Sweet Home Quilt Co.

I dragged Lou Ann out of bed at the crack of dawn early Sunday morning for a whirlwind trip to Paducah with Pat. You can tell from the frost on the window that it was a quite chilly morning here in Georgia – 27 degrees to be exact! Lou Ann complained the entire time that we should be headed south to warm, sunny Florida – what’s in Paducah anyway???

After collecting Pat and her 10 bags and 12 quilts (!), we were OFF! Pat offered to drive her car, but being the control freak that I am, I declined her offer and we drove my car instead. Pat brought quilts to bind and RAG QUILTS TO CLIP!!!!! I had my car cleaned and detailed the day before we left – 20 minutes after we left Pat’s house, you would have never known it for the threads and lint and dust all over the car and Pat herself! She even wore black, can you believe it? I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture to show you! Trust me, there was no doubt that Pat was a quilter every time she got out of the car!

There was much (TOO MUCH!) eating and snacking on this trip. We made it to the north side of Atlanta before we stopped to eat breakfast. Once again there was much whining and complaining from Lou Ann. You can see Pat lecturing her, and somehow Lou Ann ended up face down in the sugar bowl! It’s going to be a looonnnggg trip!!!

We stopped at Patti’s 1800s Settlement in KY on the recommendation of a friend. The settlement was closed for the season (brrr, it was COLD!), but the restaurants and gift shop were in full swing.  The gift shop was decked out in Christmas finery, and I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots.

The working water wheel is part of the settlement. See those icicles … brrr!  Wish we’d had more time here, but we had to keep moving – still lots to do!

For some reason, during the entire trip, Pat was unusually obsessed with looking for mistletoe in the tops of the bare trees alongside the highway. It is pretty easy to spot with all the leaves off the trees (most of the time!), and I offered to stop and shoot some down for her, but she declined??? What’s up with that? Anyway, I’ll let her ‘fess up to the Buzzards and Mistletoe story, so be sure to keep an eye on her blog for that scoop! I had to get out the tissues and I almost had to pull over because I was laughing so hard!

A long day was capped off with a yummy dinner at Olive Garden. We had our hopes up that Pumpkin Cheesecake would still be on the menu, and our server confirmed that it was – yay! Unfortunately, he was misinformed so we had to settle for a Chocolate Something-Something-Something! Lou Ann had her eye on the last couple of bites of my piece, but I beat her to it!

Day 2 was an early start, and somehow we ended up at Hancock’s of Paducah – just to check it out. We both agreed going in – no fabric buying! Yeah right! Pat won the prize, but I did some serious damage myself. After all, I can’t carry every possible fabric in my shop, now can I???

So what were we doing in Paducah??? Despite the eating and the foolery, this was definately a serious business trip! We were on a fact-finding mission. We’ve been kicking around the idea of sponsoring a bus tour to the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah in April 2010, and decided a trip was in order to check out accommodations, restaurants, and other venues before making a final decision.

Looks like we’re Paducah-bound in April, ya’ll! Mark your calendars – April 21-24, 2010 – and start gathering your friends for what is shaping up to be THE trip to take in 2010! Stay tuned for specific details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’m thinking this would be a FANTASTIC gift idea for Santa!!! Tell him to call me at the shop (678-413-1611) and I can help him make it happen for you.  Under the tree or in my stocking, either way, I’d be a happy camper with this gift, wouldn’t you???