Generosity

I'd already had my share of unexpected generosity yesterday. My friend V rang to invite me to the Australian Quilt Convention. She was working on a stall in the afternoon and had a spare ticket. My first impulse was to just enjoy looking at everything, since I hadn't budgeted on a visit to the show. I'm afraid that impulse didn't last very long.

I hadn't realised how popular Japanese fabrics and techniques have become in the quilting world. Just at the moment my interest is focussed on things Japanese for several reasons. One being a presentation on Indigo Dyed Shibori which I'm working on for my course. Most of the stalls had Japanese printed cottons, but one had just the hand-dyed samples I wanted. Another stall was selling vintage kimono fabrics. I did my usual thing and asked lots of questions. They had shibori--yes--indigo dyed--yes, cotton--no. This was silk on the bolt. What was the minimum cut? Half a metre. I didn't get as far as finding out the price per meter. I'm guessing that my face gave away my anticipation of what the price might be. When I explained that I was looking for a sample for my class presentation out came the big scissors and I found myself clutching this amazing gift: Here's a close-up:

I can't get over how the silk holds the memory of all those little stitches. And I can't get over how someone would give a piece of lovely fabric away to a perfect stranger. Thanks!