I have an idea....

Wednesday, July 25 at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA Today I rode on a tour bus. Met a fabric designer in her chic little store named French General on the corner of Allesandro and Riverside in Los Angeles. Had coffee with her mother in the alley behind the shop. Toured the Alexander Henry design offices and shipping warehouse in an old Coca-Cola bottling factory located in Burbank, CA.  Watched the artists work on designs for fall and winter of 2013. Watched the history of a line a fabrics called the Ghastleys from the first sketches to the finished products. Had a shift in perspective towards whimsical, holiday or children-oriented fabric. Never realized how much artistic design and hands-on work went into light-hearted themes. Ate lunch at Phillippe’s, home of the French dip sandwich (unfortunately, this did not mean au jus.) Ate lunch at red linoleum topped table while seated on a stool. Enjoyed chatting with other quilters. When they left I ...

I’ll buy my own house and paint it pink. I ‘ll have a small Christmas tree and a huge family table  and as many friends as the house will hold until they spill out onto the lawn. I will sew and read and bake and smile. I will have women for lunches, families for parties,  and students for all the meals they can eat. I’ll serve grits and eggs,  sausage and biscuits,  tea and hot chocolate  and popcorn. I will celebrate my children’s lives,  and welcome their friends into my home. And when I am through with the past,  I will walk into the future.