The rest of the story....

Continuing on with our adventures during February, we made a wonderful trip to Savannah GA. We took a day  and drove straight through from Myrtle Beach to Savannah making a couple of short stops along the way. It was a really interesting drive and if ever I have the chance to visit the south again we will definitely make time to explore Charleston. 

Our accommodations at the Oglethorpe Inn & Suites were lovely. 

We later learned that the hotel takes its name from the man who

 founded Savannah, General James Oglethorpe, back in 1733! 

We booked a tour of historic Savannah which included the

Victorian section as well. What a wealth of history the city has 

to offer as we were soon overwhelmed. The wrought iron work 

on the homes and building impressed me so much. If we ever 

get to return I will make an effort to photograph as much of it

 as possible. 

                                                                      Unfortunately the weather was cold and wet the day of the tour and we couldn't get photos through the plastic panels of  the trolley. Here is one of the horse-drawn carriages that would have been lovely in the summer.

That night we dined at the Boar's Head Grill & Tavern                                                   

down on the river front. Bob was so taken by the name 

that he insisted that we give it a try. I was more                              

interested in going to the restaurant where legend has it 

a pirate died in one of the upstairs rooms. He won and 

the decor did not let us down! The restaurant was in 

what was once one of the cotton warehouses 

constructed in 1780. So much history, lots of old brick 

and exposed beams; it was delightful as was the food. It was here that I tasted 'Chocolate Bread Pudding'.

Below is a view from the river's edge of one of these 

warehouse buildings. Note the wrought iron balconies so typical of Savannah.

The next day I met with a guild member for lunch and before I knew it, it was time to prepare for the trunk show I was giving for the ladies of the Waving Girls Chapter of SAGA. they received me warmly and I hope to see many of them in Atlanta in Oct. They are a wonderful, hardworking group of ladies who continuously make garments for the Wee Care Program along with many other work for charity.     

Our time in Savannah was so short and there was so much to see. I simply can not wait to go back once again. But holidays always have to come to an end eventually and now we are back home once again.

It is so wonderful to hear the birds singing even before the sun rises in the mornings. The sun is shining today and the air is so much like spring, it simply can not be far off! 

So, keep stitching........

Thank goodness for Pearle Cotton!

Back home at last, after five weeks away, it is all starting to feel like a dream.

If any of you wondered where I was or why I was not responding, we were in Myrtle Beach for Feb 1 to Feb 29. We took an extra day traveling south to stop in Richmond, VA which I wrote about in the past post.

We had a wonderful side trip to Georgetown, SC one day with friends. The first shop we spotted on the main street was a little children's wear store whose windows were filled with traditional smocked garments for little girls and boys. The shop is Doodlebugs and the garments they show online do not do their stock justice! Well Sharon and I just had to go in and were still there when our husbands had finished exploring up and down the street.

They had all the traditional garments you never seen worn here in Canada and the sweetest little heirloom dresses trimmed with real French Val laces and darling embroidery. 

When we tore ourselves away, we walked along the waterfront boardwalk and saw a lot of very fine boats before stopping for the most delicious lunch at a place by the name of River Room Restaurant.

On the main street there is a Rice Museum. Yes, rice. At one point, just prior to the Civil War, the southern states exported more rice than any other country in the world. It seems indigo was another cash crop that flourished at the time as well. the Indigo plant was used to make blue dye.

From Georgetown we traveled a bit further down the highway to a State Park to visit a deconstructed rice plantation known as Hampton Plantation. This home was occupied up until recently and by deconstructed they meant that the house was not decorated or furnished to any period but rather the walls and floors had been laid open in places so you could see the structure of the building and how it was constructed. Even for me it was interesting to try and imagine living is such a home.

Now it is not in my nature to sit and leave my hands idle for long and so while we were away, I sat most evenings and smocked. Thank goodness for the Pearle cotton I purchased back in Richmond! The embroidery floss I had brought with me was the right colour but it just didn't do my fabric justice. This is for a sample of the pattern "Poppy", from 'A Garden of Smocking Designs', a little coat dress based on a square yoke design.

Here you see one side of the front skirt smocked in embroidery floss and the left side in the Pearle cotton. I am not sure if you can see the difference on the computer in the clarity of the stitching on this print. The floss tends to look a bit muddy while the Pearle cotton because of the rope-like twist catches the light better and seems to stand up to be seen. I am really looking forward to making time to get this little dress assembled and photographed for you.

I purchased the fabric, a quilting cotton, several years ago at a friend's shop and have held onto it not knowing just how to use it. (Have you ever done that before?) When Kathleen Copeland Nyberg asked me to take over her line of patterns, I knew at once I had a match for the pattern and fabric. You can see all the patterns remaining in Kathleen's line if you go to my web site as soon as we can get the new one posted!!

Well, that is all for today. Keep stitching.......