I don't like crowds

As much as I like music and live performance and the idea of the Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) that began today, the thought of attending a party for 70,000 kept me away. I'll be watching from afar on YouTube this weekend.

OK, it's not that afar. The parking lots and ramps at the office park where I work were designated as official ACL parking.  I knew this so planned ahead and went into the office extra early–at 7AM, I still had to queue in a line of traffic including two large buses to get far enough to talk to the security guys and make my case for being able to park without an ACL permit.  I was told I could be towed . . .

The performances started just after 11AM. By 2PM, no one was coming into the parking lot, and cars lined both sides of the street as far away as my apartment complex ... where some festival goers were actually sneaking in by following residents through the gate and then parking and scaling the 8' fences to get out and walk to Zilker park. I happened to be picking up a package at the office when three "dumbest criminal" types were scaling the fence right outside the office while the property manager and I watched as she opened the door for me and my big box.

Hmmm ... it just occurred to me that if I subscribed to the for-pay version of YouTube, I could watch and listen and SEW . . .  I barely sewn more than sample blocks for the September Block Lotto (so I could write directions) and I think I could really benefit from some ME (and my fabric) time ;-)

It's all Wendy's fault

After I posted the photos of my Praire Gothic chairs and wrote about making some floor cloths with simple stripes . . . my friend Wendy, who is an extraordinary rug hooker with a great sense of color,  noticed a bit of a butterfly wing visible on the arm of the chair.

"You should put some of those butterflies on your rug," she commented ... and with that simple comment,  my immediate reaction that I am not a painter, and the discussion that followed, the door opened to considering a design other than simple thick and thin stripes I had planned.

Despite my inability to wield a paint brush, I am now noticing–and seriously considering–design ideas everywhere. This morning, it was painted on the table of a café where I stopped for coffee and a breakfast taco.

Am I crazy to think that this folk art style painting is in the realm of possibilities for a non-painter like me?

Edited to add ... after I blogged about my chairs, the Etsy vendor that sold me the fabric blogged about my chairs, and Jane Sassaman (who designed the fabric) blogged about my chairs, I emailed the links to John's Upholstery so they could see how much everyone loved my chairs..  He responded by thanking me for appreciating their work.