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I love it all: embroidery, canvaswork, quilting, crochet. So much to do, so little time.





Thursday, May 23, 2013

Louisville

Hey Blog Buddies,

Today has started out very chilly (upper 40's) and rainy here--a great day to stay home and stitch, which I plan on doing later.  Last week we took a short trip to Louisville, Kentucky, so here is a little tour of the area:

Downtown Louisville, from the Indiana side
of the Ohio River.
 
I was surprised that we found on-street parking
in the downtown area on a week day,
and that it was so inexpensive.
Of course, any on-street downtown parking is cheap
by Chicago standards.
 
We visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
and saw how the bats were made.
The machines were noisy, but it was a fun tour.
That's me next to the gigantic bat!
 
We did our own small tour of Old Louisville.
This is the gorgeous parkway that
runs down the middle of St. James Court.
 
There were lots of interesting old houses like this one.
Turrets are so cool.
 
Many of the houses had front gardens in full bloom.
 
We took a guided tour of the
Conrad-Caldwell House and Museum.
The Conrads had the house built in the mid-1890's.
He made his fortune in leather tanning.
It was sold to the Caldwells ten years later.
Mrs. Caldwell was a shopaholic (my description).
She wanted to redecorate, so she went to Europe
to get a few trinkets like
gigantic chandeliers and many new fireplaces!
Unfortunately, photographs were forbidden
inside of the house, so the outside
is all that I have.
 
Last but not least, we visited the Mothership...
...the Embroidery Guild of America's headquarters.
They are in a building called The Pointe
which has a warehouse/loft vibe:
very high ceilings with exposed ductwork, etc.
 
They had a small blackwork exhibition.
 
Some of my favorites:
Skull by Jo Dixey.
 
Hohokam Golden Prize by Anna Crowder.
 
Nebraska by Ann Erdmann.
 
Grotesque by Shirley Kay Wolfersperger.
(This is actually my top favorite.)
 
As you can see from this small sampling,
you can do a lot with shading in blackwork.
 
They also had this fantastic dollhouse:
I would guess the overall dimensions to be
about 3 feet by 2 feet.
There was a living room, dining room, kitchen
and many bedrooms.
Where is the bathroom?!!!
 
There was so much to see in each little room--
so many tiny, tiny embroidered and sewn items!
 
The photos are a bit blurry because flash isn't allowed.
Look, they even have a black dog
who closely resembles Molly!
 
It's hard to see, but check out
that tiny alphabet sampler on the wall!
And the pillow on the chair!
 
The rugs looked like they were petit point--
at least 50 over 1!
And the doily under the teapot looks tatted to me.
 
The baby's room.
Stitched picture behind lamp!
 
 
Of course there was a sewing room!
 
I think that I may have liked the dollhouse
even better than the blackwork exhibit,
and that's saying something.
And, credit where credit is due,
I wouldn't even have seen the dollhouse
if DH hadn't been bored while I was poring over
each blackwork piece and gone exploring.
I thought the blackwork exhibit was all they had.
He came back and asked me if I had seen the dollhouse.
I had no clue, so he said:
"C'mon, I'll show you."
It was tucked away in the back.
 
Our tour has now come to a close.
Take care when exiting the bus.
Don't forget your belongings.
Have a wonderful rest-of-your-day!
Thanks for visiting, and do come again!

11 comments:

cucki said...

Aww such a sweet post..so nice to see so many sweet things..
Big hugs x

geeky Heather said...

That dollhouse is amazing!!! Last time I visited Louisville, EGA was closed to switch out exhibits. =( I was so disappointed! If you go there again, you have to eat at Lynn's Paradise Cafe!!

geeky Heather said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anna van Schurman said...

What fun! And only the best dudes find a little secret stitching exhibit for their stitchers! :)

Melody said...

Very nice. Thanks for the tour of Louisville! I didn't know the Needlework place was there....

Chris said...

Thanks for taking me along on this trip to Louisville!

Karen said...

Beautiful pics! I love the blackwork and the dollhouse. Definitely a place I would love to visit sometime. :)

Carol said...

Looks like a great city--my nephew just moved there last year so it was fun to see a bit of where he now calls home. That dollhouse is just wonderful--thanks for sharing the closeups!

Minnie said...

What a wonderful trip and I love all of the tiny things in the doll house. Thanks for the tour.

Anne said...

Super cool blackwork designs! Very unusual! Love all the photos!!

Julie said...

What a super time you must have had, beautiful memories captured in your pictures.