I'm going. . .

The Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a linky party for those of us lucky enough to be going to QuiltCon and I thought that I could introduce myself to my fellow QuiltCon attendees and reintroduce myself to my blog at the same time (since I've been absent for ever-so-long).

My name is Phoebe Harrell. I frequently lie about my age so I won't do it here as well. I just won't say it at all. I'm heading into my fourth year of quilting - and I can't imagine life without piles of fabric now. Here are five things you maybe didn't know about me -

1.  I grew up in Georgia and lived there most of my life. In 1999 I moved to California - just south of San Francisco - and loved every single minute of the two and a half years I was there. I miss living in California daily. I'm lucky enough to live in Charleston, South Carolina now and I love this strange, quirky little town. I will never live away from the coast again. Ever. Unless I can move to South Africa. But wait - I can't take my little dogs. They'd be eaten by lions. Never mind.

2.  I am a coffee FIEND. If I had a substance abuse problem, that would be it. I have one huge cup in the morning and then another huge cup at night about 9pm. Sometimes I have espresso during the day. Mostly it doesn't affect my sleep. . .

3.  I didn't learn how to drive until I was 24 years old. I just never had much interest. When I was a teen, all my friends knew how to drive and were so happy to do so that they would take me most everywhere. In early adulthood, I lived in downtown Atlanta and was surrounded by mass transit options. I learned to drive against my will and have never looked back. I now spend a great portion of my working day in and out of my car. Go figure. And I love my little MINI Cooper. Love.

4.  I love my MINI so much that I ordered him online, waited nearly two months for him to sail the Atlantic and sent out 30 handmade baby announcements when he arrived. His name is Bene - which in Italian means good. Because he is soooooo good.

5.  I have two tattoos - one small heart on my left collarbone that says "MOM" and Africa on my right ankle. I thought long and hard about both. Planned. Plotted. Drew tester tattoos and lived with them for weeks to make sure they were right.  I love them.  It's not for everyone but I don't regret either of them. They are who I am. Ubuntu. And I didn't understand the tattoo addiction until I got my second one. And now I think I need 47 more. . .

I'll be heading to QuiltCon with 7 other lovely ladies from my guild. I was fortunate enough to get into all three classes that I had dreamed about - Kitchen Sink Patchwork Skirt with Jay McCarroll on Thursday, Composing a Quilt with Anna Maria Horner on Friday and Improvisational Patchwork with  Denyse Schmidt on Sunday. I'm going to need to carry a paper sack for hyperventilation purposes at all times. I hope I get to meet lots of you there.

Happy Saturday!
xoxoxo