Flightless Bird: Quilts

[0] I'm David Farrier, in New Zealand are accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick.

[1] Now, mostly this podcast is just me rambling on about things that confuse me about America, things I want to know.

[2] Like, why are the water levels in American toilet so high?

[3] Or why is every second American armed with a leaf blower?

[4] Why is the American flag everywhere I look?

[5] Each week, a new question that I try to answer.

[6] Sometimes I'm successful, and sometimes I fail miserably.

[7] But some very American things escape my point of view just because I'm looking in a different direction or miss what's right in front of me. And so I rely on Moniker and Rob who sometimes have their own questions about American culture.

[8] I suggested, and I think you said okay, but then you decided not to listen, but so I'm going to say it here.

[9] Quiltz.

[10] Yeah, that's so American.

[11] They don't have quilts in New Zealand.

[12] You didn't even know what it was.

[13] Quilts.

[14] So specific.

[15] Yeah, it seems very pilgrimmy.

[16] Yeah.

[17] Quilts.

[18] Where to begin with quilts?

[19] Draped over every bed and couch in America, I wondered how I'd miss this thing that America love so much.

[20] The thing is, I'd never really thought about quilts before.

[21] But now I am, they do feel kind of pilgrimy.

[22] Something brought to America during colonial times as Europeans did their thing in colonize the hell out of everything in sight.

[23] America took to quilting like it took to cheeseburgers.

[24] A quick look around the internet shows that quilting is now a thriving multi -billion dollar industry here in the US.

[25] But why?

[26] And who's quilting?

[27] So, grab your needle and thread and prepare to start sewing together all your old clothes and blankets and anything else in sight, really, because this is the quilting episode.

[28] flightless flightless bird touchdown in America I'm a flyless bird touchdown in America This was such a good idea And I want to apologize For kind of poo -pooing it You brought it up a few times And I'm kind of about quilts Are they a big deal, really?

[29] But once you think about quilts You can't stop thinking about them And they're everywhere Yes, the way I got you in Was by telling you that there are T -shirt quilts Yeah.

[30] And I got excited because I love, I love a design like a graphic t -shirt.

[31] I'm that guy.

[32] He's a t -shirt with something to do with my personality on it.

[33] Yep.

[34] Yeah, I got excited.

[35] I have that problem too.

[36] And I love merch so much.

[37] Isn't it great?

[38] Why is it so great?

[39] What's the psychology behind why we love merge?

[40] Is it an identity?

[41] It's identity.

[42] It's wearing your personality on the outside.

[43] It's making a statement.

[44] Yeah, on your sleeve literally.

[45] And I go sometimes to throw out T -shirts I've collected from concerts and things.

[46] And it's really hard because it's connected to this memory.

[47] I know.

[48] I mean, all your Taylor Swift shirts.

[49] How do you throw any of those out because it's connected to this really great night?

[50] Where you got someone to line up and get the merch for you in front of you?

[51] Speaking of that, I forgot that before I even went to the concert, I anticipated the merch being impossible to get.

[52] Yeah, horrible.

[53] And so I ordered a bunch online beforehand.

[54] You're from like the Taylor Swift store.

[55] Yeah, online.

[56] Because I was like, I'm just not even going to deal with the merch on the day.

[57] I don't want to be stressed about it.

[58] Yes.

[59] And so I ordered a bunch of stuff.

[60] And then I went to the concert and then that was a separate thing.

[61] I needed the merch from the place.

[62] And also sometimes the stuff often they sell at concerts.

[63] It's not online yet.

[64] It's special to the show.

[65] Exactly.

[66] And that was true.

[67] The stuff that was there was not the stuff on.

[68] online and then I needed it.

[69] And then, so I got my merch via the very sweet women.

[70] Who you got their stuff as well, like you pay for that stuff.

[71] Brilliant arrangement.

[72] And then I forgot all about the merch I ordered and it arrived like months later.

[73] I opened this box and was like, oh, fuck.

[74] Just full of Taylor Swift stuff.

[75] So now I have so much ERA's tour merch.

[76] That's nice though.

[77] That's like when a little present arrives.

[78] you've ordered something and then it arrives, that's the best thing.

[79] Because it's like, oh, my God, I was not expecting this amazing treasure trove of stuff.

[80] Like the little baby hat you bought for Rob's baby.

[81] My little baby hat I bought for Rob's baby.

[82] That finally turned up.

[83] Oh, man. Your merchandise at shows is such a nightmare.

[84] I like this really pretentious band called Tool.

[85] Okay.

[86] Who are their fans are...

[87] Just real quick, because we've already talked...

[88] Oh, no. Have I already talked to others?

[89] No. We've already had this discussion because you think it's a pretentious.

[90] Oh, the word I'm using.

[91] And I think it's funny that you call it pretentious because to me the sentence I like this pretentious band called tool.

[92] Called tool.

[93] It is an oxymoron.

[94] Absolutely.

[95] It can't be pretentious and me called tool.

[96] Yeah, what a band name, right?

[97] Yeah, and you've got their fans like me walking around with the word tool emblazing on our hats and stuff.

[98] Which I think surely has to be a joke from the band, sort of looking down at their fans or something.

[99] I guess.

[100] But their merch is a whole different level where their accusations.

[101] of the merch people, because they sell limited edition posters for each concerts, say.

[102] But there's allegations in the tool community of people at the merch table, putting them aside and then immediately selling them on eBay and not even like getting to the public.

[103] The people working Yeah, working there, this underground network of like merch swipers.

[104] So it's this whole other thing, but I know that feeling of getting to that merch table, huge lines.

[105] But that's why we keep these things and sew them on fucking quilts.

[106] Because they mean something to us.

[107] They're important.

[108] And giving away the T -shirt, it's not like giving away a T -shirt.

[109] You're giving away this memory.

[110] Piece of your heart.

[111] A piece of your heart.

[112] Quilt.

[113] Do you have a favorite quilt with you at the moment?

[114] Or is it more a childhood kind of a thing?

[115] Okay.

[116] Part of the reason I'm obsessed with quilts is I never had one.

[117] Because they are so American.

[118] Yeah.

[119] And my family's not American.

[120] Yeah, they didn't immediately embrace the quilt.

[121] They didn't.

[122] And I don't think my parents ever really got it.

[123] It's like all this patchwork.

[124] And one of my best friends, very American, blonde, cute as pie.

[125] All -American gal.

[126] All -American gal.

[127] Her grandmother made quilts.

[128] And so she had all these quilts.

[129] Shout out Kirsten.

[130] Just quilts everywhere.

[131] Yeah, like cool.

[132] With memories and personalized.

[133] Memories, hugs and kisses sewn in.

[134] I've always had this under the radar jealousy and obsession of people with quilts.

[135] Well, I can tell you by the end of this episode.

[136] I think all your dreams could potentially come true.

[137] Oh my God.

[138] But yeah, I really enjoyed meeting these quilters.

[139] I met a few for this episode and they were just great humans.

[140] Did you walk in with an attitude?

[141] Because you were doing this because I forced you to.

[142] A little.

[143] I don't like being told what to do.

[144] Not a surprise for you.

[145] So if someone suggests something, I'm like, no, I want to do what I want to do.

[146] You know, there's that kind of like pushback feeling.

[147] I always get that.

[148] So there was a little bit of that.

[149] I want to do beavers.

[150] Instead.

[151] Really important topics like...

[152] A really Canadian animal.

[153] So yeah, there was that.

[154] So I did walk in with a little bit of...

[155] This could be late.

[156] It's quilts.

[157] You know, I don't care about quilts.

[158] So it was a bit of that.

[159] Yeah.

[160] But pretty soon, you know, but I chose to do.

[161] I did it.

[162] Yeah.

[163] And it took your suggestion.

[164] It took months and months and months.

[165] Sure.

[166] But I was won over pretty quickly by the quilting community of the United States.

[167] Good people.

[168] good humans.

[169] And also, it's funny, sometimes with these episodes, you'll go and interview someone, and that's it.

[170] Other people really care that you're there, and the conversation and dialogue goes on.

[171] They want to how the interview went.

[172] They're sending you more emails with more facts to help me write things.

[173] And with quilting, these people were overboard with that.

[174] They were so helpful.

[175] It's on brand.

[176] They're into the details.

[177] That's why they make quilts.

[178] Yeah.

[179] Yeah, detail orientated, quite quirky, and yeah, I love putting this together.

[180] So this is my journey into the world of quilts.

[181] Thank you for making me do it.

[182] You're welcome.

[183] It was a ding, ding, ding that you put it together.

[184] You sewed this episode together, much like the quilters.

[185] Yeah, I did.

[186] Because this episode idea came from Monica, I wasn't really sure where to start my journey into the world of quilting.

[187] Was there a quilting store I could go to, some kind of quilting club I could join.

[188] With so many questions banging around in my head, including what the heck is a quilt, I decided to turn my attention to what I knew, podcasting, specifically to a podcast about quilting.

[189] I am Ashlyn Downs and I am relatively new to quilting.

[190] Ashlyn has been quilting for about a year and a half, but that didn't stop her from picking up a microphone and also making a podcast called The Grateful Thread, which is now the number one quilting podcast.

[191] on the craft's charts.

[192] She seemed like a good place to start when breaking down quilting's importance in the American landscape.

[193] Traditionally, quilting has been very static.

[194] It's almost like you want your Lego set to turn out exactly like the Lego model.

[195] And so you're following the instructions to get that exact end result.

[196] And I'm seeing just a lot of newer, younger quilters really just going forward and wanting to make their own with their own stamp.

[197] Because I think a lot of, A lot of antique quilts do look really similar.

[198] There's a ton of red and white quilts.

[199] If you think of a quilt, you think of traditional star shapes, eight -point stars on a block, and those are typically pieced together to form a full quilt.

[200] And younger, newer, modern quilters are kind of foregoing that, and they are piecing things however they want.

[201] It's kind of hodgepodge and improv -looking.

[202] We don't care to stick to just two colors.

[203] in our quilts.

[204] We are mixing all kinds of prints and kind of just making it a piece that we want in our home and that has a place there.

[205] I was fascinated by this idea of a new movement of younger, more diverse quilters.

[206] I'd imagine quilting was dominated by people in their 90s.

[207] No shade to anyone in their 90s.

[208] But it turns out that's not really the case.

[209] I started with that vintage quilt movement, and I got just so hooked in during the pandemic.

[210] Rewind.

[211] What is the vintage quilting movement that you just referenced?

[212] So there have been several quilt revivals in the U .S. specifically, but more recently, between like 2018 and it's kind of ending now, but the vintage quilt obsession, so turning them into coats and bags and duffel bags and all of the repurposing of old quilts is kind of had a really big resurgence.

[213] So it was like how people got into craft beer and making bread at home.

[214] That was the same kind of thing with quilting, right?

[215] Yeah, same timeline too.

[216] I hadn't realized that quilting had made a sneaky comeback during the pandemic.

[217] Over in New Zealand, we mostly just got obsessed with sourdough.

[218] But millions of Americans had tried out their hand at quilting.

[219] Of course, there are still the traditional hotbeds that do it the most in America, that are the most established.

[220] So as far as traditional quilts go, the Amish are really big producers of quilts.

[221] That's the immediate image that most people bring to mind when they think quilt is the Amish quilts.

[222] And then surprisingly, Wisconsin is a really big quilting hub.

[223] And then here in Salt Lake City and Utah, there are many, many quilt shops.

[224] And I'm sure people can put the math together about handicraft and, stay -at -home moms and Mormon pioneers, but it's a lot of that culture.

[225] At this point in my quilting journey, I realized I hadn't actually clocked what made a quilt's a quilt.

[226] So, I'm jumping to someone who you're going to hear from in the second part of this little dog, Latifah, explaining what a quilt is.

[227] Traditionally, a quilt is what's called a quilt top, which is basically what you see on the front of a quilt.

[228] Then there's batting or wadding, depending on what part of the world that you're in, and the United it states we call it batting.

[229] And then there's a backing.

[230] Those three layers are sewn together.

[231] That's what the actual quilting is, those three layers.

[232] And then it's usually encased in a binding that encloses the outer edges of the quilt.

[233] Okay.

[234] More from the T for later.

[235] But back to Ashlyn.

[236] What is it about quilting that makes quilting such an obsession for many people here?

[237] I think it's the ability to just fix it on something that requires all of your attention.

[238] and in this new wave of quilters that are coming into it, they're younger and they're looking for a way to almost disassociate with the real world.

[239] And I'm sure that's kind of what quilting has always been.

[240] But in the past, it's been a way to repurpose your old textiles and piece them together and get more use out of them.

[241] But today, I think quilters are gravitating towards it for stress relief.

[242] You have to be focused all in on it to have a good outcome.

[243] Yeah, we're living in an increasingly fucking stressful world, aren't we?

[244] For sure.

[245] You know, obviously, there's quilting in New Zealand, but America seems to have a real affinity for quilting.

[246] Do you have any theories on why it's really taken off here and continued to have these resurgence over the decades?

[247] I think it lines up perfectly with your podcast.

[248] I think, like most things, we did not invent it, but we're just so good at capitalizing on everything here.

[249] And that's really what I think the key to it being so large here is it's just a massive industry.

[250] And the availability of textiles here, most things produced for the quilting world begin here.

[251] So the culture around it is able to grow a lot more.

[252] And by a lot more, she means a lot more.

[253] It's a four and a half billion dollar industry and there's 10 million quilters in the U .S. and that's growing.

[254] Holy shit.

[255] They're all around us.

[256] Yeah, they're everywhere, David.

[257] The coolest part is that it's mostly just women owned.

[258] Aside from maybe the owners of the fabric manufacturing companies, the designers of the fabric patterns are women.

[259] The people that make the quilt patterns are women.

[260] The women run the shows.

[261] The women do all of the things.

[262] And it's an inviting space to men, but it's predominantly women.

[263] And in the year of Barbie and Taylor Swift, there's tour, that's pretty cool.

[264] I'd come into this episode expecting to discover a bunch of grannies quilting by the fire.

[265] And nothing against grannies.

[266] I love grannies.

[267] Rest in peace, Monica, Farrier.

[268] But I was sort of delighted to find quilting as this thriving thing that's been taken up by so many younger Americans.

[269] Younger Americans who are making it their own.

[270] Next stop on my journey, meeting some of these young, successful quilters.

[271] But first, time to check back in with Monica.

[272] Monica Padman, not my dead grand.

[273] That'd be crazy, eh?

[274] If it was like my dead grand monica suddenly appeared.

[275] Is Monica a popular name in New Zealand?

[276] Not at all.

[277] Not at all.

[278] You and my dead grand are the only monikas I've ever met in my life.

[279] That's so crazy.

[280] Yeah, so rare.

[281] There are a lot of monicas in America, aren't there?

[282] I mean, it's one of those weird names that it's not rare, but no one has it.

[283] No, and I feel like the people that have it, like monochron friends, ruled.

[284] She's the only other one I know.

[285] Yeah, it's just, yeah, it probably is, my grand.

[286] Yeah.

[287] It's a great name.

[288] Thank you.

[289] I mean, I'm stuck with David, which is the most generic name of all time.

[290] Well, it's classic.

[291] It's classic.

[292] You've got something distinct.

[293] It's good.

[294] I used to hate it because I used to say it sounded like cardboard.

[295] Aubrey, oh, like.

[296] It just, it like sounds the way cardboard is.

[297] Oh, that's such a funny association.

[298] Yeah.

[299] Yeah, it's that thing in you.

[300] That's so funny.

[301] I hate it.

[302] Anyway, okay, I'm really grateful for this journey and I love learning about it.

[303] I've learned it's a young people's thing.

[304] Yeah.

[305] Young people love it.

[306] It's the same sort of feeling of peace and tranquility that I get from building Lego.

[307] Some people make a puzzle.

[308] Yeah.

[309] Some people quilt.

[310] It's all this literally the exact same thing, though.

[311] It's you start with pieces and you're putting it together.

[312] You're building something from nothing.

[313] Cooking is like that too.

[314] I think that's what a lot of hobbies.

[315] bizarre.

[316] It's the sensation of making something out of scraps.

[317] Yeah, you're constructing a thing.

[318] You've got a whole lot of nothing and then you make it into something and that makes you feel peaceful and good.

[319] And purposeful.

[320] Yeah, we all need something to do and something to see that we've made.

[321] Yeah.

[322] I think that's why it's so weird working when we make this podcast.

[323] I think I can get weird sometimes because I've got a couple of friends in New Zealand who are builders.

[324] And I kind of fantasize about that life where you can see the thing you've made.

[325] It's this physical object.

[326] Yes.

[327] Whereas when you make stuff and you kind of like throw it out, it's also digital.

[328] It's on the internet.

[329] Yeah.

[330] It's kind of weird and it's not something.

[331] Sometimes you're like, what am I making?

[332] I can't see it.

[333] It feels more ephemeral.

[334] It comes, it goes.

[335] Yeah.

[336] Like it's a really odd thing.

[337] And then I also get little panics because like dark tourists, right?

[338] I made that.

[339] I don't have copies of that on a disc or so.

[340] It sits on Netflix.

[341] Right.

[342] If Netflix disappears one day, it's gone and it's like it never existed.

[343] I don't have the hard drives of the data there in some lockup somewhere.

[344] So I guess there's this huge satisfaction sitting down and I guess that's what I get out of there.

[345] You sit down like a child and you make this thing.

[346] It's like, wow, there's a thing I can see that I've made.

[347] Yeah.

[348] I think that's right.

[349] It's actually kind of profound.

[350] Yeah.

[351] What do you get the most urge like to sort of make, like you sort of?

[352] Cooking.

[353] I get so much pleasure.

[354] We want to create.

[355] Yeah, we want to create things.

[356] Our little monkey brains really want to.

[357] Yeah.

[358] But do the monkeys create?

[359] What do monkeys make?

[360] I feel they're not making.

[361] they're throwing shits around and like making wacky videos for TikTok that's kind of it putting their butts out does that video they're making videos for TikTok I mean they're all around TikTok I'm scrolling my TikTok is mostly just when I scroll through it's mostly unfed monkey videos no you're not yeah it's just monkeys on there yeah it's amazing yeah I mean people love videos of monkeys because they're so like us have you seen that video of a monkey where it's just perfect timing where the camera's on the monkey it picks up a bit of it shit, it flings it, and then the camera quickly pans, and there's this 90 -year -old woman sat there like feebly in a wheelchair, and this big shit is just like, and the look on her face is like utter shock, and everyone around her family is just like trying to hold it together because it's so funny.

[362] Anyway, wait, this reminds me. Yesterday, I went for breakfast.

[363] I was walking back, and all of a sudden I looked down at my shirt and there's poop on my shirt.

[364] Oh, no. A bird...

[365] Like a bird got you?

[366] Yes.

[367] So I am panicking.

[368] How long had you been walking, do you think, before you saw it?

[369] Great question.

[370] My is actually the question I'm going to die with and not know the answer to.

[371] How long was I walking with poop on me before I noticed it?

[372] And also some man said hi to me, and I think maybe it was because of...

[373] He noticed because of the...

[374] Probably.

[375] Was it prominent?

[376] Were you wearing...

[377] a white plain shirt and it was very clear that it was a bit of poop.

[378] I was wearing a purple magenta -e kind of color sweatshirt, but it was obvious.

[379] And then I was like basically running the rest of the way because I had to get that.

[380] Broke into a sprint.

[381] Basically, I took off my sweatshirt when I got home and just like dumped all this laundry detergent on it.

[382] And then I wondered if it was actually the granola I ate.

[383] Oh, you just driveled a bit of granola.

[384] Yeah, right, because that sort of has a texture.

[385] Yeah.

[386] Yeah, absolutely.

[387] And it was a really interesting granola.

[388] I had, like, a lot of seeds.

[389] Your little tiny bits.

[390] And honey, yeah.

[391] And I had yogurt.

[392] Like, it could have been that.

[393] Kind of love that evolution.

[394] Just dribble a bit on.

[395] And then you notice outside and just start running, just sprinting.

[396] I'm glad you noticed.

[397] Because, me, if you thought it was a bird shit, other people probably thought it was bird shit as well.

[398] I wouldn't think granola.

[399] I think there's monocers.

[400] She's been shot on by, like, a big pigeon.

[401] Because I walk around that area, and there are times when there are just pigeons circling on mass, and you could very easily be...

[402] I just was really touching my hair, making sure, and it wasn't.

[403] It's kind of surprising that we don't get shed on more by birds, considering how many there are up there.

[404] It's true, and they go.

[405] They go.

[406] They're always pooping.

[407] Isn't it good luck to get pooped on?

[408] That's what they say.

[409] I think they say that so that you can tell your kid that so they stop their tanrum.

[410] So they stop crying.

[411] Yeah.

[412] Did you have good or luck or bad luck the rest of the day?

[413] Actually, I had bad luck.

[414] I had a big bug event that happened right after that.

[415] The day did get better, but...

[416] You probably talked about this in armchair, what was the bug event?

[417] I was in a state.

[418] I talked about it on synced.

[419] I was at a coffee shop and there was this bug on my neck.

[420] And then I looked and there was that type of bug kind of everywhere.

[421] Oh.

[422] It was so horrified.

[423] Little guy, big guy?

[424] Little...

[425] But, little naty thing, kind of.

[426] Bigger than a gnat, kind of the size of a fly, but it wasn't a regular fly.

[427] Yeah, right.

[428] And it had weird, clear wings.

[429] Oh, God.

[430] It was disgusting.

[431] Yeah, it was flyy.

[432] I hated it.

[433] And I hated yesterday.

[434] Oh, I'm sorry.

[435] I learned something, and I don't know if this is real or fake or not, but in bug news, these scientists, a while ago now, they got a cockroach, and they put it in a maze.

[436] Okay.

[437] And they basically let the cockroach.

[438] learn the maze.

[439] So it was some cheese at the end or whatever cockroaches eat.

[440] And so the cockroach would learn.

[441] And they did this with about 100 cockroaches, right?

[442] So they'd all learned the maze.

[443] And then they got those cockroaches.

[444] They blended them up.

[445] They fed them to another cockroach for lunch.

[446] And then that cockroach knew how to do the maize.

[447] That is not true.

[448] Are you serious?

[449] It sounds so fake, but the only reason it stuck with me is I think cockroaches don't have, again I could be talking shit.

[450] Cockroaches don't have central brain, I feel like that body is like, it's like this network of neurons as opposed to like the brain.

[451] And so maybe that muscle memory and those neurons does stay in the paste and you feed it to another cockroach and they know the maze.

[452] Wait.

[453] So yeah, you had a cockroach that had never seen the maze before.

[454] You feed at the paste of a hundred bodies of cockroaches that knew the maze.

[455] Suddenly that cockroach knows the maze.

[456] Is this fake news though?

[457] Look, it could be.

[458] Okay.

[459] I haven't checked anything.

[460] But I think what a great story.

[461] But this worries me because you know in certain parts of the world people eat well people probably eat cockroaches but they also eat crickets and in fact a place yeah we've eaten them yeah and is it the same no i think the reason it works with cockroaches is got to go into like their network so it's their weird body brains it's not like you could feed a cockroach but a human brain and suddenly it's chatting to you it's got to be the same like material as their body oh my god crazy right This is...

[462] Yeah, it could be bullshit.

[463] Okay.

[464] Stay tuned for more flightless bird.

[465] We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

[466] Flightless bird is brought to you by Aura, who make a very good electronic photo frame.

[467] I'll give them quite a few of these away now.

[468] And when I go to New Zealand, I'm giving some to my brother and my parents.

[469] And that way I can harass them with the fun I'm having in America when I'm back here.

[470] But you can also do for your niece and stuff, because you can, You can do, like, her animals.

[471] Oh, my God.

[472] You can make it really personal.

[473] Yeah, all my nieces are obsessed with animals.

[474] That's actually a really good idea.

[475] Wait, I just had an amazing idea for a present.

[476] If anyone is getting someone in their family an animal, what you could do is give them an aura frame, have them unwrap that.

[477] Say, like, look at the pictures on it.

[478] And then it's pictures of your family.

[479] And then you superimpose a picture of the new animal.

[480] Oh, the animal starts coming into the lineup.

[481] Yes.

[482] And then they're like, wait, wait, what's that?

[483] What's that?

[484] And then you bring out.

[485] You know, like, release the puppy.

[486] Yes.

[487] That's really beautiful.

[488] I feel like I've just watched a Netflix Christmas film where this scene happens.

[489] And you can recreate this yourself.

[490] You can do this with Aurora.

[491] It's got free unlimited storage.

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[495] Visit auraframes .com today and get $30 off their bestselling frames with the code.

[496] Bird.

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[498] That's A -U -R -A -Frams .com with a promo code bird.

[499] Terms and conditions apply.

[500] Flightless Bird is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[501] Now, my family has a weird gift -giving policy where all I ever get is underwear and socks.

[502] That's the policy.

[503] Oh.

[504] That's it.

[505] Wow.

[506] I always know what I'm getting.

[507] It's going to be, oh, socks, wow, or underwear.

[508] That's all it ever is.

[509] God, it's tough.

[510] hard um whether or not your family specifically gives gifts during the holidays you can define how you give to yourself and the holidays are a great time to do that so whether it's by starting therapy or just going easier on yourself during the tough moments or treating yourself to a day of complete rest remember to give yourself some love this holiday season i am going to give a gift myself and for the first time in the holidays ever i'm going to do my little therapy session usually i just get annoyed with my family, but I'm going to zoom in.

[511] I'm going to do it.

[512] If you're thinking of starting therapy, you can give BetterHelp a try.

[513] It's entirely online and designed to be convenient, flexible and suited to whatever your schedule is.

[514] You just fill out a quick questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and you can switch them at any time for no additional charge.

[515] In this season of giving, give yourself what you need with BetterHelp.

[516] Visit BetterHelp .com slash bird today to get 10 % off your first month.

[517] That's better help.

[518] H -E -L -P -com slash bird.

[519] Anyway, what are we talking about?

[520] Quilting.

[521] So, yeah, I learned that quilting is a thing young people love it.

[522] It's not just granny.

[523] So I thought, holy shit, I got to go and meet some of these quilters.

[524] Okay.

[525] The great thing about talking to Ashland, the quilting podcaster, is that she put me on to some other local quilters I could go visit.

[526] I spent the next week going back and forth with a few of them over email before deciding on two I could hang out with.

[527] Luke doesn't live too far away from me, and knocking on the door, a monster dog greets me. It's Honeydew, and they're an Irish wolfhound, the world's tallest dog.

[528] Standing, they can be over seven feet tall.

[529] Honeydew, you've got to show us to you.

[530] Honeydew sits?

[531] She knows if you're taking a picture and she...

[532] She would just...

[533] After I make Honeydew pose for some photos with me, talk turns out.

[534] to quilting.

[535] I'm Luke Haynes.

[536] I make quilts.

[537] The thing that I usually say is I'm a recovering architect dabbling in the world of quilting.

[538] You abandon the world of architecture?

[539] No, I love the world of architecture.

[540] I just hate working for developers, fighting with the city on codes that change every year.

[541] So I love quilts because it actually is an architecture, the scale of which I can control.

[542] And what sits your quilts apart from other quilts?

[543] I was a very early quilter of figural work.

[544] So for me, I put a lot of images and portraits on quilts, and that was not done so much.

[545] It was a system that I innovated.

[546] It was a type of work because a lot of quilting is decorative.

[547] A lot of quilting comes from this history of oral tradition and sort of grandma's teaching you this block that you have to make.

[548] And I happened upon it sideways and just made a bunch of potentially not wonderful objects, but I didn't know there was rules to what not to do.

[549] So I put a bunch of pictures, portraits, self -portraits, et cetera, on there.

[550] And that would be the big thing that got me on the map.

[551] You know, that's where the museum started to collect my work.

[552] As well as museums, Luke's quilts have ended up all over America.

[553] His work covered by the likes of the New York Times and founded houses all over the U .S. Sometimes he leaves his quilts in public places for people to find and take home for free.

[554] Of course, I wanted to see his quilts.

[555] So he takes me outside to his garage.

[556] So opening the garage here.

[557] The garage is opening.

[558] Oh, yeah, no, I can see a lot of stout quilts in here.

[559] So now you can see the over 300 quilts that are in my collection.

[560] It's quilt chaos in here.

[561] On one of his walls, a segment of one of his pieces.

[562] It's huge and just shows a leg and a foot, almost photorealistic.

[563] The detail's incredible.

[564] This is the bottom of a 30 -foot portrait right here.

[565] So it's just the feet.

[566] Oh, my God.

[567] This is huge.

[568] And so, in this, This one is all made out of my own clothing.

[569] So primarily the material that I use is reclaimed clothes for all the work that I make.

[570] I should note that Luke's wife, Nicole, is also here.

[571] And I'm saying this in the best possible way.

[572] They make a really quirky couple.

[573] Back inside, their whole house is filled with unusual, unique furniture.

[574] Their bookshelf is bright yellow and was sort of molded to look like it's almost oozing down the wall.

[575] And they have two stools by the bench that are modeled after big bird left.

[576] There's the bottom half of a giant chicken, and I think the other's a big peacock.

[577] Nicole's also an artist.

[578] Sometimes this pair quilt together, Nicole's words of affirmation appearing on Luke's giant quilts.

[579] One of them's hanging on the wall, giant quilted words telling me, you make sense.

[580] But I didn't care if I made sense.

[581] I wanted to make sense of quilting.

[582] Where do quilts sit in the American psyche?

[583] Are they a big thing here?

[584] So quilts are fascinatingly American craft.

[585] It's very true to Americana, where they didn't come from here.

[586] We just took it and did it bigger.

[587] I won't say better because that sort of judgment, you know, I'll leave that to each individual, but, you know, there's this sort of history of the Dutch settlers that came in and brought patchwork systems.

[588] And, you know, there's certainly no way to say who made the first quilt.

[589] It was probably a couple of buffalo hides stuffed together for someone in a cave somewhere.

[590] But quilting as a medium really grew, as the sort of wealth of America grew.

[591] It became this status symbol within Americana.

[592] It had to do with buying very expensive fabric and then cutting it apart and putting it back together.

[593] So both you had the money to buy things that were expensive and the time to cut it apart and put it back together.

[594] Sort of at a time where we're both materials and time we're at a premium, right?

[595] This manifest destiny time where everyone is in covered wagon.

[596] So if you have time to make a quilt, that's proving your wealth.

[597] That was the big boom for quilting in America.

[598] This was one of the very first income streams for women in the United States.

[599] This was before women could have property.

[600] This was before women could have bank accounts.

[601] This was when women were sold as an object through marriage.

[602] But then all of the sudden, wealthier people wanted quilts.

[603] The men weren't going to make them.

[604] The women were going to make them.

[605] So the women could make them as a group, as this quilting circle, these quilting bees, and then sell them.

[606] So they had an excuse to congregate.

[607] in a wonderful way, a way to make an income that had not been as present culturally.

[608] And so there's a lot of women's movement implicit in quilting.

[609] Rewind and expand out.

[610] What defines a quilt?

[611] Because I think of a quilt as being like, it gets bits of material sort of stitched together into a big blanket.

[612] Is that the deal?

[613] Sure.

[614] And so like, you sound like, sure.

[615] Well, let me say that.

[616] And the reason I sound a little uncomfortable is you're like accurately kicking a nest of wasps because as you no doubt have found through your sort of jaunts around America, subgroups have very distinct personalities and then can bifurcate into two personalities that are so close to each other that their definitions make the difference and then they're angry.

[617] So you're telling me that something as pure as quilting has controversial elements built into it.

[618] Oh, yeah.

[619] There are whole factions that are just angry about the language used.

[620] there are art quilters, there are traditional quilters, there are modern quilters.

[621] You don't use the word blanket because you are just throwing the amount of work under the, because it's not a blanket, it's a quilt.

[622] And so there's all of these vernacular differences that people have very large chips on their shoulders about.

[623] And it makes sense where it comes from because if you spend 500 hours hand quilting a quilt with a needle and thread and then somebody sends it to someone else to do on a machine, there's a very different level of input.

[624] So I understand the anger there, but it's funny.

[625] You're sort of saying, what is the definition?

[626] And I'm like, well, it depends on who your friends are.

[627] Luke is a quilter who uses an electric sewing machine, controversial in some quilting circles.

[628] We'll leave your giant dog lying out there.

[629] Does the dog help at all in your quilting process?

[630] Or more just guarding the goods.

[631] See, more stands in the way, really.

[632] We leave Honeydew upstairs.

[633] They've been watching attentively this whole time.

[634] And we head downstairs to Luke's workspace where the walls are lined with shelves full of material and gear.

[635] There's a giant table for sewing and the fanciest electric sewing machine I've ever seen.

[636] I'm coming from architecture and design.

[637] So I come to quilting laterally.

[638] And so I make quilts using machines because I believe in...

[639] Use architecture.

[640] You use screws and not just sap from trees to make your buildings.

[641] and so I believe a conversation using a piece of technology can allow for a better result.

[642] So I use a sewing machine, and I use a very fancy brand -new sewing machine versus archaic ones for me because that's the conversation I want to have.

[643] Luke shows me some of his tools.

[644] So a rotary cutter is this circular razor blade.

[645] So you're able to push it across fabric and it cuts it in a way that is 100 times more efficient than scissors.

[646] And as he starts sewing, it dawns on me how seriously he takes all this.

[647] What makes a good quilt?

[648] What does that even mean?

[649] That's a really good question.

[650] Thank you.

[651] Gosh, I mean, so here's, you know, my problem as an interviewee is I push back a little bit and say, what makes a good quilt?

[652] And it's like, is it my opinion or is it the quilt police?

[653] And it's also hard as a person who sells these objects, right?

[654] Because I can make an entire body of work that I still own because it doesn't leave my house and then I can make a couple things that I'm just getting out of my brain and they sell instantly and so like in imagine some things that you love might not sell and then some things you hate suddenly people love them that must be a weird world to be in as well right exactly and so if you're asking which is a better one is it just be you know what I mean it's a hard question I never knew the world of quilting would be so full of riddles now I'm going to leave Luke for a bit because while making this episode I talked to a bunch of quilters and I want you to meet another one.

[655] My name is Latifah Sefir.

[656] I've been sewing, I feel like, my whole life, but I saw a quilt back in 2009 that was made from repurposed clothing and the batting was a old blanket and something about seeing that quilt clicked in my brain that I needed to be making it.

[657] I wanted to meet Latifah for two reasons, I guess.

[658] Firstly, her quilts are amazing, but I also had noticed the world of quilting seemed very white.

[659] Or at least when you start YouTube quilting, it's very white.

[660] Latifah Bucks that trend and proudly.

[661] It is a 65 year old middle to upper middle class white woman.

[662] It really is.

[663] Are there people in other demographics that quilt?

[664] Yes.

[665] Are there other demographics that are growing?

[666] Yes.

[667] There's a strong African -American quilt tradition.

[668] And you see we have African -American quilt group in Los Angeles and you'll find those all over the country.

[669] I have quilters, not in my immediate history, but great -grandmothers who quilted.

[670] Do you find it's quite a social scene?

[671] Or is it quite an isolating thing?

[672] You know, are you inside all day quilting?

[673] Are you out at quilts sort of gatherings?

[674] What does that look like?

[675] One of my favorite stories from my grandfather, when he talked about his mother and all of their friends would get together around a quilting frame that at that time hung from the ceiling.

[676] They would get together and chew tobacco and gossip, and he would catch the needle under the frame.

[677] Of course, he's listening to all the gossip as well.

[678] So it's always been both a solo activity as well as had a social aspect, where everyone comes together.

[679] And there's lots of group activities you can do with quilting as well.

[680] A few years back, Latifah formed the modern quilt skills.

[681] So she could, as she put it, meet her people.

[682] Other quilters she knew from online.

[683] Instead of just sharing patterns and quilts on the internet, they could meet in person, growing and learning from one another.

[684] The first meeting of the modern quilt guild had 20 people.

[685] Now it's exploded.

[686] I ask if I can see her quilts, and she leaves me through into another room, where, like in Luke's garage, she has a large stack of quilts.

[687] She folds a few back to show me one of her favorites.

[688] It's incredibly colorful and incredibly intricate.

[689] There's a whole genre of quilts called T -shirt quilts, where people literally cut up T -shirts and make a quilt.

[690] And most of them look like they just cut up T -shirts and put them into a quilt.

[691] So what I wanted to do with this quilt was make it, a T -shirt quilt would make an aesthetically pleasing.

[692] And so I picked colors.

[693] I did a very specific color selection on the T -shirts themselves.

[694] These are all hip -hop related.

[695] The quilters popping with a variety of colorful circles, the cinder of each one featuring various icons from the world of hip -hop.

[696] I spot NWA, Lauren Hill, and Wu -Tang.

[697] We talked about the demographic for quilters, and they're generally not, you know, hip -hop hits.

[698] So it pulls in another theme for my life, which is hip -hop music, and I had fun, like, selecting all the fabrics and stuff around it.

[699] It's covered in icons.

[700] I love it.

[701] Yes, absolutely.

[702] I love it, too.

[703] It's my favorite.

[704] And so this whole stack of quilts are projects that I'm working on right now.

[705] This quilt I'm looking at now, how long do this take to make?

[706] Because there's a lot going on in here.

[707] This is intricate.

[708] So I so fast.

[709] And this is my sort of my life because not only my quilter, but I'm a quilt pattern and product designers.

[710] I develop tools and things for quilting as well.

[711] So as well as making quilts and making them very quickly, apparently, the Tifa also designs templates for other quilters to use.

[712] Well, I have to use my engineering degree for something.

[713] And so it totally comes in handy for tool design.

[714] When you started your engineering degree, what did you imagine yourself getting into?

[715] Did you imagine yourself making these amazing quilts or was it something else entirely?

[716] So this is not very far from how I want it my life to become.

[717] So I majored in engineering because when you're raised with very little financially, you make decisions based upon, especially during that time you're told that you can't be creative financially successful.

[718] I actually had to lose my technology job in order for me to take on quilting full time.

[719] And I don't make quilts to sell quilts.

[720] I develop products to teach people how to quilt.

[721] And I also teach.

[722] I do a lot of teaching.

[723] I teach people how to quilt as well.

[724] And I've sort of been doing quilting, crafting, teaching my whole life.

[725] And I get to use a little bit of my engineering as well.

[726] So this is like the perfect mix for me, period.

[727] So I hang my engineering degree on the wall.

[728] And it's not a joke.

[729] It's a serious degree.

[730] My graduated magna cum laude, you know, so I took it seriously and I worked in technology for years and then I'm like, well, maybe I can follow my heart and not just my head.

[731] Like Luke, Latif has made quilting into a career.

[732] And as I look at the quilts stacked on the floor, I wonder if she'll ever stop quilting if all the ideas in her head will ever manage to get out.

[733] When you're quilting, what sort of motivates you?

[734] Is it a sort of an idea or do you get like a certain obsession?

[735] What takes you on these journeys?

[736] So every quilts are very different.

[737] I'm a very weird quilter in that.

[738] For me, it's just about the vision in my head.

[739] I don't love to sew.

[740] And it's funny because quilting is absolutely my life.

[741] It's my occupation.

[742] It's my hobby.

[743] And the actual act of sewing does nothing for me. There's a lot of quilters you'll talk to and they say, I sit down at the machine.

[744] It was my day off.

[745] It was relaxed.

[746] I'm like, really, you're a weirdo.

[747] Well, for me, I don't love to sew.

[748] But I have a vision and I want to see that vision come to life.

[749] There's a rare quilter who does not have what's called a UFO and it's unfinished objects or they also call them whips which are works in progress.

[750] Occasionally I'll count mine and it's not single digits.

[751] Let's just put it at that.

[752] While she's built her new hobby into a business, it does strike me how personal a lot of her work is and some of that's not for sale.

[753] Before I left, I pointed to a small framed image in her workshop and realized it was actually a tiny quilt.

[754] It was a fist, fashion from bits of fabric.

[755] This quilt was actually made for someone who was killed due to police violence.

[756] He was having a mental health crisis and I made this quilt for his family and this is made out of his clothing.

[757] That's incredible.

[758] Yeah, so all of the denim and the fist is made out of jeans that you can see the rips and the knuckles and, you know, all of that.

[759] Back at Luke's as I wrap this episode up and I don't mean to get too deep here, but I've been thinking that for many quilters, quilting is so much more than making an object to throw over a bed or couch or something to sell.

[760] Quilting's a way to tell stories, like the way I try to tell stories using this podcast.

[761] Quilting's the medium, and soon that medium colors the way quilters see the world.

[762] In the same way, I can't leave the house without seeing everything as a possible flightless bird episode, maybe quilters start to see nothing but their next quilts in the world around them.

[763] People like Latifur and Luke and Ashlyn, their world starts to be seen through the patchwork of a quilt.

[764] And as Luke leads me into his backyard, I realize that's sort of literal.

[765] What is this?

[766] It's a big 35 -foot geodesic dome that I was making for a museum exhibition.

[767] We're standing underneath this giant dome next to Luke and Nicole's veggie garden, and the dome is covered in a patchwork of quilts.

[768] Suddenly the world around me, my whole horizon, It's become a giant quilts.

[769] I'm covering it in pieces of quilts.

[770] This is sort of the research and development moment where I'm trying out different methods of creating covers for this large -scale work.

[771] You can live within a quilts almost.

[772] Yeah, exactly, exactly.

[773] I'm trying to push back to my roots of architecture in creating sort of environments out of the vernacular of quilting.

[774] Turns out Monica was right.

[775] Quilting is big in America.

[776] Coming into this world, I'd never imagined how vibrant and diversity.

[777] it would be.

[778] Luke, Latifah and Ashlin, they're not what I pictured when I pictured a quilter.

[779] They all come at quilting from a different angle.

[780] And all of them seem to be very keen that others start quilting as well.

[781] Maybe if they have their way, one day America will just be one giant quilt.

[782] For anyone that wants to get into quilting, what's your advice?

[783] Do you need to sort of go out and get a little sewing machine?

[784] Do they just need to start stitching stuff together?

[785] What's a good starting point?

[786] I say head down, buy a sewing machine or borrow one for.

[787] from your mom or your neighbor.

[788] In my short experience, looking into this topic, I feel like when you get into quilting, it's almost all or nothing.

[789] How far down the quilting rabbit hole do you feel that you've gone?

[790] I mean, I've gone so far down the rabbit hole that I'm running a podcast and I have turned it into a business.

[791] So I guess that's how far I am.

[792] So the beauty of the world that we live in now is that we all have access to YouTube University.

[793] But that's how a lot of people learn.

[794] I encourage you, you know, the better your equipment is, a lot of times the easier it is, but you don't have to have the most expensive thing.

[795] You know, buy a used machine off of Facebook Marketplace or borrow your grandmothers out of the back of her closet and get it cleaned and tuned up.

[796] The biggest thing is don't let not being perfect stop you.

[797] Don't let not being perfect stop you is a really good bit of advice for quilting.

[798] and also good advice for life in general for whatever thing you might want to try your hand at.

[799] There's probably some big metaphor about quilts in America too.

[800] Each state a bit of fabric, stitched together and sometimes organized, sometimes haphazard ways.

[801] Different bits of material side by side.

[802] Somehow the differences and flaws the thing that makes the final product so mesmerizing and special.

[803] Thus concludes my journey into the American quilts.

[804] They were neat, right?

[805] That was fun.

[806] I loved going down that road, meeting those awesome people.

[807] Yeah, Latifah was kind of amazing.

[808] And so Luke wrote to me, and he has made you a quilt.

[809] My very first quilt.

[810] And it's got, I mean, I haven't properly seen it yet, but your face features predominantly on it, which is kind of amazing.

[811] I think Dax is on there as well.

[812] He makes these big portraits, and he's got this amazing sewing machine.

[813] And so the movie tomorrow.

[814] And he uses different fabrics to make our.

[815] face?

[816] Yeah, we actually, so I'm going to take you to pick it up tomorrow and I'll video it so we can put it on Instagram or something.

[817] Okay.

[818] But I'm curious, that could be a question about it's like, what has he made it out of?

[819] Yeah.

[820] Like what is the material?

[821] Human flesh.

[822] But yeah, oh my gosh, I'm so excited.

[823] So yeah, you're going to get your own quilt care of Luke.

[824] He's just, he's very bad.

[825] I mean, all these people were so, so passionate about quilts.

[826] The passion level was so, so high.

[827] I think that's so kind because it's not like someone who just goes and buys you a book or socks or something that requires so much time and effort and energy and love it requires that yeah it's nuts and he wanted to know when we were going to record this that we needed to get it and so i think it sort of took him sort of three weeks working on this thing to sort of get it finish and in the set because i think it's quite big as well i mean quilts are big aren't they are yeah i mean i am having sort of a real -time realization right now that i think part of why I have been obsessed with quilts or why I had resentment against my family for not having quilts and annoyance that it wasn't part of the Indian culture but was a part of the American culture is because I do think I linked it to care and love and affection and so if we didn't put that much emphasis on that and the American families did yeah right you know that's intense but also that is what quilting represents to lot of people.

[828] That makes sense.

[829] It's sweet.

[830] I also notice I didn't actually explain where quilting came from originally in the dock at all.

[831] So I've just pulled it up.

[832] Okay.

[833] The earliest known quilted garment is depicted on the carved ivory figure of a pharaoh dating from the ancient Egyptian First dynasty.

[834] Whoa.

[835] So very old.

[836] In 1924, archaeologists discovered a quilted floor covering in Mongolia, estimated to date between 100 BC and 200 AD.

[837] So we're thousands of years old.

[838] In Europe, quilting has been part of the needlework tradition since about the 5th century.

[839] Okay.

[840] And obviously, Europeans, when they came to America, bought it with them.

[841] And it's just gone off on all these different directions.

[842] Well, I liked what Luke was saying about covered wagons, and it also showed a sign of wealth.

[843] That was interesting.

[844] Yeah, I hadn't clocked that.

[845] Because obviously, the be quilters, I think there's sort of these two camps as quilters that didn't have money just fashioning together stuff at a scrap.

[846] Exactly.

[847] But then the other aspect of it was actually a sign of having money and prestige.

[848] So that came into it as well.

[849] I mean, I guess you should expect it from any niche.

[850] But I love the idea of these warring communities of quilters saying, we're doing it right.

[851] You know, you're doing it on a machine, that doesn't count.

[852] Or you're doing it in this way.

[853] That doesn't.

[854] Disney adults, there's always gangs.

[855] Yeah, there's gangs.

[856] Gangs of quilters.

[857] We should get them all together and maybe have like a big quilt off or something.

[858] Wow.

[859] I love that Latifah is used.

[860] it, well, for a lot of reasons, obviously.

[861] But one as a cultural movement, almost.

[862] That's so cool.

[863] Yeah, she looks out and sees a world of quilters who are very white.

[864] And she's like, I want to make these defined by things I like and things from my culture.

[865] And she sews it into all their stuff.

[866] And some of it she keeps, some of it she sells.

[867] But yeah, this piece she'd made for a friend, obviously, that had someone pass away from police brutality.

[868] It was, like, really beautiful.

[869] It was like this little tiny quilt, but it just felt really powerful as well.

[870] I was a fist, you know, and it was made from their clothing.

[871] And, yeah, so she put so much of her own past and her own passions into it, which is pretty special.

[872] You know, a lot of people hang quilts because they are such beautiful pieces of art. Yeah, so it's not just something chucked on a bed.

[873] We'll find out how big your quilt is when we pick it up.

[874] Because it could maybe hang in the attic somewhere.

[875] It could be an attic hang.

[876] Yeah, I think that she'd live in the attic, for sure.

[877] Whether we drape it on the couch or try to hang.

[878] really running out of wall space, but we could try.

[879] We could also gift it back to your parents, sort of rub it in their face, give them a quilt.

[880] Oh, yeah.

[881] You're like, here you go, mom and dad.

[882] You never got me one of these.

[883] Although, you know, it's funny is now my mom and her retirement, last time I was home, she had a sewing machine.

[884] She started quilting.

[885] So now she might start quilting.

[886] Well, it's also funny because my grandmother made all of her children, my mom and her sister's clothes.

[887] She made me so many dresses and clothes and sweaters.

[888] She was really good at sewing.

[889] But quilting was just not in the culture.

[890] Yeah, so miss out on that side of things and then skip that generation through your mom.

[891] Exactly.

[892] And now, here we are.

[893] I wonder what she's sewing, just different little bits and pieces.

[894] Yeah, she said she's hemming.

[895] Oh, so nice.

[896] Oh, hemming things.

[897] She is thriving in retirement.

[898] It's really good.

[899] She loves it.

[900] But maybe you've still got your quilt coming.

[901] Maybe.

[902] It could happen.

[903] You know, don't write it off.

[904] Christmas is on its way.

[905] Christmas is on its way.

[906] She might be working way at it right now.

[907] Oh, that would be very sweet, actually.

[908] So, yeah, quilting.

[909] Okay, I loved this.

[910] This was really fun, and I'm glad that you followed the good word of me. I did.

[911] I've learned myself that sometimes I should listen to what you say, and that sometimes your topics.

[912] I also think it's neat, the things that you look at and go, yeah, that's really friggin' American.

[913] Yeah.

[914] Because there's things in front of me all the time that just sort of go over my head completely, whereas you're seeing all these other things.

[915] I have a different view of it, having grown up.

[916] up here.

[917] But no, I've learned my lesson.

[918] Okay.

[919] You say a topic?

[920] I'm going to go and do it.

[921] So you've become a lot more American.

[922] Okay, thank you.

[923] You've become a lot more American because you listen to me. I like that.

[924] All right.