i form long term relationships with fabric. i bought 3 yards of this one when i was 14. i bought it from a little fabric shop around the corner from my home. the shop was run by a small rude man, elderly and curled, mr. bazoza. his son was in the textile business somewhere and shipped all his mill ends and things to be sold in this small store. it was long and narrow, bins on both walls and a small aisle down the middle. rolls and rolls of fabric. it was always dark because he never put the lights on to save money. he did a cash business and made the prices up as he went along. he was a real crook but we became friends and i got some pretty good deals as time went on. i used to make all my clothes when i was 14.
and so i have had this fabric for a long time. i used it for a dress. and then i used it to line a bag. then i used it in the back of a quilt. and then for the patchwork front of another. when you love something you understand its usefulness. so i used it a lot because i always had a thing for black. i used it because it is a kind of print that is spread out and is easy on the eye. i used the motif... you can cut it out and use it as a leaf or a feather or just a graphic. i used the front and then i used the reverse side. the back of a black solid print has a nice sketchy quality. and then, i made use of the spread out pattern because you can use pieces of the solid areas in between the design when you run out of solid black fabric, especially for small piecing projects. today i am using that motif (a few leftover fragments from using the in between for something else) as a feather and a leaf and that soft sketchy back and fits nicely into a winter scene...like a memory... to keep a little story alive a little longer. tomorrow i will use this motif as a magic feather... part of a new story.
i am off to mom's today, but before i go, i must say i really like this... because it is squares and because it is brilliant.
