Our Epic Trip

On Wednesday morning, Barb, Jeanette, Jen, and I hit the road - heading for a fibre adventure in upstate NY.

First we stopped at Ecstasy Crafts in Shannonville after overshooting it by 70 km and having to drive back to it. Then we grabbed lunch and crossed the border near Gananoque. We first stopped at Fabric and Sew Much More in Clayton where I bought some ground walnut shells. We then drove to The Old Tattered Flag in Evans Mills - about 15 minutes NE of Watertown.

There we beheld many many punch needle and rug hooking patterns designed by Julie, the proprietor. I had first become aware of this shop in Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher Magazine to which she is a major contributor. Julie also had a comprehensive selection of rug hooking wools, both 'as is' and hand dyed. Most of her designs can be rendered in rug hooking, punch needle, or wool appliqué.

She also sells a rug wool cutting system that can be used with the Sizzix die cutter.

I purchased a punch needle kit, Pumpkin Bouquet.

In the little box are all the threads - from Sullivan and many hand-dyed by Julie - and the pattern printed on weaver's cloth.

I also bought a couple of antique spools and a sunflower pin.

We then headed to Watertown where we checked into our hotel for the evening. After dinner we shopped at JoAnn Fabrics, TJ Maxx and Dollar Tree. Back in our rooms we had 'show and tell' where we put all our purchases out on beds in Jeanette and Barb's room so we could ooh and aah.

The next morning we got up early to head to A Stitcher's Garden in Fayetteville, a few kms SE of Syracuse.

We decided to take our time at this shop to make sure we didn't miss seeing anything. We were positively giddy with excitement.

There are many beautiful samples on display - most of them well-labelled.

We ended up spending 3.5 hours there and significantly boosted the economy of the store with our purchases.

Then we drove over to the Piano Works Mall at East Rochester to check out Golden Threads Needlearts and J Madeline's Quilt Shop. The needlework shop had supplies for many types of stitching and needlepoint. There was also a Jeannette Douglas trunk show.

Of great interest to us were her 'boxes' of smalls.

The Bird Box

The Pumpkin Patch Box

The Mermaid Box

The Journey Box

I liked this needlepoint pillow that had a donkey on it

and the sheep with a couple of the Three Wise Men.

There were also some wool appliqué sets.

We drove back to check into our hotel in Camillus - just east of Syracuse. It is a brand new Tru by Hilton hotel that was built right beside the Costco that opened there a couple of years ago.

It has a very minimalist, Scandinavian aesthetic.

Everything is pristine. No rugs or overstuffed furniture. The TV was huge.

The bathroom was also very modern and clean.

Instead of little bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, squeeze bottles are mounted on the wall.

It reduces the need for all those little, plastic bottles.

These were the ones beside the sink.

That night, we had show and tell again. To preserve the 'sanctity of the group', I'm only revealing my purchases of the day.

The next day we drove to Canandaigua to explore a rug hooking/needle punch/fabric shop in the main floor of a residence a few miles south of the town. It took a couple of tries to get up the slippery driveway but we made it.

Then we went into town for lunch and to explore Expressions in Needleart on Main St South. That shop had lots of fibres and patterns for cross-stitch, embroidery, needlepoint, and knitting. I bought a stitching pattern, cording drill and some #24 and #26 needles there.

Then we drove back to Camillus for supper at Azteca Mexican Grill, only 0.5km from the hotel. Back at the hotel, we watched some Flosstube videos. I worked on Skip's hat (super bulky Lumio yarn which has a reflective thread throughout) which has to be done by the middle of this week. We discussed what stores we wanted to visit and revisit on our last day before heading back home.

The next morning, we headed directly to the JoAnn's in Fayetteville for the 9am opening. Then we returned to A Stitcher's Garden to grab the items we had missed getting on Thursday. We then headed northward and after lunch in Cicero, we stopped into The Old Tattered Flag again where I picked up the kit for the punch needle project I had seen on display on Wednesday. It is in the current (Winter 2018) issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher for which I have a digital subscription.

Back in the car we visited our last shop - Gunn's Country Corner and Quilt Shop where we looked at all the beautiful housewares, Christmas decorations, and fabric.

After a trip through the duty free shop, we crossed back into Canada and made it back home at around 6.

Today was a 'jammie' day. I slept in and spent the day doing crosswords, stitching, knitting (I finished Skip's hat), finished stitching an ornament and got it mounted and ready for the cording (which I'll make with my new cording drill) and knit about half of my Lattice Cowl.

I'm using this Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend yarn.

What a splendid way to spend time with like-minded friends. We enjoyed the hotels, meals, and all the shopping. If laughter is great therapy, we are the healthiest, sanest people around. We are already formulating plans for our next trip. In the meantime, I'm getting together with Jen and Marilyn on Wednesday to coach them through making the project bags with the vinyl window and on Friday, Jen, Jeanette, Barb, Marilyn, and I are taking the wool appliqué class at the Quilter's Cupboard in Uxbridge.