Folk Keeper

 We did something yesterday that we haven't taken the time to do in a long time.  We went on a family day trip...just me, David and Shelby.  One of my favorite places is Folk Keeper Gallery in Lenoir, NC.  I get lost in this little gallery.  Charlie and Susan Frye are both folk artists and they own and run the gallery.  It is filled with their art as well as art by other local folk artists.  It is a magical place.  

Last week, Charlie posted a few little mountain scenes on their facebook page for sale and I claimed one. The purpose of this trip was to go pick up that little piece.

Well, while wandering the shop, I saw this standing up in the corner (the ironing board, not the truck).  

I love Charlie's owls.  Actually, I love pretty much anything Charlie paints and if you look close in my studio, you may think I have a Charlie Frye art addiction.  You're probably right.  But this...this is an old ironing board and I had to take it home with me.

While we were walking around the shop, this 20-something kid walks in.  He asks Charlie about the piano (that I had not even noticed) and Charlie says "yeah!  It's a 1925 something something" and the kid asks if he can touch it. Charlie says sure thing and the kid sits down and starts playing a beautiful tune.  When he stops we all say it was wonderful and he laughs and says "don't ask me what chords I was playing...got no idea."

See.  A magic place.

While we listened to him play, Charlie flipped the ironing board around and started drawing.  He drew Shelby and me...complete with my mask on, my glasses on top of my head and the moon phase shirt I was wearing.

When we checked out, Charlie pulled this little painting off the wall.  "Special folks get special receipts."  

He writes "receipt" on the back and puts it in the bag.  

Charlie is an amazing artist and is quite successful I think.  I've watched him draw and I've watched him write.  He doesn't do either in the order most people would do.  He writes the letters in different order.  Receipt for example... he wrote the r...the i...the t then filled in the rest.  Yeah, he left out the c but I didn't notice until I took this photo.  He sees the world differently.  It's a thing of beauty and wonder and whimsy.  I'm so glad we don't all fit in the same box.

So, we left Charlie and Susan (and Harper, their pup) and headed home...via Hickory because lunch and a beer at Old Hickory Brewery were calling us.  Old train depot.  Outdoor seating.  Awesome food.  Extensive beer selection.  What more could you want?

A nap.  We could have all used a nap.

Quiltmania

 Almost a year ago (may more than a year...it flies by so fast), Northcott emailed me to see if it was okay to send my contact information to Quiltmania magazine.  They saw my Animal Crackers quilt and thought it would be great for their Special Children's Issue.  

Long story short, after many fits and starts, we came to an agreement, I made a new sample out of new Northcott fabrics, mailed it to France and months later (which was last Thursday), I get a copy of the magazine in the mail...

and there I am...

Cute, huh?  Looking at the other projects and designers in this issue, I'm honored.  The company I am keeping is grand.

Drinks on the Veranda

When I was shopping for building supplies for the quilt studio a couple of years ago, one of my "shopping sprees" was at Lumber 84 in Statesville.  Shirley Bailey's sister, Deborah happened to be in the shop on day when I was talking about needing windows which is how I ended up meeting Deborah's husband, Rick the next day to shop their sidewalk sale a day early.  (Sometimes you're just at the right place at the right time running your mouth about the right things.)  I ended up buying four windows, a bathroom door, siding for the entire studio and a sliding glass door.  The sliding glass door was a whim.  There was no plan but I couldn't pass up a $100 Pella sliding glass door.

And that's how I ended up with my little 6' x 8' deck on the backside of the studio.  We call it the veranda and it has become a source of great joy.

We have become bird watchers though I need a better camera than my phone.

Nuthatch

Male goldfinches

Baby red-bellied woodpecker

The chipmunks and squirrels are hilarious entertainment.  They have their own feeders at the edge of the woods but will still come check out the veranda just in case I dropped a seed or two.

 Almost every evening, I get a text from David when he's leaving the office that asks for (or demands depending on how the day has gone) "drinks on the veranda".

So we get to sit and unwind: catch up on the happenings of the day, watch the birds, laugh at the squirrels, ahh over the baby rabbits, hold our breath when the hummingbirds fly around our heads all because of a $100 whim.

Sometimes you just can't imagine how much a door can really open.

COVID Hair and Brain

So, today has not started off as fabulous as it should have. First, we've been awake since 4:45 a.m.  Shelby can't hear the thunder anymore but she can see the lightening.  Maybe that's what woke her up but I thought it was the need to potty...which how we ended up standing in the yard at 4:47 a.m. in the rain.  We have those little solar walkway lights that by the wee hours in the morning have lost their juice and are dark.  While I'm standing there watching Miss Thing find just the right spot, lighting flashes...lighting the sky for just a split second.  That split second lightening flash from 3-4 miles away (because I can't help but count the second between the flash and the boom) was enough to juice all the solar lights to full brightness.  THAT was freaky.  I scooped up Shelby and hightailed it in the house.

No more sleep for me at that point.  Shelby, on the other hand was snoring like a bear in a matter of minutes.  So, I work for a bit until it's time to take her to the groomer because the poor girl has some serious COVID hair.

This photo was Wednesday night.  I was so engrossed in Brothers & Sisters on Hulu (because I am binge watching it like it's my job), I did not notice Shelby had somehow stolen my fork and licked it clean.  Just look at the hair do! 

Back to this morning...so I do some work, get the handful of shipments together so I can drop them in the mailbox, grab my stuff and Shelby and we head to the groomer.  I have three stops...groomer, mailbox at Thruway and Chick-fil-a for my free biscuit (the app...free stuff and no contact payment..yay).  I get back home, start gathering my stuff...where's my wallet? 

I search the car...nothing.  I run into the studio...it's not sitting on the table.  I call the groomer...no it didn't fall out of the car in the parking spot.  I go to Thruway...it's not in the lot at the mailbox.  At this point, I'm convinced I threw it in the mailbox with the packages.  I'm freaking out thinking...do I call the post office?  would they even come open it up for me?  what if it's not in there?  do I have to sit here all day and wait for the post carrier to come pick up the mail and how do I prove it's my wallet?  Am I completely losing my mind?

Then David calls...my wallet is laying on the couch in the studio...where I saw it about 6 a.m.this morning and thought "I need to remember that's where my wallet is".  I never even picked it up.  All that freaking out and I never had it in the first place.  COVID brain. 

So, I get back home and David is sitting in the studio waiting to pat my head and say it'll be okay.  While we're talking, I'm doctoring my Chick-fil-a coffee (which I had left on the studio porch  when I dashed in the first time to look for my wallet...and left, leaving the door unlocked).  I'm opening the little mini moos, pouring the creamer in my coffee and tossing the empty moo in the Chick-fil-a bag...until I start opening the mini moo and pouring the creamer in the bag instead of my coffee.  COVID brain..again...at which point I decided I will do nothing today that needs excessive brain power.  I'm taking the day off.  I will be sitting at my machine sewing quarter square triangles together listening to a no-brainer audiobook.  And there will be a nap once Shelby is home from the groomer.

All this before 9:00 a.m.  This is why I am not a morning person.

Always a Little Weird

It still takes me by surprise when I see one of my patterns pop up in a fabric company email or lookbook. 

Flipping through the Free Spirit lookbook the other day and oh...look...there's Brickyard and Ridgewalk...

Then an email and a facebook post came out last night from Hoffman and oh...

Latte...

and Tumbleweed...

and Masonry...

It's weird and fun and a little Sally Fields.

Making the Best of Things

One of our favorite things to do when David gets home from work or golf (because that's pretty much what he does if your throw fishing in the mix) is go grab a beer at a local brewery and dine with whatever food truck is on site.  Our very favorite hangout is Hoots Roller Bar especially on off afternoons and evenings when it isn't crowded.  The folks there are laid back and we love all the bartenders, brewers and owners.  They play good music.  The beer is tasty.  And, Shelby is a welcome patron.

Then COVID happened and there's no more hanging out.  So we do what we can, which is David drops by Hoots and picks up growlers and food and we picnic on the little deck outside my studio.  Yesterday evening was beer and taco night.

No, it's not the same but it's still fun.  We're still spending time together and we're still supporting our friends and hoping they will make it through this mess.

One More Time with Feeling

This blog is something that is on my mind occasionally but I just never seem to get back to it.  The reason I started the blog in the first place was to remember things that happen because I often forget...especially the little fun things.  I have no problem remembering the crappy things - mistakes, missteps, stupid things I wish I had not said out loud, rude people, criticism.  I run those things over and over in my head like a treadmill. I think the reason I stopped blogging was (1) it's time consuming and time moves fast especially when you're spinning a lot of dishes and (2) it's so easy to snap a photo and throw it on facebook and instagram and that became my "blog" so to speak.  But, oh I am so tired of facebook.  If we could just go back to seeing everyone's dogs and cats and kids and grandkids and gardens and roadtrips, it would be just grand.  I don't see it happening.  So, I'm going to give this another try, just to record the good things in my day. 

I've been trying to work on my own stuff on the weekend instead of longarm quilting for others all weekend.  So, today, I quilted two samples using a new panel that is coming from Hoffman Fabrics.  Because the new Hoffman catalog hasn't hit the streets yet, I can't show the quilts, so here's a photo of the derpy doves hanging out in one of my feeders today.  I love them especially the goober peering out at me from inside the feeder.  See...joy in the little things.