Happy Halloween

The price of 3 very large Halloween Pumpkins - $12.00

One pot of colorful fall mums - $5.00
The cost of one bag of Halloween Gourds - $3.00
A bag of Halloween candy (our favorite so we can eat them also) - $5.00
And a 34 year old book that was your daughters favorite (especially at Halloween) - PRICELESS!

There are just some things you can never part with and this is one of them! I think I must have read this story 1,000 times over the course of many years and hopefully will do so again with grandchildren. Have a safe, wonderful and very spooky Halloween.

Where are we???

In the fall, my husband and I make a lot of day trips to view the pretty leaves and enjoy the cooler days of the season. We had never been to Bristol which is in both Tennessee and Virginia. It is a lovely town and the trees just beginning to turn. While in a store, we asked if we were in Tennessee. The lady promptly replied, No, you're in Virginia, if you want Tennessee - just cross the street.

It seems the yellow line down the middle of the road divides the 2 states, sooooo being a typical tourist, we had to take a picture. Cars were very patient, probably thinking here we go again - another tourist having to take a picture with their feet in both states! Yup, we did. And my poor husband, the things I make him do, but he's a good sport and so were all the Virginia and Tennessee drivers waiting patiently for him to move. The stores on one side wave the Virginia flag and the other side have Tennessee flags.
We also visited a charming little town - Abingdon totally in Virginia with a very old tavern. We wanted to have lunch there but they only serve dinner so looks like we'll be making a trip back.
I loved the roof completely covered in moss.

We came upon a very old house called the "Crooked Cabin".
Wonder if you fall out of bed while staying here?
A fun day - I love the fall!

Textures

While at John Campbell a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take photos of some wonderful textures. Often my pictures are of odd things, not your typical photo. Most times I haven't a clue where I'll use them, but eventually they do wind up somewhere. I have a good friend who is very creative, takes lots of pictures, especially likes the perspective of things on the ground. Someone asked her once, why she kept looking at her feet - not realizing, that that was her favorite place for subject matter. This beautiful barn was covered with fall foliage. I love the old weathered wood...

and lime green leaves
and this wonderful old plank of wood with nails sticking out.
The forest which provides a shortcut between buildings had some wonderful lights and shadows My love of trees pulled me in.
I also love old, weather-worn windows and doors. They are so interesting with lots of texture.

I'm working on some small studies right now using old windows and trees; this will probably wind up in one of them.

John Campbell Projects

We had a wonderful class at John Campbell including one male student - Dan who did beautiful work and is destined to be an art quilter. The man in the middle - dressed as Christopher Columbus was David - who gave massages - you know the deal - a dollar a minute and worth every penny. He was very good and also very funny - he did his best work dressed in something unusual. He couldn't find his "tu-tu" so Christopher had to do. Behind the students are some of the beautiful quilts made by them this past week. 

The quilt studio at JCC is very large and the class size is kept to 12 people or less.
Plenty of room to walk around and everyone has their own design wall.
This next piece was made by Mary Jane - 78 years old and still loves to make quilts.

Mary Waterman made the same quilt, different colors. They were hanging side by side and fun to see the same pattern made up in 2 different kinds of fabrics and color.

We had a young woman in class - Aino Riiho who was from Finland and married to a man from this area. She is studying to be an arts and crafts teacher in Finland; quilting was the one area that wasn't covered in her course of studies and this was her first attempt at quilting. She first learned the basics of half square triangles and made a heart quilt for her baby due in February. From the beginning I knew she loved art quilts, she designed and made this incredible piece (below) - her second quilt and all in the course of 5 days!  Keep an eye out for her - She is a wonderful artist!
It was amazing to see how much one could accomplish in a mere 5 days.

John Campbell

This past week, I had the great fun of assisting my long time friend Sandy Bonsib at the John C Campbell Folk School. At JCC, when your class fills you qualify for an assistant and Sandy asked if I would come - a great chance to visit with a friend I don't get to see very often. So I was packed, off and running! The week that Sandy taught followed the Fall Festival weekend - the biggest event of the year which draws thousands of people. I had to be there on Sunday which provided a great opportunity to see what it was all about. It was perfect weather, lots of wonderful crafts for sale, music, animals - something for everyone.

The huge barn has music going on throughout the day and lots of bails of hay to sit on.
All the banners hanging throughout the barn have been made by various fiber artists.
I came upon this booth which was soooo "sixties".
And these beautiful Alpacas were my favorite. What a wonderful face!!!
All the studios on campus had demos going on. This is the weaving studio which is also connected to the quilting studio where I was working all week.
So of course, I wandered over to see what was up and was surpised by this beautiful quilt exhibit going on...made up of quilts by instructors of JCC. I loved this piece by Elsie Campbell as I love the pieced background with appliques on top - so subtle and effective.


Karen Reese Tunnell is a wonderful marbler and does the most amazing things with the fabric she creates like this kaleidoscope quilt - "Nouveau Fractals" below
and "Maternalis" where Karen will create the marbled fabric and add further imagery on top. Karen will be teaching marbling at John Campbell this coming January. I'm already signed up and can hardly wait.
Marilyn Walls beautiful "mother and child" is based on a photograph she took while on vacation. She was so touched by the love this woman felt for her child, she felt she had to capture it in fabric. I think she nailed it!
It was a great day which was only the beginning of a great week. Please join me again for the further adventures, pictures and crazy goings on.

Asheville Quilt Guild Show

The Asheville Quilt Guild held their annual show this year at a new location - the agricultural center.  It's a much bigger facility and able to house the entire show and vendors under one roof! A welcome of beautiful fall flowers greeted us at the entrance.

Quite frankly I didn't know what to expect. In years past, the show has been held at the NC Arboretum which is beautiful, warm and inviting; this was quite a change and change can be good and this was spectacular!
I felt like I was at a "mini" Houston show. The vendors were wonderful and a lot more of them.
The quilts were hung so you could really get around and see them up close and personal or from a distance - great for picture taking. Barbara Swineas beautiful piece was one of my favorite. Her piecing skills are the best, the uniqueness of the placement of squares is wonderful.

Linda Cantrell's - A Day in the Life of a Diner was another one of her "humorous" quilts which she is well known for. Linda never ceases to amaze me or keep me laughing.
And a detail - this was the "12 midnight" seating with Ladies of the evening in the booth.
Pat Kerko did the most beautiful silk quilt - looked like a dupioni to me, brilliant colors and machine embroidered. Her color choices were just amazing.
Jane Cole's quilts are always wonderful and add so much to a show.


And one of Lynne Harrills wonderful pieces.
There are so many more. I do hope you'll get a chance to stop by today, it is a wonderful show.

I'm heading off to John Campbell for the week to assist my friend Sandy Bonsib with her workshop - have a great week.