Cross Countryside Ride

First of all, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was a little different than in most years. We took my mother over to James Island to my brother's house where we spent the afternoon and had a great time visiting with my nieces. They are great to be around and we see them all too seldom. It seems like yesterday that they were just little girls--my, how they've grown. And it was a real treat to eat a great meal--and not have to do the cooking (I did take homemade rolls!).
This past Tuesday, the TTT Gang traveled to Aiken, SC to see the Quilt Show there. They do it a little differently than most places. They hang the show and then have it on display for several weeks---no vendors, no entrance fee. The docents there were very nice and seemed genuinely pleased that we drove such a distance to see it. The location is so beautiful. Aiken itself it such a lovely town and this building is so grand with many wonderful architectural features--both inside and out. I spent almost as much time looking at them as I did the quilts themselves.
There were not a huge number of quilts but each one was well done and very interesting. This first quilt, by Terri Jarrett, was really my favorite. I loved the use of color and the way it was arranged throughout the surface. Several of us had quite a discussion about this one. Two in our group couldn't stand that it was so "jumbled-feeling" and wanted it to feel more calm in the choice of color and fabrics. And others of us couldn't understand why they felt that way! It was a great discussion and really served as an example of how we're all so different in our tastes in fabric, color and style and why there's room for all of us at the party.
A small quilt, Heavenly Music by Joan Baranek, caught my eye. It had a pleasing design and was well-executed.


The last quilt I want to show is Tipsy Kitty by Marjorie Coldiron. I LOVE Drunkard's Path quilts and I thought this one was interesting in its use of color. Drunkard's Path is one of those very simple blocks that can be put together so many different ways with so many different color combinations that it is almost always interesting.
After we left the quilt show, we went to the downtown part of Aiken and went to a really nice quilt shop (sorry, I don't remember the name). Although quite small, it had some great fabrics--and nice folks. On that same little street there was also a shop that specialized in children's fabrics and a needlework shop--where I bought Pearl Cotton for some embroidery details on quilt tops.
Another great feature of downtown Aiken were the HORSES! This is just one example of all of the wonderful painted horses that decorated that area. Aiken is horse country. I don't know if these statues are a new event or if they have a different theme every year or so but the work on these incredible. Hendersonville, NC has a similar thing. One year they painted bears and this past year they painted goats. I think it really adds a ZIP to the sidewalks!










All in all, it was a great day. Great food, wonderful quilts and very special friends.