Antique Road Trip

O'Neil's Antiques

I know when I set out to write this blog I wanted to focus on crafts, family, and life in NYC. Well I can't help it is my love of crafts and family are also tied into my love of travel. This Thursday (yes during the blizzard) my family and I started out on a road trip from New York to North Carolina to visit some family. Since the weather was bad we decided to drive about half way and spend the night near some of our favorite antique stores around the Delaware/Maryland border on Rt. 13. If you haven't figured it out already I am infinitely interested in tradition. I am a firm believer in understanding your roots before you can grow and spread your branches. So I guess it is no surprise that antique store amuse me. Walking through an antique store is like walking through a mini time capsule.

Loving all the books I found

One of our family's favorite antique stops is O'Neil's which is a few miles before you hit Maryand.  We have been coming here for years and absolutely love the big collections of estate jewelry, antique furniture, and treasures spanning a few centuries worth of nostalgia.  We were saddened to see that within the next few weeks the store will be closing.  The lovely couple who owns O'Neil's have decided after over 25 years they will be retiring.  On the bright side appointments can still be made to view their jewelry at their home.  Since everything was pretty much on clearance I went to work digging through each section looking for treasures. (Yes that is me sitting on the floor exploring craft books... the owners did say to make myself at home :)

Maybe I'm addicted, but at least its a healthy addiction

While there are so many beautiful things I would love to buy I decided I would focus this expedition on finding craft books, patterns, tools, and supplies.  I love looking through books to get ideas.  Many of the crafts I grew up with in my family seem to have faded as video games and computers have become the way to entertain so its pretty difficult sometimes to find resources.  Antique stores are a great place though to find these lost treasures.  Usually I feel lucky if I find a book or two but this trip I guess I was rewarded for braving the winter weather.  I  found so many craft resources that I actually had a hard time picking which books to buy and which I had to leave behind. With just two antique store stops I had literally piles of new craft goodies.  If you are looking for a cost effective place to load up on supplies antique stores, thrift shops, and yard sales are a good place to start.

Holding some of the new craft stash!

As for our followers, you can look forward to many new items in our Etsy Shop within the next few months.  The hardest part is going to be deciding where to start!  There are so many good ideas that inspire new items for my personal collection as well as the shop.  I even found some patterns I remember my Nannie working on when I was a little girl.  I love when we find little trinkets that remind us of our past.  Nannie was such an important part of why I am the crafter I am today so those things that remind me of her are extra special.  Antiquing turned out to be a successful part of the trip but we still had a few hours drive until we could begin our weekend getaway with some of our Southern relatives so we once again hit the road.  While flying is definitely a faster way to travel I wouldn't give up our road adventures for the world.  There is nothing like meeting new people, discovering hidden sight seeing gems, and spending time with your family.

We continued driving down south and decided to take a route that would bring us over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  For those of you who have never traveled this strip it is a combination of tunnels and bridges with a beautiful view of the water.  We were lucky enough to hit it just as the sun was setting.  The view was so colorful that we decided we couldn't just quickly pass it by.  Instead we stopped at their rest area.  There is a restaurant there with water views as well as a gift shop and convenience area. It is also a great place to stop and take a few family photos or just enjoy the spectacular view.

After all the snow we have had in New York this year it was incredibly refreshing to stand by the ocean on a warm day, listen to the seagulls and the churning of the water, and watch the sunset.  On that note, I will update our readers next post on the rest of the trip!

A sunset so perfect it almost doesn't seem real

For Part II of our road trip adventures click here!

 

Winter Accessories

January 3, 2014 Snowstorm

New York has already had a pretty eventful Winter.  At least four snowstorms and an Arctic Vortex later I think snow gear is a must.  In not a big hat person, but a headband, scarf, and gloves are a must before I dare to brave the cold temperatures.  Over the years of of my favorite things to make are crochet scarfs.  Not only are scarfs a fun accessory but for people like me, who don't tolerate the cold very well, they are a very practical and essential part of any winter outfit.

The advantage of being able to make your own scarfs is the color and materiel options are endless and I can make the exact size and design I'm looking for.  Since the scarf rarely leaves my neck, even once I'm indoors, it is great to be able to match them to some of my favorite outfits.  There are also some pretty fashionable ways to wrap or tie scarfs, so being able to add the extra length I prefer is another great reason I make my own.


With the recent temperatures plummeting so low my car's tires actually stuck to the ground, and wind chill numbers around -15 my scarf of choice for this winter is something thick, plush, and extra warm.  After a quick trip to the craft store (ok, maybe it wasn't so quick, but who could blame me for spending so much time there when there are so many great craft options?!?!) I decided on a deep burgundy red color.   Bernat's Soft Boucle Yarn caught my eye because of the rich color and the new "quicker and thicker" design.  FYI, I did notice a notable difference though in color and texture between dye lots so make sure you buy enough of the same lot for your intended project if you go with this yarn.  While some yarns you can get away with mixing lots, this is definitely not one of them.  Also, if you are new to crochet or knit this may not be the best yarn for you.  It is woven in a loose manner that some new crafters find hard to create with as it is easy to place the needle through the thread of yarn instead of under it.

Just as the label promised this yarn was plenty thick and it does work very quick. The yarn label called for a "L" crochet hook but since I was concerned with warmth I choose a "K" crochet hook to keep the stitching a little tighter.  While a single crochet scarf would have almost totally eliminated this problem, I wanted to make sure the soft plush quality of this yarn wasn't lost in smaller tighter stitches.  For this reason I decided to create the scarf in double crochet stitches with the slightly smaller hook which gave me the desired look, feel, and warmth.  I'm a huge fan of infinity scarfs right now so with that in mind I began crocheting away.  The picture on the right (don;t mind my pjs) shows the work in progress scarf after only a short time.  I made the scarf about 70 inches long before closing the infinity circle (a good length if you like to double the loops around your neck for a little extra warmth) and about 10 inches thick.

After completing the scarf I had some yarn left over.  I could have held onto the remaining yarn for a future project but all I could hear was a little voice in my head telling me my yarn stash is big enough. But... I refuse to waste craft materials... sooo... I decided the perfect solution was to make a matching headband!  After completing a basic headband I stitched a portion of the headband together creating a pinched bow effect.  Overall I am very happy with the yarn and the finished product. After only one night of cuddling up and crocheting I have two great new Winter Accessories.  I'm ready to face the next round of of Arctic Vortex cold expected within the next two weeks!

Finished Scarf and Headband (Color appears lighter due to camera flash)