Friday, May 14, 2010

MORE TRAVELING

WHEW .............  TGIF and all that jazz.  I am exhausted. Wonder if I can remember what I 've been doing since I last posted. Come take a little journey with me on my adventures in wool land for the past week.

 DF Karen came up last Friday to spend a long weekend with us. She arrived on Friday afternoon and I quickly whisked her off to a not so local yarn shop called The Local Needle in Macclenny FL.  Karen is doing a KAL with this shop and Joan had special ordered some yarn and shipped it to Karen.  It was fun seeing Karen's project in it's final stages.  LN has knit night two fridays a month but we opted not to stay since Karen had already had a long drive up from South Florida.  She treated me to a wonderful evening at a favorite local bistro called Biscotti's near my work.  We had a delicious cheese tray and some lovely reisling and finished with a great spinach cobb salad. 

 On Saturday our annual rug guild hook was held in Jacksonville.  It was a great time had by all.  You'll have to take my word for it since I did not take one single photo. BOO HISSSSS - I know all you closet hookers will be miffed at me for not posting a single photo of the rug exhibit.  I can only say that all I did was talk and eat.  there were many people there from surrounding areas, even as far away as GA and So Fl.  We had visitors who were interested in learning to hook, we had members who we have not seen in years - it was a wonderful but tiring day.  I did not get very much hooking done but I worked on my Peace and Plenty from Not Forgotten Farm.

Sunday was Mothers Day - I thought about posting a photo of my mom and I that Karen took for us but I looked like the great white whale but my mom looks pretty good - Oh what the heck - I'll post it anyway. We went to brunch at a lovely B&B - The Riverdale Inn in the historic area where I work that has an awesome restaurant open to the public.  The history of the mansion and some local history is contained on their website.  It's a wonderful area and I love coming to work every day in the historic Bensel House.

We went back to my house after brunch - my folks stayed and chatted for a while but they were anxious to head  home.  The minute their car left the driveway - Karen and I were plotting our next trip - HANKS YARN in Gainesville.  WHEEEEE - did we have enough time to make it worth the trip - hummm - it takes 1.5 hrs to get there and they are open till 7pm - oh and what excuse are we going to use to get out of the house - hummm - going to visit a sick friend NAH - going to shop at a sale - NOT GOOD ENOUGH - Going to shop at a sale of a store that is closing UMMM - that might work - so out the door we flew.  I am participating in a KAL at Hanks and the group was meeting Sunday afternoon - well by the time we arrived that group was all gone but we still had fun perusing even more yarn.  I failed to get photos of my purchases but I did get some photos of the shop.
Their Shop has two entrances one on each side of the building. This is a shot of the long narrow space leading to the other door.  Full of yarn of course!
On this side of the shop is another seating area, the purchasing area, the yarn winding area, a nice big window and see all the spinning wheels and accessories.  They do some dyeing of their own at this shop and they have a small dye kitchen over behind that swift which by the way is holding some lovely Malabrigo lace weight yarn that I bought.

Karen had to go home on Monday - and I had to go back to work.  Found out Monday I had to go back to Savannah - OH DARN - Savannah is just about one of my favorite places in the whole world and this time I was not leaving without visiting one of my top 5 fave yarn shops Wild Fibre.  So I got up extra early and started my drive to Savannah.  It is about 2.5 hrs from my house to the dealership the company I work for owns there in Savannah.  Our controller is a long time resident of Savannah and he loves to spoil me.  We discussed visiting Mrs Wilkes Boarding House for lunch but he said we'd have to leave early because they pack out.  OK - I was up for that - why work when you can eat and visit yarn shops LOL

Well - was Brian ever right - there must have been 50 people on the sidewalk when we got to Mrs Wilkes - URGHHH- plan B - did we have a plan B??  Brian said he thought I would love Soho Cafe and it was only a block down from the newly relocated Wild Fibre.  MAN - did I LOVE Soho - you bet I did.  Let's go inside and take a look.



Apparently this was once a garage or repair shop of some type.  See the top of the huge roll up bay doors and there was an exposed ceiling with piping and so forth.  Hope I got a photo of the neat chandeliers they had hanging from those rustic pipes.  It was a very ecclectic place and the food and atmosphere was awesome.  Brian can sure pick the place.  There was artwork for sale displayed all around this enormous venue.  Here are a few more shots of the artwork and seating areas.Doesn't that look like Alice in Wonderland or Mary Englebreit meets Alice in Wonderland.  Needless to say - I can NOT wait to go back to Savannah and spend a whole day having lunch at Soho and visiting with my friend Jennifer who owns Wild Fibre.

So after a delicious lunch - we walked a block down to the new space Wild Fibre has secured.  Oh look - here's the stepsAlmost there - can't wait !!!!!!!!!!!!!!OH MY goodness - here is my first glance inside.  What wonderful light coming in from these huge windows.  I did not have time to ask Jennifer about the history of the building but my presumption is that it was once a private residence that has been divided up for retail spaces.  Look at that lovely marble fireplace.



Did I ever have a hard time making a selection from this delectible wall of wool.Another fireplace and a cozy seating area.
Such a lovely space - look at the hard wood floors.  WHHAAAAA - I did not want to leave but I had to make a quick decision and bid farewell to the sweet Savannah.  I'll be back again soon - you can bet that.

I promise in my next post to show you some of the lovely yarns I purchased on this trip and maybe just maybe - a finish of a HUGE project that I have worked on literally for years.

As a reward sticking with me on my journey - I am going to have a giveaway. Not a lot of stipulations - if you are a stitcher, hooker or knitter - just give me your preference of prize and I'll surprise you with a little gift.  Just leave me a comment on "THIS" post and I'll draw for a winner on Memorial Day 5/31. 
I enjoy hearing from you all and reading your blogs.



19 comments:

Kim said...

OMGosh I would so love SOHO too! And the yarn shops look wonderful!!! I'm 'all three'...stitcher, knitter and newbie hooker! Since I need nothing stitcher-wise, I'll say either of the other two. :o) Can't wait to see your finished project and your fiber purchases Mel! :o)

Deb said...

Wow Mel - I wondered where you had been and now I know! You have had a great time with all the restaurants and knitting stores and time with your friend! Looks like wonderful, wonderful things. But I was hoping for some stash pictures!!! I guess I'll have to wait until next time! Love seeing the picture of you and your Mom. Now I feel like I really know you!!

You know me - I'm a stitcher, knitter and a floundering hooker!

Can't wait to see all your goodies.

Cari said...

Well Melody...it sure looks like you had a really, really tough day at work!!!! LOL How much fun is that? Love the pics you took of your adventures and, of course, I'm waiting for stash peeks. It's difficult for me to choose because of my love of all needlework, but I'll try the newbie hooker!! Maybe that will push/pull me into hooking my first project!!

The pic of you and your Mom is priceless! Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful week! Hugs

Nancy said...

It always sounds like you have so much fun on your travels and get togethers - thanks for sharing them! I enjoyed your photos - I love the Mary Englebreit meets Alice in Wonderland painting! The picture of you and your Mom is beautiful!

Please enter me in your giveaway. You probably already know, but my preference is stitching.

Have a great weekend!

Susan said...

I love seeing all the places that feed your yarn addiction!! Although I don't need to be rewarded for reading to the end of your post and am happy to hear about everything you're doing, I'll just say that I'm a stitcher.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

I think it's a lovely pic of you and your mom! What a great time it sounds like you had! I love the interior of the SoHo restaurant, too - way too cute!

I'm not a knitter or a hooker (although I want to be a hooker. I want to be a really good hooker!). Whoever thought you could say that and not get in trouble!

I'm a puncher - does that count?

I can't wait to see your stash - the shops look wonderful and I'll bet you came home with some awesome stuff!

Laurie in Iowa said...

You are such a tease... making us wait to see all your new stash. You seem to be on the road a lot these days... but it's hard to complain when you get to go to fabulous places like Savannah.
I'm a stitcher and hope someday to be a hooker.

Margaret said...

Oh my! Oh my! You always post the best pictures, even if you didn't post pictures of the rug camp. lol! And you do NOT look like a great white whale! I love that pic of you and your mom -- lovely! The yarn shops all look great. I love the plotting with Karen on what excuse to use to go to Hanks Yarn. lol! And that restaurant/art place -- wow! And the space that Wild Fibre opened in -- gorgeous! Much less the yarn. lol! Just a btw, Jane Atkinson is definitely Au Ver Soie silks. Loving it! Well, as you know, I'm a stitcher, but I also love knitting and am a closet wannabe hooker. Sigh. You're a sweetie to have another giveaway! Have a great weekend!

krayolakris said...

Mel, thx for the virtual tour! That's a great photo of you & your mom!! Anytime you want to head back up to Savannah...let me know! Now...let's see that new stash!

Katrina said...

Wow, what a great post. Makes me want to go visit Savannah :-). Love the picture of you and your mom.

I'm definitely a stitcher. Every time I think about a new hobby, I've contemplated hooking, punch needle and quilting. I just tell myself I can't afford a new hobby and wait until the urge passes, LOL.

Loraine said...

What a wonderful post! How I love seeing other stores inside. The yarn looks wonderful.
cute picture of you and your mom. So nice you could spend the day with her.
Have a great day! Can't wait to see what your giveaway is.
Hugs.

Karoline said...

All those yarn shops look gorgeous, can't wait to see your new stash

Jean in Georgia said...

Dang, girl! You've been busy! Sounds like you've been having a great time. :)

Siobhán said...

It sounds like a fantastic time, Mel!! I love that place in Savannah that you went to--the artwork reminds me of a decorating magazine layout featuring a Savannah chef whose house was AMAZING. She had artwork like that in there, I think by a local artist. I LOVED seeing your photo with your mom!

I'd fall in the stitching category. ;)

Jeanne said...

Wow Melody - what great shopping! I have always wanted to visit Savannah but have never gotten there yet. I had plans to go to Charleston & Savannah many, many years ago on a road trip to Florida but Hurricane Hugo struck and ruined my plans. I am glad you posted the photo of you & your mom so we can put a face to the name. :) I am just a stitcher so throw me in that category although I'm not much for winning things LOL. Never could even win a cake in the cake-walk at the school carnival!

Roberta said...

Hi Melody, I am a stitcher, as you know and I also knit and crochet. I haven't tried 'hooking' (except for a short time way back when I was a kid!!)

Whenever you go to Savannah and have some extra time, let me know and maybe I could zip down there and we can meet for lunch and then a yarn shop visit!!

Take care have a great weekend --

Roberta

Carol R said...

I'm a stitcher and a knitter but hooking sounds fun so maybe I'll try that one day.
Please enter me into your draw

Rugs and Pugs said...

Mel ~
Savannah sounds like so much fun. Hopefully I'll get there one of these days {sigh}.
Thanks for sharing the pic of you and your mom. It's always nice to put a face to a name :-)
Enter me as a hooker, of course.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Unknown said...

Sorry I missed the drawing, but wanted you to know I always enjoy your blog! You are one creative lady and a master of time management!
Becky C.