 Don't you love it when you are having a pity party and a friend stops by with the perfect libations and decorations? Thanks a million Monique! Love the cotton swag and Coca-Cola. Cheers!
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So excited to receive my Pint Hound membership kit. Which includes a COTTON OF THE CAROLINAS t-shirt. There is nothing on the market like this brand. TS Designs is leading the industry in sustainability. Everything happens, from dirt to shirt, within 600 miles. Made in the Carolinas.
Throwback Thursday inspires me to dig up photos from a road trip to the Moses Cone Memorial Park on the Blueridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC. Here we are standing in front of Flat Top Manor. This 13,000 square foot mansion, built by Moses in 1901 in the grand colonial Revival Style, now serves as home to the Parkway Craft Center. Moses Cone, a prosperous textile entrepreneur, conservationist, & philanthropist, was affectionately know as the "Denim King" in the late nineteenth century. In 1895, Moses purchased a defunct steel mill in the Greensboro, NC area and developed it into a large cotton mill called Proximity that produced brown and blue denim, soon becoming one of the biggest producers of denim fabric in the world. His company was a leading supplier to the Levi Strauss Company for nearly a century, and maintains the relationship today. Moses was also instrumental in the development of Watauga Academy, now know as Appalachian State University. Listen to the link for more information about the Moses Cone Memorial Park.
Summer is a great time for field trips, and sometimes the best places to visit are right in your own town. I've been meaning to get to Raleigh Denim's Curatory for like forever. My daughter and I trekked to the flagship store on 319 West Martin downtown Raleigh in a quest to secure a pair of the best jeans in the country. The jeans we purchased were made by non-automated jeansmiths,
who craft denim the old school way. The jeansmiths work right around the corner from the retail shop and you can see and hear all the traditional stitching equipment making jeans of the very best denim from Cone Mills plant in White Oak, NC. The friendly store manager pinned my jeans to length and they were hemmed on the spot and I walked out brown bagging my jeans.  This year when purchasing my fresh wreath from the Christmas tree lot, I grabbed some of the free tree trimmings. I wanted to bring the fresh scent of trees into my bedroom. Long ago when I was a student in design school, my very talented friend Mary Sox gave me this cotton fabric of Victorian doll cutouts she hand screen printed. I had so much fun stitching up these little dolls! I embellished them with cotton, red embroidery thread, lace, and ribbon. They have been well loved over the years and seem at home on these branches, and I know they will bring good tidings. And cheer.  This week I took a little trip to the Tarboro Town Common with my Dad to see the Norfleet Cotton Press. Originally a cider and wine press, it was converted to a cotton press in 1860 to meet the growing demand for cotton. The frame is made of yellow pine and really beautiful I think. For more information, visit: www.tarboro-nc.com/retirement+relocation+visitors/arts+attractions+museums 
 Scenes of cotton in Edgecombe County are a part of the Thanksgiving homecoming tradition.  |
