hazelchaz | I remember when I used to be the jealous kind. I got over it, now you're taking over my old line. (Reply)

Photos online: Fabric on File part 4: Taking Inventory at Mom's (26-Mar-2008)

I thought I'd take pictures of all of my fabric that's waiting to be turned into something. I showed you the Purple Waterfall and the Flamingo Jungle prints before. Here are the rest of them. The pieces of red flannel (right) are the result of decommissioning an old nightshirt. Very soft fabric. I'm thinking it might be nice to have a few of them cut into neat squares and the edges hemmed, so I can use them as handkerchiefs. The rest of the pieces? Don't know. Anyone want to make a small pillow? Or....?

I have a quarter-yard of artificial fur (left). This isn't the same stuff my bear ears are made from -- it's an extra length of lighter variegated brown that I thought might match library_lynn's hair. It doesn't quite.

This beautiful blue/green/purple bird of paradise flower fabric (right) is for Lynn, not me. There's just enough for a shirt to fit her.

I picked up a small amount of blue fabric with sparkles on it (left). I don't remember what I hand in mind for it. Headbands, maybe? The little shiny silver sparkles are scattered about, like a random night sky. I probably picked it up because it was space-y.

This space scene fabric (right) is marked Fabri-Quilt "Cosmos" #9345 and it might be the same fabric that rebecca817 plans to use for curtains. Or it might not. Rebecca, check the edge of yours and see what the manufacturer has written on yours... Lynn says it's not really suitable for something for her. Maybe I'll get two shirts.

Black/white polka dots (left) -- I probably got this at the same time as the red/white polka dots. Might make a whole bunch of headbands.

I like polka dots. Minnie Mouse has a red/white polka dot dress. missmea has a black/white polka dot dress (and white/black polka dot gloves to wear with it), as well as another black one with white and pink dots.

Lots of people have polka dots. They're not always dresses... Anyone remember when Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors had a brown and pink on white polka dot scheme? Can I have polka dots? Should I hide them behind some palm trees (right)?

These mutli-color alligators (left) would make a lovely shirt. I think there's at least enough for one shirt. Or a zillion headbands. I was looking for headband fabric more than for shirt fabric, at the time, but enough for a large convention department is enough for a single shirt.

The monsters on this fabric (right) are having a fun time -- the print is called "Party Animals." Again, I think there's enough for at least one shirt. I probably picked it up when I wanted enough fabric to make many, many headbands.

I like having some muted color shirts, as well as the bright ones. For example, my black shirt with the flamingos is a favorite. Here's a black/charcoal grey and red aloha fabric (left) that I picked up on my shopping trip with tenkuudragon.

Everyone likes dragons, right? Here's a red dragon fabric (right) that would probably make a good-looking shirt. It would be red white and blue, so maybe I could wear it on the 4th of July, right?

Here's one of the beautiful finds I got in L.A. recently (left). Lynn really likes it too. Blue with water flowers and butterflies -- what's not to love? I think this one was the one that prompted Maria to say something complimentary about my being man enough to wear girly fabric. I actually think this is a very masculine floral -- the dark blue and all really work for me.

I have no idea why my camera thinks this purple fabric (right) is blue. It's the same fabric that my wizard's robes were made from, which I keep in the closet and which I wore to L.A.con II. On the assumption that I might get married someday (she didn't know it would happen twice) my mom set aside extra yardage. The fabric's been sitting in a box for two decades waiting for the right project. Not so sure if Lynn wants anything out of it, though.

In addition to pulling out all of my fabric at our house, I went over to the Old Homestead to visit my fabric over there.

These two fabrics are for making coordinating shirts for myself (left) and library_lynn (right). They're in a bin in my Mom's workroom back the Old Homestead. I purchased them in L.A. a few years back, when I thought that missmea would make some more shirts for me. But she's made it abundantly clear that apart from the two fine shirts I got for Christmas (which I consider my two best favorite shirts), she's not interested in the work.

And Mom made me a shirt or two (such as that chili pepper shirt you've seen me in so many times), and plans to make more, but I don't want to wear her out. Arthritis and all that, you know... Anyhow, some of my fabric is still in her custody, but I don't plan to dump a whole bunch of fabric on her again any time soon.

But Mom loves to sew. And she loves to make things for people. In fact, she's got this black/pink flamingo fabric that would be wonderful, that she has set aside for a shirt for me (left).

Incidentally, the metal ruler in these last few photos is a souvenir from the very first convention or conference I ever attended, at the Leamington Hotel in Minneapolis in 1975. Before I went to the Worldcon on a bus (and came home for dinner), before I went to NMRA (model railroad) conventions and figured out that you've got to get a room at the headquarters hotel or you miss too much (if only I'd realized that for my first Worldcon), and before Winterail (the railroad photography exposition in Stockton that I believe just celebrated its 30th year earlier this month). My father was a big fish in certain public-domain software circles, and I tagged along because I had just started learning BASIC and APL and was interested in everything. I remember lemonade in the hotel bar, and seeing snow in the parking lot from our hotel room window. Ah, April in Mpls...