Spring in the upstate of South Carolina had been prettier than usual. We had enjoyed the weather so much that we decided to take a jaunt up in the North Carolina mountains and relive it. We knew that the baby leaves would just be poking out and the dogwood would be in bloom in the understory part of the forest.

Our trip took in Asheville, Burnsville, Celo, Bakersville, Spruce Pine, and, of course, Loafers Glory. I still had my map and guide for the TRAC sponsored artisan tour, and I had a few artists I wished to see. We wanted to check out Penland School. I had been meaning to get to Loafers Glory, and visit Deborah and this seemed like a good time.

It was a bright, sunny, but cool spring afternoon. We finished a scrumptious lunch at the eclectic and funky diner called Dixie's in Spruce Pine and shoved off with directions to Loafers Glory. We arrived and parked in front of the old store that was Local Color. I tried the door but found it locked. Oh well! I decided to take some pictures through the glass windows. While I was focusing, a cute dog walked into the frame with Deborah following. We we were in luck after all.

We got a special tour of the studio and got to look at work in progress. Deborah had some new work and let us select our favorites. She told us the story of how the train people had always found the locals sitting around the stove in her building when it used to be a general store. The engineer declared , "I know where the loafers of this world must go when they pass on to their glory!"

Deborah sums up her work very well with, "I am a weaver and dyer. I strive to create cloth that is beautiful, pleasing to touch, and highly functional. I insist on these qualities in the pieces that I sell. I want the people who buy my work to take pleasure in using it, knowing that my textiles will serve them well.

The fibers I use include rayon chenille, wool, linen and, cotton. I bind cloth in order to create resist patterns during the dye process, and use both fiber reactive and vat dyes. I also experiment with felting, knitting, needle sculpting and stitching (by hand and machine) to create sculptural qualities and surface interest. Sometimes this results in wall pieces or soft sculpture."

---