She had dreamed again of learning a new technique, Shibori dyeing. Shibori was a Japanese style of dying fabric for a quilt she’d always wanted to try. It would be neat to make the Shibori dye and sew along the resist lines for a last quilt. Darcy had not tried it because she could never decide which side of the fabric to use. She decided she would one day, possibly find out. Though at eighty-five years, it would be a crap shoot if she lived that long. She contacted her lawyer for an appointment to set her estate to rights and began to plan which fabric she would use. She calculated one year of dedicated time to finish this special quilt which would be a puffer fish. This fish was also known as the Japanese delicacy of uni. She shopped for fabric and consulted her stash of accumulated fabric. She knew just about what she would need to plan a large puffer fish swimming in the ocean, using a two or three-block theme of New York Beauty and Mariner’s Compass and possibly Storm at Sea blocks. She might bring in another block to complete the background of the quilt but had not decided yet.
New York Beauty
PFish Simple Mariner’s Compass
Storm at Sea
Darcy gathered the fabric she had on hand for this quilt and chose her coordinating support pieces. Then she set about researching and sketching in her book and Quilt Design software. She still preferred to draw the design on poster board and newsprint, but the software helped her check calculations and angles that would be needed to make this quilt work. Some of the updated technology had even proven fascinating to review, but she would leave that to the younger group and make this quilt in a more traditional method.
She would finish the shopping when she met with the attorney. Then she would wash all of the fabric and book a trip to Japan. This, she knew, would be her last quilt made in the United States. In Japan, she planned to sign the waiver and eat the puffer fish. She’d either eat the fish and die or learn to quilt and dye Shibori in Japan.
Once the flight was booked, Darcy checked her fabrics and began the next load. She got some lunch, then pulled the light fabrics out of the dryer as she put the dark fabrics in. She would manage some cutting today as she prepared her materials and layout. She sewed and stitched and obtained the components to finish it.
