A Trip To The White House!

No, not THAT White House. I'm talking about The White House in Heath Springs, SC. (It's not quite as large as that other one). Karen organized a trip for the TTT Gang to an unknown location and then dropped clues on us in the days leading up to our departure. We finally got it at the very end when she told us that the owner of the house was famous for making quilt-related collectibles. Jim Shore! He and his wife lived in this hundred year old home until they moved to nearby lake resort. His wife and a business partner opened a storefront in the home that features his collectibles, antique linens, items for home decor and, more recently, quilt fabric--mostly Moda. The store is open Wednesday thru Saturday from 10-6 and the telephone number is 803-273-0123. Did I forget to mention that the Moda is priced at $6.00 per yard?

Here is the "Jim Shore Room" and there are so many different pieces that it takes quite a while to take them all in--and then you probably missed some. I have seen maybe 10 or 12 different pieces in quilts shops before so this was amazing. And they are all so intricate and colorful. I especially liked the angel bird bath and really wish that I had purchased it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to go back and get it another time (in case I need an excuse to go back).

Each room had a different theme. One room was full of moda fabric on bolts and another room had mostly fat quarters (at 4 for $6.00)

Here are Frances and Karen in the Fat Quarter Room--making sure they didn't miss anything.

And this was my favorite room in the house--the entrance hall and the beautiful staircase.

Another feature of this very unique store is that if you want to bring a group on a Tuesday (or maybe even a Monday) you can contact them ahead of time (which Karen did) and they will open the shop for a private shopping experience and also provide lunch. You can see the kitchen here where they set up a buffet-style meal. We ate our lunch in the "Moda Bolt Room" and looked at beautiful fabric while we ate and chatted. After lunch, we finished up with our shopping and then headed home after a wonderful day in the country in a beautiful home filled with great fabric and unique collectibles. It was a really laid-back experience--one that your group might also enjoy if you have the opportunity.

Even A Bear Doesn't Hibernate This Long!

Life has a way of stopping you in your tracks sometimes, doesn't it? And I guess that's what has happened to me during the past three months or so. Most of you know that we moved to the mountains of North Carolina a year or so ago--the re-fullfillment of my dream--however, much of it seemed a little closer to being a nightmare rather than a dream. We bought a house that was going to be a never-ending money pit--even though we were doing most of the work itself. And the studio was never going to be good--too dark, too cold, too depressing. When that was added to a lot of other factors, we made the decision---literally overnight--to move back to our house in Charleston; however, what this meant was that we spent two work-laden months finishing up projects that HAD to be done before that house could go on the market and renting HUGE trucks (3 times) to move ourselves and our too-many possessions. (Along with the huge amount donated to Habitat).

So, now we're back and we've spent the last month settling in. Over all, we're glad to be back. Our house suits our needs, we have great friends here and a wonderful vista out over the marsh every morning as we drink our coffee and eat our breakfast. On the down side, it's as hot as the hinges of hades, it's flat and the traffic is horrendous. Thankfully, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

We are still in the process of getting my studio back into order. We had "staged" it to look more like a den--which meant we took everything out--including my huge work table. And that is the only thing not back to full operation. We had to break apart the top when we took it out and so now we have to have another one built. Last week we went to Home Depot to see about them doing another one and were absolutely shocked when they gave us a price that was 250% higher than we paid five years ago. Fortunately, while we were in there we met a nice guy who is a cabinet installer and he gave us a MUCH better price. So I have all of my fiingers crossed that he will actually show up this week and do the work.

Two days ago, Smokey re-installed my design wall and I thought I'd talk a little about it because I think that we came up with a pretty good system of installation that may be helpful to some of you. We actually used this method in Hendersonville and, because it worked, were able to use the same insulation board that we had there.

This is the insulation board that we used and it is about 2 " thick (maybe a little less). I covered it with white flannel and taped it to the board. I had to replace some of the tape that was pulled loose when we removed it from the wall, but otherwise it was in great shape. I didn't have the wall space to use two complete sheets so we cut the second one down to size.

The trick about making this design wall re-usable is the way in which it is attached to the studio wall. You can see here that we have three 2x4's attached to the wall--with screws used where the studs are located. When you use this method and later move your studio --or design wall--for one reason or another, you can unscrew the boards and fill in the screw holes with spackling compound with no damage to your walls.

After the 2x4's are attached, we then used glue to secure the insulation board to them. This is the glue we used, but there are probably other ones that will work also--just read the information on the glue packaging. (This one said that at least one of the surfaces had to be porous--which was true of the 2/4's). After the glue is applied, all that was needed was some firm pressure for about a minute on the insulation boards once they were positioned and then 24 hours to dry completely. And now, voila, I am back to having a place to look at work in progress.

I don't know if we were just lucky or if it's in the general nature of the glue we used, but when we pulled the insulation board off of the the 2x4's when were were "un-doing" my studio in Hendersonville, there was no damage at all to the board. And that is why we were able to use it again. But, any way you look at it, it's a great way to have a nice design wall without damaging your existing walls.

So . . .I'm ALMOST totally back to a great workspace--something that I really missed in the mountains. I didn't fully realize just how much it was affecting my work until I had it back. I am now beginning to feel inspired and have a couple of projects in mind--I'm feeling excited again about the act of creation.

Was it worth it--the moving twice in one year? Probably my husband and I would have different answers to that question but I WOULD say that we both learned a lot about what is important and what isn't. I will always hold the mountains in my heart and prefer that climate and atmosphere but I have learned that there are other things that are more important and that has been a very valuable life lesson (And I hope that we're never too old to keep on learning).