I'm Home Again

Hi Everyone,

I was gone for a few days!  A few posts ago, I had mentioned how a friend was considering moving to Tennessee.  She wanted to go back to look over the property a second, and more in-depth time, and asked if I would go along.  We left at 5 AM last Sunday and came home Tuesday night.  It was a beautiful drive down through the mountains to the area.

 It is in the small town of Tellico Plains, near Maryville.  We arrived there around 2 and we drove around figuring out how far it would be to a grocery store, Walmart, movie theater, etc.  We also researched quilt guilds/groups and think we found a bee in the area--my friend has emailed a potential contact.

Monday morning we met with the Realtor and went to the property.  It is a gorgeous log home located on several acres in a wooded, mountainous area.  We had just enough time to walk the property line, taking photos, and once we made it onto the deep, wonderful porches that surround the cabin, it began to pour down rain!  We went through the house taking photos and measurements and discussing possibilities.  I know I fell in love with it!  It is really a charming property.  We'll have to see what their final decision is.

After we finished with the real estate portion, we headed out to find the nearest quilt shops in Sevierville, TN.  (We asked, and if you don't know, it is pronounced "Severe-ville."  Also, Loudon is pronounced "Loud un" and Blount is pronounced "Blunt."  So the area sounds a little grouchy:  severe, loud, and blunt.  However, everyone we encountered was really friendly!)  The first quilt shop we found was the Cherry Pit.  This shop was featured in Quilt Sampler!

 They carry some Moda and other great fabric.  What I loved is that they are a bit "old-fashioned" in that ALL fabrics are arranged by color, with the only exception being the batiks.  I've been on such a huge spending-spree lately that I was trying to keep in in check, but I did find a few things.  It was the kind of shop that I would love in any town where I lived--a nice variety.

The next shop wasn't too far away and we were told it had recently opened.  It was on the Dolly Parton  Parkway.  Did you know the she was born/raised in Sevierville?  This shop is called Red Barn Custom Quilts.  I took quite a few photos inside this one.

The fabric in this shop was a bit more modern, although there was some Kansas Troubles, etc.  Do you see what captured my attention?  All the gorgeous wood displays.  I'm not sure how effective the ones in the top picture are since they "hide" the fabric on the bottom a bit.  

I didn't take pictures of all the matching small desks that are there for classes, too.

I had to ask if a local craftsman (or relative) made these beautiful pieces for the shop.  The answer was "no--the owner had them custom-made for the shop."  

We asked about a good place to eat for supper and ended up at The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge.  We drove by Dollywood, to get there!  It was a really good meal consisting of huge portions of southern food.  I had chicken and dumplings and my friend had trout.  We walked around browsing in the nearby shops (it was a touristy, artsy area) and then drove to our hotel in Danville.  

The next day, Tuesday, was our drive home, but we took a bit of a detour to Jonesborough, TN to see the quilt shops there.  There are two, but we didn't make it past the first one.

Tennessee Quilts is a destination shop!  Wow!  It is huge and has gorgeous fabrics and patterns!

I love the "barn quilts" that decorate the outside of the building.  I've never seen ones with "printed fabric."

The shop has a huge variety of lots of fabric, but they specialize in Kaffe Fassett.  They have every bolt of available Kaffe along with other fabrics like Amy Butler, etc. that are in that same genre.  Did I mention that this is my friend's favorite kind of fabric?  Yes!  For once, I wasn't the one who felt like I hit the "mother lode."  It was fun to watch her!

 Kaffe actually has been to the shop several times and may be back in October.

Another specialty of the shop is Judy Niemeyer patterns.  The have a certified instructor on staff and she was finishing one of the new patterns, Fire Island Hosta.  She likes to make up her samples using Kaffe fabrics.

She was auditioning borders, but isn't it stunning so far?  I love the giant-sized floral print in there!  If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that this isn't "my style" however, like most quilters, I can appreciate all quilting, and I really love this!  The shop was full of "Judy quilts."

Check out these double wedding ring pieces.  The one on the left is made of batik gradations--Judy Niemeyer's bali pops--and the one of the right is made from one printed fabric, with the arcs "fussy cut" to capture the gradated look.  (The pig below them is cute, too.)

This is blurry, but the pattern is Summer Solstice.  I caved in to the "pressure" and bought that pattern.  This shop isn't one that you can visit in an hour.  We ended up staying there right until lunch time.  We had lunch and then began the drive home.  We weren't too far down the road when we encountered rain.  The rain made the complete journey with us--sometimes it was pouring so hard we could barely see beyond the hood of the car!  We finally made it home around 7.  It was a fun trip!

I have to share a great story with you, too.  My friend is a twin, and her sister lives in Florida.  Shortly after I wrote my Bonnie Hunter posts, her sister's neighbor called her over and said she had to show her something.  The neighbor has been reading a quilting blog, and was surprised to see her her neighbor's sister's picture!  It was my blog, of course.  I think that is so cool.  Our world can be so small!  

Have a great day!

JoAnne