The tiny figure in the road just in front of our cabin is Alastair, 4, examining a fuzzy caterpillar.
What a delightful week we just spent at our cabin in the North Carolina Mountains. Except for grandson Alastair, it was a girls’ getaway. With my daughter Rebecca,
Rebecca and Alastair
her 9 month old daughter Vivian Rose,
Vivian Rose in her warm bunny jammies, protecting her from the bitter 34 degree weather.
and Jeannette (“NanNan”) who is the children’s great aunt/3rd grandmother,
NanNan with her adoring niece and nephew. Can you see the love in that little boy’s eyes?
we loaded up Alastair
and headed to the High Country of North Carolina, between Boone and Banner Elk.
one of the few red trees on the mountain
Hoping to see fall colors and to escape the heat at home, this carload of Floridians had all hopes realized.  Dazzling, golden leaves glowed with shafts of sunlight. Reportedly, just before the colors peaked, two days of rain turned most of the reds to brown, leaving the later golds to erupt in their full glory. And glorious it was.
It was also cold, at least by Floridian standards. In preparation for the trip, I had whipped up a few outfits for Vivian Rose and they were put to good use.
The pants had to be large enough to accommodate baby’s bulky cloth diapers. Knowing the legs would be too long, gingham lining was added so a cuff could be folded up.
Embroidery is an applique design from Rosy Alphabet by Hang to Dry.
At SewForum, Cheryle posted a spectacular set of baby items she had made, Roses for Page, all made with the Rosy Alphabet from Hang to Dry. I wish you could see this set of onesie, burp, and bib. I plan to write Cheryle and ask permission to post her beautiful, inspiring photos.
UPDATE: Cheryle has graciously given permission to post her to-die-for photos of Roses for Page, as well as a very creative and unusual vintage linens apron for a bridal shower. That post will be up some time next week.Â
Once I saw Cheryle’s projects, I had to have this collection. It does not come with a text file, so it looked like a raw edge design to me. After I finished this shirt, I read Cheryle’s detailed instructions for how she cut her flowers which looked fluffy, not at all like my flat, ragged roses. I wish I had read that before stitching this design.
Another quick outfit used a simple monogram in a frame.
Her big blue eyes are just like her mother’s. She should have worn her white shirt.
The third outfit was the candy corn top for Halloween.
This post is way too long, but I can’t stop myself from adding a few more photos of our activities. We went to Linville Caverns where Alastair’s glow-in-the-dark skeleton shirt detracted from the “total darkness experience” that was a highlight of the tour. No one seemed to mind, though a 5 yo clung to her mother and whimpered a little.
Alastair was thrilled with his toy stunt plane (tiny red blur at top of pic) which performed well when thrown from the back porch of the Mast General Store.
At Grandfather Mountain, the big attraction was the wildlife area, with mountain lions, otters, deer, bears and more.
All this fun, AND I almost finished smocking a dress for Vivian Rose.
To top it all off, the day we left, it snowed!!! Pretty exciting for us! Can you tell I had a good time?
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