A Quilter’s Journey

How do you start your vacation?  Ours started by taking a dog to the vet (spayed) and then DH visiting the dentist while I loaded the car.  All that accomplished, we were off.  25 miles into the trip DH announced that he had forgotten his phone and Nook.  Back we went to the house and an hour later we were off, AGAIN.  And this time we kept going.

 Oh, did I mention that 25 miles into the second “going” DH announced that he hadn’t forgotten his phone, it was just in a different pocket? 

Anyway, the trip to Gastonia was pretty uneventful after that.  We made several stops at gas stations, antique malls, rest areas, etc, finally arriving at our first night’s destination.

Bright and early the next morning I was up and ready for my day: DH continued to sleep like a baby.

First stop: Long Creek Mills, a wholesale thread store, along with other crafty things.

I first visited here 16 years ago but had never had the opportunity to come back until today.  And I must say that the volume and choices are quite overwhelming.  However, I did manage to come out with a nice supply of new threads for quilting.

And then, just a few exits down on I85 and I was at Mary Jo’s fabric store.  I have been here twice before.  The first time as a new quilter.  That time I walked in and hyperventilated.  This time I had a plan, went right to work carrying out my fabric buying plan, picked up two fabrics that were not in the plan and then just walked around admiring the fabric choices that were not coming home with me. 

All of the above was completed in 2 hours and then I was back at the motel to pick up DH and be on our way for our day in Charlotte. 

First up was Wanda Hanson’s (Exuberant Color) art gallery show.  Oh my, the brilliant color on those walls.  Of course I had seen all of these quilts online but it is ever so much better seen in person.

Some of the quilts really didn’t need lighting, they just seemed to glow all by themselves.  I bought a mug with the picture of the quilt on the right.

And one of the real highlights was being able to meet Wanda’s daughter, an mosaic artist. 

We were able to see some of her work (sorry I was being so impressed that I forgot to take pictures of her work) and visit her studio in the back of the gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

The quilt on the top is my favorite of all the quilts left in the show and I bought a mug rug that was made with leftovers from that quilt.  I will be showing all my purchases in a later post.

After leaving the Ceil Gallery we did some antiquing (no buying) and began our journey up into the mountains of NC.  After a freeway, highway, narrow road, and even narrower paved “path” we found ourselves at the cabin we are to share with our youngest son and his wife.

It’s kind of hard to get a picture of it as it is covered with trees.

Here we are a little closer.  There are two decks plus a hot tub, two bedrooms, a sun room and a living room-kitchen combo.  And it is all alone on a hilltop.

Here is a view from the far end of the yard.  In the background is the horse, 2 donkeys, and 3 goats, all of whom are beggers of the first order.

The only downside of all of this is that I can get no phone service here.  I am writing this now but will have to drive into town to get an internet connection to upload it.  I am not sure I can live without internet and phone service for 4 days.  But then, I do have my dragon to play with.