Beautiful weekend in mountains

Friday in the northern NC mountains was a washout, with a much-needed drenching rain lasting all day. But Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous late summer days with a hint of autumn in the air. Saturday we picked up my dad in Boone and took him to lunch in Blowing Rock, NC, the inspirational village for the beloved Mitford series of novels by Jan Karon. We ate delicious sandwiches and took some photographs to mark my father's 84th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Pop!

We stopped at a store along the highway between Blowing Rock and Boone to check out these very unique benches, plant stands, and tables. They are made from trees that are from Indonesia. I believe they are called gembol trees. The trees have a long life of about one hundred years, and after they die they harden into a kind of petrified wood. If you find just the right spot to sit, they are quite comfortable.

I finished making a couple of coasters for our cabin from the improvisational quilt blocks I made this summer to try out some of Vikki Pignatelli's techniques. I did not think I would ever make a whole quilt out of these little "improvisational log cabin" blocks, but they are just right for coasters for a cup of coffee in the cabin. I finished these with Vikki's envelope-type backing.

Quilted with a pine meander design from Darlene Epps' freehand book.

The second one is quilted with a freehand fern all-over design. I used a King Tut green variegated thread for both.

I went for a nature walk with my camera Sunday morning and was rewarded with some outstanding shots of the sun shining on the last of summer's wildflowers and the beginnings of autumn color in the foliage.

Poke berries

Blue asters