Continuous Loop

So this cracks me up.  I get off of my plane, head toward baggage claim and am greeted by "Charlotte," with a crown on top.  Every day I'm greeted by Charlotte with a crown on top.  Always a crown .  I grinned, as the last thing my Charlotte had said to me before I left town was, "Goodnight, Queen!"  (You see, if she's a princess, then I must be the queen -- for continuity's sake -- her idea, not mine.)  Then, on the road, I notice that many of the road signs have a crown on them as well, I have a brief Twilight Zone moment, then have to ask. 

Turns out Charlotte, NC is nicknamed "The Queen City," as it was named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, great-great-great grandmother of the current Queen of England.  I had no idea.  Just as I had no idea my daughter was royalty when I named her Charlotte.  Just a happy coincidence.

Spent my Friday with Westminster/Free Spirit, the company that produces my fabric.  Great people.  Good, honest & visionary.  We all had lunch at a place called Sugar Magnolia & I had a go at my first authentic Southern food:  fried green tomatoes (yum!), hush puppies, collard greens & shrimp calabash. Found out that one of the four key people at the company went to the same high school as me. He was there when my brother & sister were there.  We had teachers in common and shared some funny stories.  Mainly about our spit-fire math teacher and her fabulous wardrobe.

Our school had been built in the 70s with some bright idea to have all of the classrooms open to each other.  Imagine 9 classes taking place in one big hall or 'pod'.  Ridiculous idea.  Well, that didn't work out too well, so they quickly had to install wall-dividers.  My mother taught at the school and I clearly remember her frustration at the constantly moving walls. Kids would lean their chairs back into them and disrupt the class next door.  It was built in a big circle, with the library in the middle, a large hallway around that, and then 4 or 5 'pods' fanning out from the hallway.  Navigating that main hallway between classes prepared me for driving later on.  Stick to your lane, signal when you need to turn, etc.  It was people soup.  Most of the classrooms could be entered from outside though too.  It was California after all.  Our lockers were all outside.

Jeff stopped me by Sewing Arts Studio for a Hello and some giddy chatter about sewing with Timtex.  They pointed out a snapshot of me on the wall from a couple of Quilt Markets ago.  I didn't think twice about it till this week (as that photo now leads me to another crazy coincidence).  I received an email just this week from a old friend from high school who says she saw my photo at that same quilt shop recently & told the owners, "Hey, I know her!  We went to high school together." They responded, "That's Heather Bailey.  She's designed these fabrics over here."  Brandi told the story better.  Here's what she said, "And I know it has to be you because you look exactly the same...So I already owned some of your fabric and I had pulled a Free Spirit ad out of a magazine over the summer because I loved the fabric and wanted to find it…it was yours!!!" 

So, here's my brain thread...

Princess Charlotte -- Charlotte, NC -- high school connection with colleague in Charlotte, NC -- visit quilt shop with same colleague, see photo on wall -- receive email from another high school friend who found me from photo on wall at same quilt shop in The Queen City of Charlotte, NC -- Princess Charlotte... and it loops.  Though I'm a little weirded out, I'm also quite reassured by the interconnectivity of it all. Like a snowflake under a microscope, intricate & mesmerizing.

And though I should end it there, all poetic and thoughtful, you have to see these new headrests on Continental airlines.  They can be bent around your head!  Now you don't have to have a window seat in order to catch a nap.  Someone should sew up some shower-cap-like fabric covers for these things and start a little business.  Or Continental could offer them for a buck on every flight, like they do with headphones. 

Comments

[ellen Crimi-Trent]

Don't you just love those 6 degrees of separation when it happens!! I have often wondered how we are all connected on this planet.

I love the friend story, I remember when my friend Kathy who lives in NJ told me that one day she walked into her future mother-in-laws house only to see some of my ceramic plates on her shelf and said " hey my friend Ellen designed those!!." I also like getting emails from old college friends I haven't seen in years who happened upon some other products and decided to get in touch. That's probably the best thing about this business.

I wish the planes had more room rather than adjustable head rests, when I took my last flight to Atlanta I just could not stand how little room there is now.

[Kirsten Schueler]

it is such a small world isn't it?!

i once flew to thailand on korean air (16 hours!) and they gave out little toothbrushes and toothpaste, handed out hot towels after meals, had cologne, perfume, and lotion in the bathroom AND handed out caramel popcorn during movies!!! it was soooo nice.

[beth]

i saw that sign in the airport and thought of taking a photo of it, too, but it would have been for my miniBOOK. your photo and story is way better.

so good to meet you, heather.

[Jona]

Those headrests are great. I wonder if Southwest has them? Probably not.

I don't think I've seen the pink crown. Charlotte must have a different one for each outfit!

[Pam Anderson]

I *heart* Charlotte. My first line of goods and original blog was Queen of Indiana, named after a song called Queen of Carolina. At the time we had a little apartment in Charlotte where I was testing growing my wedding DJ business. I wish we could have permanently moved there.

But to add to the crown coincidences, my first crown project was with your fabrics and i'm about to make some "Mother's" crowns for a show on Thursday using your fabric.

[Michelle]

My grade school was built in the same fashion. A large library in the center (that you stepped down into) surrounded by lots of classrooms but no walls. Well, no original walls, but partitions that were added in later. What a strange concept!

[Sylvie]

Fun looping story about her royal highness.
And thanks for the tip. Must make a note of Continental's headrests.

[Kari]

Yeah, I thought the same thing about the headrests - they need cootie caps. :-)

[Tonya Richard]

My elementary school was the same way. Each grade had it's own pod and the library was in the middle LOL This school was in Plano, Texas in the early 80's. It must have been a new thing for the schools back then.

[Anna]

i went to one of those "progressively" designed high schools also. who in the world would have the bright idea to cram a bunch of teenagers in a building with no walls and expect them to learn? yeah. i feel your pain.

[daisy janie]

I am also a product of the pod classroom concept in the 70s, and I go nuts over seemingly inane connections. Maybe that's an indirect result of The Pod - peas grow in pods, pods grow on a vine, vines are all weavy and interconnected! Coincidence? I think not.

[Tina in Boston]

Your loop proves that you are doing exactly what you should be doing and where you should be doing it! Now, there was a certain designer I met in NYC in the Fashion District.... I went to school in California, too. Were you in Southern or Northern?

[jen eskridge]

Its crazy to have one of those weekends where you realize what a small (full-circle) world we live in. Totally emphasizes those few degrees of separation. ~jen~

[Tandra Boyer]

Wonderful story!!
Was th eschool DANA POINT High school? I went there for ROP classes and it was set up the same way.
I went to Laguna Beach High,(grad '77, eek!) with no pod structure, just basic school look!! LOL
I always thought DP high was set up strangely back then!

[Paula]

Okay, so I went to school in the DARK AGES! But my kids experienced PODS and I thought "How could any educated person think this would work?" I had enough trouble staying focused in one room at a time. I'd be lookin around at what everyone was wearing and how much further I could shoot those spitballs.

Hey, I signed w/MMF so I'm officially a TEXTILE PEEP. See you in Portland!

Paula

[méri]

Nice days, nice memories, nice work and very, very pretty Charlotte!

[Kathy]

I am truly amazed at how many people went to a school with pods. I thought I was the only one. It was in Northern California in the 70's so I thought that explained it all, but it sounds like they were all over. Our school was "earthquake safe" and built in a honeycomb fasion. Pod 3 (5th and 6th graders) was the most free form. No desks (tote desks only) and lots of goofy things. Even a bathtub with large pillows for quiet reading time...

[Andrekabu]

Your post set off my own connective sparks - I came by the blog today because a friend picked up your issue of Home Companion for me, not knowing I am a huge fan of your work (we're both Americans living in London, so it had a long journey). And then you link to the awesome snowflake photographer who let me use his images for my website: http://www.snowflakeshowers.co.uk/

Nice small world. :)

[Heather Bailey]

That's crazy!

[Pam Anderson]

;-) As mentioned last night..

http://flickr.com/photos/bigpinkhouse/2455099364/

[SummersCamp]

Wow. Those seats are hard-core comfort! *B

[Anne]

Just discovered your blog a few days ago - what a joy - I have had so much fun reading back entries. I love that pear pincushion and was wondering if that pattern is available in a book that I may purchase. Thanks.

[laylablue]

Sugar Magnolia
when i was little we had an Old English Sheepdog named Sugar Magnolia, and I loved her like a sister...

here's my loop: My husband and I had a cat named Cosmo Kramer...we found out the lady who first owned our house had the last name Kramer, later when we had our daughter, we named her Chloe Grace...then a neighbor told us the former owner's name was Grace...

[Karissa]

All those coinkydinks are to let you know you are exactly where you oughta be.

[kasey]

omg. just love your article and your blog.
just lovely!!
kasey

[amy]

My high school in the Florida panhandle was built in a similar way. It was very noisy. and the teachers in the social studies department would shoot super soakers over the walls,

[Heather Mc]

My middle school was like that, too, with the dividers and all. It was bad for me 'cause I have a horrible time concentrating (still to this day)! But we'd walk 'round and 'round the hall before school started. Quite the social event, you know?

[Katy Sanders]

That would make me smile too!!!

[Linda]

Ummm, you went to school in California? With pods and a library in the middle? Was it Monrovia? You are going to have to answer what school you went to, the benefit will be seeing the 6 degrees of separation get even smaller!

Inquiring minds need to know,

Linda

[Vivian Love]

Great photos! You make even headrests look like a work of art! --Vivian Love

[Heather AKA American Girl]

How about a cute yo-yo style type cover made with your fabric...those would be cute!! Oh and reusable...so GREEN!!

[Ula]

Sounds like a fun trip!
We had those false walls in my high school too, and it was all to tempting to mess with the class on the other side. :)
Ula

[liz]

I was a "poddie", too...after typing that, it doesn't sound too good, does it?

So glad you are still working with Free Spirit/Westminster. Love their new philosphy. They are very nice to work with from a customer perspective as well!

[melissa lewis - off the wall]

That's so cute. Really enjoyed the story!

[chris]

Loved this post-Love your blog~:) chris

[Kendall]

You were in my neck of the woods. Sewing Arts Studio is fabulous. It's my favorite fabric store. I've been shopping in that same center as Sugar Magnolia, but I haven't eaten there yet. I'll have to go. Love your blog! Hope you can come back to the queen city sometime soon!

[Faith]

Hey Heather! I work at Sewing Arts Studio, and was one of the ladies in the picture with you at quilt market in Salt Lake City. I was SO bummed that I wasn't at work the day you stopped by. Thank you so much for coming though...we have been talking about it for weeks! Can't wait to see the new fabrics! Hope you enjoyed your visit and that you will be back soon!

[Amanda]

Hi Heather! So glad you enjoyed your visit to the Queen City! (The name blew me away at first, too!) We were blessed to have you! I LOVE Sugar Magnolias... We eat there often. And Sewing Arts Studio is one of my favorite stops! Charlotte is a landmine of transfers. Most everyone here is from somewhere else. I'm sure you met your share of interesting people!

[rhembein]

Can't wait to see the new fabrics!! Yum!

On a recent flight from up here in Canada down into the states American Airlines has those same headrests!! SO wicked smart!! Loved them!!

~gyl