Excuse me, DO YOU QUILT?

One word at a time makes story...

the writers workshop that changed my life

It seemed simple enough. I was taking a writer's workshop in the awesome desert town of Alpine. Joe Nick Patoski, my creative non-fiction teacher opened the class with "What is your passion?" Pas-sion? I heard. What does he mean?--kids, cooking, writing? One student after another started answering his question. I knew my turn was next.

"Ugh," I thought. "Well, I'll just say "quilting." He smiled, turned to the chalk board and wrote: 

Class dismissed. Go find your passion. Come back to class tomorrow with a 1500 word story of what you find.

Gulp-Gulp. I couldn't believe it. It was only 1 p.m. and hot as August can be. I was home-based on a solitary college campus and did not have a car. Town was two miles away. Well, I thought..."guess I better figure this out." After all, I had a tote, a camera, a plastic water bottle and comfortable shoes. I knew I could make the walk to town.

After a few minutes of web surfing, commonly called "procrastination" I took off on my adventure. Anxious to find quilters from the Sul Ross campus to the end of town, I was confident to find the latest quilt happenings. After all, women share, women stitch, no matter what the circumstances. And the internet had shown lots of quilt activity.

My first stop was the DeJaVu Store and Gallery-RECYCLED. Surely they would have a polyester double-knit quilted pillow or a used how-to quilt book. I wandered up and down the aisles--"not much here that works for me. Maybe I should ask?" I spotted an "authority figure", a woman about age 50 with glasses on her nose.

"Ma'am, I'm a writer taking a workshop at Sul Ross. I'm doing a story about the quilting interest in Alpine. I thought you might have some quilts or know some quilters."

"Dooney, Dooney," she called. "Do you know the name of that quilter's place? It's a little house just before the grocery store. I think it's called the Sunshine Store, the Sunshine Shop. What's it called? Oh, anyway, take a left at this corner walk down about two blocks. There might be some quilters in there."

"Thanks." Off I went, counting the blocks, one- two, I spotted a neat house with pretty petunias on the porch and a plaque by the front door "Surely the Lord shall live in this place." Confidence filled my chest. I knew this would be a safe place to ask again about "The Sunshine Shop." It must be close by. Knock, knock...no answer.

Well, how big can this town be? I kept walking. "Oh, there it is"...an attractive plastered house with potted plants around the porch and the sign, "The Sunshine Shop." I eagerly walked to the door. It was locked. I peered in and saw a red and white star quilt hanging on the wall. The sign read: Hours 10-2. "Shucks, well, at least I know where it is. ...maybe tomorrow."

"Mercy, it's hot," I reminded myself as I gulped the bottled water. Across the street I saw the town's Thriftway Grocery. The store looked nice and cool. "Surely there is a quilter there." I stalked the aisles. I looked at every face. "No, she's too young. She looks in a hurry." Maybe, around the cereal aisle...

"Oh, ma'am, ma'am," I approached the middle-aged lady wearing the blue Thiftway shirt. "Excuse me, but do you quilt?" Standing on a ladder and restocking beans, she stopped and looked down at me, blankly..

"Oh, hi, I'm Alice and I'm working on an article about quilters in the beautiful Big Bend area. Are you a quilter?"
"Well, no, but I do embroidery."
"You do, what kind?"

"Well, I draw my own pictures and sew them every night. It keeps me from getting stressed. Well, I don't do exact pictures. I just sew the shapes. I fill in the areas. I sort of make it up as I go. I used to have a store here and one time they were filming a movie nearby and one of the movie stars came and bought everything I had."


"Really, were you pleased?"
"Pleased, you betcha."

"Do you have any more embroidered pieces?"
"Oh yeah, I have lots. You want to see them? How long will you be here? I'll bring them tomorrow if you have time to come back." I quickly read her name tag, "Irma, I can't wait. I'll see you tomorrow."

I returned. We walked to her truck; she opened the door. There, a box full of her stress-relief embroideries. Wow! What colors, what imagery. I was in love.

Wonderful little children's faces, drawn in Charles Shultz'-Peanuts style--multiple tiny french knots created happy children in sets of two or three, sometimes sets of five or more. Intriguing little faces, curly hair, bright eyes...

"Oh, Irma, May I buy one?"

"Sure, Pick out the one you want.'Several minutes later, I had chosen my favorite.

"Will you sign it for me?"
"Sure....you don't mind if I use my art name do you?" 

I watched her write  Pink Cookie ...boldly and proudly.

We shared smiles. We knew; we each had found a friend. 

To another great day,

Alice

a favorite scripture: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

a favorite book: Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, 1996.
I'm always the last to read the best sellers so older books feel new to me. So,if like me, you haven't read this...go, fast to your bookstore or library and indulge! A great read.

Is it the rash--or the voice?

CHOICE --in the makin' ??

An ambitious afternoon in the garden brought this on. Bushes overgrown needed trimming. So, for the next three hours I trimmed, raked and gathered cut stems. The yard looked so much better. I beamed.

THEN,

came this unexpected ITCH....itch, itch. I look at my watch and it is 3 a.m. I stumble out of bed, go to a distant room to check out the "itch." It seems everywhere--up and down my arms, up and down my legs. "Mercy," I think, "what did I get into?"

Morning comes and I feel confident. Surely, with all the homopath remedies in my cabinet I can manage this. I go through the shelves and select the appropriate products, double up on Vitamin C and think this rash  WILL go away. Now, three days later (post weekend of no clinics open) and two trips to the health food store plus one over-the-counter remedy, the ITCH is still with me. My arms are rash red; my thighs are a mess, my neck is beet red and I'm cold--in a 70 degree afternoon! One cream after another, one pill at a time, I hope at least one of these products will work? If not, first thing, in the a.m., to the doctor I will go. In the meantime....

I had written this week's blog (in my mind). How appropriate to match my thoughts to my ailment! The "itch" (so physically and emotionally consuming) and the "voice" (the consuming personality of our writing) join our personality, be it a written short story or our daily interactions.

First, the voice of a story.  Voice is a word that has become popular in writing circles. Countless classes are offered toward developing our voice.  Simply put, the writer's world advises strength becomes our characters when they  portray a voice (tone) that is recognized --the story has a consistent "attitude." As Tom Wolfe put it, the voice should not be "beige."  In writing every story has a voice; every story needs a personality.

And the voice of our personality is recognized by others, truly, as our daily "itch." Another well known writer, Norman Sims points out "Voice that admits of self can be a great gift." In other words, it is worth a conscious effort to awaken to our sounds, listen to our language-- literally not only "what we say" but "how we say it,"and be honest in our tone.  A wonderful example I read referred to parents using the same comment, seeking totally different results. "That was smart." or "That was smart?" Obviously, we get it!  And today the voice of my itch is loud; it is consistent and it is repetitive--3 days and running. I get it!

From morning to evening, our voice  is our interaction to our daily walk. The personality voice is influenced by what we experience (or experienced), what we see and read (or don't). We awaken ourselves to listen to our own language and the properties we choose to portray. Our daily tone is hemmed by each life experience, how we see that experience amid the feathers of our being--what has grown in our being, in our value and belief system, one feather, one day and one year at a time. The voice we project is not only our belief, but often, our passion.

We've all known people that had it far better (or worse) than ourselves. Their perception of the shoes they wear often provides a big lesson for us--to be accepting or resentful, to be accommodating or obnoxious, in every circumstance we hear their  voice. And less we forget, decibel volume changes our voice perception at different times in our life--diapers and potty training mean much more to a mom of toddlers than a teenager that has yet to experience the mom role; the SAT means more to the high school junior than to the toddler mom--and so it goes. (My itch is stronger to my voice than yours.)

I loved one authors thoughts about voice. He said think of "your voice" as your song.--the lines on our faces we've earned, the crook of our nose or our teeth we've earned, the stance of our body we've earned. Each frames the voice we speak. Natalie Goldberg said it well when she said  "say a holy "yes" to the real things of our life, as they exist."--speak our voice boldly. And remember, "...never underestimate people. They so desire the cut of truth." (our voice)

Thankfully, the daily voice is the method of our drive, the energy of our walk and the smile of our heart. Each day of voice is a day of choice.

I had chosen "voice" for this week's blog and had no idea "itch" was the sound I would hear. But I heard consistent and  repetitive--my voice. It made me think. And your voice?" Is it awake to full volume?

Enjoy and share your voice,

Alice

a blessed read: Deuteronomy 30:20 Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His VOICE, and hold fast to him.

a great book: Natalie Goldberg's best seller,

Writing Down the Bones. If you seek a writer's voice, read one of Natalie's books--you won't put it down until it is finished.

School time, school time!

School memories --great classrooms, both big and small

                  I love the beginning of school. Seems a bit strange to think of this late summer season in that reference, as years have gone by since I went to school. Even years have gone by since my daughter went to school. BUT, some of my fondest long term memories include the calendar of back to school. I love thinking about the season of fall, football games, a scheduled routine and always, the adventure of books, learning and friends.


Post college I continued my beginning of school routine by teaching school. The schedule of school days, learning names and first assignments always fit my step. In those early teaching years, I lived in Lubbock, only blocks away from Texas Tech. Every early fall afternoon the band music echoed to my house and put my feet and heart in step. I thrived in hearing their beat and sound practice for the weekend football half-time performance. I loved and still love, the sound of "back-to-school" band music.

Another favorite school memory involved clothing to match the newness of the occasion--always something new to wear on the first school day.  Mom would sew or buy something that made my sister and me feel special. Often it seems new shoes were part of the outfit. High school memories recall a certain sock style, always white. We called the sock a crew sock and it had to be worn with a Weejun loafer (a style of penny loafer; we thought it cool to NOT put a penny in each shoe.) Nothing less; nothing more.

Always a new dress--which color??

I carried the tradition forward. As a young mom I always sewed a new "back to school" dress for Lis. I tried to match the theme of her interest (Big Bird, favorite color or twirl-ly skirt (big and full). I always wanted her to feel proud and look adorable (and I brag, she did.) Later the custom sewn dresses were replaced with brand name jeans and small embroidered icons (of course, only certain ones) on shirts, purses and watches. Our budget often allowed for "only one", but one seemed satisfactory. The one of a name brand satisfied the ego.

Thanks mom, for buying extra paper.

And the school supply aisle still stops me. I remember looking at the spiral notebooks in question "do I want red or the one with the fancy lettering on the cover?"  In my day new pencils and ball point pens gave expected status to that first day of school.  We wrote with red, yellow or blue #2's. If we really landed "cool", we had preordered pencils from Lillian Vernon with our name on each pencil. And I loved the zippered pencil pouches that fit inside the notebooks. Ball point pens? Clear plastic with the ink color showing visibly and of course, the pen must retract.


Now, as I view the pencils, it seems the style is the retractable--guess time even changes pencils. And the pens--choices are endless. Fine, extra fine, two tips on one pen, colors, gels, erasable and... Beyond my childhood pencil and pen dreams.


My favorite 3 ring notebook had to look like denim (no vinyl for me) and dividers? Oh, what fun to make a special title page for each subject--even Latin or Algebra. It felt so organized, so important. Lined paper was always on sale and I remember mom saying, "let's get several packages--you'll use it before years end." Wow! the newness, the smells, the efficiency--it all spoke to me.


And, do you, like I, remember learning our favorite or dreaded teacher lineup and the home room assignment of designated hall locker location? I always wanted a "top" locker, not one that required finding books, etc. by bending over. In my day a locker was just that, a storage space. Now locker accessories from mirrors to locked "safes" are some of the options. My, how time changes all.


And covering our books was a big thing. After the first day of class I remember toting a stack of books home and making "covers" for each book from grocery sacks. It was important to turn all of the advertising print to the inside. (and a book cover expert knew how to turn the covers without scotch tape to hold them tight-dad was very good at this task) True "high school status" was achieved when books displayed only brown sack stock showing. As the semester weeks passed we doodled our boyfriends names or our special monograms on the covers (sure that no one would "really" notice) and by semester end, tired covers had holes in the corners and  fuzzy worn spines. They had served us well. And, in this week's review of school supplies I spotted "3 for $2.00" stretchy book covers. Again...how time changes....


And the carpool. My childhood didn't have such; we walked or were driven by mom. But I remember big preparation in organizing Lis's carpool. We (all the moms) wanted just the right number of girls, personalities that would mesh, co-moms that would be on time and not run late and of course were "responsible." Big, big planning, all before cell phones; seat belts were still in their infancy. I don't remember my carpool kids wearing them.


Back to school again? I quiz. For me, I still have to find the way. I recently wrote of my trek to Alpine to the Texas League of Writers workshops, one week of study on Sul Ross Campus. And it was great. I wrote, I read and I studied until I dropped. My psychic demands this routine at least once a year. I reminisce about going to school again, being a full time student, even a degree--this time in journalism.


But for now, the next great realistic school experience...

SUE SPARGO brings Folk Art to Texas!

Quilting Adventures short week of study with Sue Spargo--folk artist extraordinaire. I can't wait. Sue is coming from Ohio and for four days she will guide her students through the primitive styles she does best. Check her out at QA: www.quilting-adventures.com  
Sue's workshop is one of three weeks Quilting Adventures offers with the BEST quilting and art instructors around. What a dream to study each week! And like our childhood memories--our after school dinner is cooked for us!


Happy learning,


Ali

And I love to share:
My favorite read this week: Writing Creative Non-Fiction, 2001.
                                          Theodore A.Rees Cheney, Ten Speed Press

Great writing and GREAT inspirational examples. I'm pleased I found this book--Amazon.

My favorite scripture study: I Samuel 1,2 and following.

Hannah's story (she is the mother of Samuel). A woman's story --to touch every woman's heart.

What's Better?

WHAT'S BETTER????? I awoke to a beautiful day and found many happy thoughts racing through my morning pages. Here are a few:

                  1) What's better than celebrating Kate's one year birthday?

What's better than enjoying it with her mom and dad?

 

        2)What's better than a writing workshop with talented author Dena Dyer?
                               Check out her blogpost--Mother Inferior

     3)What's better than enjoying peaches with Charlette, my neighbor-friend?

4)What's better than a GRAND summer tomato stand, 1 mile down the road?

5)What's better than enjoying my dear grandchildren--
big brother Michael, age 3 and baby Kate, age one?

What's better??--LIFE IS JOYFUL!!

And the best read of the week? new magazines that surprise me in the mail--
my favorites: The Quilt Life; Poets & Writers; The Writer's Digest; Quilt Mania
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE???

AND anticipation of QUILTING ADVENTURES (www.quilting-adventures.com)  fall guest teacher--check out
SUE SPARGO (www.suespargo.com) She's coming to our annual seminar,
September 12-15--Look forward to seeing you!

AND GOD'S unfailing scripture:

God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of POWER, of LOVE, and of SELF-DISCIPLINE.  IITimothy 1:7

til then,

ali

Preferences -1,2,3

     The first 30 minutes of today I spent outside. I joined George on the patio and sleepily watched him enjoy every breath of the  morning breeze.  I huddled to drink my first cup of coffee. It did not come easy. I was groggy, the breeze felt chilly and the dogs were slurping--loudly. I preferred to be inside in the comfort of my red wing back chair, adjusting my laziness to the morning movement--gradually.

Why? What makes us have preferences? Webster defines preference as "a greater liking." Perfect definition, don't you think? So, why do we prefer inside or out; chocolate or vanilla? With age (and wisdom-ha) I've discovered three reasons preferences are so much a part of life.

1. CHILDHOOD CONDITIONING--What exposures and opportunities did we experience at age 4, 10 or even 25? Did we like or dislike the person and situation that influenced the opportunity? Was an attitude of "it's okay-try it" prevalent or a household demeanor of "wait, don't try it, don't go too far?" speaking loudly as you developed your preference list?

2. ACCEPTANCE OF SELF --I call it our wiring. We are all predispositioned to difference palettes, different talents, even to the time we go to bed. It is the voice inside that speaks "I want more" or "never again," or "it works for me."

3. SECURITY --The depth of comfort we demand. Several years ago I had a bad fall and since, I am conscious that my security needs have intensified. The strength of assured peacefulness and safety defines preference in different doses for different folks.

--yes, in a nutshell, preference is a summation of  our personal identity.

Think about it. What do you prefer? For fun, listed below are four personal preferences:

1. Friends and family--oh my, how would we survive without these soul mates?This week friends and family were major players in the seven days. A neighborhood party and then, God bless her, Pat hosting a beautiful, and I say "beautiful" dinner. And in both cases--special blessings. The neighborhood party had a unique detail spin.  Charlette brought a box of goodies-- genealogy records, photos, etc. and shared stories about her great-great grandfather settling this area. Pat's party brought community together. George has known Pat and Phil since college days. I call them "history friends." Wow!

2. Beautiful, delicious food--think a picture says it all.

3. Household comforts--my favorite red wing back chair and the splurge--a past Christmas gift of a down sleeping pillow--Shhh....

4. A surround of books, paper and pins. The written word. I love to hold books and enjoy turning page after page written by a great writer. I love the laughter with my sister, my daughter or friend as we share "did you read?" or "let me share what I wrote..."

And your preferences? Every preference fulfilled is another spout of our bucket list. Analyze the peacefulness of your preferences. Or, forbid the lack of peacefulness when preferences don't prevail. As someone said, "make preferences happen...show up and vote"

So, this week I share the preference of a GREAT read:

FOR YOU MOM, FINALLY by Ruth Reichl. A short read by the well-known Gourmet Magazine editor about her mother, ..."an investigation of a mother I never really knew." I found this on a sale rack--I suspect you'll recall your mother/daughter relationship.

And daily, GOD'S WORD: "Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven's lights." James 1:17

Til then,

Alice