Finishes

In between eating and walking on the beach, I did finish three commission quilts. The first two are for two young women in memory o their grandmother. Here they are before the binding.

This one is for the former Director of Christian Education at our church who took another position in another town. The blocks are all signed with notes from congregation members who love her and miss her. The fabrics are Guatemalan because she does lots of mission work. I can't wait to get it to her because I like to think I love her and miss her most, being we lived next door to each other for 11 years.

Happy Thanksgiving

To give my aunt a break from the usual epic family gathering at her house, my folks decided we would go to the beach for the weekend. This was our family tradition for years when I still lived in Raleigh and even though I enjoy going to my aunt's house on Thanksgiving, I have missed this family beach weekend.

There are more of us than there were in those days. Since the last family beach Thanksgiving, I have gotten married, my brother has gotten married, had two boys, got divorced and gotten remarried which brought not only a new wife but a new stepson. We were all here except for the two sons who were stuck at home with their mother (and that's all I'm sayin' about that). We missed them but it's the way of the world these days.

Great things about Thanksgiving at the beach:

Not much of a crowd so there are fun things to find on the beach.

The load of meal preparing is born by many - my mom, me, my brother and my SIL. My brother's specialties - mac and cheese and fried turkeys.

Lots of room to walk off the meal.

No where to go for Black Friday but here:

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Running and Stopping

Last night was FNSI (Friday Night Sew In) and sew I did! I'm trying to get things done for Deck the Halls at Sawtooth and for my Quilt Show and Sale. It's hard to get anything done when I'm this daggone busy. But last night I decided to put dinner in a crockpot and hit the studio.

I had all the pieces cut out and sorted to make several of these little trees. (This is one I finished last year.)

By the end of the night, I finished piecing four trees and had parts partially finished for four more. I won't have them ready for Sawtooth but hopefully will have them ready for my sale in a couple of weeks.

I went to bed with all intentions of getting up and posting first thing...but then overslept...bad idea for an action packed day.

Here's how today went:

Run to the shop and do the annual service on one machine because I'm behind and I don't like it.

Run out to Whimsical Women, an all-woman craft show in Pfafftown. My amiga had a booth there and I felt I needed to go support her plus wanted to see what it was like. Very cool - lovely booths full of well, whimsical women - live music and free food. I wish I could have spent all day there because of the wonderful atmosphere. Maybe next year. Right now, I have too much to do...

Run home. Drop off Miss Shelby and pick up Mr. Dave. Pick up Mom and run to Durham for a fundraiser for my cousin's son who was diagnosed with leukemia about a month and a half ago. (yeah, you heard me just run right over that, didn't you. if you say it real fast, it isn't true...right? please tell me that...because it really can't be really happening, right?)

I don't have time to run to Greensboro, then run to Durham. I have stuff and things to do. I have deadlines. I am worried about not getting everything done for my shows. I am worried about not getting machines serviced when people want them. I'm worried I won't get my three commissioned quilts done in time. I'm worried about (insert just about anything right here). My sinuses are making a valiant effort to suffocate me and I'm tired. I really don't have time...but...

we go anyway...because in all the debate of go or no-go, going is the right thing to do.

We drive the hour+ to Durham, part of which I have my mother in the car with me and my husband - a rare thing and a gift - and we have big discussions about things that cause me to lose sleep. We talk about big changes to come that will make things better.

We talk about this little 8 year old boy who is cute and funny and sweet...who, at family gatherings is always outside running around with the nephews being the sweet, happy-go-lucky one.

We pull up at the community center and the place is packed - the fire department is out in full-force (Max's dad is a captain with the fire department) and the air is filled with laughter and barbecue smoke.

Another truck pulls up beside us and out hops my uncle and cousin and his family. There are more inside. Another car pulls up and it's a stepbrother and his kids, coming from Charlotte.

We all stopped our running for one evening to come together for this little boy and his family - our family.

The deadlines will pass with or without me finishing those trees. The shows will come and go and most likely come again. The machines will eventually get done and it's up to the customer to handle the delay with grace or not. The commission quilts will get done in time - somehow they always do.

But this moment on this particular day - the moment when we all come together and remember we are family and we are there for each other no matter what, no matter when - will never come again.

6 out of 10 cousins

And once again it is true - I will only regret the things I do not do.

Shopping on the Cape

Here's the haul:

Claire Murray - West Barnstable, MA

Beautiful things here and the rugs...holy socks! (Thanks, Laura for that one.)

Claire hooks with wool yarn instead of wool strips so I got a small kit to try out...and a catalog because of course I will love it. Of course.

The wonderful lady at Claire Murray told us about a new rug hooking shop that opened nearby so off we went to...

With Hook in Hand - Dennis, MA

Oh, the money I could have spent in this shop. It was a gorgeous shop and the women here were so nice! All I said was I was a new rug hooker from North Carolina and they became my new best friends.

I ended up getting some patterns, some wool scraps and one Americana pattern. I'll do it...one day.

Tumbleweed Quilt Shop - West Barnstable, MA

We started here and I barely made it beyond the first room which was full of Kaffe Fassett fabrics and friends for the hexie quilt. I'm glad I did make it to the other rooms because I hit the mother load of Day of the Dead fabrics...because I love me some happy skellies.

We also ended here because I had to go back and get more skellies for my amiga.

Cape Cod

My best friend from high school lives on Cape Cod and for years, we've talked about me coming up for a visit. It's always just been talk but a month or so ago, we were talking and out of curiosity I checked the flight rates. They were so low, it was a sign.

It was meant to be...finally.

Her younger daughter graduated from high school in the spring so, like her big sister, I made her a quilt I finished it the night before I left for Boston. (procrastinate? me?)

With both girls off at school and her husband in NC on a hunting trip, it was just us...and Chloe. Could that face be any sweeter? (well, besides Shelby's sweet face, of course)

On Thursday afternoon, we drove along 6A, searching out shops. I'll have to share that in its own post!

On Friday, we started the day with breakfast at Beth's Tea Shop in Sandwich, MA.

The scones were unbelievable and it was so fun to sit and talk and look out the window at the falling leaves.

Did I mention the weather? It was perfect. One day rainy, one day clear...all days warmish at least for Cape Cod in November.

We spent most of the day wandering around shopping in Sandwich and Falmouth and checking out accommodations for wedding guests for next summer.

Saturday, we went to Plymouth and saw the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock...both much smaller than School House Rock indicated on Saturday mornings.

Isn't is amazing how fast time flies? The three days were over in a flash and it was so hard to head back to the airport. We covered a lot of ground in those few days. There's nothing like having a friend who knew you when...and stills knows you now...and will know you always.

Welcome Home

Yesterday afternoon found me waiting at a gate in Logan Airport in Boston. I know for most people this may be a normal, everyday thing and a pain in the hiney to boot. To me, it's still a pleasure. I love to fly...always have. I love to watch people in an airport. I love the community and solitude of waiting.

Yesterday I got to witness something wonderful.

The plane I was about to board sidled up to the exit and the incoming passengers began to disembark. The desk agent announced that a couple of soldiers returning from Iraq were on that plane and would we join their families who were there at the gate in welcoming them home (families being at the gate - a thing of the pre-9/11 days we all miss).

The first soldier comes up the ramp and is greeted by his mom, his young wife and a baby boy barely old enough to walk. The soldier goes from one to another. He's on the ground holding his baby. There are cheers and cries and laughter.

The next soldier comes up the ramp and is greeted by a young woman. He hugs her tight, lifting her off the ground. He puts her down then takes a knee, pulls out a red velvet box and asks her to be his wife. She, of course, says yes and there is more cheering and applause.

We all stood, cheering and clapping as these two young men went home with their families. We all were there, strangers, all going somewhere else, maybe home, maybe to work, maybe to see old friends...but we were all there and able to get on that plane and go about our lives because these two young men and so many like them do what they do.

I am grateful.

On the Road Again

Sometime tomorrow, I'll be crossing this bridge.

Good thing I'm still packed from retreat, huh?

Attitude Adjustment

Don't get me wrong.

I love my friends and I love going on retreat.

But Saturday afternoon...I needed an attitude adjustment.

When you put 20-some women in one room together, sewing, laughing, singing, talking, it gets really loud. Add to that, I was trying to "figure" in my head how to fix the mis-cut I had just done and I was DONE.

I had to go.

Get out.

Skeedaddle.

Before I snapped...not because of one thing but because I was frustrated with my project...it was loud and I needed quiet...I could not answer one more question...not to mention I was still reeling from my sentimental journey on Thursday that continued to roll over me.

I could not fit one more thought into my head.

So I left.

My intention was to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head to Craggy Gardens. There's a short little hike there that ends in a phenomenal view. When I got on the parkway, though, it wasn't long before I saw a red warning sign.

Road closed ahead.

So I stopped in at the Folk Art Center and sure enough, the park ranger said no Craggy Gardens for me. Snow and ice had shut that part of the parkway down.

...BUT... I could drive to the road closed sign, park and walk on the Parkway...not something you get to so every day, you know.

So after I watch a guy demoing glass blowing for a bit, I took off for the end of the road. There were a few people there but we were scattered enough that there was solitude to be found.

Once again, on a Blue Ridge Road, I found the peace I needed.

Blue Ridge Roads

Most Thursdays find me heading up to Boone to work with the tech in the shop there.

This past Thursday was like most.

Except the morning started out with an early phone call from my mother...which gave me a lot to think about as I drove up this road.

More than thirty years ago, my mom allowed me to go on my first "car date" with a boy up the street. His parents and my parents were good friends so she figured it was okay even if it were a few months before my 16th birthday. I loved his parents dearly. I spent hours talking with his mom. I felt she treated me like a grown up. And, his dad made me feel smart and proud. He was an artist and I loved going back into his studio and seeing what was emerging on those easels. Mike was an artist too but he was also a 17-year old boy which...well, we all know what most 17-year old boys are like and it's a good thing 16-year old girls don't know what we know...or maybe they should. Then, their silly little hearts wouldn't take all that mess so seriously.

Anyway, we "went together" for a time but like all things do, it ended. I haven't seen or spoken to him in 30 years. I did periodically run into his parents at art & craftsman shows but even at that, it's been a good 25 years. They have since moved to their homestead in the Blue Ridge.

So...back to the phone call from my mom. Mike's dad passed away the previous Saturday which in itself made my heart hurt. The service was to be this last Saturday. We were trying to figure out how we could get there. There was no way she could make it. My mom's list of family obligations is epic.

So, I'm thinking as I'm driving to Boone and come up with a solution she finds wonderful. I'll just call Mike's mom up in the Blue Ridge and see if I can come by the house for a visit. I'm heading that way anyway. It's only another 45 minutes from Boone. So after I finish at the shop, I stop by and pick up some apples and a carrot cake and head up the mountain.

I am terrified.

This is a place I've wanted to see all my life. (There's a painting of it that Mike's dad did...hanging in the foyer of my parent's house. THAT is how significant this place and these people are to me. Ingrained is the word that comes to mind.)

I call and she's home and will be so "come on up".

I keep looking at myself in the rear view mirror. I'm in jeans and an old sweater. I have on NO make-up. I DO have on 31 years of life.

I do not look anything like that girl.

When I pull off the Blue Ridge Parkway and up that winding driveway, there it is. Vaguely familiar. I somehow get out of the car and carry my carrot cake to the door and ring the bell. I hear her coming to the door.

I'm about to faint...which would be bad...because I'd drop the cake and it's damn good carrot cake.

Mary opens the door, just like she did a hundred times before for me in a different house. She looks just the same except for the gray hair.

I'm 16 again for just a split second.

And she says "child, you look just like your mother!" (which is just about the best thing you can say to me)

I spent the next hour and a half getting the tour of this incredible house she and her husband (the carpenter/artist) built from the homestead, old barns, houses, fences and whatever else they found attractive...and it is a work of art. We talked about the old days, the folks, the children, the neighborhood, the weird world of today and everything else.

The phone rang off and on several times, folks checking on this wonderful woman who now lives alone in a big house on the Parkway. The last phone call she takes and talks for a few minutes then says "well, here, talk to her yourself..." and hands me the phone...

I'm glad I wasn't holding the carrot cake still.

We talked for 45 minutes...which was longer than we ever talked on the phone when we dated 31 years ago.

Yeah, I was 16 again for a split second...but I know, oh so much more now.

Mary walked out to the car with me, hugged me and told me how much it meant for me to be there.

By the time I got back down the driveway to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was crying...because I've missed her, because I didn't get to say goodbye to her wonderful husband, because I spoke to the first boy to break my heart, because they both just lost their best friend and my heart breaks for them...because the refrain that's been running through my head for months is so bitter sweetly true...

We do not regret the things we do as much as we regret the things we DON'T do.

I would have so regretted not being brave enough to take that carrot cake up that mountain.

Twas the Night Before...

RETREAT!!!!!!!

It's like the night before Christmas...

You know good times are ahead!

Details soon!

Finally A Finish!

It seems like forever since I actually finished something.

This is a little detail. This beautiful couple wanted a simple four-patch quilt for their wedding guests to sign. So, I put together the top for the wedding and then months later got digitals from their photographer to add into the quilt.

Yeah...this means I took the top apart to insert the photos.

I won't be doing THAT again.

I've had to fit in the basting, quilting, binding and sleeving along the way of my upside down life.

But it's finally done.

And I'm still a couple of months before their 1st anniversary.

That's acceptable, right?

Note: Yes, that's Carolina Blue and white (hard to tell with my mad photography skills) which made this even more difficult to complete...me being a red-blooded NC State fan and all.