My Trip to Awesome Books and Natural Stitches

Awesome Books on Penn Avenue

Yesterday the temperature rose to 66 degrees. I figured it was safe to venture out by car. Little to no chance of icy roads. Artist Laura McLaughlin is one of the proprietors of Awesome Books in Pittsburgh. I visited their Penn Ave. location. They also have a store downtown on Liberty Ave; more on that later. I hadn't seen Laura since 2006 on my first visit to Pittsburgh. Her enthusiasm for the city and informing me about the strong local support of the arts through innovative programs and funding, not to mention the incredibly low cost of housing, were a big part of the impetus behind my move.

The wall outside Spak Brothers Pizza

Mojo working his mojo.

Aside from an excellent selection of books, the store has five cats, most rescued by Laura.  The two big guys, Mojo and Cupcake Slim, are super cute and friendly.  The three others, also super cute, are scaredy cats.

Laura's studio is in the back. She gave me a tour where I saw recently finished pieces and works in progress. So talented. The storefront's mosaics are all by Laura as are the ones at Whole Foods in Shadyside.

Laura McLaughlin's mosaic storefront.

Awesome Books' Liberty Ave. location needs heat. They're in the middle of a campaign to raise the money to install a heating system. Click here for info.

After buying a book I stopped for a slice and a ginger beer at Spak Brothers Pizza next door. Yummy.

Note the yarn bombed lamp post and sign.

Then it was on to Natural Stitches, also on Penn Ave. I needed more yarn for the afghan I'm making for my bed. The store is huge and they have quite a selection of yarns. They also have the comfiest chairs where you can sit and work on your project. I want one.

Afghan in progress.

BTW, I have a Facebook page for my crochet work. I post a lot of crochet and fiber art related stuff. Check it out.

My last stop was at Trader Joe's where I stocked up on groceries then made my way home. Thank God for GPS. Pittsburgh is not an easy city to navigate.

The one and only cupcake Slim.