Neat swaps

When I got up it was a chilly day in March; when I came home and picked up my mail there was a well stuff Priority Mail box and I could tell from the feel of it that there was fabric. When I opened it I decided we had vaulted over most of the year and it was Christmas. A wonderful swap partner from Oregon, another quilter, sent far, far more than the minimum for that particular swap. There were four wonderful pieces of real Bali fabric -- not the Americanized version but the cottons in their distinctive prints, browns with a busy background and birds and flowers hidden in the pattern. Three of the pieces were actual sarong pieces -- I wish I were one of those slim, graceful Balinese women and could wear a sarong with their particular chic. Instead these will be used for quilts -- probably I'll start with the smaller fourth piece which will seem less intimidating to cut into.

Along with the fabric was a big selection of magazines and three books, plus a journal for documenting my quilts -- which I should use in longhand, having lost quite a lot of quilt documentation in my November computer crash. How wonderful to discover such generosity and kindness from a stranger. The special thing about kindness of this sort is that it inspires one to be generous also because you realize what joy it brings another person. It is contagious. Oh, I suppose there are some sorry, benighted souls who don't respond that way, but I think most people do. I'm truly grateful to my Santa-swapper.