StephanieLloyd.com

Ken went to get the mail at our tiny country post office the other day.

A big box was waiting in back and the post master was most interested

in why it smelled so good. Ken opened it so that she and all the other

customers could admire my latest load of grain sack lavender bags,

which my talented friend, Sharon Cloud of S Formulators, makes out of

my upholstery remnants.

Our post master was stationed in Germany so has loved seeing all of the 

German grain sacks as they arrive. She was sorry to see this particular

sweet-smelling package leave the building. (The photo above is of

Mitten, not the post master.)

I love all the different textures, weaves, shades and weights of the linen.

I am a real sucker for old repairs. I’m also aware that what is so beautiful

to me was necessary and time consuming for its first owner. I hope those

long-ago people, to whom I feel so connected by these grain sacks, found

satisfaction and pleasure in the beauty of their work.

—Most days I run right to my computer as soon as I wake up, long before I think

of the treadmill, a shower, breakfast or any of those other first-thing-in-the-

morning activities that I used to do in the days before I started working with

grain sacks in such a big way.

—The emails that I find usually lead me straight to the grain sack room with my

camera to sort through all of the choices, the grain sacks that the morning’s

customers might like best. Of course, by now, those much less-compelling things….

exercising, dressing, eating….have been forgotten in my haste to have the

pleasure of hanging around in my grain sacks.

—So today, as I was sending off photos to my very good friend-customer, the one

whose heart is most taken by the oldest, most patched and darned sacks of them

all, I noticed that the edges of my shoes were in some of the photos.  The thing

that was so good about this discovery was that my shoes matched the grain sacks!

—They are my way-old, well-loved linen Merrell slip-ons.  You know the ones. These

are just chock full of holes, with the exposed grey backing looking so much like a

patch that I had to point it out to my darling friend who I knew would still love me,

even  looking so tattered and torn.

It is a real joy to have people in my life who not only get me but like me just as I am.