Shop Hop In Town

Picking up from yesterday:
If you turn left as you leave Cast-On Cottage and Needlepoint Garden, you are on what becomes Roswell Rd. Drive a little more than 11 miles, which includes passing over I-285. Strings & Strands will be on the left in the Sandalon complex, between the ski shop and Bellini. This is a little after the fourth traffic light, just after the crest of the hill. Make the left turn into the parking lot just in front of the blue Bellini sign and drive back, and you'll see it some ways back in the complex.

Make a right turn out onto Roswell Rd, go a little ways and turn right onto Glenridge Dr. Follow into Glenridge Conn and ultimately the signs for GA 400 South. (Note that if you don't want to cut across on the surface streets to GA 400, you can get the same effect by following Roswell Rd back to I-285, turning right onto the entrance ramp, and heading east one exit.) You'll need 50 cents for the toll booth. Exit at Exit 1, Sidney Marcus Blvd. Stay in the near left turn lane, not far left lane on this first exit ramp. You'll want to be under the "I-85" sign. Stay in the near left turn lane again at the next light. Now get in the far right lane as you go east towards Lenox Rd/Cheshire Bridge Rd., following signs for Emory Hospital and I-85 N, and turn right onto Cheshire Bridge. Go underneath I-85 and get in the left lane. Pass the light at Sheridan Rd and turn left at the next light, LaVista Rd/Lindbergh Dr. (The Tara Theater is behind you to your left as you sit at the light.) Go about a mile on LaVista Rd to the third light and turn left. (Peachtree Baptist Church is the tall spire on the right side of this intersection.) You'll need to make an immediate right into the Briar Vista Shopping Center. Needle Nook has a nice bright yellow sign.

Heading out of Needle Nook, make a left turn onto Briarcliff Rd. Follow it for a little more than 3 miles, past Emory University Briarcliff Campus and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, both on the right. After St. Louis Pl, turn right onto St. Charles Pl. (There is a Carter Center straight ahead sign just before this light.) Put your car in 1st or 2nd gear and drift slowly down this long block -- there are several nasty speed bumps. Cross Highland Ave North at the light. Go past a few shops and turn right into the alley. Knitch usually has out a turquoise and brown sign indicating where to turn. If you'd rather not negotiate the parking in the alley, you can often find a parallel space out on St. Charles Ave. Knitch shares the parking area with Atkins Park restaurant, so there tends to be more room if you don't show up during mealtimes. Then again, maybe you want lunch or dinner?

For an easy egress from the city, go south on Highland Ave North past the lights at Ponce de Leon Ave and North Ave. Turn right at the third light, Freedom Pkwy, which takes you past the Carter Center. Pass the Carter Center to the first light and turn left. This puts your squarely on Freedom Pkwy and headed back to join the downtown connector at Exit 248C. From there, you can easily catch I-75, I-85, or even I-20. Coming into the city via Freedom Parkway (bear right just after you pass under the concrete tunnel) is an easy way to get to Knitch or just the whole Virginia Highlands, Druid Hills, Decatur area.

With yesterday and today's directions, you've reached all the shops in the hop except Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville. The directions can be found here, on the July blog entry entitled "Gratitude." They involve heading north on I-85 to GA 316.