Over The River and Into The Woods

This afternoon was one of the best that I can remember in quite a long time. The Sustainable Agriculture group for this area of Western North Carolina sponsored a Family Farm Tour with over 25 farms that you could visit. Of course, that would have been virtually impossible--even though you can also go tomorrow afternoon (which we will). We (I) chose 3 farms to visit today--2 in Barnardsville and 1 in Mars Hill. I didn't choose these farms with anything in particular in mind--other than the descriptions sounded good. And they were more than good.

The first place we went to was owned by a couple in their 60's (which me feel good being as I'm there, too!). This is the wife and she was certainly a very interesting person. They run a bed and breakfast, also but I think she has done most of the gardening. What they have done with their place is like stepping into the Garden of Eden--flowers everywhere--at their peak, as you can see with the white hydrangeas here.

This farm and the 3rd one we went to had bee hives. And you will notice that there are electric fences around them. Papa Bear came to visit the farm one night and the next day the fence went up. This particular one is solar powered which is nice when you're not too close to an electricity source. I'm not sure how well these two hives were actually doing (as you may know our entire bee population is in trouble and they are VERY important for all of our food crops). At the 3rd farm, the bees were zooming all over the place and bringing pollen into the hives. These here were far more quiet--so I don't know.

And through all this walking around and oohing and aweing, my faithful companion Smokey followed patiently along. He is not quite as enthusiastic as I am but, as always, a good sport. (He didn't know I was taking his picture).

To me, one of the wonderful things about the farms in Western North Carolina is that so many of them are owned by families and not by mega businesses. Today's family farmers are, by and large, nothing like the farmers of old. They are educated and use modern methods to achieve their farming goals. BUT, they are still centered around individual ownership and live a life based on connectedness with the earth. They know where their food comes from because THEY grow it. And the biodynamic farms we visited today preserve the goodness of the soil as they bring forth its bounty.

It was a great, great afternoon.

And for those of you who may think that I haven't been doing any quilting up here in the mountains . . .you're just about right. However, a friend did come over last week and we each made this table runner called A Touch of Summer from the June 2009 issue of McCalls Quilting Magazine. It was fun to make and provided a lot of practice for accuracy in piecing.

Blessed by a Chinaberry

I had big plans this week as I was getting settled into the mountains. Let's see . . .I was going to go to the Asheville Quilt Guild on Tuesday and listen to a speaker talk about her strip quilts and then I was going to get my hair colored on Wednesday and on Thursday I was going to go to the Hendersonville Guild and hear Linda Cantrell talk (it doesn't matter talk about WHAT because she's funny no matter what her topic). And then I got a call telling me that my brother's mother-in-law had died in Charleston.

Now I didn't struggle about whether or not I would go back to Charleston--I knew I would--but I did struggle about all of the things I was going to miss. I have been working so hard on just living in the moment--and wouldn't you know? I'm getting plenty of opportunities to put it to the test. So, we got in the car and got back there in time to take supper to my brother and his family (and ,coincidentally, eat that food with them and have a really nice time).

The next day at the funeral, my niece went around to each woman and handed her a chinaberry necklace. These necklaces had been made by her grandmother (the deceased), Georgie. This had been her hobby for many years and she would take them to the Market on Saturdays and sell them until she was physically no longer able to do it. These necklaces we were given were her expression of art. During his homily, the pastor mentioned Georgie's love of doing this and without exception, every woman's hand went to her neck and touched her gift of a chinaberry necklace. It was a powerful moment and it was at that precise point that I knew that the trip to Charleston had a value beyond measure.

It's Been A While

Do you ever feel as if you are just a little out of control? That's the way I've been for a while. Our house is for sale--and, of course, we'd like to get that over and done with--and I feel like I'm living between two worlds. My husband had hand surgery last Monday and we spent a fair amount of time before that getting things done that he wouldn't be able to do for several (probably many) weeks. What it has all boiled down to is that my head hasn't been right for quilting. What I have mainly been doing is practicing "being in the moment." And that really is the best thing anyone can do no matter life circumstances are lurking in the corners.

But yesterday I had a really delightful morning. A friend called up and we went to Landrum, SC to their quilt show. Landrum is in the upstate of South Carolina--right by the border before North Carolina. It is a pretty small town and I really didn't have a high level of expectation about the quilts we would see there. Boy was I wrong! The quilts were absolutely wonderful. Many of them--like the one on the right here--were hand quilted--and with tiny stitches. Georgia Bonesteel had (I think) 3 quilts in the show and at least two of them were handquilted (sorry, those pics didn't turn out).

Others, like the flower basket quilt, used standard elements in an unusual way. And this yellow quilt was pieced by a lady in the 30"s and her granddaughter recently hand quilted it. There were a couple of other quilts that were generational, also and I really find that to a be very powerful thing in this day of disposable everything.

And then there were the quilts that were just plain bright and happy. I didn't get a full picture of the quilt on the left, but I loved the flying geese addition to the borders. It really jazzed it up.And some were strictly original as this cat quilt that was in memoriam for a beloved pet and the bird quilt that recalled a much enjoyed trip. So, all in all, it was a great show--one that encouraged you to pause and consider not only the quilts themselves but the unknown quilters who created them A very uplifting morning.

But now, my little friend Maizie--who lives ONLY in the moment is letting me know that THIS is the moment in which I should get off the computer and go get her lease so we can enjoy the beautiful morning. Be right there, Maizie!