Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Paducah bus tour


Connie and I try to do something new on each trip. This time we decided to take the bus tour of Paducah which included a stop at Whitehaven.

Whitehaven is now a rest area and welcome center off of I-24 in western Kentucky. The original building was built around 1860, with many additions since. The mansion became vacant in the late 1960s and was virtually destroyed by vandals. To view it today, it is difficult to believe that it was ever in such a miserable condition.

Besides serving as a welcome center and rest area, the mansion also houses memorabilia from Vice President Alben Barkley who served under President Truman.

Historic buildings provide lots of inspiration for quilting patterns. The stained glass, stencils and ceilings all provide a starting point for desdign.










Eleanor Burns opened a new storefront downtown and also had a building with tents a short distance from the Rotary Show. Connie and I walked into a tent full of bolts priced at $4.00 a yard. Each day a color was chosen for an additional discount. When we shopped the color was blue. Here is Connie checking out the blue bolts. About half of my yardage came from the tent, so the $ damage to my wallet wasn't as bad as the picture in my last post might appear.

11 comments:

Elaine Adair said...

What a great post! LOVEd the photos of quilting opportunties or suggestions and patterns. We only have to keep our eyes open. My particular favorite is on an old rocking chair!

Lovely fabrics, no wonder you bought them -- $4.00/yd. Lucky you!

Anne Ida said...

What a beautiful place to go for inspiration! From this and your previous post, it looks like you had a wonderful trip!

Wendy said...

Looks like a really good tour. And cheap fabric too.

Judy said...

Half my yardage came from Eleanor's tent and half came from Hancock's. Blue must've been .. Wednesday??

Clare said...

Quilting heaven! Glad you had a great time.

Carole said...

Sales are so much fun! That's when I usually buy my backing. I'll have to make a trip to Paducah one day! Keep well & Happy quilting!

Meredith said...

I am glad I am on no buy!! It looks like you has a great time. Quilting trips are so much fun and now you have new fabric to play with.

SuBee said...

I GOTTA go to Paducah!!
You have a really good eye for design; no wonder your quilts are so gorgeous!

Greenmare said...

oooooooooooo gorgeous!
thanks for the mini tour!!!!!!!!!

Quilter Kathy said...

I really have enjoyed reading about your trip...your shopping and the inspiring things you saw.
Glad you had a good time!

swooze said...

Thanks for showing this house! It was fun to learn about it.