

And finally, no longer a WIP, is a Sheepish Designs piece entitled, Time Has Wings. As I completed it last week, the message became so personal. Two of my family members are dealing with serious health issues and TIME has definitely been an issue. Hopefully, I'll have a little more time to hunt up a few more WIPs and get them done!

Antiquarian Book Fair

A few weekends ago, I went over to St. Petersburg to attend an Antiquarian Book Fair. My Mother-in-Law had been to this annual event many times, but she didn't want to make the trip by herself. So, my husband and I decided to drive her over and make a weekend out of it. We've been to Tampa many times, but never to St. Petersburg. I have been to St. Petersburg Beach, but that's further west. We drove across the state in the rain on that Friday and the weather cleared up just as we hit the Book Fair for the opening night.

The event was held in an older Deco-style building near the downtown area. I loved the Women's room, which was done in black and white tile and small hexagon tiles on the floor. It reminded me of the bathroom in Grand Central Station - from years ago.

The vendor area was fully decorated and it was nice that it wasn't that crowded. We enjoyed looking through the booths of books, maps and some prints.

I loved seeing the children's books and the first booth I stopped in had a copy of  "Strawberry Girl" by Lois Lenski prominently displayed and for sale for several hundred dollars. I remember reading it when I was in grade school. I recalled that I read a lot of Lois Lenski's books, but I particularly remember that one because it inspired me to plant my own strawberry patch when I was 11 or 12. Of course that copy didn't come home with me, but I did get it from the library last week to re-read.

We went back to the Fair on Saturday morning to check out the booths we didn't get to on Friday night. Since my husband's mantra the whole drive over was, "We are not bringing anything home!" My MIL and I had been calibrated and only ended up buying one book each and my husband did agree to buying one book as a Christmas present. We were clearly restrained!!!

The rest of Saturday we spent driving around the downtown area and then visiting a very nice nature preserve that was around a large lake just south of downtown. On Sunday we headed back across the state and stopped in Arcadia for an hour or so. Just off the major route, in the historical area, are two-three blocks of antique shops. My MIL and I were able to get through a number of shops before we were ushered back to the car to resume the trip home. I'll have to try to get back there sometime because there were lots of shops and STUFF to see.

Here is my Classic Elite Yarn Knit Along project. Kind of looks just. . . BLUE. But I think I'd mentioned that I'd post my progress. I've got a few more inches to knit on the body and then I'll start on one of the sleeves. There is double moss stitch around the neck and a front button placket is also done in double moss stitch. It's been a fun project so far.

Winter Visitor

Our Winter resident Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is back and still working on the Turkey Oak, which in years past he's done a number on. Rows and rows of little holes up and down the trunk and branches of this tree in our backyard. A very ambitious fellow, but kind of hard to see - right in the middle of the picture.

I've been a bit ambitious myself in the past few weeks. With the cold snaps we've been having, I decided that I needed to finish stitching down the binding of my latest quilt so I could USE it! My "Big Print Pazazz" was not done in big prints, but in Bali fabrics I liked - 2 yard cut strips going wide to thin one way and thin to wide the other way across. Pretty simple and it helped to get me back into sewing a bit last year. I added in a few of the light thin strips to make the top wider. It has a Bali green backing - one of their 108" wide fabrics. I had it machine quilted with loops and leaves at the Olde Green Cupboard in December. The binding was put on at the end of January and I've have been working on hand stitching it down off and on since then. It's done now, except I do need to make a label for it.

The quilting is hard to see, but it's there and it's lovely.

Otherwise, I've been knitting - working on a Knit Along sweater that the Local Needle is doing. I'm using the Classic Elite yarn that the pattern calls for, Soltice, which is mostly an organic cotton. Love the yarn - nice and soft. The sweater is knit from the top down - something new for me - but the pattern is pretty clear if you pay careful attention! I didn't even notice that the pattern was labeled as "Experienced" until I had most of the yoke done. Good thing that I AM experienced, since I can't exactly breeze on up to the shop to get help or ask questions (the shop is 4+hours away). I'll try to get a picture up of this WIP soon.

With the chilly weather, Cayenne and Little Eddie have been somewhat confined to quarters - driving me crazy! One day I actually had to get in my car and leave to get some peace. They have been rather hesitant to go flying out the back sliding door onto the porch and be faced with the cold of 40 degrees. But usually by the afternoon, with the sun on part of the porch, they've been braving it. I'll leave you with a picture of them in "alert mode". What's out there in OUR backyard? Hopefully no burmese pythons passing through!

Now I Know

my ABC's. Here's my FINISHED freebie of the recent Blackbird Designs piece. I started it Friday night and then stitched all afternoon Saturday, while watching the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch marathon in memory of Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie. In between, of course, I checked out the Nationwide Race at Fontana, CA, but Danica Patrick was driving around in the back of the pack, so I was only partly paying attention.
Love the thread colors in this piece (WDW Red Rocks and Terra Cotta) and I worked it on a scrap of 32 ct. Lakeside Vintage Buttercream (at least that's my guess). While I was stitching it, I thought I'd perhaps use it to make a needle case with some repro fabric, but when I went to THE ROOM to look at the fabric possibilities, I came across a Primitive Traditions frame that fit the piece perfectly. So the decision was made!

A Tisket, A Tasket,

A little blue/green basket! I forgot all about this piece that I made last month. At the January rug camp, we were able to take a class with Kay Kjeldgaard of Kay's Crafts to make her 5" Snippet Basket. It's a Nantucket-style basket. Since our class was only 2 hours long, and this was really a 4 hour class, she thankfully prepped each piece by gluing in the spokes and starting the cane weavers. Some of us still had some issues with the spokes popping out, but after some glue and patience, we were good to go. I got most of my basket woven during the class, but had to finish it off, with guidance, the next day. The cane was dyed, so the interior has the more solid side where the dye totally took, and the outside of the basket is more mottled, where the dye took here and there.

It has a nice wooden bottom, into which a wonderful little piece of scrimshaw was inserted. Since I already have another of her baskets with a rug hooking hook scrimshaw piece, I chose a lighthouse. This basket is now on my sewing table next to my machine and is used for thread snippets and trimmed fabric pieces. Love it!

Well, since we are on the subject of baskets. . . . . Here's a few pictures of my REALLY favorite type of basket. A basket full of garlic knots from one of my local restaurants. These "evil" knots are made from pizza dough and covered in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. YUM! They are rather hard to come by this month, because the area is swarming with snowbirds and tourists. Waiting lists for restaurants and no parking - the downside of life in South Florida in the "Winter".