New Directions

I am back at the “little log cabin in the woods” for a long weekend, visiting my brother and participating in the annual art show of the Arts Council of Tamworth (NH). I had two of my wall quilts and my novel “After the Storm’ in the show and was delighted to sell one of the wall quilts at the opening Friday night.

It was lovely to have several people come up to me as soon as I arrived at the opening who greeted me with “so you are the quilter!” And then the woman who shyly approached me to ask questions about one of my quilts and then bought it. I have missed the days when I used to vend at quilt shows (both big and small) and had a chance to meet and talk directly with people interested in my work. I really enjoy that kind of personal interaction and need to find new ways to experience it.

I have been thinking for a while that as part of my journey towards New Directions I would like to concentrate on making smaller quilts that could be displayed as art pieces as opposed to the type I have been designing for the past 14 years that are primarily larger quilts meant to be used on beds or to snuggle with on sofas. This art show has given me the push I need to begin thinking more about quilts as ART and to be willing to sell some of them. I also need to think of myself more as an artist than a designer. That is more difficult to internalize but I am working on it.

One idea that came up when I was visiting family in Berkeley CA the last week of June was to collaborate (for want of a better word) with my brother and sister-in-law who are both painters. I love their work and thought how wonderful it would be if I could make some art quilts “inspired by” some of their paintings and maybe mount an art exhibit together. My SIL loves the idea! What do you think?

I welcome any feedback you want to share.

Cary Flanagan
Something Sew Fine
Http://www.somethingsewfine.com

Musings on the Old Country Store

Have you ever purchased a penny candy from a jar or been offered a sample sliver of delicious cheddar cheese from a huge round under a glass dome?  Have you purchased a loaf of homemade bread fresh from the oven, a yard of pretty red ribbon and a pound of nails all from the same counter? If you have, you were likely in an old-fashioned country or general store, the kind that carries pretty much anything anyone might ever want to buy.

There are several old stores like that that I enjoyed visiting as a child (and still do when given the opportunity). One of my favorites is in Moultonboro NH. It has the distinction of being one of the oldest country stores in the US still in operation. It was established in the late 1700’s!  I pass by this fascinating store every time I travel to or from my family’s summer place and I always wish I had time to stop. It seems I am always in a hurry to get somewhere or do something. Part of my transition promise to myself is to take time more often to enjoy the ride more than the destination.

Here is how Hannah Applegate describes the store owned by her childhood friend Jane’s parents in my novel “After the Storm”.

“Sometimes Jane, Lydia and I stopped at her parents’ general store on our way home from school to visit or to pick up something my aunt needed. Jane’s mother always welcomed Lydia and me with a big smile and an offer of a sweet from one of the many jars on the counter (my favorite part of the store). She was very round and jolly, always talking and laughing with the customers. I don’t think I ever saw her angry with anyone in all the years I knew her. 

I did not see much of Jane’s father. He was in charge of keeping the books and bringing in new stock. Once in a while, he appeared when I was there with an armload of shovels or a few bolts of new calicos. He also spent one or two days each week away from the store with a large “Tinker’s” wagon. He would go from farm to farm in the outlying areas to sell his wares to folks who rarely came into town. He would collect from them fresh butter and milk, apples, furs and wool in trade. When I saw him at the store, he always had an affectionate word for Jane, a warm greeting for me, and a smile for his wife but otherwise was quite reserved.

I marveled at the variety and abundance of wonderful things sold in the store. They had everything from giant pickles in a barrel to pitchforks and kerosene lamps, not to mention staples such as potatoes and baking flour, eggs and fresh vegetables in season. Huge bags of grain were sold for livestock, along with parasols and dress gloves of fine leather or lace. If you brought in your own jars or bottles, you could get honey or maple syrup measured out for you. It was almost more than a mind could take in.

Behind the counter was a shelf filled with bolts of fancy dress fabrics, including silks, satin and the more common muslins and calicos along with threads and notions of every kind and color imaginable! This shelf fascinated me and I wished I could go behind the counter to get a closer look. There was also a giant wheel of the most delicious cheddar cheese next to the register, and you could ask to have a tiny piece cut off for a taste or a wedge wrapped in paper to take home.

Aunt Rebecca ran a tab at the general store that she would pay off at the end of each month with her hard-earned money. Often she bartered fresh eggs or her own homemade jams or pies for part of what she purchased that month.  Other folks in town did the same, bringing in fresh vegetables, bushel baskets of apples, jars of maple syrup from their own trees That’s how there were always fresh goods at the store. It was an arrangement that worked well for everybody.

In summer, folks gathered on the wide veranda in front of the store to rest and gossip in the shade when they had the time. There was a swinging bench at one end of the veranda and several rocking chairs to the right of the entry into the store. Fresh lemonade or sarsaparilla with a chunk of ice was a welcome treat on a hot day! In winter, men gathered around the big pot-bellied stove that stood in the center of the large main room, and smoked their pipes or cigars and talked. The store was warm and welcoming and had a wonderful smell of pipe tobacco, spices, and herbs, fresh baked bread and donuts. It seemed to me that this store was the very heart of the village.  Except for my aunt’s house, the general store was my favorite place to be as I grew up!"

What was your favorite place to be when you were growing up? What do you wish you had more time to savor before you have to move on to the "next thing"? What do you need to make more space for in your life? I would love to hear your thoughts and insights.

Cary
www.somethingsewfine.com
somethingsewfine@comcast.net

A log cabin in the woods

I have been spending this past week at my family’s summer property on a small lake south of the White Mountains in NH. My husband and I are the caretakers since we live the closest (my family is scattered across the US and Canada and come east when they can.) Each spring and fall we open and close the cabin for the coming season. (I will spare you the details of what that entails, just know that mice and occasionally squirrels are involved.)

Our cabin is made of logs cut from the woods all around it back in the 1930’s when my parents bought 300 acres at $10.00 an acre! My mother designed the cabin but it was built by local woodsmen and builders and the road leading to it was also cut and laid by local men through 3/4 of a mile of thick woods and marsh.

It is so quiet here and so serene, it is possible to forget you live in the 21st century! So it is no particular surprise that my first novel “After the Storm” was set here, moving this cabin, this lake, the small local village and the entire region all the way back to the 19th century.

Hannah, the primary character of the story, was orphaned in the early years of the Civil War and was raised by her Aunt Rebecca, a dressmaker, who taught Hannah to sew and eventually to quilt at a young age. Hannah and her friend Aaron went to the nearby one room schoolhouse together and eventually grew up, fell in love and married. Aaron built this lovely log cabin on this small and isolated lake. He cleared the land, built a barn and here they started their family.

What do you suppose life was like in the 1860’s, ‘70’s and beyond? What might it have been like to be a dressmaker or quilter at that time, to raise your children and live off the land, to live in a small farming community, to be part of a quilting bee of like-minded women? These are some of the questions I sought to ask and possibly answer when I wrote “After the Storm,  the Life of Hannah Applegate Benson Stone”

Go to www.somethingsewfine.com to order your own autographed copy of “After the Storm”

I am currently working on a sequel. Stay tuned.

Transitions are all about mindset!

I am trying to wrap my head around what it really means to be 'retired'. I am feeling a bit like a kid in a candy shop trying to decide which yummy looking candy to try first! Nothing is physically changing in my world - it is more a matter of changing my mindset. Giving myself permission to experiment and play. I am not there yet but I am working on it!

I remember when I left full-time work for Big Brothers Big Sisters in April of 2004 after more than sixteen years I gave myself several months to experiment with a number of creative ways that I could start a small business and work for MYSELF! Since I was already a quilter it seemed logical that would play a large part in whatever I decided on as my new direction. That was fourteen years and many quilt patterns ago! Now I am ready for the next phase of my life (it is not coincidental that I am facing another birthday soon).

I am still a quilter. I am also a writer with two books under my belt and another one in the works (after a long delay).  There are so many ideas I want to try out (this blog being one of them!) For example - making art quilts and experimenting with mixed media artworks. The trouble is, that can be too much of a good thing! It is hard to focus. And this incredibly hot and humid weather is not helping.

When you have too many ideas rolling around inside your brain and you start to 'spin', what do you do to help yourself get grounded? Feel free to leave a comment and don't forget to visit me on Facebook!