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.
