What do you get when you put three quilters on the road for a retreat a couple of hours away?
A whole lot of antiquing road trip fun!
And oh, we left at 9am and arrived at our destination at 4pm. There was a whole lot of stop-shop-and-discover that happened within this "not so long" distance driving.
Usually those who are quilters instantly ask “Which quilt shops did you stop at?!” And they are surprised when my answer is “NONE!”
There comes a time when you realize that your stash is completely satisfactory in every way, actually BURGEONING and adding more fabric is just not what you want or need.
Is there such a thing as losing the desire for fabric shopping? Yep!
And that’s where shopping for INSPIRATION on things I want to make with my beloved fabric comes into play.
MORE fabric is not what makes quilts happen. TIME TO SEW and inspiration is!
We were on the hunt for all things vintage! Kitchen items, linens, depression glass in certain patterns (Irene is a new collector!) and of course anything sewing/quilting/fabric/quilting related.
We hit the MOTHER-LODE!
Doesn’t this display make you gasp?
We stopped in the little town of Glendale, KY known for its antique shops, quaint buildings and touristy offerings. It was hotter than blue blazes. Most places had a/c that was sorely lacking, but that didn’t stop us from wandering the aisles, poking into corners looking for sewing machines, vintage suitcases, and fun memorabilia.
But it was really the quilts I was after.
The most amazing find of the day? The Princess Feather quilt in the bottom row on the left of the photo above.
I’m guessing about 1850 on this one.
The one problem with packed full antique shops is there is nowhere to lay a quilt out flat to really look at it, so we were doing the best we could. The workmanship on this quilt was phenominal!
Isn’t this gorgeous?
All those little spiny poky things!
The cornerstones!
Can you imagine the work in this?
Border corner.
Loved this porch view with the clematis and the bike!
Flowers in the basket!
Heading across the tracks for pie and ice cream at the Whistle Stop Cafe!
We had a great day, and I’ve put all of the vintage quilt stuff in the slide show below for your enjoyment.
We made our way to Cave City, crossing over from Eastern time zone to Central time zone which actually gave us an extra hour to shop on our way.
All of that heat and humidity? It gathered and began to rain, blissfully cooling everything off as we unpacked our stuff from Irene’s car, setting up my classroom so it is ready to go for today.
We are starting off with a Smith Mountain Morning workshop from my book Scraps & Shirttails II!
Thanks for the welcome basket!
Other things happening around Quiltville:
My post finally went live on the C&T blog around 10am California time yesterday, so if you missed it, it is up and running HERE.
Please leave a comment there, along with something you’d like me to discuss in a future post. I am looking for ideas and need to know what YOU would like to see! I am posting once a month over there, and I am honored that they asked me to be a regular feature.
I posted a Quilty-Box giveaway last night! It’s a great one. You can head over to THAT POST and follow the directions to enter there. You won’t want to miss that one. Drawing will happen upon my return home from Kentucky.
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
Vintage broken dishes quilt found in North Carolina.
Bounce back higher than where you first started! With a smile!
Wow, you hit the motherlode for quilts. Most looked like they were in great shape. Love, love the princes feather. Have a great time at the retreat.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun you all must have had! Beautiful quilts and lovely friends. What a joy!
ReplyDeletegreat slide show of quilts I had the pleasure of antiquing with Bonnie a few years ago in Decatur Ill so much fun have a great time.
ReplyDeleteI noticed a Jamestown Christian Church van in the photo of the Mercantile. That's a local church in my area. Have a good day in your workshop.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your adventures! I can understand reaching a saturation point with a fabric stash. Although mine is not so large, it is outgrowing my space and cluttering my mind. For the next week I'm going into purge mode and will be making a donation to our local Project Linus chapter at the end of the week.
ReplyDeleteMy stash is sufficient for me--I'm really enjoying USING it instead of adding to it.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time of retreat.
Wow, what fun! That Princess Feather quilt is a gem and very bright and colorful for the time period it was made in. Your road trip sounds like it was a blast!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, what fun! That Princess Feather quilt is a gem and very bright and colorful for the time period it was made in. Your road trip sounds like it was a blast!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a show! Thanks for sharing Bonnie!
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch for this Bonnie - they were fantastic!! I so appreciate you sharing these treasures with us. That applique quilt is gorgeous and lovingly worn.
ReplyDeleteDid Irene find any dishes? I like vintage linens and dishes just as much as quilts! More addictions that fill my house! But I use my vintage dishes for serving and parties, and folks are always so surprised how nice they look! So much better than plastic and styrofoam.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a Saguaro and its fruit!
ReplyDeleteThose little points!!! I wish I could have seen them close up.
ReplyDeleteI love that you aren't afraid of spreading the quilts out for pictures. That square in a square with red alternate blocks is inspiring. The Applique amazing. Thanks for letting us come along.
ReplyDelete