A Runaway Day -

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I sat down to write this post - and I've been trying for the past hour to get photos to upload and it was just not working.

Things spun and spun and then go blank, no photos.

I was about to head to my office, spend some time on the treadmill, work on a project - and give up on this post for today, and then I thought "But what about FRIDAY'S POST?!"

I tried one more time.  And I got the header photo to load.

BREATHE!

Now lets see if we can get some others to come through -

Nothing but a spinning box.

I took this photo to show Hubster Dave what was going on - or not going on as the case may be.

There has been a string of "What now?!" occurrences over the past few days.

My Amazon Fire Stick gave up the ghost on the TV at the QPO.

I was able to semi-sort that out by using the stuff that came ON the "Smart" TV in the first place - I have Netflix, Prime, YouTube and Pandora.  

If I can't find what I need with that, I don't need the TV on at all.

I can Bluetooth to the soundbar and there I've got audio books, more music, podcasts - what more do I need?

I got on the treadmill and had a wonderfully fun conversation with my mom while getting my steps in....but it was during this time that I looked over to a quilt I had hanging over the long arm rail and there was just something about that one unit that just wasn't....and then it hit me.

The quilt was pieced, quilted, bound, photographed - and I had never noticed that that one unit was rotated.  NOW WHAT?! I mean - what can you do?

Then there were scheduling issues I have tried and tried to explain due to how the 4th of July doesn't fall on the same day of the week every year - it moves. The 4th of July takes its turn falling on every day of the week over the course of 7 years. So groups also need to shift. If the 4th of July is on a Wednesday last year, it's going to be on a different day this year and we have to be a bit flexible.

Last year I had to move a group to the week BEFORE the 4th of July because of where the 4th fell during what would normally be the Wednesday they would arrive for retreat. I don't book around the 4th of July - it's a family holiday week.  

This year that group goes back to their normal spot AFTER the 4th of July, and everyone shifted down a bit due to where the 4th of July falls.

 (The same thing happens as Easter moves around and I have to shift groups for that too.)

And then the rebuttal comments over the "You shoulds" from other folks - some get it, some don't.  And more "Well, when you get comments like that you just should..." Don't they see it's the same dang thing?

Okay - this is setting the stage for why I just had to take a runaway day yesterday.

I needed a long drive, a few hours to wander some antique malls, pick up some other needed things at the grocery on my way home - and all I needed to do was be home by dinner time.

Key City Antiques, Wilkesboro, NC.

It was about a 45 minute drive down the mountain and that in itself was a way to calm frazzled nerves.

Sometimes I just need to step away and take a long drive. Sometimes there is a destination in mind.

I hadn't been here in some time - and I was looking froward to mindlessly wandering and seeing what I could see.

Awww.

I'm guessing 1920-1930 with really thick batting and some slinky fabrics.

There wasn't any place to lay it out, but I can only bet this is one of those quilts where once you are under it, you can't roll over.

I'm now wishing my current hand quilting project had fans this large.

I see this and all the stress starts to really melt away -

More gigantic fans!

I'm getting a subliminal message of "GO BIGGER" here.

Also - with this one I can see that it was quilted with the longer sides being mounted to the rails that would roll on the quilting frame, and quilted from one side, and the other, meeting in the middle.

Two giant rows on the left and two giant rows on the right, and some fill in stuff to make those rows meet.

I know we have met before!

I think I have photographed this one before.  Which begs he question - why has no one adopted this yet?  It's charming!  Likely the price.

This one had me laughing out loud over my rotated, quilted and bound unit.  It's as if this quilt is saying "So you think YOU have rotated  units? Hold my beer."  LOL!

Seriously - I couldn't stop giggling.  And suddenly I felt so much better.

If I had a place - this would have come home with me.

Oh my word!

I just love this - 

From the carvings, to the handles, to the locks - to the big drawer on the bottom - isn't it gorgeous?

All of this wood turning, beveled mirror and those scalloped ruffles.

Alas, there is no room at the inn, or in the cabin so photos will have to do.

Polyester double-knit.  It was a 70's thing.

More of it here -

Cute sewing bird caddy -

Lady on the "Fashion News" magazine looking at me like "Problems? You haven't got problems.  You aren't going to be sitting in an antique mall 50 years from now wearing the mess I'm wearing - and just who IS this man breathing on my neck - and just what did he have for lunch anyway?"

Elongated Hexagons.

1950s - 1960s

Rolling Stone hung on the wall -

It had really cool fabrics.

Along with the double-knit quilts, after the Zombie Apocalypse all of the acrylic red-heart crocheted afghans will still remain unscathed. 

There are more of these out there than there are quilts (And I only saw just that one treadle machine.)

And another -

And Another!

As my friend Martha said the last time we went antique mall wandering - you can tell when the next generation has passed on.  Most of these were made in the 70s/80s and the makers have left them to their children who don't want them and they are ending up in thrift shops, garage sales, and antique malls.

It's a texture thing for me.  I find yarn to be itchy - and I would rather snuggle beneath a quilt than an afghan, and I admit to have made several before quilting took a firm hold.

As a quilter I've often heard "How many quilts do you need?"

Does anyone ask a crocheter "How many afghans do you need?" Or what they are going to do with them?

Headed across the street to Carolina Treasures.

Drunkard's Path

Which seemed completely appropriate as I looked at my photos on my camera roll this morning because this is the next one:

Woah.

Not sure what happened here, but evidently I was accidentally clicking.

At the same time - I'm still feeling my mind unwind to a better place - and this photo is evidence of that fact.

HEY!  I found one two!

A couple of weeks ago I reached to the back of the cabinet to pull out a can-of-something and bumped my vintage nut grinder and it fell to the granite counter top and blew apart into a million tiny shards. Everywhere.

So I've been on the lookout for one. This one came home with me to replace the broken one.

I use this all the time for chopping nuts for salads, desserts, you name it.  Super handy thing.

And it was the ONLY thing I bought between these two huge antique malls.

Sometimes it's not what you buy, but what you see and leave behind that matters.

Weird thing of the day -

Forget the 25% off. This should have been free. No wait - they should have paid me to take it away, and thrown in the nut grinder for free at the same time.

Immediately no.

Immediately yes!

This goes right back to the "You should" people. I'm keeping this phrase close at hand for the next time. I don't know when I'll need to use it, but I'll be prepared.

With that, I'm off to the QPO to get my 45 minutes of treadmill in, spend part of today at my desk getting ready for tomorrow, and see what other kinds of fabric mischief I can get into.

How about you?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

All you need to do to learn something new is change your perspective!

And sometimes I need to change my perspective by taking a runaway day.

Have a terrific Thursday, everyone!