Iowa Goes With Me

On the last day of my visit to New York City, after traipsing Manhattan for three days with two of my East Coast quilting pals, I was on my own.

All week, the weather in New York had been beautiful, our days filled with cultural wonders. After lunch on Tuesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we spent two hours behind the scenes at the MET’s Ratti Textile Center (by special appointment!), ogling quilts and other items from the museum’s textile collection.

Pam Weeks (in blue) is the curator at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA. Paula Nadelstern of The Bronx (in black) is one of the most talented quilters in America.

On Wednesday, we saw “Gypsy” on Broadway. On Thursday, we shopped spontaneously at Tip Top, a shoe store on West 72nd Street that’s been in business for 85 years. (One of us, not me, purchased seven pairs.) Ice cream cones in hand, we strolled through Central Park, where spring was busting out all over.

I decided to top off my big-city sojourn with a visit to the Whitney Museum of Art, a sixteen minute walk from my hotel.

The Walker, a boutique hotel with a beautiful restaurant and bar, has two locations, one in Tribeca and one in The Village.

My plan was to stop for lunch along the way. In my bag, I carried an as-yet uncracked novel by fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Nicole Baart.

On Greenwich Avenue, I happened upon Don Angie, a corner restaurant Pam and I had passed in the other direction two days before. A new, outdoor seating set-up was under construction, and I pointed out the chic design to Pam. On Friday, the new area was open! The man in charge showed me to a perfect table for two.

Street seating at Don Angie, 103 Greenwich Avenue, between 12th and Jane Streets.

I opened Everything We Didn't Say over my solo lunch, making notes, jotting names of characters and their relationships on a back page, as is my habit.

By the time I finished my yummy Garganelli Giganti (broken meatball ragu, guanciale, pecorino), I was well invested in the fictional life of protagonist Juniper Baker, her return to small-town Iowa after fifteen years away, and the unsolved murder connected to her family.

After this pasta, I ordered a cappuccino just so I could keep reading, Nicole Baart’s book my companion.

From my first trip from Quiltropolis (Winterset) to Metropolis, I have taken Iowa with me. My Midwestern awe serves me still. I no longer gawk at the incredible architecture, the artworks, the fashions—but my amazement holds steady.

Along with Nicole, I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Here’s the roster of our writers. Pick out a few you like!