What Would You Do If It Happened To You?

Aunt Terra is here to visit, and it's so nice. We are going to have so much fun, especially considering that in two short weeks the school year will be over for my kids. Looking into my crystal ball, I can see a lot of trips to the pool in our future.

Anyway, months ago, a friend of mine (acutally, she's the other mom at my kid's bus stop. I wish we were friends, but during the whole school year we've never gotten together anywhere but the bus stop and now that school is ending, I bet I won't see her anymore) told me about a project she was in the middle of. She had started a quilt but as she studied the fabrics she chose, carefully cutting squares and rectangles, she realized that the colors and style of it all wasn't quite . . . . well, she didn't want it any more. I had told her that I sew, and so she asked, very tentatively in a way that made it clear how much she did not want to foist this on me, if I would maybe like her woulda-been-a-quilt fabric?

I have never met a cotton that I didn't think needed a home in my collection, so I said yes.

A few days later, she brought me a white garbage bag full of this:

That, for those of you who aren't yet in tears, is Heather Bailey fabric. Go to her site or search for Heather Bailey on Etsy, and you'll understand why the first thing I did was to ask her if she was serious about giving it to me. To be fair, the first time I looked into the bag I had no idea what brand the fabric was, but after nearly 24 years of sewing (yeah, you read that right) I know a good fabric when I see one. This is expensive fabric and sought-after too. I can pay you, I said, or I can help you sell it on e-bay--I felt obligated to make these offers in as sincere a voice as I could. But my friend wouldn't hear of it--she just wanted to be sure it would get used and that someone would love having it.

I do. I've pieced the blocks she cut into 22" squares for a project I'm working on. Sorry, no pictures until it's done. And I can think of a million other things to make too. But today, what I really want to know is, what would you do if you were given a whole lot of really nice fabric? I know there are crafters out there. What would you do if this fabric just fell into your lap?