PITTSBURGH Street Market Wanderings

There was a day in Pittsburgh that Linda and I went to a street market. It was delightful in that it was situated in an old district of warehouses. There were so many things to see, buy and eat there. We wandered through and talked to the sellers, bought some t-shirts and stopped for a glass of wine and people watched. A delightful sunny afternoon in friendly interesting surroundings. On the walk back to our hotel room, we passed this plaque. There are plaques like this all over downtown Pittsburgh, all very serious and informative, but this was my favorite.


 

Last Day & Seviches

Today Jan had book signing in the publisher's booth at 11:30 and I at 1:00 p.m. I don't know how her's went because I didn't see her there...I was wandering and mingling with suppliers and lost track of time. Mine went well in that I talked to a few people, but I didn't sign one book! I am there at 3 tomorrow and I hope at least one person would like my autograph! So we went our separate ways when we got there, and then I wandered around through the booths looking at what is presented. I didn't understand why all the booths had tables and chairs at them until I got there today. The sales people in the booths are dealing with store owners so they actually sit down and place huge orders at each booth. And there is every kind of booth you can imagine. It's a godsend (financially) that I couldn't buy anything but odds and ends.....they sell buttons at a minimum of 12 of the same one. Fringe by the card.... and fabric by the bolt, patterns at a minimum of six, and thread by the display rack!

But I did find a booth with scissors. It really annoyed me when the security people took the ones I thought would be ok away because I had hours ahead of me with nothing to do and nobody to talk to because Linda was not on the plane with me. So I talked to this guy in the booth and he sold me a pair of scissors that I CAN have on the plane. They are sold as airplane approved.
And now that I’m home, I can tell you that they went through US and Canadian Security checks without anyone batting an eye. Here they are…..

Jan arrived at the room and we went out to dinner at a Tapas Bar. We were lucky to arrive at happy hour so everything was half price. So we each had a mojito, my first. It was delicious, and we tried 8 different kinds of Tapas. I think I actually liked the mojito drink because of the way it was described…..”Vodka, mango juice and “muddled Mint”, which just means mint that’s been squashed so it releases some of it’s oils into the drink…but “muddled” sounded so much more intriquing! It looked really pretty. Bob would have loved the food presentation. We sat at the bar and watched 5 chefs prepare the food and they served it looking so wonderful we took pictures of it.....the kids working there thought we were hilarious....and then asked where we were from! I guess it was pretty obvious we are tourists!





After that we went to Burlington Coat Factory and bought a t-shirt. $7.00! I can't believe the prices there. Yes I know that's US dollars but even when you do the math, that's less than at home for a plain t-shirt at Winners! I am beginning to see why people go across the border to shop! By then it was about 8 and we had decided we would go to the hotel and have desert and tea and then come to our room and pack. Jan leaves tomorrow.

We got to the restaurant without any wrong turns this time and decided to go for desert before going to our room. There are two girls in line for a table and they're wearing name tags from the convention. So Jan asked them to join us. They did and we had a delightful time with two people from Alberta, so it was three Canadians! And best of all the dessert was absolutely out of this world. I had Deep Fried Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake. It was a pastry full of flavored cream cheese, deep fried and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. With ice cream.......good thing I'm doing a lot of walking! I am NOT a foody type of person, but I do believe I could learn to be!

Isabella Street, Pittsburgh Bridges and Jan's I Phone!

 

About one in the afternoon I walked back to the hotel with my suitcase, and put it in my room, changed, and then went back to the show and listened to more presentations. I didn't know where my room mate got to and had no way of calling or finding her, so I left and walked across the bridge right in front of the convention center to the "north side", walked a block through a residential section on "Isabella Street", and then crossed the river again on the next bridge. There is the 5th street bridge, the 6th street bridge, the Andy Warhol bridge, the Fort Pitt bridge and the Fort Duquesne bridge, all within view of each other! So I took photos of the bridges and the skylines.....very unique because it's all very old historical buildings mixed in with big tall modern buildings.



 

When I got back to the hotel room and Jan was there. So we had a glass of wine together and went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Fantastic food, but very skimpy portions. Bob would feel ripped off. I was quite satisfied with my scallops and asparagus with beet and goat cheese salad.

From there we went back to the Convention Center for "Sample Spree". Jan thought I should experience it, I thought it was extreme madness. The vendors in the market have booths in one room and they are selling kits and specials for phenomenally low prices. I bought a necklace made with old buttons and red wire! The artist is Susan Christie. Her work was stunning and I just couldn't leave this one there! I’m developing my “image”….a new hat, an outrageous necklace…hmmmm…what else can I do to stand out in a crowd!



And I got some samples and pamphlets as well, but I found it a little confusing and extremely noisy.....kind of like a shoe sale at the Army & Navy where people grab stuff from each other and push and shove. Yikes! I actually wanted to leave a while before we did and was relieved when I saw people starting to pack up!

When that was over, Jan and I and a whole crowd of other quilters left the center and headed for our hotels. The crowd thinned out as it progressed and our hotel is, I think, the furthest away. We went into a 7-11 to get a pop and some milk for our tea, and I think we turned the wrong way when we came out. We were walking along thinking we were headed in the right direction, but weren't seeing any familiar landmarks! And yes it was dark....about 10:30 p.m. and there were a LOT of people on the streets.....and not the ones I was fascinated with in the day time for the past two days! We were getting nervous. And then Jan pulled out her "I Phone" and hit the "map application" and typed in the name of the street we were on and the name of the street the hotel was on. We were WAY off the path. So we kept walking and she was watching her phone....it showed a little blue spot getting further and further away from our hotel. So we turned around and went the other way and the spot started moving closer to the hotel. We were thrilled to pieces when we saw buildings that we knew and streets that were better lit!!! She figures her phone paid for itself in that short time alone! She said she was a little scared and admired me for just keeping on keeping on.....I figured if we kept walking and just looked like we knew where we were and had no fear, it would be like animals....if we didnt exhibit any signs of fear, we wouldn't alert anyone to our insecurity! But I'll be honest.....tea wasn't ALL we drank when we got to our room!


Jan Krentz is an absolutely fantastic person. It was my privilege to be her room mate. She gave me hints about travelling and things that are very informative if I do this again. And she's very down-to-earth in the hotel room and we laugh and tell stories. She says she wants to keep in touch with me because I'm "a keeper". So is SHE! She's on her fourth book and she teaches full time all over the world. I would highly recommend her to anyone….having seen her samples first hand and spent time with her….I’d go to her class if she came to our area for sure. I'm really happy I got to room with her because it is comfortable and real, especially when you consider we’d never met before. Her new book is called "Quick Star Quilts & Beyond".

Jan Krentz - My Room Mate

The best thing that happened to me in Pittsburgh was Jan Krentz, author of "Quick Star Quilts & Beyond (and 4 others and her own new design for specialty rulers). She is the fellow-author that C&T Publishing chose to be my roommate for the duration of Spring Quilt Market. Anyone would be nervous about staying with a complete stranger, but I have to say that if I had interviewed candidates to stay with me I probably would not have chosen as well as Jan! She was so much fun, we had so much in common, she was so helpful and informative and absolutely the nicest person you could hope to have as a room mate and friend. I believe we will stay in touch for years to come.
The night before I stayed with Linda at the Omni William Penn Hotel. It was very grand and luxurious and we enjoyed our stay there because we got it at the Spring Quilt Market rate. We arrived in Pittsburgh at midnight their time, but it was still early by our time. We were hungry. So we ordered room service. Quesadillas, and some wine! Wouldn’t you know I spilled tomato sauce on my white nightie. The next day we trundled our suitcases up the street to the hotel C&T had arranged for us, the Doubletree. Linda went to visit her cousins and I went shopping for a new nightie as I didn’t want my room mate to see me in my messy nightie and have a bad impression of me from the start.
Jan arrived at the room after I had fallen asleep the next night so I didn’t see her till morning. It was funny to roll over and say “Hi, you must be Jan.” She said “I am….that means you must be Gladys and I’m in the right room!” We laughed. Then she said “How do you like my pajamas?” She was wearing the pajamas I wear at home….the really comfy soft ones that make you feel safe and secure. I laughed and told her about my going to get a new nightie so she would think well of me! And from that point on, we enjoyed every minute we spent together. I look forward to and sincerely hope to have more!
Here’s a picture of us having a bagel for breakfast. We had a young couple in the restaurant take our picture with each of our cameras. It’s a terrible picture of me, but a very good one of Jan. I sure hope Jan’s picture turned out better than mine, but here we are.

And then there was Mark

And then there was Mark. What a wonderful experience. Linda and I were going to rent a car in Pittsburgh, and take the drive out to Frank Lloyd Wright’s house, Falling Waters. We didn’t think to rent it ahead of time. So when the hotel couldn’t find one for us and several phone calls netted zero results, we headed out to find a rental place recommended by the concierge. We wandered around for about an hour and were unable to find it. Pittsburgh has named alleys in the downtown core, so we missed that. Finally we went into a shopping mall and I approached a security person and asked if he could tell me how to find Economy Rentals because we were looking for a car. He decided the easiest way to get us there was to lead the way.

He headed out the door, down the street and around a corner, through an alley, around a construction barrier (we did begin to wonder where we were going), and suddenly there was a little place and it was what we were looking for. He escorted us in the door and explained what we needed. They had no cars. This is a picture of one of the buildings we passed in our journey.



But that wasn’t the end of his help. He took us outside again and down another street, through a couple more alleys, chatting all the time about where were we from, his children, saying hi to almost everyone he passed. Everyone seemed to know him. Turns out they were all people who work for him as he was the Senior Security person. We got to the second rental place and they didn’t have anything either. He was very frustrated with his city, which he is obviously very proud of, not being able to provide what we needed.

His next question was “Can you drive a stick?” I said “You mean a standard?” He said “Yeah, a stick!” I said I could thinking he knew of a rental place that had one. He said then “Well you can take my truck.” I said we wouldn’t do that. He said “Why not. It’s just parked and I won’t need it till 6 o’clock”. I said “What if we aren’t back by 6?” He said “Well then I call the police and report it stolen and you deal with them not me!” We laughed and thanked him very much but said we would just do other things today instead.

This is a photograph of the Renaissance Hotel. It faces the river that has six bridges on it....all within view of each other.



Mark's generous spirit and enthusiasm were an example of everyone we ran into in Pittsburgh. We didn’t get to Falling Waters, but we had a great day wandering around the downtown core.

Rainbow Quiz

Your rainbow is intensely shaded red, violet, and green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What it says about you: You are a passionate person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality.You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

I visited the blog of an artist I've met recently online, Natalie Hamade (her 'creative characters" blog is listed at the side in my favorites) and found this quiz. I thought it was fun so I've posted it here for you to try as well.

A lesson Learned!

I am posting, finally, a photograph of the finished vegetable quilt I made for my Dad. I forgot to take a picture of it before I left, but my cousin sent me this one. It’s such a cheerful looking quilt that I would actually like to make it again for myself! And I’m stashing some of the best fabrics so that I can!

Now….Here’s a little story for you all to learn from! It started innocently enough….I am going on a trip to Pittsburgh and New York City this spring. Two girls I know but who don’t know each other are meeting me there. Last Saturday one, who lives way out on one of the Gulf Islands, came to town and dropped over for coffee. I called the other friend to come over and meet her while she was in town (otherwise it involves a long drive and a boat ride across the Gulf Channel).

In anticipation of these two coming to visit, I cleared off my kitchen table and put a pile of things that were destined for my sewing room and office in a basket. I keep this basket behind my chair to put our recycling in and carry it up and down the stairs. We had a great visit and are positive we’ll have a wonderful time together. They left, and I went on with my day, shopping and gardening.

Three days later, I took everything downstairs and set it in the garage for my husband to sort. I’m a secretary, but he has no faith in my ability to file the garbage so he always does it. I came down a little later, we hopped in our vehicle and off we went to work.

When we came home that night, I saw my portfolio and a cookie box on his work bench. I asked what that was doing down here. He replied “It was in the recycling and I couldn’t believe you were throwing that out. I hollered up the stairs to see if you really wanted to but I think you were in the shower so I figured if you wanted to toss it, it could go out next week. I felt sick to my stomach and I think perhaps looked it as well because he said “What’s wrong?” I told him that portfolio has my tickets, my itinerary, AND my passport in it. All the stuff in the basket was just to go to my sewing room and I had put it there when I cleared off the kitchen table for Linda and Angela! He was concerned that it would be bills that were lost. I told him not to worry, those get sent again! I know there was no money in it….I had to think hard and could not sit still so I took the dog for a long walk. I’ve figured out a few things that were in that basket…..some transfer image samples on silk, some more pictures to try the technique with, a couple of bills….but I think I am very lucky because he somehow managed to pull out the most important item! Imagine writing to say I need a new passport because mine went to the dump by accident! They wouldn’t think I should be allowed to travel!

But the lesson learned is not to put valuables in containers normally used for disposal! And this is the second time in my life I’ve learned that lesson….but that’s another story!