second chances

I sit here and laugh as I write this one out for you....

Last year around thanksgiving I met these "hippie kids" Jordan & Rick and their dog Vagrant while we were in town, and since it was cold and nasty out we decided to invite them home for the day for showers and a meal... they ended up staying for about a week! They cooked me awesome food, pitched in where they could, built a dog house and helped move the entire front porch when the pipes froze and suddenly had to get fixed. It was a crazy week to say the least. Anyhow, after being helpful and having a good break they headed south to Texas to help out with hurricane house repairs.

In the last few months, there have been quite a few new faces in our town. Knowing that the national rainbow gathering is just outside of Taos this year, I'm certain that is the reason behind all the new faces... unless its just for the sunshine. At any rate, this has all led me to think about Jordan, Rick, and Vagrant (the dog who tried to eat my neighbors chihuahua). As many of my friends know from experience, there are some people that you just don't ever meet again and your paths don't re-cross. I seem to have decent luck however, and often run into people that I knew years ago, and lost touch with.

So being my usual snide obnoxious sarcastic self.... I am driving down the road talking with Kindel in the very dirty jeep as usual... and I say "there's some dirty ass white trash hippies for ya"... and as we pass I hear them yell out Kindel's name. It didn't really surprise me, yet when I realised who it actually was I indeed was surprised. I always thought that Jordan the happy dread-locked kid would return to New Mexico because he loved it... Rick on the other hand seemed more like a destination type of guy... like he just wanted to get to where he was heading.

We pull over to wait and see who is gonna walk up to the jeep.. low and behold it is Rick (the helpful one). His story is interesting, yet so casual and seems like could happen to anyone. He got divorced, lost his company that he started, felt like his world fell apart, his wife kept his kids (he had a record and couldn't get full custody), he hit the road to go out west to start over. He shares with us how Jordan called home to find out that one of his ex's has a little girl she claims is his... just like that his life changes over night.... a haircut and a bus ticket and him and Vagrant have a family and a home. A second chance.

Rick ditches the kids he was walking with and ask us how we are, we go out to coffee... he is honest, yet clear that things arent perfect. He isn't afraid to trust us, and knows that we wont judge him for anything. We visit
and see that to him we are still the same, through all of our ups and downs he sees it for what it is. Plain and clear that we all know where we stand, there is no room to take advantage of anyone. No question about the rules, and a great lack of expectations on any ones part. Its comfy, like an old friend.

I wonder about Rick. I wonder if he has tried to call his ex wife, his kids. I wonder if he is looking for a second chance too. I wonder if he will find work in Taos and settle here like he wants, or if he will just keep traveling on the road until its too late to change? Then again I wonder if there truly is a second chance for everyone...

Is a second chance granted regardless, or is it something you have to make for yourself? I suddenly think of my own life, and the crazy track I was heading down... and wonder where I would be had I never looked for a different direction to go. I wonder if I would just be some girl wandering until I re-found my old friends? I wonder why ..... why did I get a second chance? luck? destiny? prayer? faith? I don't know what it was, but I'm glad that I jumped at the chance... I spent too many years wasted in anger and hatred. Sure it all made me who I am... but those years could have been better used. There are no regrets here, simply thankfulness and hope.... Hope that my lost friends get that chance too, before they pass that point of no return.

Growing Roots....

While I intend for this to be a blog full of my many crafty projects made here in the middle of no where New Mexico, I figure you should know "where" I am coming from...

Over the past 12 or so years, I have gradually been learning more techniques and learning so much more about sewing and crafting. I really love to sew and have basically been sewing to afford my hobby. Now that I am no longer busy traveling across the country, I have time to put down some roots. I found a nice spot in the middle of nowhere that I love and can't imagine leaving.I plan to work on a children's clothing line this summer! How very exciting for me, I cant wait to get started!

I started sewing basically because my expensive patchwork pants fell apart when I washed them. After I fixed mine, I had to then fix all of my friends... it was a learning experience to say the least. I wound up traveling and sewing when and wherever I could, often selling cute patchy shirts for a meal or a place to crash. Often without any real sense of direction, or destination. Life was just one big trip. I was constantly seeking a place that simply seemed like "home".

In 1998 I had my boy Jasper, thus the traveling had to slow down. I settled in Louisville, Kentucky. I found a few store that would sale my goods on consignment, but generally that meant that I could sew up all the fabric I had available, and wait to get paid. Usually they ran out of my stuff and wanted more before "payday". Often I felt like it was a catch 22.... never enough to keep up or to get ahead. Eventually I moved back home to Seattle, Washington. I sold stuff to a few stores and at the farmers markets in the summer, but at most times it was rather unpredictable and not very consistent. I got a "real job" and moved on with my life.

Sewing was always part of my life, and for some reason no matter where I ended up, I always ended up with a machine and some fabrics. I decided to move to New Mexico about 2 years ago to get away from the dead end road I was on and go to college... after a year and a half into the program that I was in my school made the program "phase out", which meant i had to finish my classes in the next 6 months. Maybe I should have tried harder, maybe I should have kept going to college without any true direction.... but instead I stopped for a while. I figured it was a great time to re-focus.

This "break" from school actually did something fabulous for me... it reminded me of when I was just some girl who liked to sew. I unpacked my machine and started sewing again. Nothing major just a few pairs of pj's for the kids, a dress for my friends little one, and some Christmas stockings. As most of my friends and family know, now I sew daily and often into the night... it has replaced my need for cable t.v. and movies. I just set up an online store and plan to add items in the next few weeks and see how it goes. At this point I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Hopefully you will come back and check out my projects!