Off to VA and a Quilty Read Gift-Away!

I’m off to Virginia today!  Just a mere 2 1/2 hour drive up the road.

Shall we see how long it can take me and how many antique mall stops I can throw in for good measure?

It’s just a “GET THERE” day, and of all of the road trip states in the union, Virginia is LOVELY to drive through.

We are still mid-February, and things aren’t really ready to turn green yet, but it is coming.

Open road, audio book, beautiful scenery and plenty of stops on my way.  I’ll be hitting the road as soon as some “must do’s” happen this morning.

I thought this would be the PERFECT time to let you in on some really good reading with a new release by one of my favorite quilty authors, Frances O’Roark Dowell!

You may remember her previous quilty release, Birds in the Air, which I loved greatly! What’s not to love? It involves a mystery, a wonderful old historic house, and it is centered in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.  My heart lives in the Blue Ridge!

What you may not know is that Frances is an author who dips her pen into many different genres from early children’s books to fascinating stories captivating teenage readers.

Reading is SO important, and there is nothing like getting a young pre-teen or teenager to put the electronic device down and find themselves in the pages of a real paper page book.

Margaret Goes Modern!

A touching, big-hearted collection of short stories about women whose lives revolve around family, friends and quilt-making.

Meet Margaret, whose adventures with a new quilting group help her reconnect with her daughter as they struggle with the grief of losing a loved one to Alzheimer’s.

Then there’s Liz, a quilter seeking her own tribe in a neighborhood of perfect moms. But maybe she has more in common with her neighbors than she thinks.

Sisters Amanda and Lucy, one dreamy, the other practical as the day is long, have financial woes that may force them to sell their beloved home. Can a quilt made with fabric from a mysterious aunt save the day?

Lisa is still reckoning with the loss of her best friend. Diving head-first into a new quilt project, she learns that sometimes a gift can be a first step toward healing.

Melissa Bennett is sensible, smart and skeptical of marriage. A husband sounds nice, but with all the books and quilts in her life, where would she put him?

Oh, this note makes it a REAL page turner!

So for kicks and giggles, I race to page 107

Would you look at that!

I’m a card carrying member of the Quilterati! LOL!

It looks like extremely fun and good company to me.

Thanks, Frances! 

I’ve spent several pleasurable evenings devouring the short stories in Margaret Goes Modern.  You will too!

Frances has kindly offered up 3 autographed copies to 3 of my lucky readers!  Who would like a copy?

We will draw for our 3 winners on Saturday, February 24th, after my Virginia trip is finished.

Good luck, everyone!

Yesterday’s highlight!

Mona and her mom, Sandy came out from Boomer, NC for a lunch date and a bundle of blue fabrics I had pulled together for a scrappy backing for her Carolina Crossroads Quilt from Scraps & Shirttails!  She did SUCH a great job.  Her piecing just gets better and better and I am so thrilled.

Whooohoooo!

Those of you who have been with me a long time may remember Carolina Crossroads as our FIRST Quiltville Mystery. It’s been a long and WONDERFUL journey, hasn’t it?

And here I go on a journey of a different sort!

The chief organizing force behind my visit with the Peaks and Pieces guild of Bedford, VA is my friend Kevin Womack.  We've got plans to meet up for dinner when I'm all checked in, and we'll go over the details of this event to make sure everything is running smoothly and everyone has a grand time.

There is a forecast of snow tomorrow morning, but temps will increase to 40 by afternoon, so we should be okay.  Moby has all-wheel drive.

As of last night there were a couple of last minute cancellations.  Are you within driving distance of the Bedford/Lynchburg VA area?  

We have Scrap Crystals from MORE Adventures with Leaders & Enders on deck tomorrow, a lecture on Sunday, and Jamestown Landing from String Fling on Monday.  Click HERE for the guild website info.

Class supply lists are found under the workshops & lectures tab at the top of the blog.  If you need a book and/or tools, I'll have them with me at the venue, so grab your fabric and come!

Please contact Kevin at Kevin@KevinWomackArt.com for more information. 

Quiltville Quote of the Day.

Quilt shared by Julie during our Anderson, SC workshops last week.

The more I read this, the more I like this!

Have a wonderful Friday, my friends!