Monday, March 17, 2008

Road Trip - March 16, 2008

Off we went from the Coffee Hound to Iowa City on Sunday morning. Luckily, this wasn't a morning dense with fog and mist, it made for a pleasant ride up there!

When we arrived, the directory was consulted on the Ped Mall to find the Bread Garden Market (we didn't know about this article before we arrived). We dutifully trooped off in the direction it told us, only to be greeted by huge signs in the store's windows saying that they had moved. And where to? Just about where we had started out.

Walking, walking, more walking...

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We only go through the *best* alleys when we do SnB road trips.

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And through the magical, mystical portal that was just big enough for us to slide through...

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To reach our destination:

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Where the sweet potatoes as big as your head were exclaimed over:

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The food was fresh, beautiful and fantastic on their salad and hot meal buffet. Sandwiches were pre-made, but if you didn't find one to your liking you could order one at the deli counter. Lunch ran us, on average, about $8 per person. The soups are phenomenally good, as were the sandwiches!

Once we ate, it was off to the knitting shop which was written about in Ravelry - Home Ec Workshop:

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This is Alisa (co-owner) who greeted us (and may have been a bit overwhelmed by our enthusiasm):

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The shop has sewing materials, needlepoint supplies and yarn. In addition to the seating for knitters, crocheters, etc., there's a workshop area for sewers and for those finishing their knitted projects.

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The hordes checked out the yarn immediately...

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There may have been shopping involved.

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Then a nice sit-down for knitting and crocheting - I was happy to be in repose!

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Home Ec has a tea and coffee bar where you can also purchase cookies and other baked sweets.

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It was a wonderful afternoon made even better when the usual knitting group (that calls Home Ec, well...home) arrived. Thank you so much ladies for allowing us to camp out in your space and share your knitting time!

And thanks to Home Ec for hosting us. We'll be back in the near future! By the way, this is Lauren who told us quite a bit about the shop when Alisa was busy. She's modeling the sweater vest that she created (along with the pattern) for us:

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For those of you that want to check it out, here's the information for now - they'll have a website up and running soon.

Home Ec Workshop
207 N. Linn Street
Iowa City, IA

(Across from the Hamburg Inn)

Hours:
Monday - Thursday 10-7
Friday - 10-6
Saturday 10-5
Sunday 12-5

Phone: (319) 337-4775