Finding The Floor

I've been silent for so long you probably thought I was quitting my Blog - Not!

 What I've actually been doing is searching for the Floor in my Studio.   

The reason the floor was so hard to find is because it was covered with Stuff left over from my tassel and bag business...
thousands of yards of Trims, 
hundreds of pounds of Fabrics.

Stacked in bins were vast quantities of tassel parts. In every nook and cranny were tassel blanks, wooden beads, wooden spindles, small wooden animals, tiny garden tools and flower pots...on and on and on.

All this because in 1995 I designed a line of tassels that I named Lula Belle Tassels, and starting in 1996, it just exploded.  With the help of a fabulous staff, I made and shipped thousands of Tassels, which we made right here in Marietta, Georgia.  Calico Corners put them in 120 stores and it was Game On!

Then, I designed some handbags for the High Point Market one Fall, and BAM!  We were in the Handbag Business.  I started with a few Bags, and wound up with dozens of styles

-all of which required their own bolt of fabric-

and their own bolts of trim

and cases and cases of handles, bottoms, rivets, etc.

I rented more studio space, hired more seamstresses,

more tassel makers,and a manager.  I added larger bags, which we called Satchels.

I decided that we should make painted French Market Baskets lined with a removable Tote Bag...they were an instant hit, and we shipped thousands of those, too.  So many orders came in that we wound up with a commercial paint booth - big enough to paint a small car in.  
And, of course, I had to hire a painter to paint the baskets.  She was amazing.
All of this was fun, but it had gotten very, very big.

I had a wonderful woman in charge of Packing and Shipping, whose name was Julie.

She thankfully kept us all sane and on task, shooing me aside to organize the orders and direct the tassel making, bag sewers, and basket teams.

Then suddenly, Julie left and moved to North Georgia and somehow, things just weren't the same.  I had been designing Tassels and Bags for years, I had a LOT of money in the bank, 
but I wasn't excited about it anymore.

My Husband had built the Ocean Isle Fishing Center and I wanted to go on up there.  

So I closed the Atlanta studio, stored everything, and opened a fabric store in North Carolina.

It was just a couple of miles from the beach,
in one of the fastest growing "Golf Communities"
in the United States of America - Southeastern Brunswick County, NC.

The store was popular, and we had lovely clients who bought tons of fabrics, trims, and accessories.
 They ordered lots of Custom Window Treatments,
Custom Bedding,
Wesley Hall Furniture,
and came to shop frequently
for their favorite thing:
One of A Kind Pieces
that I scoured the Atlanta and High Point Markets and Antiques vendors for.

I had a lovely, lovely staff of women
that I looked forward to seeing
every single day.

Then, the Real Estate Bubble popped, 
the Financial Markets collapsed,
New Home Building stopped,
and things got Real Quiet.

I got homesick for Atlanta.
So, I sold the store and moved back here with all that Lula Belle Stuff.
Which I've been drowning in ever since.

Every time I walked into the tightly packed studio, I got depressed.  All those stored raw materials and painted baskets made me guilty, like I needed to do something with them.  it bugged me to distraction until it finally dawned on me:
Give it away! 

Yesterday, the last load of Trims, Fabrics, Tassel Parts, Baskets and tools drove off down my driveway.  Next week, four men will arrive to dismantle and move out the Skutt Kiln and the huge Slab Roller.  I have made some people very happy.
They got brand new, FREE Stuff.

And, I found my floor.
Which is delightfully bare, freshly painted, and peaceful.
So, so happy.

Coffee Design Fabric Contest Open for Voting

Just a quickie - thanks so much to all of you who voted for my "Fishie Coral"  entry in the  Spoonflower Fabrics  design contest in June: 

Although I wasn't in the top 10, I was thrilled to place in the top 50 - not bad for a first time entry - thanks to all of you!

Now the Coffee Design fabric contest is open for voting - the rules were harder, as you could only use three colors - here's my entry:

A Cuppa Caffe'

You can view all the designs from the many talented fabric artists out there by clicking on this link:  Vote for Coffee Design Favorite.

The Coffee Fabric Design Contest ends August 4, so I hope you'll cruise on over and vote!  Next subject in the Fabric Design Contest......SHARKS!  Now THAT will be a toughie, but I'm on it!

New Fabric Pattern - A Cuppa Caffe' for the Fabric Contest

This speedy new computer just flew for me today, and the design for the Spoonflower "Coffee" contest is finished - but in three colours only - that's the rule!

Here's the one I entered in the Contest:

I designed a couple of other colorways, just to see if I liked them or not, but the Blue & Tan won out-

I love Red, White and Black together, but can't see this in practical application.

Here's the last one:

This ran a close second for me, but I'm not sure how many people would want a Pea-Green Coffee Bean in their Decor...

The contest voting opens around the end of next week - I do hope you will visit Spoonflower Fabric Printing and vote for your fave!

Goose Throwdown

Well.  I never.  Will you just look at this and tell me if this is bad behavior, or what??  I was on my way out the door to shoot the Penelope Robin Bag, and caught the beginning of this goose fight on our idyllic little pond:

This couple LAUNCHED toward the other two.

They trumpeted taunts and goose curses all the way across the pond, with me and Penelope Robin hanging on to our hats.

Screeches and Honks and Bedlam as the fight begins, with Lucy Goosey egging them on.

It only got worse...

Words were flung that should never have passed those goose lips.  Never.

Then, realizing I was taking pictures of all this rude behavior, they climbed out of the pond and took the fight off behind the little boat house where I couldn't see them.  When husband went to see what the heck was going on back there, they chased HIM back around the boat house at a fast little clip, then resumed the yard fight.  It was, purely and simply, a Goose Throwdown.

As a result of all this bedlam and ill will, I was unable to get to the spot where I was going to photograph Penelope.  She simply refused to enter an arena that was filled with hissing, honks, lingering rage, residual goose-cursing, and damaged serenity.

So I guess we'll try again this afternoon, but I may have to hire security.  Good grief.

Cranking the Engines

So, now it's time to work!  This is what I've been doing since coming to Atlanta...cleaning out six years of neglect, mold, mildew, dust and -UGH!- rat and squirrel poop from my poor house.

Here's a before shot of the graphics and sewing side of my workroom/studio on March 3:

Pretty awful.  Just open the door and throw it in for years while I tended to the store in North Carolina.  After a couple of day's work, this is what it looked like:

Getting better!  So, today, after spending ALL DAY yesterday cleaning up the new office area I will be using for the graphics and computer work, I decided to crank my creative engines and get started on some multi-panel table runners:

I'm going to make these quilted runners about 90" long and they'll finish out at about 14" wide.  Now that they're all cut, I'm going to put them in the washer for a few minutes to take the sizing out.  After they've dried, I'll start sewing them together and figuring out what to use for the backs.  And the binding!  I have to find enough fabric to be able to cut it on the bias without buying any more fabric.  That's the rule.  I just sold a fabric store, for crying out loud!                                



                                
                                    

Stars and Guardian Angels

I was born at a tiny little clinic in Leighton, Alabama.  The doctor who had delivered me was the only one in attendance besides my Dad, and as he was cleaning me up he smiled and held up my foot to my Mom.  "Look at this", he says.  "She will always be lucky in life!"

What he was pointing out was a perfect five-point star, made by lines converging on the bottom of my foot.  When I was a teen, I stared at that star many times, wondering where the heck the luck was.  More than once, Mom told me that it was the sign of my Guardian Angel, and that he was watching over me, never fear.  When I was barely 20 years old, I got married and left my parents and childhood home and flew away to live in Hawaii.  Right about then, my Angel went to work, and hasn't stopped since.

After I ended my last post on November 14, I got in the van to go to Jamie's Spot Fry and saw messages on my cell phone.  Heading down the street, I listened to them and learned that a young couple was driving around the island, trying to find me.  What followed next has changed the track of my life at exactly the right time in my life...which can only be attributed to that good old Guardian Angel who put his stamp on my foot and claimed me while I was still in the womb.

They wanted to buy my fabric store, Tideline Fabrics, which is located in Shallotte.  We talked for about an hour in a parking lot (I missed the Spot Fry) and to skip over all the details and get to the present, we are moving toward closing in mid-February.  

That will release me to move my home base back to Georgia - to my beloved home, gardens  and studio there, and most importantly, it will release me to be with my husband 24-7 as he enters the battle against cancer.  He was diagnosed November 30, and last night his surgery was scheduled for February 17.  He has chosen a doctor in Atlanta rather than Duke...see how all this works?