35 What a Quilt Show Taught Me About Community, Creativity & Passing Down Skills

This past weekend, Jessica was a vendor at the Ozark Piecemakers Quilt Guild Show in Springfield, Missouri, and came away encouraged by the conversations, connections, and shared love of handmade skills.

In this episode of Handmade Happiness, Thomas and Jessica reflect on what makes quilt shows so special, from meeting longtime customers and hearing stories about finished quilts to introducing new makers to the art of quilting and sewing.

The conversation explores the importance of passing down traditional skills, the role of community in keeping handmade arts alive, and why creating things with our hands still matters in a world increasingly focused on convenience and technology.

In this episode, we discuss:

🧵 Highlights from the Ozark Piecemakers Quilt Show

🧵 The friendships and connections built through quilting

🧵 Conversations with customers and fellow makers

🧵 The joy of seeing finished quilts made from our patterns

🧵 Why quilt guilds and local creative communities matter

🧵 Teaching the next generation to sew, quilt, and create

🧵 The value of handmade skills in today's world

🧵 Creativity, craftsmanship, and preserving traditional arts

Whether you're a quilter, maker, homeschool parent, or simply someone who appreciates creativity and community, this episode is a reminder that handmade skills connect us to one another in meaningful ways.

Learn more about quilting classes, patterns, fabrics, and resources at The Lark Life.

Subscribe for more conversations about quilting, homesteading, handmade skills, homeschooling, and intentional living.

#quilting #homeschool #homesteading #intentionalliving #TheLarkLife

✨ Thanks for tuning in to Handmade Happiness! ✨
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations about slowing down, creating with your hands, and living more intentionally.

💌 Stay connected:

• Visit me at TheLarkLife.com
• Follow along on Instagram: @The_Lark_Life
• Click to join my email list for updates, resources, and encouragement

🧵 Share the love:
 If this episode encouraged you, would you take a moment to leave a review or share it with a friend? It truly helps others discover the show.

You can also support the show by making a donation at www.thelarklife.com/podcast

Until next time, may you find joy in the simple things and beauty in the work of your hands.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Handmade Happiness, a podcast about simple living, handmade skills, and building a life rooted in what matters most. We talk about everything from homesteading and cooking from scratch to quilting, gardening, and raising capable kids. This is a place to slow down, learn new skills, and be reminded that a meaningful life is often built in the small everyday moments. If you enjoy today's conversation, you can follow or subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening. That way, new episodes will just be there when you're ready for them. Now for today's episode. Hi there, and welcome to Handmade Happiness. I'm Jessica.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

And I'm Thomas.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

And welcome in for this week's episode.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

It's been a busy week.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

You've been a busy beat. Very busy week. So I have been a busy goose, I should say. A quilt show for the last three days. I mean, I've been working on this for a long time, but the show itself was the last three days. It's been great. So we're gonna talk a little bit about the quilt show, um, what that looks like for us, how that goes, um, kind of the importance of those and the connections we make and and all the things related to the quilt show.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I think you know it's interesting, we do all different levels of shows.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Right. So sometimes you're at the local farmer's market and we sell a couple hundred dollars worth of bread and produce or whatever, and just meet people. And then sometimes we're at the Houston Quilt Show. Uh you're a demonstrator this year, I understand, at the Houston Quilt Show.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Yeah, in addition to just having my booth I get to do.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Which is a huge extravaganza of quilting. Um so you know, there's different levels, and again, the the the money you add zeros depending on where you're at, right? And um, but all of those levels are important, not just on a business level, but on a personal, like on a connection level. We've met some of the most important connections that we've made have come from being the person across at from someone at the the farmer's market.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:03

We meet people everywhere we go, and those all those little pieces become big pieces of what we do and and who we are, not only on a business level, but even on a personal level. Yeah. And so it's it's interesting to see how all that works out.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Yeah, so they're all important. I the very first show I did. Um we were still in Brownsville, and I did the show on South Padre Island. Uh their local quilt guild had a lot of time. It's fairly small. It's a quilt guild. It's a fairly small show, and I remember like when we started out with that one, I was writing patterns. So I had just started. I had several patterns that I had written. I had samples of the patterns. Um, I showed up to the quilt show feeling like I didn't belong there.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Right? You're like, who am I?

SPEAKER_00 2:52

These people are gonna figure out that I don't belong here and they're gonna, anyways, that's not what happened at all. But it started out that way. But thinking back to that very first show, I made some incredible connections, not just with the people in that quilt guild that put on that show, but with other quilters, with other business people in the quilting world who I am still in contact with today, who they see me and kind of cheer me on from the sidelines. So it's kind of fun. Like each place we go, you're constantly building that network, making more connections. And for somebody like me who's kind of introverted, um, the shows are they're a lot.

unknown 3:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah, and I will say, in fairness, like you're a very kind person, you're very agreeable, social, but I know that that is an energy outlay for you, right? To be that person.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

And and at that very first quilt show, there was another vendor there who was a salesman. And he was a hustler. He was kind of aggressive, right? In his sales tactics. Um, and at some point in the show, it was kind of a slower moment in the show, and he walked over and he knew I was brand new. And he was like, Oh, you can't just you can't just do it like that. You're never gonna make any money that way. And I was just like, Okay, whatever. But I heard what he said, and at the same time, I told myself that day, just I'm just gonna be me. Like, this is who I am. I'm not gonna put on some salesperson persona um to come do a show, and people are gonna know that that's fake and not me, and I'm gonna hate it.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

That's true. If you're not that person, there is a place for you to put on the smile and get up and make your pitch, right? Yeah, but genuineness comes through really well, especially nowadays. Oh, yeah. Like people know because everybody's hustling, right? Everybody know they're being hustled.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Right, and they don't appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

No, so I hate it.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Um what happens when I'm at the show, I get to have amazing conversations with so many people that come in that are inspired by things that I'm doing or things that they're seeing around the show. We get to have conversations about quilting, about gardening, about family, about about all the things. We get to talk about all the things, and it's um it's been really great. And so that was that first show like four years ago. We've done this several times now. Um, I don't show up feeling like I don't belong there anymore, which is nice.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Walk in and own it.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Um, but another thing that's kind of happened along the way that I never intended necessarily at the start, um, was that now I take fabric with me to the shows.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Even non-quilt shows sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Right, not non like just general markets that we go to.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yeah. Um, and that was not something that I intended to do. And I was having a conversation with people today. So we've been carrying fabalism fabric. I think I've had them for I think I started about three years ago was when I made my first order with them.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

And um, so basically, Fablism Fabric, I have it on my website for sale. It is my favorite fabric on the planet. And I had scorched. I've seen it on Instagram.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

And I'm trying to get her to make me some clothes out of it, but she barely has a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

I've got people on the show that today, yeah. So, anyways, I I remember like I I wanted to try it for myself.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Because I couldn't find it anywhere. So I ordered a few bolts, and uh part of the reason, and I was remembering this as I was having conversations with people at the show this weekend, um they have a chambray collection. Chambrays are a type of fabric, they're beautiful, I love them. There's a competitor who sells chambrays that are very, very pricey that I had seen that I loved and I wanted them, but I was like, I cannot, we don't have the money to buy these fabrics. Um, then when I discovered Fablism and I discovered they had chambrays and they were a fraction of the price, yeah, I ordered some of those. I ordered, they had some really pretty stripes. So I ordered, I think it was maybe not very much. That first order was not very big.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

You didn't order a lot the first time.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Um I think it fit all in like a box.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Not anymore.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Um, and I took that to a show, one of our early shows, just to have something additional to sell in addition to the fabric. I mean, in addition to my patterns um to help cover the cost of going to the shows.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

And I actually sell some variety.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

I heard from so many people, oh, I've never seen these in person anymore. I've never been able to like hold them, see what they're actually like, and they sold out.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Like yeah, I remember you you moved it and you were like, uh, I need more of these.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

I need more because I didn't even get to try it. Like, I need to buy more of it.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

If you're not uh real quick, if you're not familiar with fables and fabrics, um, you can check them out on our website. Yeah, they have their own uh stuff, but yeah, it's yarn-dyed, it has a very linen quality to it, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:09

It's a woven fabric, so it's a much looser weave. It's still 100% cotton, but it's so nice. So nice.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Like it's like what you want your bedding and your clothing and things to be made out of. It's just the feel of it, the texture of it. It's clearly a higher grade fabric. You know, you go into Hobby Lobby and they have these fabrics, and it's this kind of slippery, thin, tightly woven, tightly knit stuff, whatever, with printed on designs. It's clearly you know, bargain type fabric.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

This is not that. Yeah, this is like heirloom linens, like you would like a nice tablecloth, a nice dress shirt.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

The comments that I get from people when they come, they're like, it's it has this vintage look, like something your grandmother would have. It looks heirloom, but the colors and the patterns are more modern. Yes. So it's super popular. So what's really fun now, uh, like this weekend at the show, you can tell immediately who knows fabalism and who doesn't by the way they enter my booth.

unknown 9:15

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

They're excited, they're like, oh. You have those super fans that are like, I've been looking for this ever. I didn't know you were here, I didn't know this was at the show, I didn't, you know, and so it's a a good way to help people see them in person. Yeah. Um, but then I also get to share them. There's so many people who come in who have never heard of fablism, they've never seen those fabrics. But they know fabric when they see it, but they look at it and it catches their eye because it's different and it's unique, it's high quality, and it's still affordable. It's still affected.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Right, because it's it's not bargain basement fabric, but also it's not anywhere near a lot of like boutique-y stuff. Right, and but the quality is outrange.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

And it gives me the opportunity to talk to so many people. So now in my booth, I don't just have the quilters coming in looking at my patterns and talking about quilts, but I have garment makers coming in. Yeah, and I have people who are making bags and other accessories, and everybody's looking at this stuff, and um, it's it's just been super fun to be able to share those things and then to have people come in, they see the fabric, and then they look over and they see the patterns.

unknown 10:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

And I remember going back to the first show again, taking this thing that you have poured your heart and soul into. Um I liked it.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Like as a creator, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Yeah, I'm super creative. Like as a pattern designer, you are doing a lot of graphic design to come up with the images to go with it. You are doing a lot of math to figure out like how everything fits together, the wording of everything to make it easy to understand, and then the finished final product like needs to look cool. Trying to pick what colors, like what are people gonna be drawn to, what are they gonna like?

SPEAKER_01 11:08

And um, but even within that, even if you're really good at the technical end of it, you're still worried at the end of the day, like, are people gonna like my design?

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Right, like not the technical stuff that went into making this, but just like, do they like this pattern?

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Right, right, and and so I have samples of the quilts that I have patterns of that I hang up and display at the shows because it always helps for people to see the like see it in real life. They can see it on a piece of paper, but what is it in real life? And to have people experienced quilters like who have quilts in shows who make quilts all the time, maybe nicer than yours, some of them come and look at a pattern that you kind of dreamed up in your mind and created and brought to life, and to go, I love that. Tell me more about that, and I want to buy that because I want to make that for myself.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

It's very validating, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Oh my gosh, it is unreal. Um, so that's another super fun. Like all of the hard work that I put into it behind the scenes, I'm here in my sewing room working on stuff all the time. Yeah, I don't get that interaction with people all the time because I'm not in a store.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

You don't have that sounding board, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:29

That feedback I'm not getting the feedback. So getting to go to the shows and having that feedback from people, it's like ah yes. It was all worth it. Oh, yeah, it's so nice. Um, so that's one big connection point.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Another thing that I like about the shows, another connection point that happens is getting to meet um other people in the community. So, like at this show that I've been at this weekend, this has been my first opportunity to really interact and meet the people in the local guild since we've moved. I knew the people in the other guilds where we were because of the shows and stuff I've done there, but this has been my first time really to get to be around those people and hear all the things that they're doing in the community and all, you know. So that's been fantastic, and it's fun because they're like, Oh, I didn't know you were here. I didn't know you were in Republic, I didn't know we had a quilt shop in Republic. So that's the other thing. Customers coming. Most of those businesses have a brick and mortar.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Oh, yeah, you were saying that about how they all have like a shop, yeah. Right, like a quilt shop, or like, oh, we go down here to so-and-so's, and they don't they like quilt?

SPEAKER_00 13:46

There's like a shop shop, like a shop house. Yeah, all the all the friends get together and they just go to like they just plan this weekend. We're gonna go hit up these six or eight or ten shops, and they just go one after the other. Um, and so people come in, and when you go to a quilt show, typically the organizers of the show make a sign with your business name on it and your location, like where you're from. And so there's a sign on my booth that says The Lark Life Republic. And so people walk by and they're like, Republic? I didn't know we had a quilt shop in Republic. Like, I didn't know that those, and so then I have to be like, Well, so I'm online, I live in Republic, I don't have my own brick and mortar, but I do teach classes at a local shop, and I do have patterns and fabric at a local local shop. And when you go to this local shop, you're also gonna find things that other local artists have made. There's potters in there, and there's woodworkers that have their stuff in there, and there's like food stuff, it's like a seven-day-a-week farmers market, so they've got local produce and meat from local farmers, spices and all kinds of stuff, all the things made locally, and so for me it's been really fun not just for people to become aware of me and what I'm doing and that I'm here and to connect with all of the stuff that I'm doing, but for me then to have an opportunity to also connect people back to this hub in our community that's really been so helpful for us, for the business, and to steer people back towards their shop and all the other local small businesses in our area.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

They've been, I think they've been really generous with us, not only in how they work with us, but just their mindset of like, hey, you know what? Yes, let's do that. Like, let's find a way we can make this work, let's find a space letting us use that space for classes and things where it's all because they're recognizing the mutually beneficial nature of the community, right? We talk about that all the time. Community. And so, yes, you can use our space, and in return, we're driving business in their shop, and and it works out really uh mutually what do they call it, symbiotic, is that the word?

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Yeah, yeah. Not that we're like cellular organisms, but but no, to be able to it's it's beneficial for for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Right. And it's a win-win.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Yeah, that everybody is better off because we're all in this together. Nobody, it's not like a competition for one shop to have all the business or one, it's like let's all just work together and that's something I've noticed about the quilting industry, is there's like a distinct lack, at least from my perspective, there's a distinct lack of competitiveness.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Right? Um the industry that I'm in. We know who our top competitors are, we are actively competing against them, not in a hateful way, but yeah. Business is business, right? Yeah. And if we can edge those guys and get in their space, we will, because that's how business works. But I've noticed, especially in the quilting space, but even broader than that, in the homestead space, in in the maker space, creative space, everybody is just like, yes, like bring your ideas, bring what what you bring to the table.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

And I think the thing is in that art creative space, there is room for everybody because everybody has a little bit different technique, a little bit of different style. So what I have really resonates with some people, but not with others. But what that other person is creating and doing, that's what those other people are working for. And it's so there is space for for everybody. Yeah, really. And so everybody's really like encouraging and supportive, and it's it's pretty cool. It's nice, right? It's a pretty cool space to be in, yeah. It's it's incredible. And I just like now that I've been in it for a while, it's nice to then be able to kind of now I'm not the newbie at the show, and I can go and find some of those newbies at the show and be like, hey, you're doing great. What you're doing is awesome, and keep going and keep working, and like it's you know, helping get them connected to some of the things that people were so kind to help me get connected with when we got started.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah, because you had those voices, people saying, Hey, you know what? I love what you're doing, it's better than you think it is. Yeah, don't give up on it.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Oh, yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, so, anyways, so that's been really cool. Um, one more connection, and that's since we've been doing this, I'm talking about our foundations and quilting course that we're launching for. So families are seeing that, getting connected to that. People are excited about that. Even some of the other shop owners are coming and they see they're like, Oh, you teach classes. Well, can you come here and teach classes? Yeah, uh, do you do trunk shows? Can you come speak? Can you come do this thing? And I'm like, sure, like, call me, let's figure out what this looks like. Do you wholesale? And I'm like, Well, sure I do.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

We just gotta figure out what that looks like.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

And that's been such an interesting journey for us too, because there's literally people asking, do you do things? And we stop and go, Wait, we never thought about that.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Yeah. We but here we are at this bridge, so yeah, let's figure out how to cross it. Yeah, yeah. I want to jump in right here, really quickly, to let you know that registration is now open for our foundations and quilting course at the Lark Life. This is a semester-long online course designed especially for beginners and homeschool families who want to learn quilting and sewing skills step by step in a simple and approachable way. Not only will you learn a variety of quilting techniques and create your own quilt, but you'll also learn to make other fun projects like a quilted tote bag, slippers, and a notebook cupboard. One of the things that I'm most excited about is the community aspect of this course. You won't just be watching videos alone. You'll be able to ask questions, share your projects, get feedback, and learn alongside the other families who are building these skills too. And right now, if you register early and use promo code launch20, you'll receive 20% off tuition, plus get instant access to sewing 101, sewing machine basics, and the beginner quilt lab. Take advantage of the founding member pricing before tuition increases. If you've been wanting to learn to quilt, this course was truly created for you. You can find all of the details and register at thelarklife.com, and I'll also put a link in the show notes. Now back to our episode. So another fun thing about being at shows like this is getting to see the kids that come in either with their moms or with their grandmas. Um, so there's been lots of kids coming through. Um, some of them interested in sewing and quilting, some of them maybe not yet. They're just along for the ride. But I did meet a mom, um, and she ended up coming back the second day with her son. Uh, he's 11, so he's about the same age as our son, but he's been interested in sewing. So she said he's made a couple little projects, but that he's expressed an interest in learning how to quilt, which I I didn't know this until I was really in this space. There are a lot of men guys who quilt quilters who do exquisite work like show quality exhibition, um, just incredible stuff.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Well, just even as a skill and just as kind of a sidebar, I feel like traditionally, a lot of times sewing quilting that that has kind of gotten labeled as like women's work.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yeah. And I talked to a mom about that. She said something, and I was like so not the case. Yeah. Our sons need to learn how to sew, and our daughters need to learn how to use power tools and fix stuff. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

And well, but even think about like somebody like um Adam Savage from Mythbusters, right? He has made a career, a lucrative career.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

And one of his main skills, I mean, he knows how to do everything, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

But as a maker, he talks about even that on his show. He talked about how sewing was so important to that.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

Because he does so much of it. Oh, yeah, whether he's sewing leather or fabric or making a china carousel. Shoot or right, but just his ability to just sit down and a sewing machine is just another tool, just like a skill saw or a welding torch.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

And and having that in your toolbox is such a huge advantage.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

And let's face it, your kids are gonna need to know how to darn their own socks if nothing else, right? Fix their own buttons, and and mama's not always gonna be there, right? Um and but I think that's that's one of those major skills that don't write it off, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Don't oh yeah. Well, and with so many schools cutting art programs, cutting home ec programs, like those are all like you know, non-essential, so they kind of go by the wayside. Um, but those are things that are important for people to know how to do. I mean, people didn't used to throw stuff away. They used to repair that's part of our disposable culture.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

They used to repair things and buy $120 shirts and then throw them away when they get erased.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Knowing how to repair them. Another thing that came up as I was talking to someone, um, like our kids will see something at the store, and their initial thought is not, I want to buy that, it's oh, I think I can make that for myself. Sure. Like, and I can make it better because it'll be exactly what I want it to look like.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

I can add a pocket on it.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Yeah, I can I can do whatever I can customize, and it'll be one of a kind. Um, so yeah, those are important. So it's been really fun getting to talk to some of those kids and doing the foundations and quilting. I have my big you know, sign up advertising it so that people kind of become aware of it. Yeah, it's opened the door for lots of conversations where families are looking for those opportunities for their kids to learn skills like that, which is awesome. So, and it makes me excited that I get to be a part of that.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

Well, and we've we've tried to be intentional about some of that too, about cross-training our kids. Like you said, girls need to know how to use power tools just as much as your boys also need to know how to sew. And every time you add a skill or a language or a book, right, or a topic, every time you add information into your repertoire, it expands and changes your view of the world.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

And there's something that happens when you learn how to use your hands in a skilled way. Um, you see the whole world differently.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

When it really makes you appreciate things so much more because you understand what went into the creation of that thing.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Right. I I know how long that took. Oh, yeah. Because I've done one one time and mine sucks.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

And even if it's not exactly your taste, you still have an appreciation for like, man, this person poured time and energy and love into this thing.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Which then helps you connect to that person, right? Which then builds your community.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Oh yeah, yeah. It's all connected. I know. It's crazy. It's crazy how it's all connected.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Speaking of creating things, yeah. I notice you're wearing uh if you're watching on YouTube, you can see uh you're wearing your quilty goose on the loose shirt.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

So this has been one year. We kind of dreamed up, uh it's been a year or more that we kind of dreamed up. Yeah, we just kind of sat on it. Anyways, but I decided now is the time to break it out and take it to the show with me this weekend. Um, I'll put a link so that if you want to see it for yourself, you can even order one for yourself on the site. Um, but I've gotten so many comments from people about this shirt. They're like, oh my gosh, quote you goose on the loose, because I don't know if you know, geese are trendy.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Yeah, geese are bad.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

So I remember in the 90s, my Nana had this set of white ceramic geese and like varying sizes. They have this like that 90s powder blue handkerchief with lids on them. And she would like to be a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

I do remember it had like a like a yellow scarf or something.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Hers was blue, not yellow.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

Oh, okay. I thought I was thinking my mom, my mom had one with a blue hat and a yellow scarf, I think. But anyway.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

Anyways, they anyways, those geese are making a comeback. People have porch geese, it's literally like a three-foot syring. Like a lawn node for your porch. Yes, and it's not just a goose, they are customizing outfits, like making an outfit for every season for every holiday, and dressing up.

SPEAKER_01 26:10

You dress the goose?

SPEAKER_00 26:11

But they're goose, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

That's wild.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

Um, so knowing this, I've seen this kind of going around. It's that whole cottage core, grandma core thing that all the 20-somethings are like really getting into. Um, so I was like, oh, people are gonna love this quilty goose thing, right? And they have, they all come in, they're like, oh my gosh, the quilty goose. And then somebody today even looked and they saw the lark life. So they saw the bird on my sign, and then they saw the goose on the shirt, and they're like, You like birds, you must like birds or something. And I was like, Oh, I mean, I do have a lot of birds at my house, so I guess I guess maybe I like them a lot. But it's just funny how like I don't know, you seeing seeing people hearing their feedback, their reactions to stuff, it's been it's been fun. But anyways, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Quilty goose.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Speaking of geese, we have more geese coming this fall, I believe. Or did you ever make a mind on that? Uh, I think we've talked about it.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Yeah, we've got some geese, and of course, we have the turkeys and ducks and chickens and rabbits.

SPEAKER_01 27:18

We do love birds in our own way.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

We do, yeah. It's we mostly love them in the smoker, but well, being here, we also love watching them and we get to see them. Yeah, no, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

We see we have the all the Canada geese that fly over and all.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

It's really cool.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

We have a bunch of really pretty birds.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

But yeah, I was like, I wouldn't have called myself a bird lover, but I guess yeah, I have a lot of things in my life that revolve around birds.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

That are bird-oriented.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

So, anyways, I'll put a link in the in the show notes so that you can kind of see and get one for yourself if you're into quilting.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

That's it's awesome that you have you were talking about kids being involved and stuff. Um, our kids, obviously, we've talked about how we've kind of let them run with some of their passions and things.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

And so now we're having like people kind of putting out feelers like, hey, would they be interested in like coming to basically trying to hire our kids? And there's like, you know, he's 11, right? You know she's 14. Like, you can't hire these kids. But the point is that their work is already at a level where it's being appreciated by people outside. It's not just our family, people are seeing it and going, wow, they're really good at that.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Well, yeah, because if you let them do sewing for four hours a day for the last six months, yeah, all of a sudden they've got a pretty strong skill set.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Yeah. And what's awesome I I shared this with with our 14-year-old. So there's a girl across from me at the show who she's 20 now, but she started designing and writing patterns when she was 15 years old. And she so she started writing these patterns when she was 15. She's 20 now. Um and people come to her booth, she doesn't look like she's 20. So people think she's a little kid. She actually was telling me she showed up, she was invited to be a speaker at this guild meeting, and she showed up to the guild, and one of the people at the entrance was like, Oh, good, we have kids today. And she was like, I'm the speaker.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

No, no, I'm the keynote.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Anyways, but hearing her share her story, and she started sewing with her grandma. And as a child, her grandma taught her, like, yeah, yeah. She said when she was eight, she started sewing with her grandma, and then she went to this camp and she basically like created her own pattern, and the other adults in the room saw her pattern, and they were like, That's really good. You should write that, like, you should sell that, you should become a pattern writer because you're really good. And this was when she was 15.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

And now she travels to these shows. This is what she does, and I'm like, that's amazing. Spectacular, yeah. I told our daughter was like, hey, like write some pattern. It's a it's a real thing that you can do, but again, she had the opportunity to learn and start young, so she's already achieving things that it takes a lot of people a long time to be able to do. Um, because she got that head start on it, which is because she started early. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

The other thing about being young and starting in stuff, especially in an art-centric, right, like a non-discipline, I guess, if you will, is that you don't have the pre-existing boundaries that an adult has.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

No, right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Like for me, when I come into an artistic space, it's hard for me a lot of times because I know what I just made sucks.

unknown 30:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

Right?

SPEAKER_01 30:44

At least in my mind, I'm like, oh, that's not that good. Right. But kids don't do that.

unknown 30:48

No.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

My six-year-old will bring me what I assume is a dinosaur, and he's like, look what I drew.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

And he's proud of it.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Because this came from my brain and I drew it on paper.

SPEAKER_00 30:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

And I think that's a huge advantage for somebody when they're learning and they're starting a skill and they have the ability to be so proud of what they've created. And we all should be, right? Because mine doesn't suck that bad. I create it. It's fine.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

But we judge ourselves so harshly that we stop creating. Yeah. Right. And um, I like the Bluey episode about the drawing things, right? If you haven't seen it, it's I think it I forget what it's called Dragon. Called Dragon or something. And they're all talking about their experiences learning to draw as children. And um, and I think that's so important that when you have somebody young, they come into it with no preconceived ideas and no judgment of their own work.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Right.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

And it lets them be such so much more artistic.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Right? Which in turn translates to being so much better.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. No, it's let them run. It's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

So yeah. So it's been it's been an awesome weekend. I am exhausted.

SPEAKER_01 31:52

It's a long weekend, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

I'm ready for um a break. But it's been so good. So I just remembered somebody came into the booth uh on one of the days and saw me and we were talking about all the things. And she was like, Oh, how awesome this must be. Like, that you like, was this your dream as a little girl to have a fabric shop?

SPEAKER_01 32:13

And I was like, uh, nope.

SPEAKER_00 32:15

No, it's still not my dream to have a fabric shop. Uh and I'm just explaining, like, I didn't grow up around quilting, around quilters. Like, this was something that I learned as an adult. Um, but in her mind, seeing all the things around, she was like, Like that you had achieved and you had a fabric dream. And I'm like, this, I didn't have the I didn't know even to dream of this.

SPEAKER_02 32:39

But you weren't even aware of the thing.

SPEAKER_00 32:41

I was so happy that we are where we are, and that I'm getting to do what I get to do. And um, I told her, I was like, had I known this was a thing when I was a kid, it might have been my childhood dream, but I didn't know it was a thing.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

So, anyways, it's it's been really, really awesome. So, thank you to every one of you who came out to the show, who I got to meet this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Um, it's been so fun, and we're looking forward to the upcoming shows that we get to do later in the year in in Houston and if for some reason if you didn't get to come out to the show because you don't live in Missouri or you know you just weren't around, um, all of the things that she's talking about, all the fabalism and all that, is available on our website on thelarklife.com. So you you're not missing anything, you can have your own mini quilt show at home.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Go check out the patterns, go check out the patterns.

SPEAKER_01 33:29

Sit in bed nice and comfy in your PJs and shop fabric from there.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

Get your little quilty goose shirt on and be it'll be a good time.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Come check it out. So I'm glad you're home. It's been a long weekend.

SPEAKER_00 33:39

I'm glad I'm home. It's it's good to be home. It's good to I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna take a day to just Yeah, she's taking a day off this weekend. It's been long. She's been burning a candle at both ends. It's been really long. So, anyways, but it's been good.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

Well, that's all I've got.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

Yeah. Well, thank y'all so much for taking time to kind of hear what's going on in our world and hear about quilt shows and how all of those things that we're doing are helping us connect better with people in the space and in our community, and um we look forward to talking to you again real soon. But thank you for choosing to spend some of your time with us. If you've been enjoying the podcast, one of the simplest ways to support us is by telling a friend and leaving a review wherever you're listening. It helps more people find these conversations, and it truly means a lot for us to hear how our stories are impacting you. You can also go to thelarlife.com slash podcast. There you'll find an option to give a small one time or ongoing gift. And it helps support the time, tools, and energy that go into creating these episodes. Until next time.