Re-Inventionators: Stitching a Path–S.R. Mallery

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Re-Inventionator robot as waitress with drink

Hello, everyone.   The “Re-Inventionator” robots are on hand again.   Life can be a smooth, steady ride for some people.  For others, come hell or high water, they’re still able to go with the flow.  However, there are those of us who have events or situations that are so life-changing (be the circumstance large or small) that cause us to reevaluate our roles in life, to make changes — or have change forced upon us. Our self-identity changes. We reinvent ourselves.  My intention with this series of posts is to at least help those going through various life-changes know that they aren’t alone.  Hopefully someone somewhere is helped through the personal experiences shared here.  

Singing Robot Waitress in 1965 Nightclub

Today’s guest, a waitress (a singing waitress no less), a quilter…  This guest had a resume as varied as my own.  Although, most of her past careers and roles seem a lot more interesting than mine. Early life took her all the way from New York to California.  No doubt she had to start reinventing herself as a child — I know myself that cross-country relocation is a huge culture shock.

Yet somehow, she managed to stitch together the life-changes that eventually resulted in her realizing the unspoken dream of being an author — S. R. Mallery.   That path equipped Sarah to write in multiple genres.  Being a fellow research aficionado didn’t hurt either. 

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In addition to the stages she mentions below, Sarah sewed quilt art for 20 years.  Ages ago, I made a few quilts, but nobody would have called them art.  Without further ado, I’m handing this over to Sarah.

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Reinventing: S.R. Mallery

Actually, a lot of my adult life had to do with “Reinventing.” Although I started out as a singer/composer/singing waitress, I then went on to being a calligrapher, a typographer, a secretary, and an adult English as a Second Language (ESL) and reading teacher.

Re-Inventionator robot sewing a quilt

I also volunteered at a battered women’s shelter and distinctly remember going for some job helping teenagers, where the interviewer looked at my resume, then exclaimed, “Oh my, you’re either the most multi-faceted person… or you’re insane!” LOL.

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Even so, there was still one other occupation which, although I had always felt a deep pull toward it, I wouldn’t dare attempt it. Why? Because of my family’s highly literary background. But finally, at 50 years old, I decided to at least try writing a short story. What can I say? I was hooked. And I never looked back.

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It can be so hard to get past the intimidating feeling of not being as good at something as one’s family members.  I’m certainly glad that Sarah stitched writing into the quilt of her life.  Be sure to check out her collection of books and shorter stories.  Here’s is the S.R. Mallery Amazon Author Page.

Bourbon & Suede

Here is just one of Sarah’s terrific tales.  This one is a short story.

BOURBON & SUEDE

Purchase Link here.

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Friendly comments are welcome.  Thanks for visiting.  Hugs!

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Of course, here’s the obligatory shameless self-promotion.

Speak Chuckaboo & Speak Flapper

Speak Chuckaboo & Speak Flapper, by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

Universal Purchase Links

Speak Chuckaboo

Kindle:  relinks.me/B0B9W38LDJ

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0B9T8MP1K

Speak Flapper

Kindle:  relinks.me/B083HNK3BB

Paperback:  relinks.me/1656168553

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This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2025 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

64 thoughts on “Re-Inventionators: Stitching a Path–S.R. Mallery”

  2. For some reason the quilt pics won’t come up for me. But what a variety of titles Sarah’s had! I’m not talented in any way with knitting, crocheting, or quilting, but my mom has made several quilts over the years. Loving these posts, Teagan!

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    1. I’m delighted you enjoyed it, Lavinia. Thanks for reading and commenting.

      With the life changes you’ve made, from working in computers to music, to the farm and kitties… you’d be a wonderful guest for one of these posts. If you’re interested in telling a little about how you were reinvented with those changes, just let me know where to email you. Have a satisfying Saturday. Huge hugs.

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      1. Hi Teagan, that is very kind of you to offer.

        I do not look at my life as a series of reinventions, but as a tapestry started at birth, still being woven of interests, necessities, inputs from those I meet along the way who either inspire, or cause me to think twice. All result in choices, forks in the road. Sometimes a return to a previous interest, or like a photon, going through two slits simultaneously.

        I am a firm believer no knowledge ever goes to waste, and none of us are who we were when we were younger. Those younger selves along time’s continuum are all ghosts we have been. The winds of age from birth to death brings their own changes, fillings the sails and steering the boat.

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  8. Magnificent quilts! My #2 Daughter does art quilts. She would say that that first quilt, of flowers in a window, is the most marvelous item ever created, and only loyalty to her would keep me from agreeing. Absolutely stunning! I would love to send her a picture of it, but of course I never would without permission. If you don’t grant me permission, I won’t do it.

    Teagan, thank you for introducing me to this artist and writer.

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    1. Resa, I just know it’s going to be magnificent! If you want to be sure it is ordered and looks exactly as you have in mind, I can work with an HTML document. If you don’t know how to, I can make a tutorial for you.

      Have a restful night. 😴 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 Hugs.

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  10. Fascinating Mallery and Teagan.

    It’s fabulous what one person can accomplish in a lifetime, and there ismore to go.

    Congrats to Mallery for all her accomplishments!

    Teagan, thanks for hosting! Hugs!

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      1. Ah, yes. I have been on the hunt for a hand quilter to come into the classroom and make a Goodnight Moon quilt with the children, much like Milly the quilter did years ago. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

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          1. Thank you, Teagan. Yes, they sang with joy. I need to repost Milly’s blog series. One thing I’ve learned in life is that the unexpected will happen, especially when you have an open mind.

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    1. I’m very happy that you are enjoying this series, John. I know that none of us “are” our job title (or role name), but for many of us, those titles/names impact how we see ourselves and our self-esteem. Beyond that, those stages/changes and the reinventions that come with them shape how we go about progressing (and sometimes not) in our overall journey. (Did I say that? I think I’ll put it in the intro for the next post. LOL.) Thanks for your support. Big hugs.

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    3. Thanks for your comment, John. Teagan is so generous with her hosting, and is great as a writer! Had never thought of my life as taking advantage of many opportunities…I guess I have! LOL.

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  18. You’ve given Sarah a wonderful post here, Teagan. I can see on her author page that she wasn’t kidding, once she started writing, she was hooked! When my blog is finished, I’ll have a lot of catch-up reading to do.

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    1. Thanks, GP. Yes indeed. She I thought she might elaborate on her “literary family.” She had mentioned to me years ago that her father wrote a lot of television screenplays, including one for Mission Impossible which won a big-time award. *Although, that was their journey, not hers.* With these posts I like people to tell about their journey to the person they’ve become, and perhaps some of the self-identities they’ve had in the past. If they don’t go into detail, that’s fine. Big hugs.

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  19. It’s great to see Sarah here, Teagan. I knew about her quilting, but not some of the other things she had done, and having read several of her stories and novels, I recommend them to all readers. Another great post, and loved seeing some of the quilts as well. Thanks, Teagan and Sarah!

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    1. Hi, Cindy. Ha. You made me think about that, even before coffee. 🤔 It seems like people like to thinks so… That creativity is a compensation from God, the universe, or whatever for the hardship. Although most of the most successful people in creative fields had few real hardships. Anyhow, thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs to you and everyone at the Holler.

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    2. Very interesting comment, Cindy. Frankly, I really don’t know. Coming from a very intellectual family, I always felt I was the odd girl out. But my mind was always thinking up scenarios, I saw the different nuances of colors, and I could read people’s expression whereas no one else around me seemed to do that.

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