This past weekend I worked with the Empire Quilters Guild in Manhattan, New York. You can find out more about this guild at http://www.empirequilters.net When Susan contacted me about teaching for them I hesitated because I am not a big fan of driving in New York City. It is only about 4 hours from where I live but honestly….it’s like being in another world. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I live in a quiet, small community and driving in the city freaks me out a little bit. And the taxi drivers are nuts. It would be a much quieter town if they took the horns out of the taxis. Just a thought. But, my husband, being the gracious person that he is, offered to drive me. And I have to say that made things much easier for me. As we came though the Lincoln Tunnel and stopped for a traffic light, this is the first sign that I saw. Welcoming?
We did not let a bed bug sign stop us. We continued on our journey into the city and to our hotel which was located in the garment district. Since one of our favorite shows on television is “Project Runway” we set off on our walking trip to find Mood, where all the designers purchase their fabrics to make their amazing garments.
As we were stopped at an intersection waiting for the walk light to come on who should walk up beside us but Christopher Pula, the runner-up (but my favorite) from Season 10 of Project Runway. So we introduced ourselves and chatted for just a couple of seconds. That made our day. You rock Christopher!
OK, don’t take this the wrong way but more important than meeting any person associated with the show was meeting Swatch. If you watch Project Runway you know the dog, Swatch, is always in the store. Joe took dog treats and fed them to Swatch and then Swatch followed us all around the store. Swatch would not leave Joe’s side. It was hysterical! We love you Swatch. What a cutie. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times…..”Never a dull moment with Joe”.
If you are a garment sewer I think you would just love Mood.
As we continued our stroll around town we took the advice of my friends, Debbie and Donna Lohman, and set off to find “Baked by Melissa”. The Lohmans informed me that these bite sized cupcakes were to die for. And they were so right. Ahhhhhhh!!!! I can still taste those amazing little bites of heaven. www.bakedbymelissa.com Thank you Debbie and Donna.
And then we walked to Times Square.
As we were walking through the Garment District we came across these circular plaques in the sidewalk.
And I just want to mention that if it is raining be very careful when you step on one of these plaques. They are kind of slippery! (Picture my feet going out from under me here!)
It was fun to stroll (or slip) down memory lane of fashion design.
After we walked ten miles around town we found a wonderful Italian restaurant right beside our hotel and had a fabulous meal. In case you are in the area the name of the hotel is Biricchino. It was a rather small but very nice restaurant with lots of good options on the menu and very reasonably priced.
This fabulous bronze statue sits on the sidewalk in this part of town. This could be a good challenge idea for Project Runway…make them sit outside and sew a garment on a treadle machine! I like it. Now, that would be a challenge.
On Saturday morning we set out for another major walk about. We found the one and only quilt shop in the area.
And it is a very nice quilt shop. They had lots of samples displayed and a nice assortment of cotton quilting fabrics.
And then my reason to be in town….the guild meeting. It was time to present my lecture. I have given my lecture “From the Beginning: Album of a Quilter” many times and I talk about my husband Joe a lot during the lecture. This was the first time Joe heard me give the lecture. At the end of the lecture Joe got a round of applause for being the best husband and they asked if I would share him. I said “Get in Line”. There are lots of people ahead of you!
Sunday I presented a workshop to a very nice group of ladies. All in all….one very memorable trip.
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A student, Jim Pilarski, sent me photo of his finished Magical Medallions-Block One quilt. I thought you might enjoying seeing Jim’s quilt also. Good job Jim. I know how hard it is to sew all of those inner and outer points.
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On the drive back and forth to New York we listened to the new Janet Evanovich book “Notorious Nineteen”. As with many of the Stephanie Plum series, we laughed out loud many times while listening to the audio book. In addition to the book being good the reader is really great. The reader can make or break an audio book. If you have never read any of the Stephanie Plum series here is a little background. Stephanie works for her cousin, Vinnie, as a bounty hunter in Trenton, New Jersey. Stephanie’ side-kick, Lula, is ever present in this book. Between Lula and Grandma Mazur you cannot help but laugh. I do not know how Janet Evanovich thinks of these crazy things for Stephanie to do but I am glad she does. It’s nice to read a book that is just fun.
Have a great week.