Along with all of the quilting and porch sitting that can be done while on retreat - a van load of us got out to stretch our legs in search of wildflowers.
Every time I come out with a group things have changed. Further toward summer we march on, ready to discover just what has bloomed since the last time.
These photos were taken by Lisa - I had left my phone on the bathroom counter, so no camera on hand.
She has such a great eye - and I thank her for offering to be trip photographer and sharing these with us all!
I do not know the names of everything. And even if you told me today, I likely wouldn't remember by next spring.
Suffice it to say that nature is putting on a grand show for us this spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwestern Virginia.
Oh, the color!
How delicate!
Maidenhair Fern! I know this one.
Pink sweetness.
And what is pink without purple?
Trillium and more Maidenhair.
I love taking gals on their first trip down Bear Branch road - our one mile turn-around is at this old junker car left here for decades.
It's Appalachia, you know? Things just tend to stay where they stopped.
It also brought an interesting conversation to the forefront. How do YOU say Appalachia?
If you aren't saying it the way the locals say it - the ones who live here, whose people have lived here for a hundred years or more, YOU are the one saying it wrong.
It's not Appa-LAY-shee-an It's Apple-AT-chin.
As in: I'll throw an Apple atcha!
And I love every minute of living here and sharing it!
Meals on the porch have been a bonus this weekend!
The Hen Den has been a place of gathering for hand stitching and much chatter.
Kick back, put your feet up, stitch, read or just BE.
Even I got some things crossed off the to-do list!
My 2023 blocks are ready to send off to Quiltmaker for next year's Addicted to Scraps column!
There are some really fun ones in this stack - blocks I can't wait to make more of and turn into REAL quilts.
Yesterday's Maymont kick off was phenomenal!
I am so tickled!
If you missed it, head back to the Gift-Away post and check it out! And don't forget to enter to win.
Introductory pricing: I have placed the PDF pattern for Maymont in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store and the Quiltville Etsy Store at 25% off through 5/31/22. No coupon needed!
Price reverts back to $12.00 on 6/1/22.
If this is your first time downloading digital patterns from my store to a computer click HERE.
If you intend to download to an iPhone/iPad click HERE.
And to kick things off with a bang, I'll be choosing TWO winners who will each receive a Maymont PDF pattern AND a Skittles color roll from Cotton to Quilts!
Enhance your scrap stash with a pop of color with the Skittles color roll! Hand picked by Irene, each color roll contains 20 different fabrics each measuring approximately 8 1/2 x 21" Fabrics may vary.
Today begins the process of getting everything ready for the May Quiltvillians who will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. I look forward to welcoming them back!
How are things going in your neck of the woods, wherever you are?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
In case you ever had any doubts -
Where you are right now is right on time!
Happy Tuesday, folks!
Thank you for the correct pronunciation. I can remember "apple atcha"!! I've been wondering for years. It's like here in the NW with Puyallup, Spokane, and Yakima.
ReplyDeleteAnd Coeur d'alene & Pend Oreille!!!!
DeleteHi Rose! I grew up in Cd'A, and, yes, both of those get murdered regularly, along with Spokane! More than 50 years ago I was in DC at a national scholarship competition where they taped short interviews with each of us to send back to our home TV stations. They got Coeur d'Alene close to right, with a cue card that read CORD dah lane, but then proceeded to butcher the location of the TV stations as Spo CANE instead of SPO can. (BTW: For those of you not from the Pacific Northwest, Pend Oreille is pronounced Pond o RAY). There is actually a book out on pronunciation of Idaho place names, there are so many that aren't as they first appear.
DeleteThe other one that always gets me is the capital of South Dakota, which is NOT pronounced the French way "Pee air," but the same as a very substantial structure sticking out into a body of water "Pier."
I don't know all of your Flowers and I would pronounce Appalachia wrong for sure. Thanks for the grammar lesson. Lucky Ladies in the Quiltville Inn! All the good things about a retreat found in one place. Have a happy Tuesday, the Sun has come back out in my part of the PNW. Snow forecasted again in the Cascades, Crazy for May!
ReplyDeleteFirst flower is a Lenten Rose...they LOVE the woodsy shade and propagate effortlessly. A soft light white/rose/lavender welcome to spring. Ours are actually still blooming and it is now 80's here.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I thought of you and Quiltville Inn while watching 60 Minutes this week about the Miller family buying an old home in SW Virginia who later learned that the house used to be the manor house on a plantation where their ancestors had been enslaved. Fascinating old house and I know you love the historic places.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had seen that episode. I love stories like that.
Deletethe 60 minute episode with the VA plantation is on You Tube I watched it yesterday . What an inspiring story!
DeleteFirst flower is mayapple. Second one is firepink.
ReplyDeleteThe second one as identified about as firepink is nestled in a bed of poison ivy. BE CAREFUL!
ReplyDeleteAmen on the pronunciation! I know you have been in the PNW. I am in NE Oregon. Native American names are so messed up when foreign tv people get involved. Even clips of places are not researched. Umatilla was pronounced Ummmm a teeeya... LMFAO! YOU MA TILLA folks... LOL. When the Umatilla river had it's 100 year flooding in 2020... same thing. Plus they showed the dam on Umatilla river and said it was McNary Dam (Corp of Engineers Dam on the COLUMBIA) So funny! I didn't know that YouTube had pronunciation videos! Thanks for the chuckle. Power on PNW!!! ATHOL, Idaho is not someone with a lisp! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteMy mentor at my first job after college was a transplant to Texas from Boone, NC. I got my Appalachia pronunciation lesson early!
ReplyDeletethe dark purple ones are violets
ReplyDelete