The Big Apple March 28, 2011 – Posted in: Crafts, Family

Did you think I disappeared?! I sincerely thought about it! But fear not, I’m here. The morning sickness has been overwhelming and my days have been jam packed with things I have to do, so I haven’t had much time to sit down and blog.

But I did want to share the amazing weekend I just had with my Mom and sister, Meredith. We left the kids with the husbands and ran like hell took a short flight to NYC for a whirlwind weekend of shopping and girly fun!!

We flew in Friday afternoon and got to the city about 3:30. We checked into our hotel, which just happened to be in the heart of Times Square, dropped off our bags, then made our way over to the Park Avenue Armory to the most amazing quilt show I’ve ever been to. And trust me, I’ve been to my fair share of quilt shows!! It was sponsored by the American Folk Art Museum and featured 650 red and white antique quilts on loan from 1 collector! While we were there we read more about the collection and learned these 650 were just part of the over 1000 quilts she has in her collection, and this display was her 80th birthday gift from her husband, and was a gift she wanted to give to NYC. She’d never seen them all displayed at once before, and let me tell you, it was a sight I’ll never forget!! It’s hard to capture the grandeur of these quilts in pictures. Simply incredible.

(that’s my cute Mom checking out the sight)

After the quilt show, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hotel to get some rest. After a day of traveling, and the shock of the cold to our bodies, we were ready to snuggle in our beds. We got up Saturday morning and headed out into the blustery 28 degree day!

                          

We started the day in the garment district. It was the main focus of our trip and boy was it worth it!! We wandered up and down the streets, peeking in windows and occasionally going in when something really sparked our interest. I could have spent days in the trim shops alone!!

                          

                          

We found an amazing menswear store that had rows and rows and ROWS of shirtings, followed by suitings. I also adored their madras prints!!

Then we made our way to Mood. If you watch Project Runway at all, you’re very familiar with Mood! This actually wasn’t my first trip to the store, as The Hubs and our Manhattan friends took me on my 27th birthday when we visited NYC, but it was a first for Mom and Meredith.

                          

Then we made our way over to the most amazing trim shop I’ve ever seen!! If you go to Manhattan, you’ve GOT to stop by M&J Trimmings. It’s modern, fun, reasonably priced, and absolutely mindblowing!!

Then we wandered down 6th Avenue for awhile and passed this gorgeous Catholic Church somewhere along the way (we ducked in to get a peek at the inside–and discovered Mass being said in Latin!! Such a sweet little surprise for our Catholic family during this Lenten season!). I HAD to take pictures of it because I was mesmerized with the shadows the sun cast through surrounding buildings.

                          

We had lunch, then made our way down to Chelsea to The City Quilter–the only quilt shop in Manhattan!! I forgot to take any pictures while we were in there, but it wasn’t all that different from any other quilt store you’d find anywhere else. Kind of comforting in the bustle of NYC!

After TCQ, we headed even further south to SoHo to the Purl Bee!! I was really looking forward to this stop and it didn’t disappoint! The people working in the shop were unbelievably nice and it was so precious in there! I could have stayed all day!

I *almost* bought some yarn to teach myself to knit. Like I’ve got time for that! But seriously, look at the yarn!!

Every where you looked in the store there were sweet details that captivated my attention.

                          

                          

I’m getting ready to make up my own stuffed dolls for my girls, so I especially loved these!

And the ceiling!! It was gorgeous!!

When we left Purl SoHo, we headed even further South to Ground Zero to check out the new construction.

Then we made our way back to the hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed East to this amazing 2 story Anthropologie, then we looked around a little in Rockefeller Plaza, and had a delicious dinner before heading back to the hotel to fall into our beds.

                          

We got up Sunday morning, which just happened to be Meredith’s birthday, and headed straight for the airport to come home. Like I said, it was a whirlwind trip!! We’re all exhausted, but agree it was worth every mile walked. I got out all my little purchases last night to show The Hubs and I think he was pleasantly surprised at how little I brought home. I did make a New Year’s Resolution to not buy (with MY money, money and gift cards given to me is totally allowable!) any more fabric, so I really limited myself. But I’m thrilled with what I got and I can’t wait to start sewing!! Thanks for a fun and memorable trip Mom and Mere! I can’t wait to go back!!

(The fish and blue stripes on the top came from Mood. The 2 NYC prints and bag of buttons (fill a bag with buttons for only $2!!) came from The City Quilter. The blue and white elastic came from Daytona Trimming, the Scottie Dog ribbon and Owl ribbon came from M&J Trimmings, and the circle belt buckle came from C&C Button.)