Girls Day Out - Yarn Spotting, Museums, and Food

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It's Springtime in DC, and that means rain...and lots of it! However, a bit of rain certainly didn't dampen our spirits! Two of my friend and I headed into DC for a fabulous "Girls Day Out". We had a fabulous time - in spite of the rain!

Right after getting off the metro, we spotted the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market. It was fabulous! There were lots of things to sample, tons of produce and food for sale, as well as yarn! In my mind, a farmer's market is just NOT complete without "home grown" yarn for sale.

Of course, I had to search out the local yarn vendor, Solitude Wool. They're not at the farmer's market every week, so be sure to check their website for the schedule - the next time they'll be there is the 28th of March. Sue and Gretchen have a wonderful variety of yarns made from the wool of locally raised sheep. They do all the prep work and dyeing of the wool/yarn which is sent out to be commercially spun.

The variety of yarns and the colors are fabulous! I LOVE their yarn! I highly recommend the hat kit - it produces a gorgeous hat - and you have your choice of a number of color ways!

Next stop, the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the The Phillips Collection. The display was beautiful! I am so intrigued by the colors and beauty she manages to capture in all her works. My favorites are "Blue No. 1" and "Music, Pink and Blue No. 2" (1918). "Blue No. 1" - elegant, yet simple in very soothing shades of blue. The shapes remind me of Moroccan archways and the color the Delft blue of Holland. "Music Pink and Blue" is alive and vibrant...like music for the eyes. (Sorry...no photos were allowed in the O'Keeffe display)

In the museum gift shop, I picked up a copy of the Georgia O'Keeffe cookbook - it had some very interesting and earthy recipes. There were many other books as well, but I haven't decided which one I really want to purchase...plus, they were a bit heavy to lug around all day! The most amusing item I found in the shop was a diorama of Georgia O'Keeffe - with the artist represented by a purple bunny "Peep"! The detail is awesome - including one of the cloud paintings in the background! Be sure to click on the photo for a closer look.

The permanent collection did allow photos, so of course, I had to capture the works of a couple of my favorite artists - Picasso and Degas. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to tour the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain - it was fabulous! My very thoughtful daughter had given me a Picasso print for my birthday a few years ago...what a sweetie! I just love it!

The Textile Museum was a bit out of the way and was a bit of a walk. As a consequence, we traversed some rather scenic and interesting streets en route to the museum. We happened onto a restoration project for the fire, police, and art call boxes.





The police call box.









The fire call box - love the horse drawn fire engine!







The art call box.










These steps and fountain are probably gorgeous in the summer, however, right now, it looks like it's seen better days. Hopefully, I'll make it down here for another visit once Spring/Summer is in full swing.




At the top of the steps was a very bright and festive panda. It definitely brightened our day and brought some "sunshine" to the drizzly rain that's surrounded us all afternoon!




The Textile Museum's visiting display included "Contemporary Japanese Fashion - the Mary Baskett Collection" and "Fabrics of Feathers and Steel - The Innovation of Nuno". The fashions were very unusual - and most were asymmetrical - definitely something that doesn't appeal to me. I prefer symmetry and what I define as "balanced" asymmetry. I was thoroughly fascinated by the fabrics of Nuno (Nuno means "functional fabric" in Japanese). It's amazing how feathers can be embedded within the fabric itself. The combination of unusual items with fabric was fascinating. Many of the fabrics themselves could be considered works of art and could easily be displayed "paintings" on a wall.

We finished our day at "Heritage India" in Dupont Circle - an Indian Tapas restaurant offering "Street Food Tapas". It was fabulous! The decor was beautiful and the music varied from contemporary American to traditional Indian. And the food....oh my! It was wonderful! We all ate way too much and had to sample each other's dishes for the full experience.

Papri Chat
Samosa
Frankie (aka Kathi roll)
Lassoni Kabab
Polenta cake with an oriental curried chicken
Spicy Lamb vindalo empanadas
Lal Tikka
Sag Paneer
Basmati rice with saffron
Naan - both plain and Parmesan

We definitely had a fabulous meal and PLENTY to eat! It was an amazing spread!