Quilty Sights Away from Home

There's no place like home, there's no place like home! It was so good to come home yesterday from a family reunion, even if the first 30 minutes after arrival had me answering "What's for dinner?", breaking up an argument, cleaning up a scooter accident, and performing first aid. The kids were great for the entire 6 hour drive with the aid of a very good audio book (The Search for Wondla)

Whenever we go to these reunions, we almost always take the same route through Virginia and West Virginia and so have a favorite visitor's center that we stop at to stretch our legs and such (exit 139 on I-64). It's become a family tradition.

They've got a little gift shop there and I found some quilty goodness there. First the traditional quilting books in the WV history section. The Standard Book of Quiltmaking and Collecting, Facts & Fabrications-Unraveling the History of Quilts & Slavery , and then an actual quilt kit!

Then there was this little feast for the eyes. John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads made into a children's picture book and illustrated in a quilt-like style!

I remember singing this song at the top of my lungs when I was young and dreamed of living in the country.

What a cute idea!

I actually find a lot of inspiration in the illustration of children's books. Below are two of my favorites.

The Quiltmaker's Journey (also the Quilt Maker's Gift which is MIA in my daughter's room) and The Mess.

Love these books--- The Mess is more beloved for it's message of a quilty mom and a creative daughter.

 On the way to the park to visit with my mom's side of the family, we passed several barns with painted quilts on them. I wasn't able to safely pull over to get pics though. There was a crazy quilt version that I almost turned around to get a picture.

 Then there was a lovely photo quilt in the park's restaurant. Look at the loop-d-loops, some continuous curves and a great leaf design in the sashing!

Above, my little guy is standing in a huge natural rock bridge formation. And below are all three of my sweeties.

Tomorrow, I'll be back to my quilting and posting the winner of Karen McTavish's new book! All of these books are available through Amazon, though I didn't link to all of them.