Tennessee Road Trip, Evening Edition!

I love discovering new places! Many people suggested I try the aquarium in Chattanooga, and some other things, but the morning was SO beautiful, all I wanted to do was be outside. I wanted to move my body after sitting in the car all day the day before, and I knew I still had 3 hours to go on my journey to Huntsville, Alabama where I was meeting up with the Heritage Quilters ---

So I got up on the internet and searched for “walking trails” and I hit the Mother Load!

Turns out I was only 6 miles from the Tennessee Riverpark! There are 8 miles of paved trails especially designed for walkers, runners, roller bladers and cyclers…and it was a great way to spend the morning!

Isn’t this so peaceful? I love seeing the mountains in the distance!

The trails are sidewalk….8 miles worth! I can’t imagine what an undertaking it was to make this beautiful spot for the people to enjoy, but enjoy it they are. There were even school groups doing relay races in the park….moms pushing strollers with babies, people on bikes, you name it!

As I got closer to the end where the dam is, I could see the old Cincinnati Southern railroad bridge!

It was quite the deal in the day it was made…and the dam is just beyond.

The fishermen were out in full force! But it wasn’t just the fishermen enjoying the beautiful weather that fascinated me….it was THESE guys:

The Herons!! Can you see them? They almost blended in to the rocks from where I was standing, and I tried to get real close to get better pictures…they were waiting for their chance at the fish of course, and they weren’t happy with me invading their space!

They were definitely fun to watch, and when they fly….are they ever graceful!

There are a few of them along the water here, and one in the midst of the rocks…really hard to tell they are even there!

This guy was a real poser! Perhaps he was the model for this statue that is further down in the park:

I enjoyed the time I spent along the river..and didn’t even notice that I was getting a bit sunburned by the time I returned to my car 5.75 miles later…

I left the park and headed on my way toward Huntsville – and by lunchtime I found myself taking an exit at South Pittsburg, TN with two things in mind….Find a post office to mail off the Civil War General panels to their respective winners, and to get a bite to eat!

As I took the exit, I caught a glimpse of this:

Oh I love small towns! And let me tell you, the burger and fries could not be beat! I wish I could tell you the same on the cones, but I was so full from the burger that I didn’t have room to TRY the ice cream, but if I ever make it through here again, you can bet it is on the agenda! I ordered at the outside window….and ate on some tables that were outside to the left of the building, just enjoying the day.

The post office in South PIttsburg is as cute as it can be:

From what the person behind the counter told me, it has been in business since 1933! And you can tell, just by how things are preserved inside ((Did I ever confess to loving old post offices too?!))

These post office boxes are SO COOL! And they are original. I’m told that it is harder and harder to keep them functional as the lock parts become impossible to replace….And can you see that table? It is original too, as is the tile floor!

How many people in the past 75+ years have stopped to address their mail here? I just thought this was super cool. Okay. That and the fact that it is the perfect height for a really neat cutting table ;c)

I just loved the doors, the original woodwork, and the smell of murphy’s oil soap in the lobby. SO…I’m easily entertained. Who else do you know who takes pictures of post offices on her journeys?! And I’m happy to say that the two packages are winging their way off to Utah and California respectively!

It’s just 8pm here…I’m back from dinner as of a bit ago, and I think I have enough energy to go outside for a bit of a stroll around the area of the hotel to stretch my legs a bit.

Have a great evening, everyone! There will be some more piecing going on in the hotel room tonight!

Hotel Quilting!

First off, I didn’t buy that red/cheddar quilt. It was $400, and I’d already spent my limit on the hand crank sewing machine! ((And I am over the moon for the hand crank, so I don’t feel like I missed out by NOT buying the quilt! See yesterday's post for pics of this new beauty in my collection! ))

I did plan ahead for this trip. I’ve got some deadlines and projects were packed up with me….the intent? To sew in between my meetings in the hotel room and make good use of the time in the evenings as well!

I made reservations for my room at a La Quinta in Chattanooga….but you know, it’s HARD to tell from online descriptions!

My Queen room was the tiniest thing I’d ever been in! Literally! You could walk around the bed…there was a small night stand on either side…but That was IT!

How am I going to set up for sewing in here? The desk is too tall with that chair that doesn’t raise…and I had my sew ezi table with me…..

I found that I could put the table along one side of the bed….but look at where the chair is? I am literally up against the window unit! Still..how much space does one girl need really? It’s just ONE NIGHT right?

So, I’m kind of wedged in, but I have a view of the TV….I have my hot water “in the cup” tea maker, so I enjoyed that, some snacks, some episodes of NCIS and I worked on the baby quilt!

The bed became my design surface as I finished all the blocks and laid them out!

I cut sashings from leftover strips and pieces, and cut cornerstones out of the black on white FQs that I had brought with me!

I got as far as the “webbing of the top” stage before it was time to hit the road! This way it was easy to pick up, pack up, and I’ll be able to sew it in my NEW hotel room this evening…..

I’m now in Huntsville AL! We had a great evening last night for the guild meeting, I never laughed so hard in my whole life DURING a lecture!

A great night’s sleep, and this evening I’m all set to sew in my NEW space!

It feels absolutely spacious compared to the night before! LOL! The top is right there, ready to sew the rows together…

I just wonder what the maids think when they come into a room that has quilt stuff spread all over!

I’m off to teach a Texas Braid workshop this morning…there is more to upload about yesterday’s time in Chattanooga and my drive on down to Huntsville…might be able to do an “evening edition” post tonight!

Until then..have a great Friday!

Chattanooga Bound!

Morning came WAY too early yesterday. I was up at 6am because some things STILL needed to be packed for this 10 day adventure. There were clothes in the dryer that weren’t quite dry when I went to bed, you know how that goes?

But I was on the road a little bit before 9am, praying the rain would mostly stay at bay – It’s just NOT as fun to take a road trip through the mountains in the hosing rain as it is to have it moderate. I really wanted some beautiful sunshine, but truth be told – a bit of cloud cover is easier on the eyes and keeps the glare down. At least I was consoling myself with that thought as I made my way down I-40 westward toward the Tennessee State line!

I get SO excited when I see the mountains appear in the distance! This is where I was, getting closer to Asheville NC…and I could see them…just peeking ahead of me toward the horizon:

See them there? Dang straight ahead….yep. Mostly covered in clouds, but they are there!

This route is greatly populated by trucks, but luckily they are not allowed in the left hand lane so you can pass them as it gets steeper and more windy:

Hello Tennessee! It’s great to see you again! The last time I was through this way was in March for Mountain Quilt Fest at Pigeon forge. Was that only MARCH? It seems farther away than that, so much has taken place since then!

Can you see the clouds just sitting on top of the mountain there? I guess they don’t call them the “Smokies” for nothing!

I drove and drove and drove and stopped for gas when the light came on telling me…stop now, or run out on the side of the road!

When I pulled off, there was a little sign that said “Visit Historic Sweetwater 2 miles”. Do you know what the word “HISTORIC” means to me?? ANTIQUE MALLS! So I pulled out my phone and googled Sweetwater TN Antiques and BINGO!!

Can you feel my excitement and anticipation building already?

How about the view up this quaint little street? Can you see the “MAIN STREET ANTIQUES” sign??

Or how about this one:

Doesn’t that quilt bock on the side of the building just stop you dead in your tracks?!? This shop was WONDERFUL..in fact, there was a whole collection of wooden quilt blocks that you could buy to hang on your barn, your garage, the side of your house….where there are not fabric quilts, there are painted wooden ones! LOOK!

Aren’t these great?! And there were more!

I loved all the old farm tools too. Something in this shop for everyone! I loved the wild goose chase block with the pink setting triangles! Definitely a bold color combo..LOVE it! ((Pink and red and yellow and black and blue? Oh YES!))

Here was a bear paw tucked up on top of the cabinets. Seeing it next to the chair there should give you an idea of the size of these quilt blocks.

This shop just had the coolest stuff. Look at this old nail/screw hardware bin just filled with OLD bottle caps! I’m not sure what I would do with them, but they were all colors and varieties and interesting to read the labels. Kind of like pawing through my baskets of scraps and crumbs! A lifetime collection of bottle caps.

I desperately wanted this spool cabinet. But honestly? Where would I put it? But I LOVED it! I didn’t love it over a $1,000 dollars worth though!

I was amazed at this 1920’s electric stove! Can you imagine trying to cook your Thanksgiving Dinner on this little thing?! Maybe it was apartment sized. And I’m sure it beat cooking on a wood stove…but boy, am I glad to be a MODERN girl!

Quilts were scattered everywhere, but not as many interesting ones as I’ve caught other places. Quilt-seeking is a treasure hunt, and sometimes you find cool ones, sometimes you don’t….

Antique Quilts, Sweetwater TN 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This is the last shop I visited:

And it was HERE that I met my downfall!

Solid red, solid cheddar!! With cutwork applique! My heart nearly stopped! You know, cheddar has ALWAYS been a solid for me. Not really ever a print. The prints are more butterscotch color in history….and when someone says “CHEDDAR” in my mind it is a solid. And here it is in all its splendor…..but do you see what is sitting on TOP of it?! DO you need a closer view?

I saw this case first – do you see the beautiful design on the side, and the inlaid wood detail on the top around the handle?

I spun around looking for the machine it went with…and there on the table behind me was this beauty:

Serata hand crank machine, circa 1910. Vibrating shuttle bobbin….gorgeous decal work, though worn from hard use. I was drawn to this machine like moth to flame…I love seeing machines that have had a HISTORY of constant use. A “pristine” like new machine doesn’t hold as much interest to me as one that was used by someone who loved to sew and sewed often.

Did I dare look at the price tag?! It was hanging by that string there, attached the screw at the top.

****GASP****

$165.00!!

Guess what is now riding shotgun on the floorboard of the passenger front side of my car?! Look at that detail where the handle is!! **SQUEAL!!!**

And of course, this is all justified by the fact that I sat in the car for what seemed like for hours on Mother’s Day while DH went in to the golf shop for “Just a minute” and came out wielding a new golf club that I KNOW cost more than this machine did….Equal opportunity purchasing, right?

Thank you Sweetwater, for your welcome beckoning! It was a great couple hours of browsing! I’ll definitely keep you on my map and perhaps hit you up again the next time I’m through this way!

AUUGHHH!! HACKED!!

Well, I have joined the ranks of those who have been officially and unceremoniously HACKED!

Sometime today around 12:03pm eastern, some hacker using some unknown program was able to access my gmail account. How do I know the time frame? By the time stamp on the mass emails that bounced back due to “permanent failure” when the message didn’t arrive at places due to that email address not being functional anymore. My whole email address book was used to forward SPAM to unsuspecting people. I’m sorry folks, if you received something from me --- just know it wasn’t REALLY from me!

When I tried to access my email to look up an address, around 3:30pm eastern—I got a message saying something like “login or password incorrect”. I thought that was funny, but retyping the info didn’t help matters, and I knew I was spelling things right…and I started to panic!

I was having to do all of this from my phone, because I didn’t have internet access in any other form while sitting on the side of I-40 somewhere outside of Chattanooga!

The process actually worked pretty well, gmail has my cell phone # on file, and I got a text message with a new authorization number to prove it was ME –and I reset the password.

At this time there were over 70 emails from people asking me if I knew that my blog had been REMOVED ((yes, the screen said REMOVED when people tried to access it)), and where did it go?!! You see, all I was worried about was my mail, not knowing that google had shut down BOTH my blog AND my email for “security purposes”.

What would I do if the whole blog was just GONE? Poof? Just like that?! Or my email for that matter?

I’m now in the process of re-passwording everything. Tell me this. How are we supposed to come up with secure passwords that are long enough, include numbers and be case sensitive, and have it be something WE OURSELVES can remember?! LOL!! Everything needs a DIFFERENT password. No two passwords for any sites I visit should be the same as each other. How can we keep this straight?! How do you keep track of 14 different passwords? And they should change every 90 days or so. ((At least according to DH who has to change all his passwords on his work computer etc that often))

SO that’s my night daymare of a day. I’m glad all is back to functional. This is more excitement than I want to deal with!

The Two that Won The War ((Generals!))

I’ve got two envelopes ready for addresses! WOW! I was really amazed at the response for the Civil War General panels! This was really fun!

And funny too, since Bingo-Bonnie left the following comment on my facebook:

“Just read your last post and thought at the end you said to be sure and enter a chance to win some C.W. "Pantie"s hahaha”

Remind me next time to NOT be sipping tea when I read things you say!! The word is PANELS! CIVIL WAR PANELS! LOL!

So here we go with our winners!

Winner #1 is TRESSA!

She writes:

“I'm usually not a Civil War reproduction girl but my two oldest girls (ages 10 and 8) have fallen in love with a Union spy named Elizabeth Van Lew who lived in Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War. As we've read about her life and contributions I have learned to admire her selfless acts of service and I love what her headstone reads, "She risked everything that was dear to her - friends, fortune, comfort, health, even life itself - all for one absorbing desire of her heart - that slavery might be abolished and the Union preserved." She made her own cypher and General Grant was ever appreciative of the information she smuggled to him. To remember Miss Van Lew I'm making my girls a Civil War quilt and calling it, "Elizabeth". I would love a panel of the Generals that Miss Van Lew hoped would win the cause she gave everything for. Thanks for chance to win.”

I’ve emailed Tressa to let her know – her email is visible in her settings so I was able to contact her! Tressa, just need your snail mail address and the panel will be on its way to you!

Winner #2 is BrendaLou!

She writes:

“My children are direct descendants (on Father's side) of Robert E. Lee and (on my side) of Gen. US Grant. I've been making the blocks from the Civil War Diary Quilt (both books) on a weekly basis for a long time now. I made a Dear Jane in 2001 and one daughter has claimed that for herself. The other daughter asked for a Grant/Lee quilt so that's why I've been doing the CWDQ blocks. I'd so love the panels to complete this quilt!!!!”

I’ve contacted Brenda as well…..wasn’t this FUN!? Like I said, I’ll have to see what ELSE I can dig up and get rid of bless someone else with!

The car is packed…I’m on my way! I’ve packed

• Trunkshow quilts
• 7 cases of books
• bernina machine
• sew ezi table
• clear acrylic table top table ((just in case))
• African quilt parts for Baby Michelle
• insane piecing project for next book in the pipeline
• 2 quilts that need the binding stitched down
• hexagon quilt in progress
• laptop bag
• suitcase

Did I forget anything?! I’ve got plenty of books to listen to while on the road. LOVE that. I’m printing out things to see/do in Chatanooga for late this afternoon/evening and tomorrow morning…..it’s 6 hours drive from here, but who knows what antique malls will slow me down on my way!

OH!! And I have to send a special Thank You out to Penny Landrum who sent me these two fabulous piece of African fabric! They arrived just when I got home from Texas!

The colors aren’t true….they are NOT this bright yellow..that’s my KITCHEN FLOOR! LOL I was using the phone, taking pictures in the evening with overhead light. But can you see the families holding hands?! AWESOME! I’m going to use parts of this in the border. Not sure what I’ll do yet…but I packed MORE than I need to get the blocks done, and then I’ll start playing!

And I know I’m behind….these are the class photos from Friday’s workshop in Tyler!

		Cathedral Stars, Tyler TX 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

And off I go!