Sunday, October 18, 2009

Of Emperors and Kings

I'm in the middle of a large quilt made mostly from stash. It's coming along nicely but needed the infusion of some new fabric. Since the LQS went out of business, I visited the local chain store, searching for a certain shade of purple. Nada. So a week later I drove north into the hills to The Fat Quail.

It was a gorgeous autumn day and perfect for a drive. The destination was in a *small* community where you wouldn't expect to find a quilt store. I was surprised to find there were five cars in the parking lot.







They still have their 'library of fat quaters'. Each card catalog drawer is marked with the type of fat quarters inside. What a great idea.



They didn't have a *lot* of purples to choose from, but fortunately they had one in the right shade.

I prewashed when I got home and was glad I did. Even though it didn't bleed out a whole lot the water was amazingly thick and murky with a film on the surface. I didn't want whatever they used to set the color in my quilt.





Ancient Rome, Egypt, and Persia all used purple as the imperial standard. The source of purple dye often came from insects or fish, therefore purple dyes were rare and expensive and only the rich had access to them. I'm glad all I had to do was drive 45 minutes out of my normal sphere of travel. It sure is a delight to the eye. :)

5 comments:

Sew Create It - Jane said...

It's a good reminder that we still need to check fabrics for bleeding. I still pre-wash everything and then press it, it is only then that I can truly see all the details in a fabric.

On another note...how are you feeling? I hope things are getting better.

Lindah said...

Speaking of "only the rich had access to them" --that is a very rich looking fabric. So much depth to the subtle design. And the color is scrumptious. Worth the drive, eh?

Finn said...

What a lucky find...and it looks like a really NICE shop...clever use of space and props, I like that!
The purple is really a good one. Can't wait to see the front of the quilt. Hugs, Finn

Julie in the Barn said...

Beautiful shade of purple and a cute little shop. I always pre-wash everything.

Fabricfaire said...

Prewashing is a must w/me also. Learned by experience! I always wondered about that "Fat Quail" shop. They had a nice booth at the LQS!