Travel Tuesday: TWA Hotel, January 2-3, 2025

I have wanted to stay at the TWA Hotel ever since I heard that Eero Saarinen's 1962 TWA Flight Center was being converted into a hotel... but it seemed silly to stay there on a trip to NYC. Finally, our trip back from Rio for New Year's Eve 2024 included a plane change at JFK... so it was time. In the end we had to rejigger our flights and push back on some "updated schedules", but in the end we had about 36 hours at the hotel, and we LIVED IT UP. 

We arrived very early on January 2, and happily paid the fee for early check in. The hotel is stunning, with a large lobby and lounge space taking advantage of Saarinen's soaring building. We went to our room through the repurposed "flight tube", squealing all the way (okay, I was squealing). The room had a broad view back to the the terminal... and we later discovered that the terminal had a view back to the rooms. 

"flight tube"

sunrise from room 633

After dropping off our bags we ran around the hotel, admiring some of the installations like a replica 1962 living room: 

a replica beauty salon: 

and really just admiring all the curves and shapes: 

Then, at 8am, we presented ourselves at the POOL. It's on the roof of one of the hotel wings, heated extra hot on the January morning. 

the pool overlooks runway 4 left / 22 right

Absolutely glorious. 

We spent an hour admiring the runway view, soaking in the water, and even doing a lap or two. Unsurprisingly, we were alone. Occasionally someone would pop outside, bundled up, to have a look, but they usually hurried back downstairs. I love a good pool, and this one was extraordinary! 

Then back downstairs where we continued to roam the hotel, taking in the upstairs lounge areas, admiring the historical flight crew uniforms, and luxuriating in all that intense red carpeting. We had a delightful breakfast at the Paris Cafe by Jean-Georges, giggling because that meal was more expensive than any we had had in Rio, and then back to the room for a nap -- you will be unsurprised to learn that I did not sleep at all on our red-eye from Rio. 

Wil in the Ambassador's Lounge

one of the two Solari boards in the hotel

In the afternoon we hit the gift shop (hooray!) and then did a cocktail crawl, starting with a trip to visit Connie, a 1958 Lockheed-Martin Continental that has been converted to a lounge. 

It was really fun to try out the old seats and sip cocktails on the old girl. We met a flight attendant who admired my vintage TWA bag... which was funny because I had stealthily snapped a photo of his adorable airplane socks!

sneaky socks pic

We continued our cocktail crawl with a visit to the (now open) Pool Bar, transformed for winter into a Apres-Ski Chalet. (Apparently in the summer it's totally open, but they enclose it for winter.) To be honest it was nothing special -- I bet it would be lovelier in the summer. 

Of course, we had another long dip in the pool, noticing a guy who was live-streaming the action on the runway. I just read that it's no longer allowed to live stream without express permission from the hotel, and they're very careful about what can be taken on the roof. Makes sense, since it's an airport after all!

note the vintage TWA flight bag!

Finally, we settled in for a nightcap at the Sunken Lounge, where we felt very jetset while sipping on cocktails. Seriously, if I ever have a longish layover at JFK I will make my way over to the bar. It just feels swanky.

the Solari board in the Sunken Lounge kept changing the messages all day and night

The next morning there was another swim, more meandering and admiring the art, and then it was time to fly home. 

Staying at the TWA Hotel was a dream come true -- it felt like a vacation in and of itself, even though we had just spent a week in Rio. A great way to kick off the new year. Thanks to Mom for giving me a night at the TWA Hotel as a birthday present!

Travel Tuesday is a project I'm working on to get old photos and memories out of notebooks and onto this blog. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 9

Hi everyone! Time is so strange. Maybe it's because I'm feeling so stuck between the seemingly endless job applications and interviews and not moving forward. But I have been stitching. 

There's a secret project that I can't reveal until after a special date has passed, but I'm also just slooowwwwlllyy chipping away at my big Starry Night piece. 

Last time I had gotten here: 

And here's where I am now: 

By our next check in I'll have the next little column done. And three weeks after that I'll be 25% done! So satisfying to have the accountability of this fine group of very creative people to keep me moving -- at least on my crafts -- when I have felt so stuck. 

I'll post again on this project in three weeks. Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Helen, and Cindy -- have been up to. And I'd like to say a special farewell to Sharon, who is stepping back from the group while she prepares to move across the country. You are always welcome here -- and I hope you won't mind if I check in on your blog. Sending you lots of hugs from Seattle. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 8

Hi crafty pals! It's been a pretty hectic three weeks, but I still manage to keep up the pace of one (half) column every session. 

Last time I had gotten here: 

And here's where I am now: 

There's now an entire star next to the moon and in the next column I'll be stitching most of the second star. 

In other news, I just found out that after five interviews with six people over multiple weeks, I didn't get another dream job. I know I'm getting closer and closer, but being #2 -- again -- still hurts. 

I'll post again on this project in three weeks. Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, and Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. Adding a special "welcome back" to Cindy who is rejoining our creative group!

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 7

Hi crafty pals! I'm scheduling this a little early because this is Memorial Day weekend in the US, and I plan to be far away from my computer. When we have "early" Memorial Days it always feels a little wrong. Hope things are going well wherever you're joining me from!

Last time I had gotten here: 

And here's where I am now -- I extended the stitching to use up some thread and included the first star and the new swirl at the bottom. 

In other news, my husband had the surgery on his shoulder and is healing well, Mom's doing well, and I'm interviewing at a couple of different places. So it feels like things are looking up!

I'll post again on this project in three weeks. Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 6

Hi everyone -- 

I say it every time, but I can't believe three weeks has gone by. Here's where I was last time: 

And here's where I am now: 

The next column should include the first star and more of that swirl in the (current) bottom right. Slowly but surely. 

It's been a rough few weeks -- a job I thought I would get went to someone else (after SIX interviews!), my Mom has been in and out of the hospital, and a few days ago my husband was hit by a car while riding his bike. Luckily Mom is doing better, and my husband only suffered a broken collarbone and a mild concussion. Things good be so much worse, so we consider ourselves lucky. But hug your loved ones extra tight, okay? 

I'll post again on this project in three weeks. Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 5

Hi everyone!

Three weeks? Already? Time is clearly flying! Here's where I was last time on Starry Night:  

And here's where I am now: 

It's fun to stitch the moon while watching the live feed of the Artemis II...

At the risk of becoming boring, I'm just going to continue to stitch a column at a time, and stop there. So in three weeks, the next column to the left should be stitched. 

Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 4

Hi everyone!

Last time I had completed the second (and first full) column on Starry Night:  

This time I stitched the neighboring column: 

I'm really pleased that I'm working on one column at a time (with some leftovers if I only have a little floss left on the needle...). And, yes, I'm working on other projects, which bring me faster joy. So in three weeks I plan on finishing that next column to the left. 

Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 3

Hey there stitchy friends! 

I'm writing this ahead of time because I'll be in a cozy, if spartan cabin on the 28th celebrating my husband's birthday. 

Last time I had completed one skinny column on Starry Night:  

This time I completed the "full" (10 wide) column next to the skinny column: 

(Yep, thread management still chaotic,,, but hopefully a little tidier!)

Again, it's so nice to dive right in to that swirly moon in the top right of the painting. 

I'm feeling excited about working on this project, but trying to be mellow and just do one column per check-in. That leaves me time to work on other, smaller projects, gifts, etc. So when we check in again in three weeks I will have the next column complete, and no more. 

Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 2

Hi stitchy friends! 

Time continues to fly, not always in the best way. Last time I was set to start work on a big (for me!) project: DMC's version of Van Gogh's The Starry Night. 

All I had done last time was grid the fabric, which I find really helpful:

I gave myself a little pass this week and just did a "skinny" column -- it's only 7 stitches wide rather than 10. But I put thread into needle into fabric, and I like how it looks!

(I know I need to improve my thread management... it's almost difficult to see the stitching with all those trailing threads!)

When I started Great Wave a few years ago, the first six months or so were all very delicate beige, cream, ecru, the palest rose... So it's really nice to start right in with the swirly, em, starry night and the colors that are so familiar to me. 

There's a long way to go here; by next time I plan to have the next column completed. But before then, join my and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, Helen -- have been up to. We all do very different projects but it's always inspiring. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 1

Happy 2026 everyone! 

It's been a busy SIX WEEKS since our last check in. We just returned from Antarctica, which was amazing, but I still managed to get a LOT of stitching done. 

First I want to share the secret projects that I couldn't share until after Christmas. 

Here's the lovely burgundy beaded project I kept teasing: 

It went to my pal Suz who loves her black cats. 

And here's an "American Robin" ornament I embroidered from my sweet mother-in-law; we often laugh that robins are totally different in the US and the UK: 

And, finally, here are some sardines for my foodie friend Rebecca: 

Okay, that's the past. Let's talk about the future. 

I've decided to dive in to another big, full-coverage piece: DMC's version of Van Gogh's The Starry Night. 

I am going to follow what I like to call "the Avis method" again, like I did on Great Wave -- and just stitch a column of the pattern every three weeks. That means it will take about two years of stitch-a-long to complete it, but I think that will still allow me to work on other projects. 

So far all I've done is grid the fabric and mount it on the frame... it feels overwhelming but I hope to get the first "top half of a column" done in the next three weeks. 

I have realized, however, that my roller bars are too short for this... so I am going to have to find longer ones. That will actually allow me to stretch the fabric taut.

Now, a little more history. I wanted to make a special notebook for my Antarctica trip. I found an amazing stitchable notebook, bought a pattern on Etsy, and stitched part of it on the front. I'm very, very happy with it: 

I had planned to have the notebook as my "travel project", but it was so fun to stitch I finished it before we left. 

So I dug up a few smallish projects that would be easy to work on while travelling. And, well, I finished ALL of them. (Nothing like 28 hours of travel each way to get some work done!). 

an old "stitch and zip" kit that has been languishing in my stash

a quick felt kit I picked up a few years ago

a tiny cross stitch card kit

Finally -- if anyone is still scrolling! -- here's a picture I took the night we got to camp (!!!) on Antarctica. I'll be writing more about the trip, eventually, when I can really process everything. 

gentoo penguins and a hungry gentoo chick

I can't wait to check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, Helen -- have been up to over the past six weeks. I'm sure it's amazing stuff!