Oh The Beautiful Mountains!

 This week, I went to West Jefferson, NC to give a Trunk Show and to teach my class on quilting feathers/  I had never been there before and was just bowled over by the terrain.  The leaves were about 50% turned--and that was nice--but I really was drawn in by the hills, the open spaces and the plant life.  Can you believe that this was the view from the Hampton Inn parking lot?

 When I was taking some of my bags out to the car in the morning, the sunrise was spectacular.  Of course, by the time I went back to my room and came back with my camera, it wasn't quite as much of a wow factor, but it was still pretty darn nice.

Across the highway from the motel I saw this unusual grouping of plants which reminded me of the agriculture that I saw on the sides of mountains in Guatemala.  Turns out, these are Christmas trees.  And I understand that the White House Christmas tree is coming from here--Ashe County--this year.

 Downtown West Jefferson was really nice because there were so many wonderful murals painted on the sides of buildings.  This is really an area that appreciates the Arts.  I wasn't able to get any pictures of the murals; however, on the curb beside the restaurant where we ate dinner there was a concrete "thing" that looked as if there might be some kind of utility service thing inside.  As you can see in these next four pictures, an artist painted each side with a beautiful flower of the area.  Would that more cities incorporated artful areas into everyday life.

 Here are my students getting ready for a day of quilting, quilting, quilting.  They were all so nice, willing to work hard and, at the end of the day, came away with samples that they should have been proud of.  And, as usual, I learned from them also.

One of my students, Rheta, brought an example of her flower pounding art.  Isn't it Beautiful?  She says that she would like to teach more classes and I hope that people will contact her as it is something that not only celebrates the beauty of nature but IS nature's beauty right there on the fabric.

 And Sandi, who did so many nice things for me while I was in West Jefferson, told me about this Barn Wedding quilt that she had made.  She was kind enough to send me the pictures of it and I would like to share them with you.  The large quilt just looks like a VERY nice wedding ring pattern, doesn't it?  Well, take a look at the closeup photo and you will see that each segment of the wedding rings is a photo of a barn or the quilt pattern that is on the barn.  This is a BIG wow.  I can't even imagine the time and effort it took to bring this project to fruition.  Not only is it wonderful and unusual, it's also an historic record.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the barn project, it is located in Tennessee, North Carolina and parts of upstate South Carolina (and probably other states).  Barns throughout these areas (and some other buildings also) provide the backdrop for a large painted wooden quilt block that can easily be seen at a distance.  There is a certain procedure that is followed in the creation of these blocks and is a wonderful way to celebrate our nation's quilting heritage.  There are publications that contain location of most of these blocks so, if you are interested in taking a wonderful day trip through some pretty nice country roads, seek one of them out and have a blast.  I saw three of these blocks on my way back to Hendersonville last night and was really wishing I wasn't driving so I could have a better look.  Hopelly, next time someone else will be at the wheel!