From memory.. Not good for blogging

In an issue of Fon's and Porter's Love of Quilting, an article indicated that artistic license in quilting almost disappeared with the publication of patterns the include pictures and the usage of cameras. Why? Because quilts produced started to look the same and be closer reproductions of their inspiration. Not just a fanciful memory. I take this to heart. However, this concept is not the reason I didn't take any quilt or quilt shop pictures. Holding onto the sleep deprived, non napping, separation anxiety baby made for quick ins and outs. Between trying to get her to nap, to stay napping, or keep from crying about being tired, my hands were full. Staying at the rental house for the three hours it took to get her down for the twenty minute nap wasn't good for our own stamina or resolve. Teething sucks. I digress.

One of my favorite places in North Carolina's Outerbanks is Ocracoke Island. Off the ferry, take the one road all the way down to an empty lot on the water. On the left the island's other ferry station. On the right is a little house marketed as a museum, specifically the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum. A trip to Ocracoke is not complete without the visit to this gem. Not much changes from year to year, but I love the intricate detail of the miniature ships, the olde timey furniture, the antiquated appliances... Heck, I love it all! Textiles and quilts always catch my eye. A queen sized quilt was up for raffle, sporting the Ocracoke Cracker block. Long noted history made short: Ocracoke quilters many not have invented the block, but they sure do like it. (More History)



The Ocracoke Cracker is a variation on a fence rail block. Four strips of equal width sewn together and cut to make a square block. The variation comes in when this simple square is inset on a diagonal in another square. In the quilt, each block is angled to provide visual movement.

Other Ocracoke shops to visit, Silverlake Trading Company (gitchy things like sushi playing cards) and the Villiage Craftsman (gorgeous handcrafted items and art).



Wandering around the villages and putzing around the rental house, I contemplated something quilty to do without a machine. Something portable. Dare I say, Yo-Yo? Inquiring about quilt shops, we were directed to The Barefoot Quilter. By sheer size, this is the largest quilt shop I've ever been in! The shop was divided into two. The front housed the fabric collection and the back was classroom space. Notions were all along one wall. Since my fabric revitalization, I refused to go down every aisle only quick glances. Basically, the Barefood Quilter is a store after my own heart. Every day of the vacation afterwards, I tried to think up reasons to trek the far distance to Kittyhawk to spend more time there. Like most quilting stores, the bolts are sorted by color and further by value. Fat Quarters are above the shelves of fabric making them easy to pick out. The way the bolts are sorted seemed easier to pick out the "right" fabric for a project. Lovely quilts hung on the walls. One such quilt delighted me, that it will be re envisioned. Three FQs, 1/3 yd of cartoon pirates, and 1 yard of bras plus some thread and needles for hand sewing.

A few days later, we found Outer Banks Quilts in Manteo near the Waterfront Shopping Plaza. This little quilt shop shared space with Outer Banks Antiques. The quilting fabrics were good quality, lots of Kona Bay (a little too pretentiously Asian). I picked up six cute feed sack inspired FQs. Down the road was a fantastic little shop, Endless Possibilities A co-op were donated fabric is used to produce rugs, bags, shoes, everything to raise money for the crisis hotline. (More Info) I fell in love with a tie rug. Sadly, it was left behind due to baby crankies, I couldn't quite figure out where it would go, and wheat food poisoning. The woven rug incorporated men's ties in it - very snazzy. Upon entry there were tons of clog shoes decorated tastefully with woven yarns, to the right the tie rugs and bags made out of pants. On the right there was an impressive room filled with weaving looms with projects in different stages. So many beautiful things! Defintely a place to be visited and revisited.