Category Archives: Travel

Mar3

Mid Winter Cape Cod

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One might wonder why anyone would choose to go to Cape Cod in the middle of winter. Well for the past several years that is exactly what I have done. My dear friend Susan, with whom I have been friendly for the past thirty years, has a home there and she graciously invites me. She is also a fiber enthusiast. Though she only does limited needlepoint, she is more than adept at so many other needle arts. When we load the car, it looks as if we are moving. The suitcases take up very little room. The rest is all needle art related. There is lots of yarn for knitting, her paints, weaving and quilting and of corse my needlepoint paraphanalia, stand and all.

We arrived there this year on Super Bowl Sunday. As we were rushing to buy groceries before the store closed for the big game, we discovered that the anticipated precipitation for the next day had been upgraded to a blizzard. What fun for two people who wanted to pursue their passions. So we had a glorious time since we did not lose any power.

The next day we had enough cabin fever to want to go out. One of the things we did was go to a Cape Cod institution. This of course had to do with needlepoint. We went to Town Ho Needleworks in Brewster.. This is a very interesting place. One has to climb a fairly steep flight of steps to get inside the shop. If one can see past the “interesting” filing and set up in the shop, there are some real jewels. There are charts for counted work from designers who are no longer designing or no longer with us. The owner of the shop is a huge Maggie fan. I saw many canvases I had never seen “live”before. There is a nice selection of threads and good quality notions. The owner told us that he tried to retire five years ago, but his students wouldn’t let him. So his Cape Cod institution goes on. If you go to the Cape, his shop is worth a visit.

There is one other needlepoint shop on the Cape which I did not get to visit this time. It’s a bit out of the way from where we were staying. Osterville Needlepoint Shop is under new ownership, so I don’t wish to really comment on what I saw when I was there last year.

I drove home by myself since Susan’s husband was joining her at the Cape. Of course I had to detour to do needlepoint shop hopping. I decided to go to Larchmont to see Stitch by Stitch. This is a lovely shop full of beautiful canvases. At that time they had a Labors of Live trunk show. The owner was so accommodating and went out of her way to help me find a good small battery run light for my airplane travels. There is also a wall of notions.
I highly recommend a stop there as well

So, a mid winter visit to the Cape is not so strange after all.

Feb15

Woodlawn Needlepoint Exhibit – The Delivery

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Mr. M was a godsend for dealing with the delivery of the pieces you all entrusted to us.  On Wednesday we examined each piece to make sure it was packed and secured.  Fortunately, many of the pieces were the same size so he made a few stacks and fastened bungee cords around them so that they would not all slide around the trunk of the car.  I don’t think anything shifted during our trip!

Mr. M and I traveled down to Alexandria on Friday night.  While the trip is not difficult, I had forgotten how horrible DC traffic can be.  I always hate driving at night in an area that is unfamiliar and dealing with the traffic just made it worse. However, we arrived safely at our destination in Old Town Alexandria, a little tired and a bit hungry.

Saturday was every bit as cold in Alexandria as it was reported here.  Sue C had contacted this year’s organizer, Christy, who gave me an appointment at 9:00 a.m., before the general public was scheduled to start registering pieces.  We arrived promptly at 9:00 and were happy to be inside, out of the cold and wind.  The ladies working that day were very well-organized so registration was a breeze.  It was especially nice to have Mr. M unpacking the pieces while I dealt with the paperwork.

NJNA was remembered from last year – and everyone was thrilled that we had another class piece to exhibit again this year.  Several of the women mentioned how fascinating last year’s display (Michael Boren’s Frankie) turned out with all the different color combinations.  They are planning to show our A Different View from Kurdy Biggs as a single display again this year, barring any logistical problems.  All of the pieces were well-admired and it was so nice to be able to comment on techniques with an appreciative audience.  The ladies were so efficient the process took less than 40 minutes!  And it didn’t hurt that Mr. M was quietly folding all the bubble wrap while I was otherwise occupied.

Woodlawn Registration

Registration Angels

In all we have 13 pieces in the Exhibit this year, representing the work of nine of our members.  I have the complimentary tickets for each of our exhibitors, and will bring them to our monthly meeting on Wednesday.

Once we finished our mission, we headed back to the hotel, dropped off the car, and hopped onto the Metro for a trip into DC for a leisurely lunch and an afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, which share a building. While perhaps not as well-known as some of the other museums in DC, both are among our favorite museums.  It is truly amazing to walk around the gallery that displays the portraits of all the U.S. Presidents.

Woodlawn logoFor those of you who have not been to Woodlawn and the Pope-Leighey House, it is well worth a visit.  Woodlawn was the home of Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis, a granddaughter of Martha Washington.  Nelly was renowned for her needlework, a skill she learned from her grandmother.  The Washingtons gave the land upon which Woodlawn was built to Nelly and her husband Lawrence Lewis, a nephew of President Washington, as a wedding gift.  Woodlawn was designed by Dr. William Thornton, the architect of the U.S. Capitol.

The Pope-Leighey House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for journalist Loren Pope and his wife Charlotte Pope.  It was originally located in Falls Church, Virginia, and has been relocated twice.  It is built on Wright’s Usonian  model of well-designed space for middle-income families. Both homes are now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The exhibit (officially, the 53rd Annual Needlework Exhibition and Sale) is March 2 through March 31.  The show hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.  The exhibit is organized by Nelly’s Needlers, a volunteer organization that raises funds to preserve Woodlawn.  This is a wonderful opportunity to view some incredible needlework.  The members of Nelly’s Needlers do a tremendous job of displaying the hundreds of needlework pieces submitted for this exhibit – using every square inch of the home for gorgeous displays.  Last year was my first visit to the exhibit and I was hugely impressed with the works of fellow stitchers.  We are planning to attend again this year.