Oh, Canada!

I had such a wonderful time in Ontario!  Our host, Denise Corneil, had done such an incredible job of putting together an itinerary that really gave a great sampling of what they have accomplished.  Her partner int he project, Mary Simpson, joined us for the second day and helped facilitate.

Love this--there is a barn quilt on the other end of the barn, of course. The owner is fairly recent; he had thought about getting rid of the smiley but was told that it was a local landmark!


Church window--what a beauty!  On "stilts" as they call it here!

Christina and her dog, Charlie, traveled every quilt trail in the area by scooter, and she has photographs of every barn quilt--in order!  What in incredible journey.

One of the trails is dedicated to the First Nations--what we might call Native Americans. Here, Bow and Arrow represents an important tool used for many generations.

Finally, a favorite of mine--Centennial Maple Leaf.  Just a beautiful block!

We are in new York and headed to Le Roy to see their trail.  Can't wait!

Change of Plans!

It had to happen eventually, so I went for sooner rather than later.  Yep--that's me driving Ruby!!  It actually was not as bad as I expected.  Three hours total, including the drive through Indianapolis.

We had a grand time in West Lafayette and the next night at the state fair.

Moving day--I headed up to Chicago to pick up some books, and then we hit the road for Michigan.  Not a few minutes later, Glen reported that the coach was losing power, and we smelled something burning. This was the scene on the side of the highway a while later--electrical fire! 

The damage was minor, but it did involve having Ruby towed 100 miles away and our sleeping in a rather iffy motel--the only one I could find at midnight that allowed dogs.

We had to spend another night in Indiana. and the next day, PLAN B commenced.  Everything is now packed into the car--and I mean PACKED.  

Off to Vicksburg, MI, where Kitch and Hugh Rinehart greeted us warmly and our troubles were soon forgotten. Here is God's Eye--one of those quilt blocks that I was not aware of at all until I began following the quilt trail.

In Vicksburg, our 78-pound pup, Gracie, met her nemesis.  Yes, she who will stare down a pit bull without hesitation was petrified of Murphy the cat!

We hated to leave Vicksburg and our new friends behind, but I was due in Manchester, MI the next day.  This is an interesting take on the barn quilt--the first time I have seen a quilt created of shingles.

Here we are in Canada, ready to see the wonderful trails in Southwest Ontario. We visited Erieau Beach yesterday and enjoyed fresh fish in a local spot. Glad we did, as today has been nothing but gloomy.  Hoping for good weather tomorrow--nothing worse than barn quilting in the rain!

The Adventure Begins!

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while may know that I was a high school teacher. Well--no more!  I began to get a lot of requests to speak to quilters and other groups, so we decided to take my show on the road!  Here is our new home--we named her Ruby.

At the same time, I have been asked to write another book, tentatively titled "Farther Along the Quilt Trail."  So I am embarking on an incredible journey--both to speak about barn quilts and Donna Sue Groves' legacy and to document a bunch of new trails.

We spent the last couple of days in Kentucky, where I toured the Estill County trail.  A couple of highlights--isn't this beautiful countryside?

 Loads of wildflowers, butterflies, and hummingbirds!

 The view from our friend Sherba's back porch, where we are breakfast Saturday morning--we love it here!

We are off to Indiana, where I will give a talk this evening.  Hope to go to the state fair tomorrow--then off to Michigan and more barn quilts!