Spring Break in Asheville, North Carolina

Wow! You guys are good! 

Several of you guessed the area that I was visiting!

Our first stop was some hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway 

and then a stop at the Folk Art Center and the Southern Highland Craft Guild Store ~

 you know that I had some fun shopping there!

Pictures aren't allowed in the store, but I have to share some of the center

I loved the antiques features as well.

Asheville has so many wonderful art galleries that we enjoyed.

And art in public places and

everywhere you looked.

some art in alleys 

And some that you might miss if you blinked

or walked too quickly

Like the little gnome village that entranced us.

Asheville has a wonderful history as well.

The artwork on this building really intrigued us.

The story is that many of the local residents found themselves as models for these faces.

I'm so glad that it is still standing to enjoy.

The Grove Arcade was a wonderful building.

That is still put to wonderful use.

We toured the Basilica of St. Lawrence

And enjoyed the lovely artwork.

The dome of the Basilica was absolutely amazing!

I was so glad that we didn't just walk by...

The city is very hilly for us flatlanders. 

You were either walking uphill or downhill, never flat.

My Fitbit said that we walked 20,000+ steps every day and 40+ flights of stairs 

even though no stairs were actually involved ;) 

 

But don't worry, the restaurants in Asheville were wonderful and we ate well

(Too keep up our strength of course!)

This was my meal at Chestnut - a wonderful local trout.

Thank goodness my friend, Linda alerted me to Hole Doughnuts!

They were named dessert of the year by Bon Appetit in 2016!

Each doughnut is made to order and totally worth the wait.

Lucky I took a quick picture as they didn't last but a few minutes :)

 Asheville also has some great shopping.

I found this lovely store that I hadn't heard of before ~ they have 5 U.S. locations 

and a website and I am totally enamored!

A Facebook friend suggested this antique mall and 

Wow! I have never seen anything like it.

Antiques as far as the eye could see!

Our sons said that they could have spent have spent hours there

(I guess we taught them well lol!)

I was trying to figure out how I could carry one of these baskets on the plane,

but didn't come up with a solution.

Loved the old Pepsi bottle cap sign.

 

We all also loved the Asheville Pinball Museum

We had so much fun playing pinball on old machines from when we were growing up and new machines as well as fun arcade games like PacMan, Frogger and Asteroids.

We stayed until they closed and were disappointed when they announced last call...

I think that one of our favorite parts of the trip was the Haunted Asheville walking tour. Even if you don't care for "ghosts", the tour is well worth the price and the time! Our tour guide, Brian Bloxsom was amazing. We did it the night we arrived and learned so much about the history of the city and really knew our way around it by the time that it was over. Each and every one of us enjoyed it and he kept the entire tour group fascinated the entire night.

Asheville is a lovely city and I was so excited to see blooming trees, 

knowing that we were soon to return to freezing weather.

I'll have one more quick post about our trip and the main draw of Asheville.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,"

~Hebrews 12:1

Blessings, Patti

A Joyous Easter

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen Indeed!

It doesn't feel much like Spring here in Chicago.

When I left for church this morning, it was 28 degrees! Brrr!

So I must create a little springtime indoors.

And here is a bit of the springtime that has been under my needle lately:

Pineberry Lane's

"Wool & Flax"

for Dyeing to Stitch's "Quaint Country Ladies" Club

along with a sweet sheep threadkeep by Lori Brechlin for Notforgotten Farm

The stitching is done. Wendy created a wonderful finish for this,

but I have a few possible ideas to make it unique.

"Rabbit Warren" by Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm 

along with another of her wonderful thread keeps.

I started this in 2016 and decided that this is the year to finish it!

And I am working on a bit of wool, too...

"Rabbit & Hen Wall Quilt"

by Carried Away Designs

I have almost all the pieces stitched down 

thanks to the 17 inning Cubs game on Friday night!

Then it will be on to all the embroidery that goes into this wonderful wall quilt.

The baking is done.

We are home from church

And soon it will be time to celebrate Easter with family.

I wish each of you a very Joyous Easter filled with Blessings!

but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! "

~Luke 24:3-6

Blessings, Patti

Where do the days go...

Gosh! Where do the days go?

Could I really be back an entire week already?

We were able to enjoy some time outdoors hiking on our trip

Spring hadn't quite sprung yet, but you could tell that it is definitely coming.

It was definitely warmer than in Chicago

So we were quite happy.

And I did see a few glimpses of spring

It is fun to see how different the plants and trees are in different locales

This reminded me of Bleeding Hearts, but I don't think that it is

Seeing blooming trees made me happy

And this bush was so pretty.

Any guesses where I might have been?

It was a quick trip, but thoroughly enjoyed!

I'll share where I was in my next post.

Any guesses?

 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

~Ephesians 6:10-11

Blessings, Patti

Our "new" old treasures

You know that Mom and I couldn't go to those wonderful primitive antique shows and not come home with some treasures! :)

Mom bought this darling strawberry emery atop an antique spool from our friend,

folk artist Ginny Henson.

Mom also found a gorgeous braid / spool cabinet in wonderful condition.

The gold stenciling on the back is in great condition and she found the perfect place for it to live! 

I found this sweet little berry basket with a lining of wonderful antique berry print fabric stitched inside. I'm thinking it might be sweet filled with antique strawberry emeries... 

This sweet little leather shoe pincushion in fabulous condition - I love how the velvet has worn away. The beadwork is stunning. And the leather sole and wood heel - oh my!

This folk art frame and old marbled paper will be a great background for some cross stitch or wee wool applique. I have ideas on how I might finish this single quilt top star...

I've had this wall of calligraphy birds for some time, but had a bird water color in the upper right corner that was bothering me. Now it has been replaced by my latest calligraphy bird.

Love the old frame and old glass to set off the artwork.

I also couldn't pass up these two works of art from the same dealer.

A beautifully done Amish stumpwork (plushwork) embroidery on a velvet pincushion.

It is so well done - I really appreciate the hours of work and artistry that went into its creation.

And this caught my eye immediately.

I love it on so many levels ~

The tiny perforated paper cross stitch - they don't make paper in this small of a count any more 

The declaration of "Sweet Home" stitched under the house

The white washed folk art frame with so many details 

It all makes my heart sing!

And finally:

My "new" old sewing box that opens on both sides with a wire hinge.

I can't wait to set it up for my stitching and put it to continued good use...

Before dawn breaks in the morning, I'll be heading on a long weekend trip.

I'm going to a city and state that I haven't visited for about 30 years.

I am anxious to return and visit again...

Any ideas where I am headed? I hope to let you know when I return early next week. :)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ^[a] has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

~1 John 5:1-2

Blessings, Patti