about

inks+thread is maintained by Maggie Pate from the Mountains of East Tennessee.

This outlet isn't a platform for me to pretend that I am someone I am not. I am not a professional anything. Actually, I am an everlasting rookie at most all things. Therefore it must be stated that this isn't a food blog, it isn't a style blog, it is simply an outlet that allows me to stay focused and engaged.  There might be a hint of product, a dash of food, a drop of style, and a splash of travel. But for the most part it is about my activities and my scarf collection, inks+thread. 

For the sake of maintaining the traditional standards of a bio, I'll start by admitting that I am a Southern girl; however that stereotype lacks all conventional wisdom when it comes to me. I resisted Southern ideals while growing up in the heat of the Bible Belt. I must have been absent from the gathering where the Kool-Aid was served. I am not a fan of sports or eating meat or Nascar.

In an effort to escape this Southern setting that I found stagnant, regressing and suppressive; I ran off to the Northeast. I longed for the big cities thinking they were my salvation. My teen and early twenties were spent in New York City working in the fashion industry. But something was always stirring, I never could find peace. 

It wasn't until I moved reluctantly back to Tennessee, just miles from the home I grew up in that life had perspective. Perhaps I needed the quiet excitement of a small town to become more centered. Oftentimes Chattanooga looks as though it has dozed off into a restful slumber. Being in a little town has given me more focus and less anxiety about the direction of my life, something NYC never did. I was always fighting against the grain in New York. Constantly comparing, striving, failing and falling. Though moving back to Tennessee was a struggle, I found that peace doesn't come until you are ready.

Most of my days are spent cuddling animals, watching movies with my love, and dreaming up pattern designs.