My sister’s best college friend is from Kolkata (aka Calcutta), in India. When she went there for a visit, I gave her money and said, “Silk. You know the sort of thing I like.”

And she did. Isn’t it gorgeous? It is so GREEEEEEEEEEEEEN and so PEEEEEEEEEEEEENK.

I can’t remember how much fabric [...]]]>

My sister’s best college friend is from Kolkata (aka Calcutta), in India. When she went there for a visit, I gave her money and said, “Silk. You know the sort of thing I like.”

And she did. Isn’t it gorgeous? It is so GREEEEEEEEEEEEEN and so PEEEEEEEEEEEEENK.

I can’t remember how much fabric there is, but maybe four or five metres of each colour. I have all kinds of ideas – front-runners on this specific evening would be a full-skirted 50s-style summer frock in the pink, and something trousery-jacketty in the green.

Like the Vietnamese silk I showed you a while ago, I won’t be using this while I’m still breastfeeding and/or wrangling small children, but in the fullness of time, I’ll take it out and lead it reverently to meet its fate.

Feast your eyes on this thrilling silk, which a dear friend brought back from Vietnam as a present for me when she travelled there a few years ago. Isn’t it amazing? I adore the way the woven pattern is so sumptuous and intricate on the front, then recedes to make way for the [...]]]>

Feast your eyes on this thrilling silk, which a dear friend brought back from Vietnam as a present for me when she travelled there a few years ago. Isn’t it amazing? I adore the way the woven pattern is so sumptuous and intricate on the front, then recedes to make way for the calm stripes on the back.

My friend gave me this beautiful fabric when she came to meet the Feaster for the first time, when he was nearly a year old. I was so touched by the gift – not least because it was emphatically for Sewing Léan, and not for the Mama Léan who has been in the foreground for the last few years. My wardrobe these days is exclusively machine-washable, but that won’t always be the case. This silk will be waiting for me when I’m ready for it.

Meanwhile, I can daydream about what it will become. I have about four or five metres, I think (that’s eyeballing – I didn’t measure). Perhaps a longish tailored jacket with a full skirt, like an eighteenth-century grandee? Or an ultra-simple sheath dress? Suggestions welcome!

(Incidentally, I’ve been meaning to write a Sunday Stash post for ages, but this is the first time I’ve been sufficiently organised. I saw it first at Red Pepper Quilts, and then Rita kindly pointed me at the original post by Tam of 1/4 of an Inch. I love the idea, and I intend to join in as often as I can.)