Vacation -- All I Ever Wanted

Just got back from a most wonderful vacation -- visiting friends in NJ. We did a couple of day trips to NY while we were there -- we went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty -- all the times I've been to NYC and never once saw those things! The pic to the left is from Ellis Island -- some of the things people brought with them. The spinning wheel is from Norway. I also saw a tabletop loom and three sewing machines from Germany. Didn't get pics of those, tho. This is actually the only fiber-related picture we took. All of the textiles in the pic are handmade, too.


We also went to the Gustav Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. There were some great textiles there, too, although most of them weren't original to the house, they were from the Arts & Crafts period and were handmade. Not allowed to take pics inside the museum, tho.

Took a harbor cruise around Manhattan. Never did that before, either. Didn't make it to Ground Zero, but saw the void from the boat. Very sad.

On a happier note, my very good and enabling friend Dana took me yarn shopping in NJ! We had 5 shops on our list, but we couldn't find one of them. Here is a list of places we visited:
Knit A Bit in Westfield -- http://www.knit-a-bit.com/
Nonna's Yarn Cafe in Denville -- http://www.nonnasyarncafe.com/
Accents on Knits in Morristown -- http://www.accentsonknits.net/
Down Cellar in Basking Ridge -- http://www.downcellar.net/

I bought something at each place, but not a lot of stuff -- had to pace myself! Knit A Bit and Nonna's Yarn Cafe were like the shops in Debbie McComber's books -- the big table where people come in on their lunch breaks and people know each other. Very homey and comfortable. I actually met a woman from my old stomping ground -- she had lived in Watertown, MA, and I used to live in Lexington. Down Cellar was also a very cool shop -- huge variety of yarns and other things -- it's a two-story house and just packed full of things to see and touch! Really liked that place, too! Accents on Knits was a little different. The people were friendly enough and they have a very friendly bulldog named Daisy who is the official greeter and she is very good at it! Loved her! The yarn is arranged by color rather than fiber, weight or designer or company, and there were no prices anywhere that we could find. Dana and I are seasoned enough to be able to tell a $6 skein from a $30 skein, but a newbie might not be.

It was a WONDERFUL trip! Hey, Tony & Dana -- THANK YOU!!! We had a great time!