Metamorphosis

A phone call from daughter and middle grandchild in the midst of irrational exuberance resulted in a short trip down memory lane last week.  They were in a store contemplating the purchase of pre-cut 5" squares of cloth.  Daughter called to asked how many squares they would need to make a quilt.  Just like that, with no reference to said quilt size or choice of pattern, the question was asked.  Of course I inquired whether the intent was to complete a pillowtop, lap quilt, table runner, place mat, or small wall hanging.  NO, NOT a dinky little thing like that, (they set me straight quickly) but a full size quilt worthy of gracing their respective beds.  Notice I use the "bed" word in the plural.  The plan called for each to make a quilt for her very own bed.  Furthermore, this ambitious exercise would be accomplished totally by hand.  A vague mental calculation of the cost of one square times several hundred required to construct just one quilt and I tactfully suggested they might want to cut their own squares.  That led to types of cutters best suited with realization that I owned multiples of the things they would need to begin.  

I offered to prepare a small care package with some starter supplies for them and trotted down to the basement to gather extra cutters, mats, patterns and instruction books.  Of course I couldn't resist sharing a few choice pieces of scrap fabrics.  As I sorted through my "glorious collection" of fabrics (as Ol' Abner calls my "stinkin' stash"), memories surfaced of projects completed years earlier.  I couldn't resist including the remaining five or six yards of a fabric older than my marriage.  It is an olive green with bright orange tropical design from which I made a full length halter top culotte, oh so many decades ago.  It was one of those purchases made when the price was so right that all the remaining fabric on the bolt was bought for a pittance.  That's one swatch of cloth we won't have to move again.  Now I can just wonder what it might become!