Jeepers Creepers

Last month, the guild held the annual retreat in Abingdon, VA. My cute DH jumped at the chance to drop me off at the retreat on Friday morning, and then spend the day doing all of the touristy things around Abingdon that he's wanted to do for a long time. Among them was take the bike ride down the Creeper Trail. It is an old rail bed that has been reclaimed as a hiking and biking trail. It is a total of about 17 miles long. The bike trip sponsored by the local bike shop covered about half of them.

When he came to pick me up right after he got off the trail (I was a day-camper), I could tell he had a great time and could hardly wait to tell me all about it! He was all wind-blown, and I expected to see bugs in his teeth from flying down the trail.

He reported some beautiful views, but I think he had much more fun on the bike. The trail is NOT all paved. Much of it is gravel, and there were a lot of leaves to watch out for.

I'm thinking he is probably the oldest 10 year old in the Southeast! He was proud of all of the scraps and bruises he achieved in his 2 big crashes! You should have seen him when he managed to bandage up all of his injuries! He wouldn't let me take a picture of him, though. It would have had to be a birthday suit picture - and he just wasn't ready for that.

One of the crashes was because he tried to pass someone on a bridge and crashed into the side rails to avoid plowing into them. The other one happened on another bridge. He heard the compelling sound of a water fall. You guessed it, he turned to look at it -- and instead of enjoying a beautiful sight, flipped his bike, went over the handle bars and crashed into the side rail of the bridge. He can't help grinning from ear to ear anytime he tells the story. Well, what do you expect? He's 10.

News from the studio

Heart Song Workshops

For Blue Ride Guild in Johnson City, TN

Following their Dec. 1 meeting, several members stayed for a workshop on the Heart Song quilt. It is always a lot of fun! Everyone made good progress in the 3.5 hours, and one person completed her top! I certainly had a good time.

 





 

For Heavenly Stitches in Kingsport, TN

Six people participated in the Heart Song workshop on Dec. 15. One of the folks had never made a quilt  before, and hadn't had his hands on a sewing machine for decades. But he was game, took instruction very well, and stayed long after the workshop was over, completing all of the blocks with the help of one of  the store employees. Again, everyone made great progress! They were a lot of fun!



















But, I really don't know why no one would look at me. I don't think I'm that scary...

Upcoming Heart Song Workshop

The Heart Song workshop will be hosted by In Stitches in downtown Johnson City, TN on January 11, 9:30 - 2:00. This time, we will be celebrating Spring. A kit will be available. Watch for details on the In Stitches website and newsletter. Sorry about the quality of the picture -- my phone camera lens had a big smudge on it!

Learning for the week

The allergist's office can be scary! I wasn't too sure I wanted to stay. My appointment was on 10/31, and everyone - and I mean everyone was dressed the part!



Well, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Now, let's go quilt something.