Well I’ve had a pretty fun week with Pippin. Friday afternoon I sat in a sunny office, cranked the good tunes, put my feet up, and thought back and grinned just a little bit.
(You knew I’d have hot pink pants right??)
I’ve been painting pretty hard and Thursday I had an opportunity to leave it behind for a day and drive across the border down to Everett, Washington, to visit a shop there called The Needlepointer. They are about to celebrate twenty years in the business and I had just finished my first order for them. Everett is only a few hours away and with the local stitching store here closing a few years ago it seemed like a great chance to meet the owner, who is delightful, and to have a taste of that juicy stitching environment that I miss. And I love a road trip.
Before I went I thought, hey, maybe I should take some pillows and things down. I haven’t got to figuring out trunk shows yet and with no local store all of my samples have been living in big zippered bags under my bed. I loved the thought of them being out and about. Checked with Jill of the Needlepointer and that worked, so early Thursday morning I threw a bunch of them into the back of my car and headed out. A few hours to just let thoughts play in my head. Chai in hand. Tunes playing. Big peaceful sigh. It always comes down to the little things doesn’t it?
Except no!
These things here? These cushions and pillows? These troublemakers just about landed me in the slammer.
Turns out it’s not as simple as just taking my things down to hang out in a store for a while. I had my first opportunity to go inside that building at the border that I usually just drive past. Lots of questions. Have I ever been to Hong Kong? Am I sure? A purse check (Oh man. So many beach cookie crumbs. Sorry!) A car search. (So much sand!) I was starting to feel like a bad seed. A rogue. Rapscallion. Was picturing my Instagram picture of wrists in handcuffs with the caption “So this happened.” Wondered if it was poor form if the first time I ever met Jill she was posting my bail.
But it was OK. A few things to do differently next time, a gentle finger wag and they let me on my way. Whew.
I was a bit out of sorts, I’m a wee timorous beastie inside, but I shook it off after a bit and enjoyed the drive. Got to The Needlepointer, which is such a nice space full of good things, really well thought and laid out, and met Jill and her wonderful workmates Mary and Brian. It was delicious to see the threads all hanging on the wall. So delicious that I forgot to take a picture. But I drooled. Oh my goodness I drooled. I miss just standing drinking in the colours. I had the best best time hanging out, soaking up the environment, and making some new friends. We all got revved up on some ideas and sat and brainstormed and planned and inside the whole time in the back of my mind I was thinking, “I am SO lucky!” I’m doing something I love, getting to meet such nice people, learning so much. Someday I hope to do a few longer road trips and get to some of the other shops who have been so encouraging to me. Me and this Pippin venture are sort of living the life right now, and I’m so grateful. A lot of growing pains, bit of a steep learning curve, but a lot of fun. Finding myself sitting on the floor of the shop with Jill was one of those ah hah moments. Yup, I’m liking this a lot. She and Brian and Mary were all so encouraging and generous in offering up ideas and hints and opportunities and energy! Love that energy!!!
After that nice afternoon I slipped out but drove around Everett a bit before heading back. What a funky place. I fell in love with all of the old houses with their friendly porches. Some of them look like they’ve had a time, but I get that. They felt warm.
Can you see all of the wind chimes on the porch of this one? How cool is that? I want to be there on a summer evening after a hot day when you feel that first little cool stirring of a breeze, and hear all of the chimes move just a little. And I want to be there when there’s a howling gale and the noise of those things makes it all just a little more frantic and you feel like you had better hold on or be blown away. I wonder if the residents of 251 are lover or leavers of the chimes. I’m going to imagine that they love the sound of them, and keep an ear out for them. I have a neighbour who scuba dives and every Sunday afternoon I keep an ear out for the whistle that he makes when he’s back home and fixing up his equipment. I love that whistle. Makes me feel like all is right in the world right that second.
These trees reached out and grabbed me, and I had to go around the block and go back to look at them some more. Aren’t they wild? I think they were even better in real life. So funky and witchlike. In the end, though, I decided they look like backup singers in an old Motown band. Ladies for sure. I was so thrilled to realize there’s actually a microphone there too. Right? Threw me a minute that it’s behind them, I’m pretty sure they’re facing the other way, but I made that work. They’ve turned away for a minute doing some cool dance movements and are about to turn back and jump back into the song. Love it!
I didn’t need a lot of toys when I was a kid.
I have no idea if I was guilty of this. Is it something fun? Would $1000 be worth it?
I stopped at the outlet mall on the way back. They have beautiful stuff to walk on there.
It was a gorgeous summer evening when I stopped to soak up that ground and have another chai.
I have a confession though. It was a gorgeous late afternoon when I got there. Oh man. I had a big splurge. There were a few sales (serious understatement) and I was happy happy happy from my great Pippin day and there followed a few lost hours of purchasing debauchery. And all for me! It was decadent and fun.
So guess what. When I headed back across the border I got to go and discover that other building at the border, the Canadian one this time. Not traumatic as I just had to pay a bit of duty, which was expected and not begrudged at all. 
Driving back I went back in my head to my time in the shop, and of how great that all felt, and of the encouragement I’ve had from so many of you. You’re all such nice people. So many of you go out of your way to compliment my designs, that feels so good, and I’ve got such good advice over things like inventory and trunk shows and all sorts of things from a lot of you who own shops. Really generous.
The sun was going down, and shining off the fields along the road, and I felt so good about the day and Pippin and me that I had to let it out, and let loose my best rock concert cheers all by myself in the car.
I came back to my desk yesterday refreshed and determined and sneaking a peek every now and then at a few newcomers to my closet nearby. Feel like such a girl.
All good.