On fabric and memories

Pillowcases are so quick and easy. I actually got all of my pile done in just 3 days. Love it! Now I just need to get them packaged and ready to deliver in time for my next quilt guild meeting (ConKerr Cancer is one of the charities we support, so I can just drop them off there).


Final count: 27!

As I was making these, it really struck me that I have memories associated with a lot of these fabrics. One of them has even been in my stash for nigh on two decades (eep!). Working with these fabrics just brought to mind so many things-- places, interests, projects unfinished (or never started), people, random things. Indulge me as I wax nostalgic for a bit...


I've had this fabric in my stash since 1992-- long before I even started quilting! I used this fabric to make a shirt for my mom, a bridge fanatic, for mother's day. I know there are no dice in bridge, but it was the only playing card fabric I could find! It was my freshman year at Pacific Lutheran University. I remember laying it out on my dorm-room floor and cutting out the pieces. She wore that shirt to shreds. Apparently I bought way too much, because I had nearly 3 yards left still!


In addition to bridge, my mom loves frogs. Or maybe I should say, LOVES frogs. She has a massive collection of frog paraphernalia-- figurines, posters, jewelry, collectibles, stuffed toys, and more. Every so often, she would mail frog fabric to me, just because she liked it. And then I found myself buying more frog fabric, always thinking that I'd use it to make her a shirt or a quilt or something. Indeed, I did make quilts and other things for her using frog fabrics-- but somehow, I still have a ton of them. It's nice to finally use them for such a good cause!


More frogs! And I still have way more frog fabric than any one person needs. So I'm sure there will be more frog pillowcases in my future. And that rainbow swirly print? That was the 2002 Hoffman Challenge fabric. There was a stretch of years where every year, I'd say to myself, "I'm going to do the Hoffman Challenge this year!" And every year, I'd buy two yards of the official fabric. Of course, I have yet to enter one of their challenges. But it's nice to see one of the fabrics going to good use.


A few years ago, I went through a Pokémon phase. My then boyfriend (who is now my husband) and I played the original Pokémon Red/Blue Gameboy games, played the card game, and even watched the cartoon (and I even have two of the soundtrack albums from the movies!). I was obsessed. So it only made sense to have fabric too.


And then there are those other fabrics... ones that I only had bits of, leftover from other projects and those fun prints that I bought because I loved them. I just finished reading Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove (great book, by the way!), and that Alexander Henry "Desert Friends" print just makes me think of that... I think the only animal depicted on that fabric not mentioned in the book is the roadrunner. Anyway, it feels good to finally use these fun prints!

Making these pillowcases has been a fun trip down memory lane for me. Do you ever find yourself picking up a piece of fabric and just remembering?