Quilt Market update coming!

I promise, it's on the way. But I also covered Quilt Market for True Up and Quilt Country and I have a few deadlines I need to hit. So while you're waiting, check out my post on True Up about Penguin and Fish, longtime favorites. Alyssa's designs captivated me the first time I saw her at Market and she and her husband Jon are great people, too.

One of my favorite designs of Alyssa's was this cheerful budgie, which prompted some memories. When my husband and I were first married we got a blue parakeet and named him Floyd, (after the barber on Andy of Mayberry, of course). I'd never had a bird and couldn't imagine they'd have much personality, but boy was I wrong. Floyd would perch on our shoulders and loved to play fight with my pen when I was trying to pay bills or write letters. One sad night we left both his cage and a screen-less window open and in the morning Floyd was gone. I posted Missing signs on telephone poles and walked around the neighborhood for days, calling "Floyd, Floyd" up into treetops. Unfortunately, it rained for three days straight after his escape and we figured he wouldn't have lasted long in that, although he was so friendly I thought he might land on someone's shoulder. We consoled ourselves by thinking about the incredible rush he must have felt when he flew out that third floor window and soared for blocks.

Thanks, Alyssa, for reminding us of Floyd.