Coonhound Heaven

My friend Terry and I became buddies about 20 years ago, sharing a common interest of horses and art. Since she retired, she has gone to the dogs, showing her beautiful collies and shetland sheepdog. She has taken me to Kentucky to see one dog herd sheep, to various towns and states to see her show her conformation dog, and to hospitals and schools where her therapy dog works miracles daily.

Just for fun she has taken me to a miniature horse sale where I almost bought a mini donkey whose ears were longer than its legs.  We've been to 4-H horse shows, and I took her to the Dixie National Quarter Horse Show in Jackson.  I am a Quarter Horse person, and she is not. But she liked the free-style reining.

Today tops it all. We went to a National UKC Coonhound Winter Classic at the Batesville Civic Center.  Thank goodness she didn't want me to go to the night hunts last night.  I don't do cold and wet in the dark.

So today we joined the other thousands of visitors to the event.  We really went to see her friend Sabrina show her Redbone Hounds.  This was the bench show where the dogs are judged on their conformation. See photo below and right.

While there we walked around looking at the vendors. I've been to a lot of dog and horse shows where there were vendors' booths. But just look at the floor of this arena.  Vendors showed off their wares which included every kind of night head gear, tracking devices, dog food, collars and yes, even a booth of camouflage lingerie trimmed in pink lace.  No thanks.  People were standing in line to have their dog's 10-minute pencil portrait drawn.

Well, I'm glad I've been, but don't know if I want to go back.  The next adventure for us may be my idea to visit a labrador training facility in the area.   Life is good!

One of the exhibitors gets a hug from an affectionate Treeing Walker Coonhound.

For more information visit one of my favorite community newspapers, The Panolian, for this article.

http://www.panolian.com/contentitem/251473/1180/winter-classic-12213

Wrapped in Memories

Today I finished binding my Pineapple quilt. This was one of our Loose Threads projects that we started back in the summer. If any of you outlive me, you will see it again, on my casket.

Last summer when my Aunt Dorothy, a noted quilter, died, we placed one of her beautiful quilts on her casket. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Why this particular quilt for me?  Each block is a little package of memories.  When I make a quilt, I put the scraps that are big enough to use for something else in a ziplock bag and throw them in a big plastic tub.  When we were assigned this quilt, it was supposed to be "scrappy" meaning that it should be made of completely random fabric scraps.  As usual, I didn't exactly follow the rules.

I went to my little bags of fabric and found that I could make blocks that looked little mini-quilts from the project they were a part of. One block contains reproduction Civil War fabric and a vintage scrap dating to around 1900 that was part of my vintage quilt restoration.

Blocks can be found that came from my granddaughters quilts, from a project my daughters and her friends did this summer for their friend who was battling breast cancer.

Some came from material used to make table runners that I gave for Christmas one year.  The reds and blacks came from Jason and Janice's Ginger Jar quilt, and other came from Hayley and Olivia's quilts.

Many blocks are based on color and contain a little of all my scraps.

If the blocks didn't represent a quilt, they produced a memory. My friend Terry lets me accompany her on dog show trips, almost always conveniently located near quilt shops.

Some of the beautiful batiks came from a shops in Corinth, Miss., and Jackson, Tenn. The pink used in the cornerstones came from a unique fabric place in Franklin, Tenn., and much of it came from our own little shop in Senatobia—Cotton Treasures.

Thanks Chantay Rhone for the beautiful quilting in stunning melon-colored thread in the Van Gogh pattern.  If you look closely you can almost see his distinctive swirly shapes of his famous Starry Night painting. Fellow quilter Genell Clayton pushed us out of comfort zones to do this pattern from Gyleen Fitzgerald's Trash to Treasure book.

So when my bluegrass friends sing, "I'll Fly Away" at my funeral (I hope it is a long way off!) I'll be wrapped in the memories.

Merry Christmas from Barr

I think I posted this little guy last year, but how can you not smile at this longhorn with Christmas ornaments hanging from his horns.  So goes the theme on my tree.  No formally-decorated tree in this house. From the little bears and angels that Jason and I had on our little tree the first year we were a family of two to the Wee Care ornaments Hayley and Olivia made, our collection of English riding ornaments, and some that remind me of my first Christmas with Howard and the many that have followed, our tree is full of memories. Every year I buck and snort about having to put up the tree, but when I get out our boxes of memories, I'm always glad I did.  Merry Country Christmas from Nancy, Howard, Olivia, the Hayes and Giberts and the Patterson pack of dogs!

Taking a break

I haven't posted a quilt pic lately. I'm actually taking a break from quilting, unless I get caught up with Christmas projects and find a little time on my hands.  I recently did this couch quilt for my friends Randy and Susan Crockett. They live just behind us in a century-old farmhouse. It may not have been the hardest pattern I've ever done, but the scraps from my other colors came from some of my favorite pieces of fabric.  If I fall off the quilt wagon, I'll let you know.

Buzzards signal needed action for MIC

Mississippi Industrial College's Carnegie Hall and (left) Washington Hall. 

Ever since I lived in Holly Springs, Miss. In the 1970s I’ve been fascinated by the fading beauty of Mississippi Industrial College. When I passed by last week, near dark, two things immediately caught my eye.

Catherine Hall, one of the front campus residence halls, had been taken down. According to Rust College spokesman Adrienne Phillips, “It was unsafe, and we were afraid it would collapse.” Rust College purchased the property in 2008.

Buzzards look down from the roof of Washington Hall. 

The second attention getter was that the rooflines of the two remaining prominent buildings were lined with vultures!  Around here we call them buzzards. I kicked myself for not having a camera, so I returned about the same time of day this week, and there they were, looking down with arrogance as I walked quietly around the grounds of the vacant college.

A group of black vultures gather around Washington's chimney. 

In case you aren’t familiar with Mississippi Industrial College (MIC), it is located on the West side of Highway 7, across the road from Rust College. It was established in 1905 as a private college for African American students. It closed in 1982 after enrollment declined with the integration of local community colleges in the late 1960s.

The beauty of those original structures is magnificent. Carnegie Hall, the main auditorium and gathering place, was built in 1923 with funding from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.  Carnegie, as well as Washington Hall which served as the administration building, were examples of Jacobean and Colonial Revival influence.

“We are trying to secure resources so we can shore up these structures until we can find the funding to restore them,” said Phillips.

We need to hurry. Maybe those buzzards are our warning. The buildings are full of decay, broken windows, boarded doors, a belfry that is open to the sky, trees growing from inside the structure and escaping through a window.  

Turkey vultures on their perch.

For more information on MIC, you can visit Preservation in Mississippi’s blog at misspreservation.com or the Rust College website at www.rustcollege.edu.

Cousin Talk

We have this girl cousin routine down to a fine art.  I'm so jealous.  My childhood was filled with older boy cousins. I wasn't a spec on their radar.  My older girl cousins, who I thought were so cool, lived too far away....New York and Virginia.

So now when I get the grandchildren girls who are "7 apiece" as my daddy would say, here is how it goes. When they get in the car, they talk non-stop and giggle all the way to my house. We stop for pizza or cook whatever they want and they eat and compare portion sizes and demand special drinks such as Sprite with orange or cranberry juice and "crunched up ice."

"Do you want to take a bath one at a time or together?"  A collective "TOGETHER!"  That will end soon.  More giggling ensues. They turn on the bubbles in the tub and wash each other's hair using about a cup of shampoo each and wonder why I have a hard time getting the shampoo out.

Then it's off to bed to watch a movie and giggle more. As different as daylight and dark, one goes to sleep easily, the other not so.

My favorite part of the routine is the early morning. I hear them wake up and stomp around a little and then they dive under the covers and talk softly.  Less giggling.  What do you talk about when you are 7? They count missing teeth and discuss whether they are "girly girls or tomboys" and decide they are a mixture of both. I can't hear much from downstairs.  I can only tell it is serious cousin talk.

I call them for breakfast and all gets quiet.  You see, they are still "asleep."

Two Community Reminders!

Just a little reminder to plan to come eat Soup & Spuds with us Sunday, Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Senatobia Community Center.  Proceeds benefit FOSA's Spay/Neuter program.  I can't say enough good things about our local Senatobia-Tate County Animal Shelter (http://stcpets.org).  They do a great job of placing animals in forever homes.  However, we need to educate the public about the need to be responsible pet owners and spay or neuter their pets to avoid unwanted animals.  I adopted Jilly almost three years ago. Someone had turned in two litters of 21 puppies!  Can you imagine. They were all beautiful.  She is such a joy.

Second item of interest:  Sycamore Arts is holding a juried exhibition at the Art Gallery on the Northwest campus. The show is absolutely beautiful! I enjoyed the reception last night with some of my favorite people.  Do yourself a favor and find a time to go.

Bill and Genell Clayton, Nancy Patterson, Terry and Joe Pegram. Genell's New York Beauty quilted wall hanging captured third place in the exhibition.

Three of my favorite people at last night's opening reception for the Sycamore Arts Exhibition on display at Northwest's Art Gallery. (L to R) Lane Tutor, Terry Pegram and Jo Ellen Logan. Tutor and Logan had works in the exhibition.

No words needed from me

Front pasture in Barr

Fall chevron quilt

Soup & Spuds coming Nov. 11

Dogs like this beautiful boxer have a second chance at life, thanks to the efforts of the Senatobia-Tate County Animal Shelter.  Sunday, Nov. 11, interested persons can do their part by enjoying fall meal of Soup & Spuds at the Senatobia Community Center.  Proceeds will go to the Spay and Neuter program sponsored by FOSA, Friends of the Shelter. Plates are $10.

“We have been so successful with our spaghetti or Pasta for Pets lunch in the spring, we thought we’d add a fall event,” said Lynn Resneck, FOSA president. “What would be better on a fall afternoon than loaded baked potatoes and homemade soups?”

The Senatobia Community Center is located on Southern Street.  The lunch Soup & Spuds will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The lunch can be eat-in or take-out. Guests can also pick up a copy of the new FOSA 2013 calendar.

Certified quilt appraiser, historian visits Cotton Treasures

One of Connie Brown's circle quilts

I think I've been watching too many TV shows like "American Pickers" and "Antiques Roadshow."  When I found out that a certified quilt appraiser was coming to Cotton Treasures, I snatched one of my treasures off the wall and unloaded another from a trunk and headed down to see exactly what I had. 

Cotton Treasures in Senatobia hosted a Meet and Greet with American Quilter’s Society Certified Appraiser of Quilted Textiles and professional quilt artist Connie Brown of Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 11.

“Connie showed quilts in her own collection ranging from antique quilts to a few of her recently-made quilts,” said Chantay Rhone, Cotton Treasures owner.

Guests brought antique or vintage quilts to have evaluated. Brown looked at each quilt brought by the guests and answered questions and discussed fabric selection, block name and repair if needed.

Connie inspects my orange Aster quilt.

She looked at mine, one a Grandmother's fan pattern that was a family friendship quilt dated 1939.  It is losing the signatures. Connie told me that if I didn't want to sell or auction it and keep it in the family, I could restore the signatures. What's the quilt worth to me without the signatures?  It is still beautiful, but I want to hand it down bearing the names of those women (including my grandmother, great aunt and cousin who made the quilt) in this small community of Barr.

The other quilt was purchased at an estate sale. I knew nothing about it except that I liked it. The background is orange with what I thought was a Dresden Plate pattern hand appliquéd to the background. She told me it was also from the 1930s and that the pattern was actually Aster.  When I told her what I paid for it, she said I "did good."  I knew I did because I love it. 

Connie shows off one of her art quilts.

Brown, originally from Memphis, lived in Whitehaven and graduated from SBEC (Southern Baptist Educational Center) in 1979.

“My family has always had a place on Sardis Lake, near the Holiday Lodge. I even waited tables there during my high school years,” said Connie.  She attended the University of Mississippi for two years, and her parents—Sam and Pat Griggs—retired to Harmontown in 1985.  Following the death of her father, Brown’s mother remarried, and she and her husband Paul Sherwood live in the same spot on Harmontown Road.

Connie and her husband Ted Brown of Germantown and son Dusty moved to Asheville in 1989.

“In 1990 I took my first quilt class and was hooked,” she said. “I’ve been making quilts ever since.”

Connie became an AQS Certified Appraiser of Quilted Textiles in 2009. Her quilt, Color Cascade can be found in the September 2012 issue of American Quilter magazine.

She is a juried member of Southern Highlands Craft Guild and her quilts have been offered for sale and for viewing at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, N.C.

“If I am known for anything, it is for my circle quilts. I have made variations of the same pattern in many different colors.” She has also done art quilts and other patterns.

Since Brown has family in this area, she returns frequently to Mississippi.