HISTORIC JONESBOROUGH, TN

Quilt Fest 2009, is a charming small conference. It's been held for years with a very faithful following that reaches far beyond the nearby states. The teaching facilities are about 15 mins. away in Johnson City.......some of the best I've ever taught in. I'd come back to teach here in a heartbeat! The historic town of Jonesborough, TN, where we teachers are housed is adorable.

The downtown is filled with delightful shops, wonderful restaurants, and great antique stores to roam.

Doesn't this court house scream.......down south!?!

It's always such a pleasure to teach with one's good teacher buddies. Jane Sassaman and I arrived at the same time. We were a bit too early to check into......The Historic Eureka Inn (Highly recommended if you are ever in the area.) I'm sure they don't usually have just two guest that fill their lobby area with their suitcases. Too bad I didn't get a photo about 10 minutes later when Sue Nickels and Susan Cleveland showed up.....with 3 bags each.

Here's Jane......relaxing a bit as we wait to get into our rooms.

We learned that the 2009 International BMW rally was being held in the area.....the town is FULL of grinning respectful cyclist.....on their very shiny turned out bikes. "The husband" rides one too and I was sorry he was missing that adventure.

NEEDLE IN HAND

I'm off today to teach at Quilt Fest 2009 in Johnson City, TN.......workshops and lectures are at The Centre right behind the Carnegie Hotel - Thurs. - Sat.

The husband is holding down the fort here........I resisted giving him a honey do list!

Two of my full day workshops will focus on beading techniques.......can't wait to share the fun with my students!

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS

Have you ever wondered how the Great Smoky Mountains got its name? Gaze upon these pictures.....what appears might be smoke is actually clouds......beautiful no??

You can see this natural wonder in person by joining me as we explore the sights, crafts, quilts, foods, and friendly people of these mountains.....click here for all the details of my Great Smoky Mountain Quilt Tour.

PTA SHOW AND TELL

Like all quilters who gather.......we enjoy show and tell...... I hope you enjoy seeing these fabulous pieces.

Janice Maddox created this piece as a result of a Jane Sassaman workshop.

Linda Cantrell is exploring inspirations from her South Africa teaching trip.

Mary Berry created this fun quilt using food conversation print fabrics.

Judy Simmons has collaged and stitched what she calls 'leftovers' of her printed images....matted them and will have them for sale at the Southern Highlands Craft Fair July 16-19th, at the Asheville Civic Center. I wish I had these kinds of leftovers!!

Kate Weston shared this lovely floral quilt......the border couldn't be more perfect!!

Georgia Bonesteel has a new line of fabric.....sorry this photo doesn't show the quilt in full......she's incorporated the lovely prints into blocks to represent beds.......it was such a clever way to display all the various colorways and designs.

TAKE A BOW!

The monthly meeting of PTA (the fabulous small fiber group I'm lucky enough to belong to) was held this week.......I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I am at the accomplishments of our members.

We congratulated two members with rhinestone crowns.....that sparkled with the aid of a small battery....really cool....and 'jewels' in the form of tacky plastic heart bracelets. Connie Brown, on the left, has just earned her American Quilters Society Appraiser Certificate after years of study and hard work. On the right, Barbara Swinea is also doing her queenly wave. Barbara's quilt "Bamboo at Dawn" earned a 2nd Place Ribbon at the AQS show in Paducah.

We are thrilled for both of you and glad you are one of us!!

Barbara has mastered creating stunning quilts with pieced backgrounds. Here is her newest.

Connie.....doing her queenly wave is one of our more adventurous members......she's wading in a mountain stream at the home of our host, Dort Lee.

Connie 's quilt Retro Rick Rack was another feast for the eye.......the wide rick rack provides texture while setting off the circular motifs in an unexpected manner.

Our host, Dort Lee lives wayyyy off the beaten path.....one's vehicle has to forge a creek on the approach to their 52 acres. After 2+ years of drought here in Western North Carolina.....it's now OVER..... A recent downpour set off a mudslide on their property which caused a lot of damage to their road and land. You can see where the water roared down the mountain side....pulling trees over in its path.

Some of the trees got tangled and made a small dam....which caused even more trouble.

Mud and debris crashed down into their pond....filling it to the top as it displaced the water. They are still working on the repairs. For those of us who've never seen such damage, this was a real eye opener.

To be continued......

MYSTERY MAN REVEALED

I'm sorry I under estimated you....my faithful readers. I really didn't think you'd know who my mystery man is.

Yet.....you did!! Yup......it's R. Lee Ermey....the Gunnery Sergeant, foul mouthed drill instructor from the famous movie Full Metal Jacket.

He was in Asheville preparing the final touches on his new show - Lock N' Load which will premier on the History Channel - Friday July 31 PM ET. (Though the crew told us there's been talk of pushing it up a week earlier....so watch your listings.)

After watching to be sure he was finished with his lunch.....I turned and politely asked whether I could take his picture to post to my blog. He couldn't have been nicer.....he slid over on the bench.....patted it and invited me to sit down....instructing me to turn my camera over to his director to take our picture.....I was flabbergasted!

To learn more about this character......click here - don't miss his recipe section......it's great, as is his bobble head action figure!

12 Bones & A FAMOUS PERSON

'The husband' loves BBQ.....especially the way ribs are prepared in the part of the country. I on the other hand, am not much of a meat fan.....so I had yet to experience 12 Bones, the well-known Asheville eatery. We were out and about yesterday and stopped for a late lunch/dinner...actually the portions are so huge it could be two days worth of food.

The place (seriously) looks like a gas station, not a restaurant. Their hours are quite limited.....basically open only for lunch.....till late afternoon and closed on Saturday and Sunday.

But, oh my do they put out the food with a crowd of cooks, servers, bus boys.....astonishing. It's common to see a line out the door.

Their specialty of course is BBQ ribs, but they also serve pulled pork, smoked turkey etc. The kitchen area is open to the counter where they efficiently take your order. The basics of silverware, beverages, sauces etc. are self-serve as in most fast food establishments.

No, this isn't your typical restaurant.....like I said it looks like a gas station. There are some tiny, crowded tables inside, but the bulk of the seating is picnic tables under what looks like a metal car port.

You are given a number after ordering and servers run around while searching for your number as they delivery orders amazingly fast. The food is presented in what look like pie tins....a half of slab of ribs with 2 sides.....a soft drink and all the BBQ sauce you can serve yourself from a station of huge pump dispensers. 'The husband' is armed and ready to dig in.......as I asked him to pause a second for this photo!

So we are sitting there.....and 'the husband' says to me.....now "Mouse".....(I'm known by this silly childhood name to family......never Mary....always Mouse). He said......turn around slowly....be subtle (not something that comes easy to me).......look who is sitting behind you.

Even if I hadn't recognized the face.....I'd have still known him by his voice......though he was speaking normally, not scream talking as he usually does.

Can you identify this man? Post a comment if you do......I'll reveal who he is and why he was eating at 12 Bones tomorrow.......

This close up of his ring, may or may not help.....seriously with the exception of my friend Nanette, who reads my blog.....I'd be surprised if you to know who he is until I identify him.

TEXTURE MAGIC

Our own Patsy Thompson, master machine quilter and expert instructor that can give you private lessons via her fabulous DVD's, introduced us to Texture Magic at our monthly Fiber Arts Alliance meeting.

Here's a sneak peak of one of her beautiful quilts....be sure to click on the link above to visit her info packed website!

Texture Magic is a steam-activated shrinking fabric. The fabric shrinks 30% in all directions with the use of a steam iron. The product is available from Superior Threads. The sample is made from National NonWoven's WoolFelt (that Patsy hand-dyed to get this luscious color.) Patsy stipple quilted it and then 'shrunk' the fabric.

The flower center uses the same technique, but is made with polished cotton......and attached using free-motion satin stitching.

The appearance can be more subtle when using smaller amounts.

Shrinkage follows the sewn lines.....so when sewing linear lines, the results are much different.

NEW WORK

How often have I said....I'm smitten with woolfelt? The texture of the felt, combined with beadwork and some machine stitching provides so much visual contrast and excitement.

Here's my newest.....it's made entirely from woolfelt, the outside edge of the blue border is finished with a small blanket stitch using matching color wool thread. A fabric sleeve has been added for immediate gratification.

FREEDOM SOLD

12 1/2" x 9 1/2"

ENJOYABLE DAY

We spent an enjoyable 4th of July.....first doing a bit of hiking.....and unsettled later when I realized 2 wood ticks found a new home on me!

Later we headed off to a juried craft show in Cullowhee, NC....about 50 mins. West of us. Over 100 mountain area artists were represented and we did our part to help the economy grow.

I've mentioned before how I'm drawn to re-purposed items...... This charming creature had to come home with us. The body is some sort of very heavy mechanical chain. There were numerous other meal sculptures we would gladly add to our gardens. They are made by the talented team of Jimmy and Marlene Hopkins at: Creative Creations.

Of course when we got home we spent way toooo much time arranging it next to our metal chicken on our covered front porch.

This was the final display....I'm sure it will scare the pants off our UPS delivery man on his next visit!

'The husband' is good for about 30+ mins. of strolling thru craft booths.....heck about 30+ mins. of any kind of shopping unless it's at places such as Home Depot! Which is why we got back to Waynesville, NC a tad earlier than his favorite BBQ restaurant would open. So, we decided to check out what was happening in our charming downtown which features many shops and galleries.

I'm allergic to metal.....have always had 'sensitive' skin, but it has reached the point I can't even wear a watch if any metal touches me. My search for non-metal watches has gone on for years. I had a wonderful collection of 'theme' plastic (mostly kids watches), my favorite being a colorful Jimmy Buffet Cheeseburger In Paradise watch, where the watch face was hidden beneath a hamburger bun. The big problem with this type of watch is that they don't have a stem to change the time....rather one uses the 'push pin' system. Because of my busy travel schedule.....and the necessity of having to actually know what time it is in various time zones....they don't last long.

Okay, okay....I'm getting to the point......I don't go into jewelry stores for obvious reasons....can't wear it....what's the point of looking! But, as we were window shopping, I noticed several wooden watches on display. Yeah......it's perfect.

The watch is made my Tense, a company founded in 1971 in British Columbia. Check out their website here.