Fabric Sorting

A local group that works with young women had gathered fabric to teach the women to sew. They have abandoned thier sewing program and were about about to throw out three huge boxes of fabric. The incredible Ms. L. was visiting them, saw the fabric and decided that I would be the best person to sort through it and find fabrics for the Once Upon a Time Bee of the local quilt guild.

I took me about two hours to burn test each piece and divide the results into five piles. The piles I sorted things into were quilting cotton, polyester, polyester blend, knit (for cancer caps), felt (for kid crafts) and miscelleaneous real fabric (wool, deco cottons, linen etc.). The largest pile was for the polyester, the next was for the knits, then the blends, the miscellaneous, the felt and the quilting cotton.

Yup - the quilting cotton was the smallest pile and consisted of just one piece of fabric.

There were two funny finds in all this fabric. One was a huge piece of fake brown sheep skin. It's huge so I am hoping to find someone who makes stuffed anmals to take it off my hands. The other odd find was a very scrappy, twin-sized quilt top. It is machine pieced and seems to include about 100 different fabrics. It had been washed in the past and is falling apart in some places but that does not take away from the excellent workmanship of the many complex seams.

Here's what it looks like:

Can you believe that red plaid?

I don't know what to do with it. Right now I have it gently soaking in a mild soap to remove some funky smells. I think I will repair the blocks but then I am at loss as to what to do with it. I know people collect these little wonders but I am not sure if anyone would want one in this condition. Is it worth money? Should the proceeds go to the Bee for more fabirc purchases or back to the for-profit group that threw it out in the first place?

Is there a gem like this hidden in all those 60's polyesters you inherited from a relative? Have you looked?

I'll let you know what happens to it.