The past Tuesday, DH and I had the pleasure of driving down to Georgia for a speaking engagement for the Misty Mountain Quilter’s Guild in Blairsville. We left fairly early, amazingly missing most of rush hour traffic. As the drive went through the western mountains of NC and through the Nantahala Forest, we enjoyed the many colors of spring along the way.
All along the road, the dogwoods were blooming in white or pink. They were frothy confections of blooms against the greens of new leafing trees.
The northern Georgia mountains were farther along in leafing out as this is a warmer area than our part of the world. Coming into Blairsville, we were early enough to look around a bit and have some lunch.
The town square has a historic courthouse built in 1899 in the center with a bell tower, surrounded by small shops and places to eat. It is home to the Union County Historical Society, and is on the National Register of historic places.
We stopped for a sandwich, then went on to the meeting at a local church. All around the parking lot were beds of irises in full bloom.
We set up the trunk show at the front of the room. My fabulous husband worked hard to carry things from the car, set up tables, hand out the program materials, and run door prizes out to the winners. DH is a keeper.
This time I brought 16 quilts to show as part of the program to help illustrate the points in the talk.
The room was quite large, and there were more than 80 people there. I know because I ran out of handouts! This warm and welcoming group of quilters made me feel right at home, chatting with me before the program and after.
The president, Tim, was one of the volunteers to hold up quilts for me. This one is Sakura Tsuki from the Japanese Inspired February event last year. Thank you, Tim!! DH was happy to see a couple of guys in this group.
More helpers volunteered to hold up quilts as we talked about threads and battings. Forgive the dumb expression on my face in these shots, I was busy talking and forgot to give DH a nice photo op. This is Chocolate Covered Cherries, pattern available on My Patterns page.
I go through ideas for custom quilting, and design choices, too, again using my own designs and quilts to illustrate the points. This is Scrap Dance Tango, also available on My Patterns page. Forgive the bit of blurriness, it is hard to get a clear shot of a constantly moving target, LOL!, but DH did try.
Coming back home in the late afternoon, the sunlight lit up the trees with vibrant green.
Thank you to everyone that came up after the program to get a batting sample, ask questions, and to tell me that they enjoyed the program. I really appreciated that!! It was a wonderful day for me, and I loved meeting everyone. I even got a chance to meet a couple of people that have read my blog for years, what fun! Two generous members gave me quilts for the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project as well, but didn’t put their names on the donations. Thank you ladies!
My next speaking event will be on June 10th at the Piecemakers Quilt Guild in Sevier County, Tennessee. If your guild is within a day’s drive of Western NC, I love to meet new quilters and present my program. Details are on my Speaker page. Just send me an email and we can chat!
What are you working on now?
From My Carolina Home 
How wonderful for area quilters to be able to gleen such helpful tips and inspirations from you in person!! Really terrific your husband is such a willing helper.
Love the pictures. Some beautiful quilts. How neat to meet two of your blog followers!
Nice time of year for a little drive. That was a big crowd. I would’ve loved to have been there. Fun!
Fun to see the drive, the gathering at the meeting, and all of your lovely quilts together with you in the pic! DH is definitely a keeper! Our daughter is going to be driving to Charlotte in a few days, so it’s fun to see your photos of the Carolinas in springtime.
That looks like a beautiful drive! How fun for that quilt guild to see your quilts and hear you talk about them in person! Your husband sounds like a gem, too. I think most men wouldn’ want to go anywhere near a gathering like that!
Thank you for sharing this delightful trip. I am sure that the Blairsville folks are still
talking about it. 80 attendees?!!!! WOW…..Good job! DH is truly a treasure.
Lovely share Carole! Wonderful to see your beautiful quilts all together. Loved the spring pictures. My favorite time of year. Grass is beginning to come back to life and trees are just beginning to leaf-out here in central New York.
Enjoyed seeing some more countryside with you! Today I have been trying to catch up on Lori Holt’s vintage QAL, but I can’t seem to sew straight today! I may just give up on this and start designing the carriers for our cast iron Dutch ovens. I was gifted some canvas 3 years ago, and it took me until last summer to realize it was perfect for our cast iron camping gear.
Hello Carole, Congratulations for such a successful Presentation and for having a fabulous husband that helps in every way he can! I loved seeing all of the pictures of the country side on your drive to and from. Driving in the mountains is always such a pleasurable experience and you never know what you will see, which makes each trip a delight to look forward to. I know that I also enjoyed seeing all of your beautiful quilts being displayed a fabulous memory. I was especially thrilled that the Chocolate Covered Cherries Quilt was shown, I somehow keep forgetting I have this lovely pattern and that I still need to get it made! I do hope that you continue to receive invitations to speak and teach at Quilt Guilds, I would sign up each and every time! Such a fun joy to have met quilters who follow you and also to receive more quilts for the Hurricane Project! Such a successful all around Presentation indeed! Be very proud of yourself, Carole! You are achieving wonderful accomplishments in life! Have a marvelous day!
A beautiful drive both directions, topped off by meeting lovely Georgia quilters and fans. =)
Looks like a great day out, so good you can share your knowledge with other quilters. The scenery you drove through is beautiful.
Beautiful scenery and quilts!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Debbie
A long day but a very successful one. Well worth it.