One Brick Short

LOVINGSTON—On my way back from an appointment, my head full of dread, fear, loathing and thousand feelings on the dark side of pleasant, I follow a sign to a downtown quilt shop.

Mind you, there isn’t much in downtown Lovingston. It’s the poster child for what can happen when a highway, in this case U.S. 29, bypasses you. Thriving downtown stores shutter up, groceries and hotels close down and business basically shrivels up to die. Now you know why Albemarle County officials have fought so long and hard to keep a bypass off of U.S. 29. The mall, the restaurants, the strip malls and chain stores thrive off of traffic, unless traffic chokes it up to the point that egress and ingress are impeded.

I find the store on the corner of Main Street and Front. It’s called Stitches and Shavings and Karne Filak is relaxing just outside of the door.

It’s a cute little store, not that I know much about quilt stores. I’ve wandered one or two while Red shopped for fabric. You see, she is, in my opinion, an exquisite artist working in a medium of fabric. I stand in awe as she cuts big swatches into tiny pieces, stitches them together, fits them like a puzzle and then puts it all together.

Her patience, her attention to detail is remarkable. In five minutes I would have been poking my eyes out with scissors and running the fabric cutting wheel over my fingers in hopes of being set free from the project.

Anyway, the store is light and airy. It’s small, but this is Lovingston, remember? The fabrics are bright and cheery and of good quality. Ms. Filak is pleasant and shows me around. There are fabrics with motorcycles and skulls and dog paws and vegetables and a wondrous variety of textures and hues.

I’d love to pick up some fat quarters—that’s a technical term quilters use—to take back but I have no taste in color or fabric. Just ask my colleagues who must wear deskside sunglasses when I take off my jacket to ease the glare of my ties and shirts. So I beg off with the promise of getting out with Red and coming down for a ride.

If you’re into stitches, and you’re cruising south on U.S. 29, check it out.

Don’t pass it by just ‘cause VDOT did.