Be Careful What You Wish For

I wanted to avoid the heavy truck traffic on I-81 so I asked Gabby the Garmin to plot the shortest route, not the fastest, from Kingsport, TN to Ripley, WV.

Well, she took me at my word and, for the most part, the route was a lovely 4-lane divided highway that wound through the mountains of western Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and into northern West Virginia.  But there was this 10-mile stretch where she cut the hypoteneuse off the triangle -- single lane, winding through coal country -- and she didn't know about the bridge that had been replaced so I ended up going another 5 miles on that road because the only place to turn around was driveways where toothless old men were sitting on the porch.  I was kidding about the banjos on Saturday, but yesterday .....

In the end I made it to Quilt Camp in plenty of time to get my classroom set up before the teachers' meeting, dinner, and opening festivities.

I'm in the cooking and canning classroom!  Wait till you see it. I'll post pictures in the morning.  At least it's big and my class is small so we can spread out.

Hope everyone has a lovely week!

Keep Calm

and

Camp On!

Day Two

Forget Golf!

Saturday dawned with showers looming and the further northeast we drove, the colder and gloomier it got.  But we weren't daunted!

We headed up to Abingdon, Virginia and made an early stop at the Abingdon Vineyard & Winery. Not too far off the interstate and relatively easy to find with good directions, but as we wound down to the winery we might have heard banjos in the distance ... just sayin'. The gentleman behind the counter was very informative and since we were the only ones in the shop we had his undivided attention. 

The site is lovely, though, alongside a babbling brook which flows into a larger stream beyond the trees.

From there we headed up to my favorite mountaintop east of the Mississippi River.  It's in Grayson Highlands State Park, located within view of Mt. Rogers, the highest elevation in Virginia at 5,729 feet.  On a good day you can see that it is very craggy; today, however:

I could have taken a picture of my bed sheets and you'd have had the same impression!

Nevertheless, we forged on to the top and made our way to the Visitor Center where we learned a little more about the geology and wildlife in the area.

One thing I have to say about Virginians -- they are physically active, in spite of the weather.  There were large groups of people gathering on the mountain to hike and bike.  The Appalachian Trail winds through the park and there is a bike trail on an old railroad bed that goes through Damascus at the foot of the mountain.  Tons of folks, dressed appropriately for the weather, having a great time in the great outdoors.

We were at least 1,000 feet higher than yesterday when we were at Bays Mountain and we could see that Fall has fell up there (apologies, my dad was a Pogo fan). On the road up the maples had turned red and orange, but there was still a bit of green.

When we were able to see the mountainsides, they were mostly yellow and orange with very little green.

Back at the resort, watching football and getting ready to do some slow stitching on a binding.  I can't say enough what a joy it has been to be away from home with my husband doing nothing in particular.

I will try to report from my classes next week if I'm able to get on WiFi there.  Otherwise I'll write my posts and log in when I get home next Friday.

Hope you all have had a pleasant weekend!

First Full Day...

... of R&R

Main Man and I were in separate cars for the trip to Kingsport on Thursday since he will return home on Sunday when I go on to WV.  So I took advantage of my solitude and made a side trip to Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough where I did a little damage. 

My quest was to add some soft yellows and darker grays to the pack I had purchased in Indianapolis last month.  I am using those in my Exploding Pineapple class step-outs and I like them so well I want to make a whole quilt in those colors.   I stuck to my plan with only two exceptions.

The yellow Handmaids fabric goes with panels my secret sister gave me last year.  The diamond fabric -- well, I just couldn't resist it. Do you blame me?

We scrapped our plans for golf Friday due to rain and an aching back (not mine).  Instead we started our day at Countryside Winery.

Sipping wine at 10 a.m. -- kinda like mass except you can go back for seconds!

Our morning also included a drive through Warrior's Path State Park, a visit to the Gray Fossil Site and Natural History Museum (absolute fascinating!), and a walk around Bays Mountain city park. The fall colors are just beginning in this part of the state.

Bays Mountain Park

I managed to fit in a stop at Heavenly Stitches Quilt Shop in Kingsport where I added a few quarter yards to my earlier purchases.

And that's the highlights of Day One.  Bottom line: even though we went around several counties, it was a very restful day for both of us! 

Today, Saturday, we're off to another winery in Abingdon, Virginia and a picnic lunch at one of our favorite VA state parks.  And if the rain clears, we'll hit the driving range this afternoon.  I think that's all either of us can do at this point since we haven't played in over a year.  Stay tuned .....

TBT - Strippy 4-Patch

I came to quilting by way of living history -- that's where you put on funny clothes and pretend to be someone from another time and place.

Nashville Refugee Aid Camp
Battle of Nashville Reenactment - Rippavilla 1993

That's me in front, next to the lady with the chicken -- oh, that's a story for another day ....

Anyway, I thought piecing quilts would be an appropriate activity for someone of my age and station in life (in the 1860s), so this is what I started on.

Strippy 4-Patch - McCall's Quilting

I purchased this kit at my very first Paducah AQS Quilt Show. I think it was one of a series of kits put out by McCalls to support breast cancer research.

I didn't have a clue about 1/4" seams. And I recall hand stitching some of these 4-patches in a darkened lecture room at a Civil War civilian conference.  Needless to say, they were all over the size spectrum!  When it came time to assemble this I went to the sewing machine hoping the trimmed squares wouldn't fall apart before I could get them stitched to the setting triangles.

I added a few fabrics from my small stash (at the time it WAS small) to make the quilt a bit larger than the kit which meant I also had to get more light fabric for the setting triangles.

It may have been my first purchase, but not my first finish. It was also my first UFO for several years.  It began my lasting love of strippy quilts.

Linking up with Krista Quilts for Throwback Thursday.

A-Camping I Will Go ...

With a brief stop along the way!

Each year Peg Bingham hosts a Fall Quilt Camp at Cedar Lakes in Ripley, WV.  I was honored to be asked to teach two classes again this year.

Monday-Tuesday I'll be teaching the Exploding Pineapple (Karin Hellaby design).

Black and Tan Pineapple by Libby Smith 2014

Wednesday-Thursday it will be French Braid (Jane Hardy Miller design).

Fire and Ice by Libby Smith 2014

I like the fact that classes are two days -- some are even four days.  It allows time to really accomplish something and, from the teacher's perspective, more time for in-depth instruction.  Cedar Lakes is a lovely site in the hills of north-central West Virginia.

And there's a 2-day camp in the Spring where I'll be teaching Disappearing Dresdens (Susan Cleveland design).  I'd love to see some of you there, whether in my class or one of the others.

Delightful Dresdens by Libby Smith 2015

My Main Man and I will be making a stop in Kingsport, TN for a couple days of R&R.  A rare and treasured time, indeed.  SIL will be holding the fort here on the hill and keeping an eye on the Queen Mother in our absence.

Silver Cloud packed and ready

That's two bags of golf clubs packed in between all my teaching supplies.  Bonnie has Shamu; I have the Silver Cloud!  Tanked up and ready to rumble!

Class Preparation

... Steppin' Out

Fire and Ice by Libby Smith 2014

That's what teachers call their little demo boards -- Step-Outs.  (Hey, I didn't come up with that term, OK?)


One of the classes I am teaching at Fall Quilt Camp next week is French Braid from the original book by Jane Hardy Miller.  There is essentially one basic construction method covered in the book, but there are so many variations to that theme. I've encouraged everyone in my small class to choose one of the 14 projects in the book that matches their confidence level.  I'm hoping we will have a variety of projects underway so that we can learn the options by observing each other.





But I digress .... I started a new project in order to be able to demonstrate the steps along the way.  I am using "Big Red" from the book as my inspiration.







First order of business:  choose 10-12 fabrics for the braid run and organize into a pleasing arrangement.  My fabrics are red-on-white and white-on-red.  Working with 11 fabrics, I did my best to arrange them according to density of color on color.




This project is complicated by having black and white accent squares arranged in reverse order of value.







Divide strips into two identical piles -- left side and right side.  Add accent strips to the right side pile.



After cutting into 2-1/2" chunks, begin braid construction on a base triangle.  You'll note that the "Big Red" pattern is constructed from the center out.  My plan is to have one braid center out and two going from end in.  That way I can demonstrate both methods of construction.


One half braid made and I'm thinking of taking out a couple of the white-on-red pieces as it looks a little muddy.  I've got time to make that decision ...

Right now it's back to organizing the step-outs, typing my outline, making sure I have everything packed for this class, making sure I have everything packed for the Exploding Pineapple class, making sure I have everything packed for 3 days of R&R (including golf) with my husband .... well, you know how it goes.

So this is what's on my design wall today.  Hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.

Sunday Stash Report

A Finish -- whoo hoo!

Trip to Melbourne a/k/a Spare Change

I managed to finish Trip to Melbourne but it has been too overcast to get a better picture of it.  Maybe later today ....

The good news:  6 yards out!

Weekly Stash Report -October 4, 2015
     In last two weeks:              0.00 yards
     Out last week:                    6.00 yards
     In year to Date:               179.50 yards
     Out Year-to-Date:           163.75 yards
     Net Used                           15.75 yards

Still a bit in the hole, but not bad, all things considered.

Linking up with Patchwork Times.