Get Out-a The House -- Ring Them Bells

A California friend and her D.H. are newly retired.  They'd like to move out of CA (for many reasons, not the least of which are the high taxes.)  She asked me if it was "hard" to pull up stakes and move to a new state / city.  

Yes, yes it IS hard.  We humans need "community".  That is the way we're made.  I have my sister here...my "you-have-to-be-my-friend-because-you're-my-sister" friend.  (And, until recently, I had my
dad...who never laughed at my ukulele playing.)  It would be harder still if I did not have/had her/them.

As time marches on, and I get out-a the house, I'm making even more friends and establishing my "community."  The key phrase here is ...
you must get out and about!  Don't just stay home and quilt, or play your ukulele, or garden or cook....Get out there.

Liza Minnnelli sings a song about a women who met her "Mr. Wonderful" when she was traveling around the world and it turned out he was actually her neighbor!  Liza sings "Open up the door and hurry out in the hall!"   HERE

So, on this Quilter's Day Out I went to Backyard Fabrics with my new friend, Betty.  (The introduction came through my B-I-L.  Alas, she won't be in Paducah long, her company is transferring her to the Pacific Northwest.  But, we're friends now.)

 

The place was bursting with shoppers and as promised, there were demonstrations and refreshments and good deals on fabric.  And, I gleaned additional quilting resources I cannot wait to check out! *

Our demonstrator was Cheryl Slaughter.

She demonstrated some very cool products as well as a paper piecing method where you don't actually sew the paper to the fabric...thus not having to rip it out later.  I like this method and made a little video to remind myself how to do it later.

 

And, LOOK at the quilt behind her!  I LOVE IT!

The Garden Party Down Under.  click HERE

This was a BOM for *TheQuiltShow.com
Check it out!! HERE
You could spend a fair amount of time browsing this site.

 

*Picked up a brochure for Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society.  Lots of programs and retreats!!
(Programs where Cheryl is a presenter.)

 

 

And one final thing:  there is a shop in Louisville that has full-day quilt till you wilt sessions once a month.  Cotton To Quilts HERE  Louisville is 3 hours from me, but for a whole day of sewing?  Could be worth it.  Maybe I'll check that out.

It was such a fun day. I came away with a lot of inspiration and some new friends.

Of course no day out is complete without lunch at the local BBQ restaurant.

 A&B BBQ in Mayfield

It Will Be a Day of Celebration!

 Worldwide Quilting Day.

I'm remembering another Worldwide Quilting Day....March, 2020  HERE... right, smack in the middle of the "shelter-at-home" pandemic.  I won't display my quilts this year as it is also....

National Quilting Day and Quilter's Day Out.  I've decided to have a quilter's day out at Backyard Fabrics in Mayfield.  My favorite shop.

I have not been there in a long time and I'm ready for a bit-o-fun.  I'll spend some time this week looking at my UFO pile and decide what I need to finish a few things...but I won't promise I won't come home with some other goodies.

Beyond OUR Control--But NOT Beyond God's Control

 

As you all know from previous posts, I’m preparing to move to Kentucky early in the new year.

Yes, this tornado landed very close to my new home in Paducah… it landed about 25 miles south.

 

The cute quilt shop, Backyard Fabrics, in Mayfield is fine.  They posted on Facebook. 
After all the devastating pictures of the destruction, it was nice to read a good report.

My Kentucky family are all OK.  Joy (my sister) went by my new house and aside from tree limbs in the yard, it is also OK.

As you may have seen from news reports, Mayfield itself is pretty much leveled.  For those of you who pray, please pray for Mayfield.   For those of you who want to give, here is a link to local shelters, etc.  HERE.

The pictures look so  terrible.  I don’t know how a community recovers after such an event, but by God's Grace.
And the working through His people.

 Backyard Fabrics is hosting a quilt gathering:

 

Hancocks of Paducah is also accepting quilts:

 

For those of you who make charity quilts, please consider these.  

Sometimes it is hard to comprehend why a loving God would allow such tragedy...and this is by no means the only terrible human event that has happened in our life times.  Our small minds simply cannot comprehend the Sovereignty of God.  It is so vast.  

I came across this post on the internet written by Melanie Campbell.  It is worth reading.  It did bring me comfort knowing that while the world may seem out of control, there is One who does control all things.  HERE.
Melanie Campbell's web site: https://melaniecampbellauthor.org/

Girls Day Out

Still visiting family in Kentucky...I DO like it here.  (Of course, it isn't summer so there is no humidity. Under those circumstances, what's not to like, right?  It's A Southern Thing - Humidity.)

Sissy returned from her travels and we decided on a Girls Day out taking a trip out to Mayfield to Backyard Fabric.  It truly is in someone's backyard.  Very beautiful countryside and grounds with a duck pond and everything! 

 

Much bigger and much nicer than one would have expected out in the middle of nowhere. They have a good selection of fabrics, kits and pre-cuts.  The prices were very good!  The most expensive yardage was $7.00 per yard.  If this were my home, this would be my go-to shop, even though it's not in MY backyard.  Trip Advisor had a lot of compliments and as far as I could tell, all true.

They even have a barn quilt!

 I want a barn quilt!

The lady tending the shop was very nice and helpful during the audition process. Especially appreciated was the fact that, although the sign said "Half Yard Cuts Minimum" she cut most of mine 1/4 yards. She explained when they first re-opened and they were very busy it saved time. (I still don't understand that logic.... but, oh well....)

I came away with an impressive array of Grunge fabrics for The Horse.  The pattern calls for "3 to 5 for each color hue"  that would be about 18 different fabrics.  But with the variation in Grunge fabric I believe this will be sufficient.

I did purchase a few other fun things I absolutely could not live without.

Not the sewing machine.  It does look like one of mine.  One named MaMoo after my Great Grandmother.

No Girls Day Out would be complete without lunch!  We stopped for Southern Bar-B-Q. 

A & B BBQ in Mayfield was quite impressive and delicious.  Even my sister, who is a card-carrying Southerner, commented on how delicious it was and how nice the people serving were.  On that note, can I just say one more time how friendly and polite people in the South are?!  I haven't met a rude person yet.

 

 

 

Some Cities are Wakingn Up - - - Slowly

Arriving....while I've been to Paducah many times over the years, I've always flown into Nashville and driven the two-plus hours to Paducah.  This time I decided to pay the extra $$ and fly direct.  This airport is even smaller than Walla Walla, Washington! (Which has two flights a day back-and-forth to Seattle.)  Paducah has only one flight a day--to/from Chicago.

 

 

 

You know you are in a small-ish town when you can call the taxi driver at home...
Population and information about Paducah HERE

The Family...After hugs all around and my nephew, Wilbur, leaves for home in Nashville, Daddy and I settle in.

Sunday we went to one of his favorite places for lunch,  Waffle Hut, where everyone is polite and calls you "ma-am."  Honestly, I miss that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Plan...Then came Monday...Yeah!  I made my plan ... walk the dog,  hop over to Hancock's and pick my fabrics for The Horse, maybe stop for a yummy coffee....

 

Woah....Not so fast there, Bucky.....

While normally I would never actually buy quilt fabric at JoAnn Fabric, the thought did cross my mind...except the closest JoAnns is 173 miles away!!

Ok, well, let's see what they have at Hobby Lobby.

Of course, Hobby Lobby has A LOT of stuff (including all decked out for Christmas) but not much fabric.  Certainly not what I'm looking for.  Strike Two!

The Hobby Lobby lady suggested: "try Calico Country, ma'am. They're just down the road a-piece." Taking her advice, I drove on over since it was close by.  NOPE! Closed. Strike Three--You're Out!

 

 

 

Quite disappointed I had about decided to give up on The Horse altogether until I return home (and Charlotte-the-Tall could help me pick fabrics) but decided to check out the National Quilt Museum and buy some post cards for my besties.  Chatting with the gift shop volunteer she suggested Backyard Fabric in Mayfield (an hour away.) 

A Google search took me to their Facebook page.  I sent them a message asking if they had Grunge fabric and they answered YES!  And they are OPEN!  We're back up to bat!  I can hardly contain myself! I'd go today except daddy wants to go to his second favorite place to eat, Hutchins, and he is not interested in a road trip.

When sissy returns from her respite on Thursday we'll have a sisters afternoon out. Auditions, here we come!   I'll treat Joy to lunch.

TO BE CONTINUED.....