Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Hankerin' for the Hills


I was a bit nostalgic today, as
I spent some time talking to my students about my
journey over the past couple of years.

I also gave them a page of my writing to edit, which was very nerve-wracking. Something I have never done before, but I wanted to be "out there" in the same way that they are. And no, not all of them liked it.

So--why this particular block today? I recall the first time I was alone in a car with a quilt trail map in hand, ready to head out for discovery.

It was fall of 2008, Burnsville, NC. Turkey Tracks was near the western edge of the map, so I began there, thinking I would work my way east. What a moment--when I pulled off to the roadside to photograph a barn quilt for the first time.

About a thousand barns later, I still get that little twinge of excitement when I see a bit of color appearing on the horizon or around a curve. And I still haven't worked my way across that North Carolina map!.Barn quilt calendar 2011barn quilts quilt trail

3 comments:

  1. Two summers ago my son had an internship in Ashe county NC. He sent me a link showing the many barn quilts in the area. Since he had come to know the painters of several of them, he asked me to make a quilt (fabric) featuring some of these as a rememberance of his time there. I took on the challenge of drafting patterns which ranged from relatively simple maple leaf to more complicated carpenter's wheel all into 12 inch blocks and have most of them made. I guess I better get back to work on that project again before he moves home to Illinois from North Carolina!

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  2. I love your blog and calendar--can't wait to hang it up Jan 1st!

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  3. Thanks, Sue. I wish I could make this my job! I teach high school--it took two years of traveling every other weekend, and one summer to get this project done! And now I am selling calendars to try to pay off my travel expenses--yikes! But I wouldn't change a thing. When I have that book in hand, it will be so amazing!

    Glad you like this one. It's a humble barn but I do think it looks great with this quilt.

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