Friday Already? (String Frenzy and Quilt-Cam Info Included!)

A bit of Appalachia Past.

It’s been nearly 2 weeks since we took a leisurely long and winding late Sunday afternoon drive, following ridges and hollers and just seeing where roads would lead – from paving to dirt and beyond. 

We wanted to explore parts of the area just to see where they would lead.  And I’ve been trying to think of a way to work these photos into a post, and there hasn’t been one, so lest I forget about them completely (It’s highly likely - I totally spaced my chiropractor appointment yesterday afternoon…) and neglect to post these at all, I am stepping away from whatever else I planned to write about and just put these glimpses of earlier life up here.

How many of you see 3 flying geese in the dormers over this porch?

And why were there 3 dormers there on this little building?  Could they have been sleeping quarters?

To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure I could find this place again if I tried.  But it was a BEAUTIFUL evening, and in the open pastures and fields, an abundance of deer were also enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.

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Buttons, Badges and Giving Through Zazzle!

Did you know?

Every year my friend Forest Jane creates our wonderful mystery badges – (See the one in my right side bar that you can grab and place on your blog to show that you participated in our Good Fortune mystery!) I send her some images of the quilt, and away she goes -

And then she goes one step further.  She places the logo on things that are useful and needful in our Quiltville Zazzle Store – marking items at the LOWEST possible profit margin, and then thanks to your purchases, all proceeds go to benefit those in need – from children to adults, in giving them the gift of creativity.

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Those Winter Blues ---

I’ve got the blues!

And no matter how I try to fight it – those blues are always there!

I’m talking about the blue and white quilt for the 45th anniversary of the International Quilt Festival in 2019.  Did you hear?

I know I will never have it ready for the festival in October – who are they kidding?  But I have always loved blue & white quilts and have made several.  What’s one more?

Remember when I was cleaning out a cabinet of old quilt parts and leftovers a few weeks back?  I re-discovered this:

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What Else Could I Do?

It was sitting there – quite dusty and alone.

The snap latches on the front of the case broken, lid gaping open enough to allow me a glimpse of tangled cord and glossy black.

I lifted the lid – well wouldn’t you?

Oh sweet thing – who are you? Who owned you?  How did you end up here?

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Mystery Monday Link-Up, The Reveal!

Good Monday Morning, Mystery Quilters!

We revealed our Good Fortune Quilt on Friday, and I am overwhelmed with the absolutely positive response.

Thank you all for your kind words through Instagram and Facebook, in our Quiltville’s Open Studio group, even your personal blogs are full of so much positivity and excitement.  

You who wrote so kindly are the reason we continue to do this.

I know mystery quilts can be scary.  And that is why I show you my honest-to-goodness fabric choices and offer paint chips at the onset – because I want you to know where this is going.

You already know my type of quilting – Bold.  Busy.  Very Scrappy. LOUD. (With capital letters.) Small pieces a’plenty. 

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From Wednesday to Sunday -

How precious is this little church?

Sunday seemed like an appropriate day to post what was found on Wednesday.

There is nothing that makes my heart smile more than finding a well preserved old white clapboard church in the literal middle of nowhere.  

Nestled deep into the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina?  Even better!

Martha, knowing these back roads and scenic drives like the back of her hand, and feeling the same way I do –(that the best most relaxing drives are OFF of the highway!) took a turn out of Boone that I had never been on before. 

And time nearly stood still.

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This, That and The Other Thing ---

Isn’t this just PERFECT?!

While out antiquing in Boone with Martha and Toni, we drove right past the new Hobby Lobby that was having its grand opening.  Toni said “I’ve never been in a Hobby Lobby!”  And Martha made a quick turn and we wound our way through some side roads to get back to the parking lot.

Toni is an artist, she needed paint brushes anyway, so why not give her the whole she-bang?

It turns out that wall decor was 50% off, and while I didn’t think I would find anything I needed, I came away with TWO signs for Quiltville Inn, this one going right outside the Quilting Quarters door.

It’s a HEXIE!  How could I say no?

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Out and About to Boone!

Meet Cohorts in Quilt-Crime, Martha and Toni!

I’ve shown you around Martha’s place before.  She owns the farm (part of an original land grant!) I shared back a couple of months ago HERE.

She introduced me to Toni one afternoon when we all met up for Mexican lunch in town (It had to be October I’m thinking, the West Jefferson Antique’s faire was that weekend.) and we got on like wildfire.

Toni is also a quilter, and highly involved with Quilts of Valor with a group in Mouth of Wilson.  And I just fell right in with a marvelous group of gals – just like that!

The only sad part (for Martha and me…) Is that Toni is relocating back to where family live in Louisiana come spring.  So we are getting in as much Toni time as we can before she starts her next chapter in the company of her dad and sister.  She promises to come back for visits!

With all of the holiday madness, and spending my days working at Quiltville Inn while I had family help, (gotta make hay while the sun shines!) I just didn’t have a day where I could run off and play, so we scheduled yesterday, and it couldn’t have been better.

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Kicking Off and Into 2019!

Happy New Year from Max, Sadie and Beanie!

Oh my goodness, 2019 has ALREADY gone to the dogs!

We celebrated our New Year’s Day with company – friends Rick & Mona brought Mona’s mom Sandy up for a visit.  We don’t get to see her often enough and she was brought down from Ohio to escape some dreary winter weather and spend some time in the mountains of North Carolina.

Sandy has been wanting to see Quiltville Inn, and Mona was eager to show it to her so we all rolled up at the big old house around 11am for a grand tour. 

It was fun showing Mona just what has been done since the last time she was up here.

And as always – there is a hiccup with SOMETHING.  The ceiling fan in bedroom 5 has gone flooky.  We don’t know if it is the wiring or the fan itself, but the switch doesn’t turn it on, the pull chains to the fan itself don’t turn it (or the light) on….it’s another SOMETHING.

And totally unrelated – the instant hot water on demand is not working either.  I let the kitchen sink run for 10 minutes, gave up, heated water the old fashioned way in a big old enamelware pot on the stove, and added the boiling water to my tap cold water to wash some dishes and other things.  Pfffffft! 

But other than that – SWELL!!!  

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