Knitionary: day trip

House Party

California

Last month my husband and I were invited to a beautiful private event at a simply gorgeous local winery. House Family Vineyards is located on a hilltop in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Saratoga overlooking Santa Clara Valley, now known to the world as Silicon Valley. The view was astounding, with sweeping views that spanned from Mountain View and Santa Clara, to San Jose, Saratoga, and Los Gatos, plus the bay and hills that encircle it all. While sipping wine, we had fun pointing out local landmarks. These views are of the southern tip of what is known as the San Francisco Bay Area, with San Francisco being to our north. Many visitors to our area are aware of our famous Napa-Sonoma-Mendocino wine country that is north of San Francisco, but there are many wineries south and east as well. If you are visiting Silicon Valley, (I know quite a few of my readers do visit for business) and you want to visit a close-by California winery, this gem should be your destination. The rustic, lodge-like wine tasting room is open Friday-Sunday for tastings that includes an hors d'oeuvre menu, but can be closed for private events so it's best to check the website first. Wear comfy shoes for the oak-studded quarter-mile walk from the parking lot to the tasting room. I don't consider myself a wine connoisseur, more of an enthusiast, and we loved what we tasted so decided to become members of their wine club. Wine clubs are the best way to purchase wine from small wineries who don't have enough wine to sell to wine stores. Plus picking up our wine will be a fun outing on a pretty afternoon with the '62 Corvette, my husband's beloved hobby car. As for the evening's dinner, it was sublime. We began with passed appetizers on the terrace with the expansive views, but I couldn't stray too far from the epic charcuterie board. It had everything I adore: olives, pickles, salty meats, grapes, and a wonderful selection of soft and hard cheeses. I always think I'm going to tackle making a charcuterie board but haven't yet as I fear it will be too difficult and I won't get it to look right. I looked online for help and loved Kylie Mazon's simple plan and pretty style and now I am determined to give a charcuterie board a try this summer. Dinner was served from big platters served family style in the center of the tables followed by dessert and coffee offered on a separate buffet. But the views and wine, the food and friends, all had to take a back seat for a bit because the moment I walked in, I gasped at the table setting and that took my full attention at the first. Look at the centerpieces! Branches of olive, curly willow and eucalyptus, artichokes and grapes, protea, roses, green hydrangeas, snapdragons, and shiny black lilies that looked like leather! My husband pointed out that each of the artichoke petals had been snipped of its wee thorny tip. One of the prettiest arrangements I had ever seen. Now that is floral artistry.

The images are my own, except when noted otherwise.

Source: HFV website

From the parking lot, follow the path through the vineyard,
then through a shady glade of California Live Oaks, on to the tasting room.
Image source: HFV website

The drive up from town.
Source: HFV website

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April 26, 2018
14 Comments

Back Roads to Never Not Knitting

California

In Atascadero, a small inland town in the California Central Coast, there is a teeny tiny knitting store. It may be the tiniest knitting store in the world, but it is as sweet as it can be. The Never Not Knitting store, owned by Alana Dakos of the blog and podcast of the same name, is also known for her popular books, Botanical Knits 1 and 2, Baby Botanicals, and Coastal Knits. Alana has filled her shop with a scrumptious variety of locally made knitting accessories and adorable notions, and of course there is yarn. Scattered around the store are many knitted sweater samples from her patterns, plus files of her individual patterns and her books. The featured yarn is Quince and Co.'s Owl, Chickadee, Willet, Kestrel, Puffin, and perhaps a few others, but those are the ones I remember. She also had a yarn that was new to me, a hand dyed yarn from Canadian Jane Asselin which was very pretty. Alana was not there, but the saleslady was very pleasant and didn't mind me taking pictures. She invited my husband to sit on the "husband chair" in the corner where he fiddled with his phone. After ten minutes he stood up, and just by doing that he consumed all the space in the main part of the shop and I knew it my signal to exit. If you're a knitter and are traveling by Atascadero, the little shop is just minutes off the highway. Stop in, you'll be enchanted.

Never Not Knitting

How did I happen upon this little shop tucked away in a small central coast town? On one of our frequent trips driving home from visiting our daughter, we like to cruise up the scenic coastal route taking an extra day and night to explore. Either we'll stop for the night at an inland town in a wine growing region, or just as often we'll stop at a beach town. This time we stayed in Morro Bay, famous for the massive Morro Rock that resides just off the harbor, it has a mellow, California-beach-town-vibe that is perfect for a quick getaway. Even one day and night in Morro Bay is enough to sooth the soul. As we headed into town I checked out hotels on my phone. One that got particularly good reviews was a block from the beach and very well priced. Our room was clean and bright and I would recommend Pleasant Inn in Morro Bay to anyone. There are dozens of restaurants within walking distance a block down on the waterfront and we had a lovely time eating our fish and chips while watching the sun set over the rock. Next morning after breakfast, I googled "knit shops near me" (don't you love to visit knit stores while traveling?) and saw Alana's shop was right on our way home and it was OPEN! My husband is one of the greats and only rolled his eyes once before he agreed. :)

When we travel my husband drives and I'm in charge of the radio (and the singing-along if necessary, and it often is), the snack dispensing (sunflower seeds, MMs, Good N Plentys and Cheetos were this trip's treats), and the all important knitting. I knit masses during those four days and finished two projects! FO posts coming soon.

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September 25, 2017
9 Comments

field trip berkeley

day trip

Hello there! Last week I had a fun outing with a fun and crafty friend, shopped, took pictures, and came home with some swag. Tinsel Trading Co. has been around for decades, getting close to the century mark, and was a favorite pilgrimage on my infrequent visits to NYC. I heard they lost their lease (sad) and moved to Berkeley, CA, (joy!) less than an hour from my home. The Tinsel Trading Company is definitely one of my most favorite shops in the world. If you are visiting nearby San Francisco and have an extra day to explore across the bay, and if you are of the crafty persuasion, you won't be disappointed, I promise. This is one special store that is chockablock with vintage trims, appliques, buttons, ribbons, ornaments--the list is endless. Tinsel is special enough on it's own, but right next store is a fun jewelry shop called Favor and it's too cute not to stop in for a quick look, except we stayed too long and thus ran out of time to stop for lunch. Bonus: Acme Bread is up the block on the corner. Next, drive south on San Pablo for 2 miles and a visit to A Verb For Keeping Warm, an entirely gorgeous yarn shop with a beautifully curated selection of yarn: lots of Brooklyn Tweed, (they had his new Vale) some Tosh, Quince and Co., and their own beautiful yarns which includes the famous Pioneer, which I've used a few times and adore. Last visit I saw some Plucky, but didn't notice it this time. We ran out of time, but I'm going on the same pilgrimage with another friend next Friday and I'll double check. I'm hoping we'll have time to stop at Discount Fabrics, also on San Pablo, midway between Tinsel and Verb. If you get the chance to visit these shops, I know you won't be disappointed.