Tag: lifestyle

The Story Shop

This is not a post about a quilt.  This is a post about magic, or at least a magical place for kids of all ages. 

 C. S. Lewis would be proud.  The glint in this boy’s eye says it all.  When you go, look in the wardrobe  – you won’t be disappointed.

This shop is on a downtown street in Monroe, Ga.  We go there frequently to visit family, to shop at some great antique malls, and to eat delicious food at local restaurants.

As we drove through downtown on recent trips, this storefront beckoned me.  It seemed to be a children’s shop of some sort, but until I entered, I had no idea what to expect.

There are books, book, more books, and nooks to read them in. 

There’s a yellow brick road, murals to delight children and adults around every corner.

I paused in my giggling with delight to get permission to take photos and write about this haven.  Do click on the images to enlarge them so you can appreciate the detail in the decor.

I learned that The Story Shop has been open for about two years and is as wildly popular as you would expect.  The owner and designer has created a delightful destination for kids of all ages.  


Groups are welcomed and school groups can come to presentation geared to their age groups.  Teachers will love that the programs are correlated to the state curriculum standards.  What a wonderful place to learn more about your favorite wonderland.

There’s a room for parties and gatherings.  And a bit of non-bound merchandise can be found, too.  

Just seeing the graphics on this tote bag brings happy memories of libraries and bookstores from my early reading life.  Imagine the memories made by youngsters who have the privilege of visiting this wonderland!  

How many favorite books from your childhood did you identify from the photos?

 

Satterfield’s Farewell

We bid farewell to a good friend today.  A favorite restaurant is closing this week, so we ate one last lunch there.  There are other restaurants in town where boiled peanuts are served as an appetizer, where waitresses are friendly, and where the food is good.  But we will miss Satterfield’s.

This is a place where we’ve taken several out-of-town visitors to experience good southern food and atmosphere.  It’s a spot where we’ve happily bumped into friends and enjoyed an impromptu reunion.  We treasure the memories of conversations on the porch, meals in the sunken dining area, and the delight on the waitress’s face when our grandson ate everything he had ordered – and it was a lot!  We even had our favorite parking spot.

Many final experiences are enjoyed without knowing it’s the last time you’ll be there doing that.  In this case, the owner announced a few weeks ago that the restaurant will be closing.  Happily, he’s just slowing down, not stopping.  So some recipes and menu items will live on at another restaurant in town, but we will miss Satterfield’s.

One of my first thoughts when I read about the plans was, “where will that guy eat?”  ‘That guy’ being a regular customer.  He’s been there every time we’ve been for lunch, sitting at the same table.  I wrote about him here.  So, today I asked our waitress about him.  She said he was wondering the same thing.

We are certainly not the only ones feeling the melancholy today.  One waitress said, “it’s hitting me now.  I’ve been in denial for three weeks, but today it seems real.”  Other customers were ordering everything on the menu, to taste it all one last time.  Some were taking selfies with their favorite waitress.  One woman was there alone, her husband’s poor health having kept her away in recent months.  But she had made special arrangements today to come have lunch.  The staff pampered her with extra attention. 

That’s the biggest thing we will miss.  The love that was served with the food.

A Sewist Died


While touring a favorite antique mall of ours, I saw a booth with a new basket of sewing goodies.  Patterns, thread, buttons, were all gathered together for my plunder.  There were handmade wooden buttons and needlebooks distributed as advertising media, too.

This booth’s owner must have gone to an estate sale where the remains of a sewing stash were discarded.  The old wooden spools with their richly colored threads are still beautiful and the vendor must have enjoyed corralling them artfully in jars and vases.  As I studied the bits of an unknown woman’s history, I thought of the line I’ve recently seen, “our children don’t want our stuff.”  That headline advises us to clean out, get rid of that stuff (the jars and vases included), so our children won’t have to.

Now, I don’t want my children to have a burden to clean out my stuff, but I don’t want to get rid of it now!  I’m loving my stuff, just as Ester, or Mildred, or whatever this woman’s name was, loved hers.  She bought those patterns and planned clothes for her and her children and grandchildren.  She selected the threads and buttons to make those dreams a reality.  And the leftover pieces are now there for me and others to cherish, repurpose, or just see and remember her pleasure.

I still have bits of my mother’s and my mother-in-law’s sewing treasures.  I use some of them every day.  Others, I just enjoy their presence as I sew.  And, though I didn’t buy all of Mildred’s stuff today, someone will.  And, Mildred’s selections will become part of another stitched work of love.

Often when I buy these fabric treasures, the clerk at the counter will ask what I’m going to do with them.  It seems everyone loves them but, “no one knows what to do with them.”  When I explain about my art, sometimes showing them a photo, I get mixed reactions.  Some say, “oh, no, you’re going to cut it up?!!”  Others say, “That’s good.  It will continue to live on.”  That’s my hope.

Note:  I know “sewist” looks awkward in print.  The first image that comes to mind when you read “sewer” is not of a person pulling needle and thread through fabric, now is it?  Right.  So, I embrace the word sewist.

Lakewood Treasures

It started outside…I was inspired from the get-go by someone else’s embroidery and button designs in white frames on canvas.  Napkin rings were made from silver-plate forks bent into an oval shape.  There’s an idea!

And, color!  The display of Fiestaware shown above is an eyecather by anyone’s definition.  I don’t collect this dinnerware, but I certainly admire the pure saturated colors.  This palette could be mimicked with solid Kona cottons in any modern quilt project.

This was the same day at Lakewood that I met Kristine, the Button Lady I wrote about recently.  I promised to share more of the treasures and stories from that adventure.

So… I was gathering inspiration before I even got in the building.  And, I bought things outside, too.

My first purchase was a couple of vintage cross-stitched pieces and a small black embroidered pillow from a vendor named Kathleen.  As I gave her my $15, she said, “Thank you.  You just bought two bags of feed for my horses.”  She further explained.  “I have retired race horses at my home in TN.  My husband said, ‘If you want to keep them, you have to find a way to support them.’  So doing these markets is how I keep my horses.”

Inside, I found a lovely old tablecloth with lots of blue cross-stitch.  The proprietor wasn’t there, so I hid it inside a cabinet so no one else would buy it before I got back.  “It is damaged,” she said, when I returned to retrieve it and make my purchase.  Yes, it’s damaged.  I still love it.

Then in the ribbon emporium, I found sari silk, hand-dyed french silk ribbons in all widths, sparkly threads, glorious new printed ribbons with feathers and swallows, and some irresistible rayon.

Other booths inspired me with ladders laden with vintage cotton tablecloths, lots of blue and white displays of china, blue and white linens,   If there was a color combination for the day, it was blue-and-white.  That could be true of any day for me, because I gravitate toward that pairing whenever I see it.  But there really was an abundance in sight this day.

I photographed Laurie’s booth filled with baby delights.  Soft colors and fabrics in blankets, toys, and clothing for tender skin of babes and toddlers.  As we chatted, I told this entrepreneur about the imaginary granddaughter that I conjure up when I want to sew with girly-girl colors. I learned that Laurie doesn’t have grandchildren yet, but she has a “Grandma’s hope chest.”  “Maybe that’s what I should call my booth,” she exclaimed!

I visited with Ginnie and bought napkins and towels to use in the kitchen (or use in sewing projects). I bought a runner made from salvageable bits of an old indigo and white quilt and a length of blue lace with bunnies in the design.  She had lots of tatting and trims, as well.   Ginnie doesn’t have granddaughters, either.  She has sons and grandsons (and three daughters-in-law that she loves).  She feeds her love of feminine delights by buying and selling linens, old quilts, and trims.

Believe it or not, there are things I see and like but don’t buy. I passed on a $14 barkcloth bag – colors not in may comfort zone.  Later I bought this piece of barkcloth ample to make several bags.  A bargain at $15 and in colors I like to use!

There was a lovely linen tablecloth with purple morning glories.  If only they had been blue!

I wasn’t the only one having fun looking and visiting with old and new friends – I took Missy’s photo in front of the Minnie Pearl booth!  That’s what she called it, anyway.  I think the expression on her face tells the story of what fun is to be had junking with the experts!

The conversations I have on days like this with strangers who are friends are unique.  Some of these vendors are people I will see time after time, others whose paths won’t cross mine again.  But for a few moments, we shared bits of our stories with each other. We share a love of things with a history behind them.  And we relish the display of simply beautiful objects dancing with each other.  I will remember these bits of conversation after we go our separate ways.  Their ideas and wares will impact my thinking, my fiber art, and my own story as life goes on.  I guess a part of me may go with them, too.

 

The Button Lady

On a recent trip to Lakewood 400 Antique Market, I met Kristine.  Kristine has buttons.  She collects buttons, she plays with buttons, she sells buttons.

Kristine knows buttons.  I spent $24 at her booth, but the knowledge I gained is worth much more than that.

 

 

 

I’ve seen collections of buttons before, but Kristine ‘s display tops the list.

Kristine had bone buttons, china buttons, wooden buttons, bakelite buttons, glass buttons, beaded buttons.  There were buttons on cards, buttons in jars, even buttons made into decorative floral arrangements.

In the past, Kristine sold at the Brimfield market.  When other dealers found out that she loved and sold buttons, they would sell her their button finds. The years have grown her collection, and her knowledge base.  Kristine encouraged my questions.  When I asked about horn buttons, she showed me what to look for, talked about romper buttons and the use of those buttons by Civil War re-enactors.

There were other sewing accoutrements, too.  Belt buckles, rickrack, snaps and hooks and eyes.  Fascinating, intriguing, mind-boggling; all words that fall short of describing the sense of enchantment with such a simple notion as a button.

I frequently include buttons in my quilts, so I must regularly add to my collection.  What a pleasure to do this with Kristine’s treasures.

Kristine was one of several women whose wares and stories intrigued me on this Lakewood trip.  You don’t want to read it all now…more posts will follow.  Suffice it to say that two hours at Lakewood inspired many days of creating.  The colors, the textiles, the combinations, and the people, all inform my sense of appreciation of the world.  What fun!

Fern Fronds and Fibonacci


A historic covered bridge seemed the perfect backdrop for a quilt photo shoot.  On a beautiful spring day Jim and I loaded the car with a couple of cameras, a couple of tripods, and a couple of quilts.

This stop was at the Red Oak Covered Bridge near Woodbury (details and a map can be found here: http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/476-big-red-oak-covered-bridge).  The quilt you see is my Fern Fronds and Fibonacci quilt, made in 2007.  It finished at   56” x 61” and features a sunprinted image of an Australian Tree Fern (Cyathea cooperi ) which was growing in our backyard garden at the time.

Some of my first explorations into putting images onto cloth were through the process of sunprinting.  This predates the printing, painting, and dyeing I’ve been exploring more recently.

The life size image of the fern frond measures 29“ x 34“.  The turquoise and white blueprinted image needed some color to give the quilt a more spectacular “wow” factor, so I chose to include a variety of brightly colored fabrics in the border.

Many batiks were used, along with some fossil fern prints.  I still love that line of fabric, and continue to use them a lot.  They are soft and loosely woven, but to me this makes them turn easily for appliqué.

To create a unique border, I referred to the Fibonacci sequence – the infinite mathematical sequence 1,1, 2 ,3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34… .  Each term of the sequence (after the first two) is found by adding the preceeding two terms.  For those of you who want a math review:   t1 = 1, t2 = 1, tn+1 = tn + tn-1.  And the answer to the inevitable test question, “is it arithmetic, geometric, or neither?” can be found at the end of the post.

The Fibonacci sequence is found in the growth pattern and leaf structure of many plants, including ferns. Google will help you with more intense investigation if you want to pursue it.

To interpret this into my quilt, I made colored rectangles all 1” tall, but whose widths were 1”, 1”, 2”, 3”, 5”, etc.  To avoid single loooong bands of color, I did not use a length greater than the 34” (limiting myself by the dimension of the plant image itself), I just repeated that sequence in a spiral until I was satisfied with the look.


The woven ribbon portion of the border was a design taken from one of Sally Collins’ books.

I was very inexperienced with machine quilting at the time and didn’t feel confident stopping and starting at the edge of the design.  So I quilted the grid in the sunprinted space by hand.  Make that read BY HAND.  That pretreated fabric is more closely woven than your normal quilting cotton making this a less than pleasant experience.  I used Dream Cotton batting which is nice and thin and generally easy to quilt through.  But now I know that wool would be sweeter to needle.  I don’t think wool batting was widely available at that time.

Then I dared to freemotion quilt fern fronds in the border space.  I traced a section of the fern, transferred it to the fabric using a lightbox, then stitched with an invisible polyester thread.

As I write this, I am amazed at how much I’ve learned since that experience.  But even though it’s full of what many would see as mistakes; I love this quilt.  I still love the fern.  I love the unique opportunity to combine nature and mathematics in fabric, and I love that I’m still learning things about quilting.

At the time I printed this image, I made many more blueprint images of plants including multiples of this plant.  I love planning ways to include these fabric images in new projects.

Older posts with details of other quilts with sunprinted images are these:

https://sandygilreath.com/gbi-blues/,

https://sandygilreath.com/whats-in-a-name/ (this one had a sunprinted label)

https://sandygilreath.com/annie-maes-lace/

Answer to the math question:  neither.  Arithmetic sequences are generated by adding a fixed constant to one term to get to the next; geometric, by multiplying.  Neither is the case in this sequence.

The black & white photo with color accent is Jim’s darkroom magic.  The other photos are mine.  If you think the fern is blurry, it’s not the camera.  It’s the motion of the fern in the wind during the 15-minute sun exposure.

Diggin’ in the Dirt

With a fence full of flowers like these, is it any wonder that gardening and tools are in every room of my house?

I love diggin’ in the dirt this time of year.  My morning walk has me counting the hostas that have raised their heads above the soil line, inspecting the buds on young trees, and even pulling a few weeds here and there.  Dirt therapy has always been a good thing, but at our house we seem to be more immersed in the pleasure than some years.  Perhaps because we were traveling last spring and didn’t get to enjoy newly emerging growth in our yard we are appreciating it more now.  And the dogwoods and azaleas have never been prettier.

While in the sewing room today, I noticed that not only were digging implements under the needle of my sewing machine, but the design wall holding projects in progress has gardening as a theme, too.

The ongoing free motion quilting is on my version of Lisa Bonjean’s Primitive Garden.  It’s wool appliqué on cotton, including some flannel and some homespuns, too.

Primitive Garden is not the first time rakes have appeared on one of my quilts.  This little wall piece pictured above (Off to the Garden, 22″ x 21″) is one I quickly assembled when I bought my Bernina.  I was anxious to drop the feed dogs and quilt, so the appliqué is fused.  You won’t read that often here, as I prefer needle turn appliqué.  But on this occasion, fuse I did.  I added a cotton ball for the tail and danced with my sewing machine.  This wall hanging helps us welcome spring every year.

As usual, click on any image to enlarge and see details.

 

A Snail’s Place
Did you know that terrestrial snails love portobello mushrooms?  It does make sense.  I love portobello mushrooms and they have an earthy flavor that I think snails would love.  But, until recently, I had never thought about what these creatures eat.

I love snail shells.  We have a small collection on our kitchen windowsill.  Some we’ve found (empty) in our yard, some we’ve brought home from the beach.  We have a friend who’s focused much of his career on research of olive snails.  These tiny snails comprise much of the diet of wading birds.

But until I discovered a treasure of a little book a few days ago, I had never thought about things I didn’t know about snails.  I knew their shells possessed geometric qualities related to logarithmic spirals.  But now I now that though most of those spirals are counterclockwise, some are clockwise.  And, only if the spirals spin the same way can a pair of snails mate.  And when they eat, the hole (such as in a leaf) is a square shape.  Snails and their geometry – oh, my!

I learned all this by reading The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. I found this little book at our local used book sale a couple of weeks ago.  The Friends of the Library hosts an annual sale with more than 100,000 books.  The prices are bargain basement level and we usually come home with some treasures.

This delightful book charmed me instantly.  There’s something especially appealing about a small book.  And the simple drawings of the snails intrigued me, too.  The description in the overleaf reminded me of another charming little book that’s been part of our library for several decades, That Quail Robert.

The wild snail in this book doesn’t get named, but provided  companionship when Ms. Bailey most needed it, and delivered lessons in observation and philosophy that we can all heed.  Reading this snail’s story makes me slow down and appreciate the little things.

I’ve already been motivated to pull out the watercolors and play with them.  A stitched snail in wool has a new level of respect now.

As I often do after reading a delightful book, I searched for podcasts with the author.  I found a delightful conversation with Bailey and her “snail scientist” advisor Timothy Pearce.  His research has included affixing thread to the back of a snail in order to track the snail’s travels.  What a delightful image!

Notes:

The book is readily available in print, as an ebook or audio book.  The charm of the paper, the size of the book, and the illustrations make me recommend the paper version.

The podcast I found was a broadcast from October 9, 2014 on NWP Radio.

Cemetery Fog

The atmospheric conditions yesterday morning were not what most people think of as a perfect day for photography.  But since our destination was the cemetery, the dense fog was perfect!

We headed to Rose Hill Cemetery with a few devoted photography friends and I came home with lots of images for angelic quilts.  An earlier post about my first Galadrielle quilt is here and includes a bit of history of this magical place.

Yesterday I captured images of some more angels that I think need to be on fabric.

Little Martha, made famous by the Allman Brothers, is especially pretty in the fog, I think.

Other angels spoke to me, too.  This one sits atop the tomb of Parthenia Raines.

And here is a different interpretation of Galadrielle in fabric.  This time, her image is stitched to a vintage placemat with elaborate embroidery.  I added many pearl beads by hand, securing her to a remnant of an old quilt dipped in the indigo vat.

 

A reclaimed doily serves as the label on the back.

A Step Back Christmas


Even the outhouse was decorated for Christmas.

It was a cold bleak morning as we set out on a time travel adventure.  We headed to a settlement called Step Back – a Victorian village –  was open to the public to celebrate Christmas old style.

On 200 acres, a man with a vision has created a historic settlement.  Roger Pierce has a general store, a schoolhouse, a church, and many farm sheds and buildings.  Often the acreage is quiet, sometimes populated by school groups or scouts who have made plans to visit for a day.  But yesterday was its annual opening to the public for Christmas.

Family members, friends, and local community members dressed in period clothing were on hand to educate and entertain.  There was a corn sheller operating, grinding corn using energy from the waterwheel.  A schoolmarm was on hand to answer questions and lead children in the construction of paper chains to decorate the tree.  In the church, live piano music provided the perfect backdrop of Christmas carols and hymns.

Oh, and there were women, who for this day, donned their Victorian best dresses to pose as floozies.  They layered the clothing to ward off the cold, fortified themselves with a bit of antifreeze (medicinal, they said).  As they raised a toast, I heard “May we be floozed the rest of our lives!”

While walking about, we ran into old friends and made new friends.  In a picturesque setting, we were enchanted with simple decorations of the past.  As the day progressed, the sun came out from behind the clouds, and more people came out, too.

 

The people of this community recognize this treasure and come to show their appreciation.  The owner was a local businessman with a love of history.  After he retired, he began to create this haven.  In some cases, he found old buildings and dismantled them and rebuilt them on his property.  Other buildings are made from trees growing on his property.  Likewise, the furniture and contents of the buildings are assembled from a wide range of sources.  All of it comes together in a bucolic settlement which serves to trigger memories in older folks and educate the young.

Mr. Pierce charges no admission at Christmas or any other time.  Those who choose to make a donation know that it will be used to buy toys for children whose Christmas would be less abundant without it.

 

And, did I say that “Mayor Pierce”  wears overalls?  Well, of course he does.  Yesterday, many of the men working there, and some of the visitors, were wearing overalls.  Yes, I got lots of photos.  Yes, there will be some art quilts depicting this place!