AN INTRODUCTION TO M'BANE . . . MEHBUN . . . MEEBANE? (Cheri)

Mark and I had planned to go to Asheville, NC on September 26th or 27th, so that I could go to the local, highly-recommended quilt show.

While the final decision was a couple of days coming, that show was eventually called off entirely due to the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.  (Not, unfortunately, before the entire show had been hung and all of the vendors had set up for three days of selling to eager fabric-and-tool buyers.)

I had also planned to go to a five-day retreat in the hills between Asheville and Boone, NC that next week, with a group of quilting friends.  Also cancelled.

I can't say that my decision to go to The Threads That Binds Us Quilt Show, in Mebane, NC, the next week was entirely motivated by my desire to provide some supplemental income to those vendors . . . but it was a factor!

Image Credit:  Unknown

Mebane is a cute little town, which we will definitely spend more time in, getting a bigger batch of photographs.  The one above is a historical picture that hangs in Muffins Ice Cream shop:

I loved this license plate collage that hangs on their wall:

How to pronounce the town name is a bit of a mystery.  I would have said MEE-bane.  (Of course, I would pronounce "Advance" as Ad-VANCE, but here it is AD-vance.  Also, "Vienna" is VI-enna.)

I've heard MEH-bun, but the predominant pronunciation seems to be M'bane.  The momentary pause on the M at the beginning reminds me of the Alexander McCall Smith Botswana-based mysteries, in which the title of each lady requires a double-M at the beginning.

I'm going to do another post in a few days about more of the quilts that I saw at the show, but must include a few here!  This quilt was created in parts, by seven or eight different artists:

Last month I did a presentation for one of my quilt guilds about selecting fabric for all-scrap quilts.  One of the options is coordinating by choosing only fabrics from a single line of fabric.  I thought that was what this quilt was, due to the strong color coordination of the different prints with the solids:

I was totally intrigued, though, when I read the artist's statement, and discovered the provenance of the diagonally-striped fabric!

I also liked that this was the third use of the fabric.

This next quilt was a valiant rescue by one of the Guild's members:

I wouldn't have taken the challenge on because the fabrics had been cut without any regard to the direction of the print or weave - probably due to an overall shortage of fabric - but I certainly admire the women who did.

Then there was this original quilt, with a very nice combination of fabrics:

Did you notice that the quilt is entitled "Air Show"?

Here is a pretty combination of plants in a sidewalk planter:

We will absolutely eat at Crafted:  The Art of the Taco when we return to Mebane.  They serve the best tacos we've eaten in North Carolina!

Finally, a peak at a representative window along the main street: