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Wednesday, July 17, 2019

On a Backroads Road Trip!


This girl knows ALL of the cool places and must see old things!

Just get in the car with Martha – you know you are going to see wonderful old things – and she will even stop and let you take photos along the way!

Try to do this ride with menfolk?  No juice.  But Martha?  She loves to stop and wander -

And even pick up fallen apples from an ages old tree.  Heirloom apples – yummy!


We were here -

The Abijah Thomas house

"The Abijah Thomas House is an historic octagon house located southwest of Marion, Virginia, United States, on VA 657. Built in 1856, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1980."

The surrounding community is working hard to raise funds to restore it.

“The Abijah Thomas House is an octagon house, which is part of the trend of octagon architecture of 1850s America. The building consists of seventeen rooms, ten closets, and a storage room. The exterior walls are made of brick, which were made by slaves on the property. Interior design wise, the house features a rare example of painted ashlar upon plaster wall. Other interior touches include graining, marbleizing and stenciling.” [source]


House from the drive.


Martha waving!

I wish we could have seen inside -

But hopefully as things are restored, we WILL be able to see it!


Huge old apple tree already dropping fruit.

The old wives and farmers tales in this region state that abundance of fruit this early in the season mean there is a mighty bad winter ahead.  I hope they are wrong!


View of the blue ridge from the front lawn.


Lunch at the legendary Dip Dog!

What’s a Dip Dog?  Think corn dog, elevated!  Slathered with mustard, it’s a deep fried guilty pleasure on a stick.  Yummy!  If you ever find yourself near Marian VA, plan on a stop.  It’s a must experience kind of place.


Lone standing chimney.  Sigh.


Blue barn with quilt block.  SO CUTE!


Love the SEE ROCK CITY on this one -

and miles of white fence -


Old barn and older gas pump.


A stop at Crawford’s Antiques in Chilhowie!


Sometimes you’ve got to buy the bowl -

Simply because it is too pretty to leave behind!

I LOVE the colors in this bowl – isn’t it precious?


And yes, binding application happened!


And so did some hand stitching while watching Outlander on Netflix.

Both of these quilts are coming with me to hopefully hand stitch while on the road.  I leave for Pennsylvania as soon as this posts.

Which means – we need to draw for our winner of the Stunning Stitches ebook Gift-Away!


Who is 184 out of 2696 entries?


Shirley Jobson!

Shirley, I have sent you an email letting you know you have won.  I have also forwarded your email address on to Kathy who will contact you on how to claim your ebook for Stunning Stitches.

Thanks, everyone for participating!  We’ll have some more fun Gift-Away opportunities soon!


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Vintage Rocky Road to Kansas string quilt shared by Siobhan.

When you see something beautiful in someone else, tell them. They may need reminding!

Can you see that these Baptist fans have been triple line quilted?

As if one line of stitching wasn't enough!

I would love to try that sometime, just because.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday, everyone – I’ll catch you next from Pennsylvania!




16 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:53 AM EDT

    Thanks so much for taking us with you on the scenic trip! Love the bowl, the drive in eateries, all the wonderful finds, and the early weather for Winter report!
    I think you're right; my choke cherry tree is also loaded with fruit.

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  2. Gosh I hope the Old Wives Tale is wrong. I'm still not over last winter. It's in the 90's (which I find really hot), but I don't care. Feels great. Love your posts on all things historical. Are you sure you weren't a travel agent in a parallel universe?

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  3. What an awesome day with Martha! Thanks for taking us along. The apples look yummy, we had some early Transparent apples that made the best applesauce! Congrats to my friend, Shirley!! Safe travels to Pennsylvania.

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  4. sigh.. thank you for sharing your "magic" with all of us, Cats in Carlsbad, CA

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  5. There are old apple varieties that would be ready this early. We also have black walnuts falling. They are very early and as a result very small. Poor squirrels this winter.

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  6. Old brick buildings like that just make my heart skip. I so hope the community is successful in raising the money to restore it.

    I really like how your black/orange quilt turned out. Been mulling over some other fun possible color combos for that design, and will enjoy the slow, back-burner simmering until your next book is ready down the road. Sometimes the slow simmering is as satisfying as the cutting and stitching. :)

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  7. I love the black/orange quilt and will be looking forward to your next book. Have a safe trip to Bedford and I'll see you there as I'm in 3 of your classes.

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  8. Why I think that Thomas House would make a great Quiltville Inn Annex.....Ha!

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  9. I loved every bit of today's post, love your quilt, the octagon house, the antiques and the view. I've got a very good friend whose husband built an octagon house. Your eye doesn't know where to look because there are no inner walls. It was beautiful. Missing those apples.

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  10. What a wonderful day with Martha! Everyone should have a friend like her!
    I would have bought that bowl just because too! It is so pretty, I do love the colors!
    We used to have neat little drive in spots for sumptuous comfort foods, but they have gone away to make room for not so sumptuous fast foods. I miss those!

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  11. Bonnie, that looked like a fun day! BTW, did I miss the show and tell from the Louisville classes? Or are they not posted yet. I always enjoy seeing them.

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  12. I was wondering how you liked Outlander? I am a big fan of the Outlander shows and the books, and there are many more like me around the world. I highly recommend that you read the books when you have time. There is so much more detail in the books that was unable to be used on the show.

    I love your patterns and books, and I follow your blog faithfully.

    Betty

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  13. I was thrilled to see Bonnie is watching Outlander. I love the show and the books! But I can't hand stitch and watch as I want to see all the details on screen. Haha!

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  14. Thank you for showing your country
    Wondfull to see the the history of the country. Thank you Bonnie

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  15. Beautiful, Bonnie-
    I Love that you share travels with us, and even better when you have a friend along!

    Take care.

    Donna
    Kasilof, AK

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  16. Hi Bonnie !.... from PA! fyi: We have an octagonal old schoolhouse in a nearby community. I was told that an octagon was chosen/ used for its shape to keep evil spirits from resting in "corners"..... I'm sure someone else can verify this...
    Marilyn

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