Castaway

 Some of you might remember the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks.  In the movie he is marooned on a deserted island after his plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean.  With no way off the island, he learns to live by himself with only a volley ball that also washes ashore which he names Wilson.  Well after all the wind we had last week here in Ocracoke, it has been a little like the movie.  Starting Saturday, September 19th there were 4 days of gale force winds that washed out several places along highway 12 on both Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands.  For those unfamiliar with the area, Hwy 12 is the only road that traverses the length of the islands.

The following photos are from the Ocracoke Facebook page.  We could not get there as they have the road closed to the public while they work to fix it.

The Atlantic Ocean washed away the sand dunes and came right across the road (Highway 12).

This area is north of the village of Ocracoke and the marina where we are docked.  It is the road we take to get to the north end of the island and get the ferry to Hatteras Island.

Here is another shot of the over-wash on Hwy 12

The guy in this front end loader better be careful he doesn't get washed into the Atlantic.  Hope he is getting hazard pay.

There was also significant overwash on Hatteras Island.  Here is a shot of Hwy 12 near Rodanthe

As they attempt to plow the sand back onto dunes along the ocean, the waves continued to break over and wash back across the road.

So the road has been closed for several days.  On top of that the ferries have also not run in 4 days.  The wind had them completely shut down (Saturday the 19th to Tuesday 22nd).  Essentially there was no way on or off the island unless you had to be medevaced off via the US Coast Guard.  Keith just made it back to Ocracoke before everything shut down.  He had to fly to Colorado for a family funeral.  His flight into Raleigh landed at 11:30 PM Friday night and he drove immediately to Hatteras.  Knowing the wind was to get really bad, he wanted to catch the 5:00 AM ferry across from Hatteras to Ocracoke hoping it would still be running Saturday morning.  He caught one of the last (if not the last ferry) across before they shut it down.  He said the ride was quite nautical, with waves being blown over the sides of the ferry onto the Jeep.  He was also lucky that the road had not yet washed over.  This occurred later in the day on Saturday and during Saturday night.  So although we are not alone with just a washed-up volleyball; it is a bit like being marooned on an island.  

The wind slowly subsided by mid-week.  The ferry at the north end of  Ocracoke to Hatteras is still not running as the road is not passable.  The ferries out of the south end that go to Cedar Island and Swan Quarter on the mainland have had a severely reduced schedule.  The winds shoaled Big Foot Slough, the channel they use to come into Ocracoke.  Because of this shoaling, of the 5 ferries running these routes only 1 can get into Ocracoke.  Starting Tuesday, the one ferry began running.  Needless to say, nobody is getting on or off this island quickly right now (crazy!!!!!!).

Quilting Update

 I was all excited to have fall arrive.  Anticipation of cooler temperatures and better fishing were on my mind; but as it turns out, mother nature had other plans.  As soon as Labor Day passed the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in.  For the first half of September we just have not had weather conducive to being out on the water.  I did get the chance to walk the beach here in Ocracoke several times, and the waves were impressive.  Here is a picture from one morning below.  You can see the wind catching the tops of the waves as they roll in.

Waves and wind

This was the harbor just the other day with clouds and rain

So with the less than ideal weather, I have been trying to work on some quilting.  Here are several of my most recent projects.  The first one is made with some seahorse fabric I found last fall in New Bern  and just had to have.

Seahorse fabric I fell in love with

Below is the quilt I used the seahorses to make.  It has multiple teal colors and the seahorse fabric is used for the boarders.  The pattern is called a snail's trail.

Another fabric that I fell for has boats, whales and seagulls.  I had enough to make two quilts with these.  The first uses a "storm at sea" quilt block.  This block is one of my favorites.  It has numerous variations, but works up beautifully with any number of the variations.   It is one of many quilt blocks inspired by scripture.  This one from the new testament "..........and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was full."  When Jesus awoke he rebuked the wind, but he also rebuked the men for lacking faith.  Why are we fearful?  Mark 4: 36-41.

Storm At Sea quilt

Close up of the fabric in this quilt

This is the second quilt I made with this fabric.  It is a very simple pattern.

Then there is the brown and white quilt that turned out better than I expected.  This one was made with a brown "jelly roll" I found while visiting family in Pennsylvania.  A jelly roll is a pre-cut package of 42 fabrics all cut into 2 1/2 inch strips.

Jelly roll quilt

I also found a "layer cake" visiting Pennsylvania that worked up nicely.  Layer cakes also have pre-cut fabrics that are all squares measuring 10 by 10 inches.

Layer Cake quilt

I have started a very challenging quilt that has 16 star blocks.  The stars are about half finished.  This is an example of one of the stars.  This quilt will take quite some time to finish as making these stars is a very slow precise process.

The last two quilts I am working on are reproduction quilts.  The first is a Civil War reproduction quilt.  At the start of the Civil War in April 1861, both the North and South were ill prepared to send soldiers to war.  Many communities and women in particular tried to organize gathering supplies such as food, bedding, and clothing to send to soldiers fighting far from home.  In fact, within 2 weeks of the start of the war some 20,000 local aid societies were formed around the country.  Although their intentions were good; it was very disorganized.  

In an attempt to more efficiently and effectively channel resources to soldiers, The United States Sanitary Commission was formed.    The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was created to provide aid to soldiers on the battlefield, in camps, hospitals, and prisons, and channel donated supplies to the areas of greatest need.  Quilts of course were a popular commodity for volunteers to make.

During the 1860's a type of quilt commonly made for soldiers was the "bound block quilt".  In this type of quilt, each individual quilt block was bound and finished before being assembled into a larger quilt.  Women could make multiple blocks over a period of time while at home.  They would then get together for a day of assembling their finished blocks into several quilts to be shipped off to soldiers.  These bound block quilts are unique to this time period. Although estimates suggest over 250,000 quilts were made during the Civil War; only 15 of these quilts are known to exist today and 11 are of the bound block type.

Here Pengi shows my pile of blocks for the Civil War Reproduction Quilt

A closer view of 4 of the blocks shows that they already have binding on them before being sewn together.

Each block is like a mini quilt into itself.  For this reason this type of quilt has also been called a potholder quilt.  Each individual block is then whip stitched together to make the quilt.  Mine will have 56 blocks when it is done.  The fabrics I used are reproduction fabrics like those that would have been available in the 1860's and the patterns I picked for the blocks are also patterns common during the 1800's.  There is no batting in this quilt either.  Many quilts sent to soldiers were requested to be lightweight since much of the fighting was in the south's warmer climate, therefore batting was not always used.  My blocks are about half finished at this point.  After binding all of them I will also do some inscriptions on some of the blocks as this was also a common practice of the time.  

My final reproduction quilt is an Ocracoke Cracker Quilt.  For many years this type of quilt was thought to be original to Ocracoke.  During the documentation of quilts in North Carolina in the 1970's this cracker pattern was found only on Ocracoke.  Research eventually determined that it is a variation of a colonial pattern that became popular with women on Ocracoke.  Today several local families have this type of quilt in their family.

Pengi showing my Ocracoke Cracker quilt blocks

Ocracoke cracker blocks have a center square made of 4 rectangular strips of fabric.  One of the two center fabrics must be a red (either solid or patterned).  The other 3 fabric strips can be of any color desired.  Four triangular fabrics pieces are added to the center square.  These are either blue, light pink or yellow most commonly.  The triangles are added so the center square is on point once the block is complete.

Close-up view of one block in the cracker quilt

The blocks are then put together for any size quilt desired.  Each block is tilted at opposing angles to add interest to the pattern.   Here are my blocks placed as I think I will sew them together.  I used some of the reproduction fabrics typical of the 1800's for this quilt as well.  I also used several different shades of blue for the outer triangles to give it a really scrappy look.

So even though the weather has not been cooperating, I have tried to keep busy.  As much as I enjoy quilting, I do hope the weather improves.  Fingers crossed that it does so before I run out of fabric or thread.

End of Summer; Weekend Get-A-Way

 This past weekend is what most think of as the official end of summer.  Keith and I decided to hop onto the Ocracoke to Cedar Island ferry with our Jeep.  Once disembarked from the ferry on Cedar Island, we would drive the 60 minutes to Morehead City to see our friends Dr. Mike and Debbie.  They just purchased a condo in Beaufort/Morehead City area and had invited us to come see it.  So Saturday morning we caught the 7:30 AM ferry to Cedar Island.  Our other friends from Ocracoke, Russ and Michele Reynolds, also crossed on a later ferry to meet us there.

Sitting in the Jeep on the ferry as we leave Silver Lake Harbor in Ocracoke for Cedar Island.  You can see boats anchored in the harbor as we pull out.

The North Carolina Ferry System is part of the NC Department of Transportation.  They operate over 2 dozen ferry services that transport passengers and vehicles to several islands along the NC Outer Banks.  The first ferries began running in the 1920's.  Captain J B "Toby" Tillett started a tug and barge service that ran across Oregon Inlet to the Outer Banks.  The NC Highway Commission recognized the importance of this service and began subsidizing the Tillett ferry.  

As the years passed, the Highway Commission bought both Tillett's business and another private ferry running to Roanoke Island.  By 1950 the NC Ferry System had several official routes.  Today the ferry system operates 22 ferries and 10 support vessels including tugs, barges, dredges, and military-style landing craft utility vessels.  It operates over 5 bodies of water and its ferries cover 1,200 miles each day.  Each year over 1 million vehicles and 2 million passengers use the NC ferries.  There are 3 classes of ferries in the system, the Hatteras Class, River Class, and Sound Class.  The Sound Class is the largest and can carry up to 50 cars.  It is specifically built to traverse the shallow waters of the sounds and withstand the turbulent waters and high winds that are common to the NC sounds.

Here is our Jeep as seen from the top seating area on the ferry as we cross Pamlico Sound toward Cedar Island.  This is a Sound Class ferry.

Some of the seating area and looking toward the back (stern) of the ferry.

Once we disembarked the ferry in Cedar Island we drove to Beaufort, NC.  The drive is very pretty.  It is out in the country for sure.  There is not much out here.  A lot of open space and a few small hamlets.

In the basin at Cedar Island

Driving toward Beaufort

There are miles of marsh

We arrived in the Beaufort/Morehead City area around 11:00 AM.  There were several errands we wanted to run while having the opportunity (needed a Jeep battery, hair cut, fabric, etc.).  We were finished by early afternoon and headed to our friends condo for lunch.  Dr. Mike and Debbie have a beautiful place.  They are on the top floor of the building and their view from the deck of the sound and downtown Beaufort is fantastic.

Russ and Keith taking in the view

Dr. Mike and Debbie have 2 black labs that love the water.  Here they are jumping off the dock at the condo for a swim.

Reggie and Remmie in the water.

After visiting at the condo and letting the dogs have a swim, Keith and I headed to our hotel in Beaufort to get cleaned up before dinner.  

Our lovely room at the Inlet Inn in Beaufort

We all met in downtown Beaufort for drinks and dinner Saturday evening.

My pineapple/coconut mojito at Moonrakers Saturday evening

Dinner was on the screened porch at Aqua.  This is one of our favorite restaurants in Beaufort.  The meal was wonderful, service impeccable, and company phenomenal.

Russ and Keith at dinner

Here's the entire gang together.

Girls top to bottom: Debbie, Me, and Michele

Guys top to bottom: Dr. Mike, Keith, and Russ

It was a really nice visit and Keith and I said how easy the trip was to hop across with the ferry.  We are so glad we did it.   Sunday morning we all had breakfast and lunch at the condo and then Keith and I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things that the small store on Ocracoke does not carry.  We were on the road driving back to catch the Cedar Island ferry by 3PM.

Loading back onto the ferry to return to Ocracoke

We had a spot under the roof this time

Russ, Michele, and their pup Millie were on the ferry returning with us.

Millie sticking her head out of the car window before sleeping for the rest of the journey home to Ocracoke.  She was exhausted after visiting with her friends Dr. Mike's black labs.

The 2 1/4 hour ferry ride went quickly (mostly because Keith and I cat napped through the majority of it).  We were pulling back onto Ocracoke at a little after 7PM Sunday.  It was a great way to finish off the summer.  Now I am ready for fall with cooler temps, lower humidity, and big fish like tuna and wahoo returning to the coast.  Watch out fishes, we are coming for you.

Where is Ocracoke really?

This week I thought it might be interesting for our followers (those not from here in NC) to really see where Ocracoke is located.  Many of you may have heard about the North Carolina Outer Banks, but  not ever really looked at where they are.  Here is some perspective.

Map of a section of the East Coast of the United States

Now we will zoom in a bit to NC.  Ocracoke is out there off the coast of NC in the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a little closer view of the NC Outer Banks.  They are essentially a thin chain of sand bars stuck out into the Atlantic Ocean.  Corolla is at the most Northern end and Emerald Isle is at the most Southern.  Ocracoke is about two thirds of the way south along the chain.

This map copied more clearly and it shows the northern Outer Banks from Corolla to Ocracoke.

This is Ocracoke with the end of Hatteras Island just visible at the north and Portsmouth Island to the south.  The small gray area where the word Ocracoke is on the map is where the Village of Ocracoke is located.

Ocracoke Village and the light house are at the southern end of the island of Ocracoke.  The remainder of the island is all National Seashore and can not be built on or developed.  This map shows the harbor (Silver Lake) where we are docked with Southern Style.  It also shows the roads and areas of the village where houses and businesses are located.  I apologize that these maps are a bit fuzzy, but I think they still give everyone some perspective of the area.

Other than highway 12 which runs straight down the island from north to south, there are only a few small roads within the village.  These roads did not even have official names until 1999.  And it was 2005 before there were any road signs within the village.  Now locals never had a problem with this as everyone knew everyone and directions were given by referring to landmarks or resident's names.  Having grown up in a fairly rural area myself, I am familiar with how this works.  If however, you have never been given directions in this manner before, it could certainly be a bit confusing.  Below is a story from a local resident that appeared in the paper here that I found quite charming nostalgic.  I hope you get a snicker from it as well.  It is told by Ocracoke resident Phillip Howard in his own words.

Back in the 1980's I was asked to design a small cottage for the Methodist minister here on Ocracoke.  One afternoon as I was digging a hole for one of the house pilings, I cut through an underground telephone wire.  

For years local resident Randall Mathews was the island’s one and only telephone repairman. It was common practice to simply call Randall about any telephone problems or issues, and he would promptly make the repair. However, shortly before this incident the telephone company had established a company-wide 800 number to call for all customer repair issues.

I called the number and quickly realized the service representative was not from eastern North Carolina, and had never heard of Ocracoke. I discovered she was located in Kansas. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hello, I am calling to report a severed telephone cable.

Her: Yes sir, can you tell me where you are located?

Me: Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.

Her: And where exactly is the severed cable?

Me: Well, it is about halfway between Myrtle Doolittle’s house and the new cottage we are building for the Methodist minister.

Her: Sir, can you please give me the street address?

Me: I am sorry, but we don’t have street addresses.

Her: You don’t have street addresses? How will I know where to send the repairman?

Me: Randall will know where this is.

Her: Who is Randall?

Me: Randall is our telephone repairman.

Her: But I still need to know what to tell him

Me: Please tell Randall to go behind Myrtle’s house, and walk toward the road where Mrs. Padgett lives. He will see the lot where we are building a small cottage for the Methodist minister. Actually, I found a concrete turtle on Myrtle’s porch steps. I carried it over to the construction site and set it down so it is pointing directly at the hole I was digging when I cut the telephone cable. He will have no problem finding the severed cable if he just looks for the concrete turtle.

Her: (There was a lengthy silence before she replied.) Uhh,…OK….I’ll pass this message on to the repairman. Thank you very much.

Several days later I saw Randall at the Post Office. “Did you get the telephone cable repaired,” I asked him.

“Oh my gosh,” he said, “that woman in Kansas was so befuddled. All she could say was that some man called to say that ‘Myrtle Somebody’ had a turtle that was stuck in concrete and that somehow the turtle had cut a telephone cable. I think she thought you might have been calling from an insane asylum.”

We had a good laugh, and Randall told me he had found the severed cable and made the repair.