Meeting Janet

When Janet told me the story of her daughter Christine Emily, who died at age 3 (almost 4) of leukemia, I was sitting with her in her apartment, and I began weeping.  She stopped at one point and asked, "would you like a tissue?"  before continuing on after handing me one.  Janet is 90 years old, and Christine was born in 1960, so she's had a lifetime of grieving.  As a mother myself, I was hearing it for the first time, so, I let my tears flow.

I met Janet at Hip Stitch when she came in one day almost 2 months ago with her friend Evelyn, and as I cut her fabric, I asked what she was sewing.  She told me she makes quilts for the Ronald McDonald House, and I asked her more about this endeavor of hers.  That was when I learned about Christine.

I asked her if I could visit her sometime and hear more about her story, as well as see her sewing space.

Fast forward to my visit, which was a gift to me.  Janet is kind, and humble, and faith filled, and has lived a rich life full of memories, and to this day, at age 91, she quilts and gives to others.  She is a light in this world, in my humble opinion.

My daughter Claire and I paid her a visit on a hot summer afternoon - Evelyn, her friend and fellow quilter, joined us on the tour.  We began in her bedroom, where this graced her bed:

Let me take this moment to tell you that the majority of the quilts she showed us were

HAND QUILTED.  

Then, she opened her cedar chest and began taking out quilt after quilt after quilt, all HAND QUILTED.

(HAND QUILTED)

This one, above, is for her grandson, when he gets married.  I asked her how she can choose the colors/design/fabric before knowing his future wife, and what they might like, and she answered that it all just speaks to her in the process.

Many of these quilts will be given as "Encouragement Quilts" - she's known in her community and folks reach out to her if another resident is in need of encouragement:  an illness, a hospital stay.  She just gives.

Here's her sewing room, and a project laid out to piece.

We then went on a walk through her building, where we came across a little art show called

 "Nature's Palette":

This is Janet's piece in the show, called "Under the Sea", and she cites the artist as "God."

As she told me the story of Christine, she said that after Christine passed away, in a hospital in Boston, she was asked for permission to use her cells for research, which she gave.  

And that Christine's cells are still alive today.

I left wanting to know more.  I hope to visit her again.

I know that her husband Bill was in Normandy on Day 2 of the invasion.  She met him on a blind date when she was in nursing school in Boston and he was at MIT, getting his doctorate.

I know that she is rich in children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I know that she has a busy and fulfilling life at age 90, and is sharp and creative and humble.

I know that I just like to be around her - maybe selfishly hoping I'll absorb some of that.

Cherished friends Chavah & Ralph

 Chavah came into my life as a customer of Hip Stitch.  She continues to be that, but to my great joy, has become a cherished friend.  Thanks to the Hip Stitch Zoom group that I started during the pandemic, we now see each other weekly online (a bit more sporadic as camping and other travels take us away).  She loaned me the book Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl which was life changing, we've spent time together with our spouses, she's been a friend to share creative struggles and personal struggles, we've camped together, and a few weeks ago, I spent a lovely, peaceful morning with her and her husband Ralph having coffee and touring their garden:

And WHAT a garden - it's truly a retreat from the world to be there.

A text came from Chavah, asking if I was at the store - Ralph and she wanted to come by to show me a quilt he received.  I met them that day, and was honored to have them share the story of this quilt:

It came in the mail from his cousin - Chavah knew it was coming but kept it a complete surprise to him.  It's a quilt, all hand sewn, made by his mother, who passed away when he was 19.  As he told me, he has nothing of hers but photographs, and to receive this - a surprise to boot - was emotional.

A few of us were in the office at the store, and we all knew we were witness to something very special and reverent.  Ralph doesn't remember her being a quilter, but this must have taken a very very long time to hand stitch, and the story of how it came to be will probably never be told or known (did she work on it in the cold Chicago winters while he was growing up?), but he now has something that's priceless - this quilt, this part of his mother, Alice.

And I wonder.....did Alice make any more quilts?  Did she make this with a purpose, a recipient?  Did she learn from her mother?  Did she want to quilt more but raising a family took her time?

I love to see and meet the many sewists, quilters, makers who visit Hip Stitch.  They all have different paths in life - in today's world, we don't sew for necessity so much anymore.  We sew because we love, NEED to create, because we are generous with our time and talent.

I am honored every time someone shares their story with me.  

Community

The definition of community is : 'a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.'

Hip Stitch has been struggling for a few months, and we've been reluctant to share this publically.  Why?

    "No one wants to hear our woes."

    "We're known as the happy, fun quilt store.  Let's keep that persona."

    "It's hard to show vulnerability.  Folks will think the store is failing."

    "It'll just give fodder for some people to gleefully spread rumors,"

Yes, those are all things that have been ruminating about in our heads, and discussed, as we decided how to proceed.  Not for the 1st time, the thought of "it's time to close" went through my head.  As a small business owner, and one who is coming out of the pandemic, I know I'm not alone.

Prices have, and continue to go up:  shipping and fabric being the biggest.   When things will arrive is still not predictable & smoothed out.  I just cancelled an order for fabric that was supposed to ship in Feb.  Then it was pushed to March, then April, then May.   This has resulted in our budget being unpredictable and trying to weekly keep up w/the phone calls to manufacturers to get ship dates, but they're only an estimate.

Sales have slowed - we guess it's the uncertainty of the economy and the future.

Then the HVAC unit in the Hip Stitch classroom was vandalized - in an attempt to steal the copper pipes.  That was just about the last straw that broke us.

So we discussed and debated and Steve and I decided to proceed with honesty in our newsletter.   At the end of the day, we know in our hearts that the majority of our customers shop at Hip Stitch because they support our store.  They stand with us in our values, they understand that when prices go up, it's not because of personal greed.  They support the same social justice causes we support.  They shop here because of our commitment to positive customer service.  And they would be hurt if we just decided to close Hip Stitch and didn't give them (you) the truth, and the opportunity to help.

So we sent out our weekly newsletter this past Friday and told the story.  We were truthful, and shared that we're vulnerable.  (def: capable of being physically or emotionally wounded)

The response was heartwarming:  kindess, love, support came in the forms of words to us and purchases.  You have told us that Hip Stich brought you back to sewing.  That it's your happy place.  And so much more.

We're continuing the SALE on Kaffe Fassett and Alexander Henry fabrics through this Friday, May 27.  Two of our most popular lines.  Use the code "copper" when you check out.

And thank you.  From the very bottom of our hearts.  Thank you.

And here are just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of photo memories from over the past 14 years of the joy created at Hip Stitch.  The Hip Stitch community:

Earth Day in Action in ABQ

I met Bridget by the recycling bins.  Our connection happened over empty bolts of fabric. (my car was loaded down, thanks to all the customers who shopped our clearance sale!)  We had an instant rapport, visited, and then emailed some follow ups.  Our encounter happened 2 days before Earth Day, and I wanted to get her story out!

I asked her if I could 'interview' her via email, and here's the result: (my questions in italic)

You and I met at the recycling bins.  I was there with all the Hip Stitch cardboard.  Why were you there? 

I run the bins every other day or so to see if there's anything repairable or reusable, or to pull out things that don't belong like used automotive oil or scrap metal and get them where they belong.

What motivates you to do this?  

Growing up, this is how my family operated. My parents always were looking for ways to extend the life of objects that other people didn't want, rescuing things from the curb, repairing instead of replacing. My dad would rescue window fans from the garbage, make a simple and easy repair, and donate them to our Church's sister Parish in a very economically disadvantaged part of town where they never had air conditioning... And this is in Ohio where it's not only hot but humid.

Tell me a bit about your background (grew up, career, interests) and anything else you want folks to know about you.

I grew up in Ohio, Cincinnati and Columbus. Although I currently work  in physical therapy, my first career was working in professional restaurant kitchens and bake shops like the Hyatt Regency. I moved to New Mexico in 2003, following my sister who had come out on a speaking engagement and absolutely fell in love with the environment, the culture, and of course the food.

Here's Bridget and her friend Sallie:

Also, Bridget is an incredible artist! She'll be showing and selling her mandala artwork here:

Los Ranchos: 6718 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, NM 87107

Every Sat from 8-12 starting May 7, on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays

And finally, she shared with me about the Facebook group(s) by neighborhood called "Buy Nothing":

She stressed the importance that everything will find a home, a use, a project for someone if it's put out there for someone to claim!  Putting an old chair, or mattress, or anything else that should NOT go in the recycling bin, will be claimed if it's just put outside the bin, or on the curb nearby, with a FREE sign.  Put it up on the Buy Nothing page on Facebook.

 (I confess I don't know the city guidelines about putting things out on the curb, but my point is bigger than that: don't put stuff in the recycling bin that's NOT recyclable.  It defeats the purpose.  It makes the job harder for those who work on the other end of recycling)

And FINALLY,  try practicing "buy nothing", except for FABRIC.  At Hip Stitch.  Of course.

That feeling we're feeling.....JOY

This past Friday afternoon all those who purchased the pdf pattern from Tatiana Popova, Tree of Happiness, were invited to Hip Stitch for a meet and greet with Juan Carlos, who begin this wonderful journey of community support for a Ukranian artist and refugee.

We gathered, noshed on food and drink, visited, and were further inspired by seeing Juan Carlos' work on the pattern:

Catherine and Diana, who have been so very instrumental in leading the effort to help folks with their pattern, from choosing floss to setting up the light box for tracing, were there to answer questions.  I simply could NOT have pulled this off without them!

I was chatting with customer Karen, and found myself laughing and smiling and 

finally put my finger on this feeling I was feeling:  JOY.

We were gathering again.  We were catching up and laughing til the tears were forming (at least for me)

Even us introverts, of which I'm one, were....joyful.

And we relunctantly parted ways, with a "see you Wednesday" for those who are coming to Slow Stitching to work on our patterns.  And I'm so glad to say that joy is still with me, one day later.

The world is still kind of hard, and still has much sadness, as I've felt with my correspondance with Tatiana in Ukraine, but I'm thankful we human beings have the range of emotions we have, to feel joy and laughter in spite of what's around us.

Trip to the North Part 2: Make Do & Mend

Traveling north was to see our daughter, in her senior recital of grad school at Bowling Green State University.  A text/picture arrived a few weeks before the trip....the dress was purchased for the performance, but needed alterations:

Easy, right?  A quick hem!

Time was put aside one afternoon, went went to the local quilt shop and picked up some thread, and got home to her apartment where I started by cleaning out her sewing machine.  Yikes. (yes, that's lint)

Got that all cleaned out, put the bobbin case in, then the bobbin, and did a test sew.  Needle broke.  Took everything out again, re-inserted everything, needle changed.  Sewed - needle broke.  Did this ONCE more before it was time for a drastic switch to plan B.  (I can only troubleshoot so far.)

Back to the quilt shop for some Stitch Witchery. Came back to her apartment, and got going:

On the floor, using a portable ironing mat.  Because that's what you do when you're in a tiny one bedroom apartment!

(taking the straps up - this looks messier than the final look:  I intentionally hand stitched a 'satin stitch' kind of look to hold the cut pieces together.)

And well, voila:

And what comes to mind is that line from Ratatouille, where Chef Gusteau says, "Anyone can cook!"

"Anyone can sew!"

Trip to the North Part 1: Gees Bend

What??  Less than 2 weeks after visiting Gees Bend, Alabama, IN PERSON, I stumble upon an exhibit at the Art Musuem of Toledo Art Museum called "Living Legacies:  Art of the African American South."

I was there to attend a concert of the Canadian Brass  playing with the Toledo Symphony.  (what can I say?  I have a musician daughter who makes me into a more classy human being)

So I'm there at the museum, 1 1/2 hours before the concert, and my husband, daughter, her boyfriend and I  agreed to each go off and wander the musuem and meet in time to go into the concert hall.

I'm torn between wanting to move slowly and absorb everything, and hasten my pace to see everything.  Then then there it was....a room off a room:  a QUILT.  (moth to a flame)  I'm there - reading about art in the south.  Reading about Gees Bend.  Looking at quilts.  Holy shit, how can this be a coincidence??

This is not the end of the story, my friend.  The next morning, I'm attending a service at the Glenwood Lutheran Church in Toledo, which is located right next door to the museum.  My daughter's beau is the choir director/organist at this very historic, beautiful, sacred place of worship.  I found myself transfixed, listening to a talk on Black History Month, and black inventors, like Sarah Boone, a 19th century dressmaker who was awarded a patent for the modern day ironing board in 1892.  The speaker talked of the meditativeness of ironing, which spoke to my soul.  (not everyone feels this way, I get it).  There was also talk of the recent drive-by shooting of 10 year old Damia Ezell, in the neighborhood, and how can this church offer support to the community, as it is a part of that community?

And then, at the end of the service, Rev. Christopher announced that those interested are invited to attend a private docent tour at the museum next door of above-mentioned exhibit that drew the moth to the flame.  Wait.....what?!?

So that was how I found myself back at the Musuem of Art with about 15 church members, heart racing (in a good way), about to have a private tour.  I shared with the docent about my excitment because, well, I had just been to Gees Bend.  She asked if I'd share a little about my visit when we got to that part, and GULP,  I did.  To this beautiful group of folks, who shared with the docent about how spirituality played a huge part in the artists' work.  I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of this church for in Toledo, Ohio, on a cold February Sunday morning.

(Toledo, OH in February, in case you're wondering:)

Next on the blog:  Part 2:  Sewing for Dummies