Better Late Than Never

I finally got this baby quilt finished for one of the guys at work. He is a volunteer fireman and they decorated their baby boy's room with a transportation theme. I had this fabric from a trip to Mid-Atlantic a year ago and thought it was perfect.

Aren't they cute?

(the boys, that is)

Look a Chicken!

My best friend, LauraQuilts, decided in April to get a bunch of chicks. It's been fun to watch them grow from little fluff balls to gorgeous hens.

(photos courtesy of LauraQuilts)

So, I'm fascinated with Laura's chickens. When she steps out the back door, they come running out of the coop to greet her. They make wonderful clucky, cooey sounds and are extremely curious especially if you have greenery to feed them.



Though I come from farm folk, I'm pretty city-fied.



I mean, I've seen chickens before.




...in other people's yards




and at the State Fair.



But I've never actually touched one.




Here's Liz (after Liz Taylor because of her black plumage).





I got to pet her Monday evening.



Chickens are big and soft and fluffy.



More so than they appear.



I wonder if these chickens know how lucky they are to be in Laura's care. They have a wonderful coop (the Coop De Ville), all the chicken candy they can eat, a fan blowing from the shop next to them keeping them cool and Laura to sing to them every day.



But if they don't start laying eggs soon...

Does she look worried to you?

Looking Up

That's what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks...

...at water tanks...

Ever really looked at one?

They're kind of cool.

It's part of my glamorous job.

But they'd have to pay me a whole lot more to actually get on a water tank...

a gazillion dollars might convince me.

The View from the Asheville Conference Room

I think I've posted about our feathery morning visitors before but I have to share these photos from our Asheville office. There is a flock of turkeys that hang around the office complex and like to look at themselves in the glass window of the conference room. One day recently, one of the guys came outside to find a bunch of them roosting on his truck.

The best, though, is the big tom fussing at his reflection.

They pretty much ignore us.

Asheville Quilt Show

On Saturday, a carload of us took off to Asheville for the annual quilt show. It is always worth the trip but this year, even more so. One of my bee members won 2nd for her quilt (a really huge deal since there were 38 quilts in the category) and our raffle quilt from last year's show won 2nd place in group. Here are some highlights from the show.

Here are my lovely traveling companions, Mrs. S., KB and KB's Mom standing outside before we entered the show. The venue for the Asheville Quilt Show is the North Carolina Arboretum, which is worth the trip even if there's no quilt show. It is beautiful BUT in August, it is HOT.


Of course, this was one of my favorites. You know how I am about bears.


It is true that once you begin to go through the NQA Judging Candidacy process that quilt shows never quite look the same. They are even better than before because I take notice of things I would have just glanced over before. Not being a garment maker, I don't (or didn't pay much attention to them before) but now... and this jacket was gorgeous.


I just loved this one.


Here's KB's Mom checking out our bee member's prize-winning quilt. It is stunning, isn't ?


This morning glory quilt was lovely.


Check out the sweet birds in the border.



This miniature was insane. I love it.



I just kept coming back to this art quilt and studying it.



Those little pieces inside the rectangles are rolled pieced of fabric. Cool.



And, finally, here's KB with the prize-winning raffle quilt. She designed all that applique and got all of us to do a little bit. She should look like a proud mama.

Also, on this trip, we took in the auxiliary show and vendors sponsored by the Asheville Rotary Club. The show was held in an empty storefront in the mall and was quilt nice. And, there is a great discount shoe warehouse nearby with great buys on Merrills, Birks, and other great brands. The deciding factor on stopping at the show store was whether we got a good parking spot. Saturday I had very good parking spot karma. Everywhere we went, I got a front row parking spot....everywhere. Plus, when we got out of the car at the quilt show, the shuttle van was sitting there right behind the car, waiting to take us to the door. My passengers were amazed at my parking karma.

Sometimes you're just living right.

Funny Things I Find While Cleaning

About 10 years or so ago, I was invited to a Halloween party and we had a choice: either wear a costume or write our own obituary and present it to everyone.

Well, I don't do costumes.

I do, however, like to to present things I write.

So, tonight, I was cleaning out a box and found a copy of my obit. Though it's a little out of date (as in I have another nephew, there's no mention of Shelby, I got married and I don't feel quite as strongly about Kevin Costner I use did then), it is still kinda funny. So, I thought I share it. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.) Other things to remember:

1. I was a state employee; therefore, I can poke fun at them.
2. I've been to the Baltics.
3. I've never been to Iowa (but it's on my list of places to see).
4. Bat Cave, NC exists and yes, I want to live in that vicinity one day.
5. To my knowledge (which isn't saying much), I am not Scottish.

Salem Stitcher, Dead at 104

Today, the governor of North Carolina has requested that flags around the state be flown at half-mast. With great sorrow, we announce that a national treasure has been lost. Salem Stitcher has died at the age of 104. Ms. Stitcher was born in an undisclosed metropolis of North Carolina on New Year's Day...well, 104 years ago. Though she called North Carolina home all her life, she was a world traveler spending much of her travels exploring with wilds of Africa, Microindonesia, the Baltics and Iowa.

Ms. Stitcher was an alumnus of North Carolina State University where she studied civil engineering for eight years. The university was so in her debt for the privilege of educating her that they wanted to name a building after her but in her humility, she declined. She opted for a fountain statue of her to be placed on the Brickyard where all students will be inspired by her example.

The trials and tribulations of engineering bureaucracy frustrated Salem to such a point that she created a computer virus that instead of incapacitating state government, streamlined it so that 90% of the state employee positions were deemed unnecessary. These employees were reassigned to ceremonial posts throughout the world. This saved the State of North Carolina a total of $5.2 million per year and provided an opportunity for thousands of state employees to live productive lives. A fountain statue of her was placed on the grounds of the State Capitol. However, because she unleashed thousands of state bureaucrats on the world, she was banned from many countries and had to stop her world travels.

At this point, Ms. Stitcher became a recluse and retired to the mountains of North Carolina to concentrate on her quilting and story telling. However, she could not hide out for long. She soon became a folk icon. People traveled to Bat Cave, North Carolina from all over the world to hear Ms. Stitcher tell stories of North Carolina and Scottish folklore and to have a chance to see a Salem Quilt in person. Since her retirement, Salem Quilts have become the standard for which quilt artists around the world strive. Salem Quilts can be viewed publicly in the National Art Museum, the Smithsonian, the Louvre and the Bat Cave General Store. The last Salem Quilt to be auctioned at Sotheby's was the famous "Chains of Love", which brought a price of $1,400,000 two years ago. It was purchased by Mr. Kevin Costner who said he wanted something she touched to keep him warm at night.

Rumors of Ms. Stitcher's whereabouts reached Hollywood where Steven Spielberg purchased the rights to the story of her life. The movie was released four years ago and was the top grossing movie of all time and winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Screen Play and Best Actress, which went to Judy Norton who portrayed Ms. Stitcher. Ms. Norton is best known for her role as Mary Ellen Walton.

Though 104 years old, Ms. Stitcher was a vital, robust woman who still lived her life to the fullest and did what she wanted right to the last minute. Her untimely death was the result of a freak accident...an avalanche of fabric in her own home. Ms. Stitcher was found dead under pounds of fabric in her quilt studio. Her sole heir, a nephew, has released plans to build the Salem Stitcher Folklore and Quilt Museum on the Salem Compound property near Bat Cave. It will have a fountain statue of his aunt in the front courtyard.